Israel begins demolition operations in a West Bank city after two soldiers were killed in an attack

On Friday, Israel began demolishing buildings and forcing residents to evacuate a neighborhood in the city of Hebron, hours after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint, killing two soldiers.

Following the attack, the Israeli army announced the imposition of a “comprehensive siege” on the city of Hebron, while Netanyahu stated that he had issued orders to completely close the West Bank, starting on Friday.

Hours later, Netanyahu appeared to back away from plans to impose a comprehensive closure on the Palestinian territories, indicating that he might be satisfied with imposing a “security cordon” around the cities of Hebron and Halhul, with the possibility of expanding this measure to include other areas.

Netanyahu also stated that the army will forcefully evacuate the attack area and completely change its features, by implementing the plan that was used in the Jenin, Tulkarm, Nour Shams, and Al-Far’a camps in early 2025, which resulted in the displacement of thousands of Palestinians and the evacuation of entire neighborhoods.

The army and the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) reported, in a joint statement, that the Israeli authorities launched an “anti-terrorism” operation that lasted several days in the Hebron area.

The Israeli army had stated that 3 other soldiers were slightly injured in the attack that occurred in the city of Hebron.

It is noteworthy that this attack comes just four days before Israel holds elections, the first of its kind since the attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which represents a decisive test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always sought to present himself as a hard-line figure in the security file.