Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered security forces to prepare for a full closure of the occupied West Bank on Friday after a shooting attack near Hebron wounded five Israelis, bringing security tensions into focus four days before national elections.
Two armed Palestinian assailants were killed in a firefight with Israeli troops at Judea Junction, also known as the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint. Two of the five wounded Israelis were in critical condition, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service. Netanyahu ordered an immediate cordon around Hebron and preparations for a wider West Bank lockdown, while his Likud party canceled its Friday morning political events.
“I salute the courage of our soldiers who acted with determination and prevented what could have been a major attack,” Netanyahu said. Hamas praised the shooting but did not claim responsibility. There was no evidence linking the Palestinian Authority to the attack, despite National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s call for its dismantling.
The violence comes amid heightened Israeli–Palestinian tensions and a closely contested election scheduled for October 27. Ben Gvir, whose Jewish Power party is polling at eight or nine parliamentary seats, has campaigned on tougher security policies, including expanding gun access and imposing harsher penalties on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. He has also sought the defense minister’s position in a future Netanyahu-led government. Meanwhile, former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s principal electoral rival, praised the soldiers’ response and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. (AFP+EIR)
