Netanyahu orders army to prepare for closure of West Bank after Palestinian armed attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to block the approaches to Hebron and prepare "for a total closure of the entire Judea and Samaria (West Bank) starting today", in response to the Palestinian armed attack in which six soldiers were injured, including two in critical condition, near Hebron. In his statement in English as head of Government on platform X, however, he does not mention the closure of the West Bank.

The Islamist group Hamas has praised what it calls a "heroic action" carried out this morning by two Palestinians four days before the elections in Israel.

The attackers, armed with a rifle and pistol, were driving to carry out an attack on Highway 35 when they saw the provisional checkpoint located near Hebron. Then they went down and shot at the Israeli soldiers, starting 20 minutes of exchange of fire before being killed, security sources say.

"A large amount of ammunition was found in the vehicle. The quick action of the troops prevented an even more serious attack," said the Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir at the scene of the attack. Shortly after, he ordered the establishment "of a security cordon and several anti-terrorist operations in the Hebron area." The entrances to the nearby town of Jaljul have also been blocked by Israeli forces.

"We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who send them everywhere and at all times. They have no place to hide," Netanyahu warned. Regarding what happened this morning, he said that "apparently, Hamas terrorists were planning a large-scale attack with the aim of murdering innocent civilians, as demonstrated by the large amount of weapons and ammunition discovered."

Regarding the closure of the West Bank, there is some confusion given that his statement as prime minister in English does not mention it - as he does in his personal account - indicating that he instructed the army and security forces "to immediately cordon off the city of Hebron and take additional security measures to prevent terrorist attacks originating in Judea and Samaria."

The Likud leader has canceled all political events scheduled for this Friday ahead of the elections on October 27.

His great rival at the polls, the centrist Gadi Eisenkot condemned the attack. "I praise the heroism of the soldiers who, according to the army's estimates, prevented a major attack against civilians, and I strengthen all the security forces that operate day and night in the different areas for the security of Israel," he wrote in X in a reaction similar to that of the rest of the candidates.

Ultranationalist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir have called for strong retaliatory measures, reviving their demand to dismantle the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), chaired by Abu Mazen and based in Ramallah. Messages that are repeated with greater force now after the armed attack in the south of the West Bank and before the electoral appointment to which they attend in different parties - unlike in 2022 - in the bloc led by Netanyahu.

In recent weeks, the Army had increased its deployment in the West Bank due to increased alerts of Palestinian attacks and the increasingly frequent attacks by Israeli extremists against Palestinians in the territory occupied in the '67 war.