West Bankupdated 44m ago3 min read
Netanyahu Orders Major Hebron Operation After Palestinian Attack Kills Two Israeli Soldiers
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Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hebron shooting at a West Bank checkpoint Netanyahu ordered a large-scale West Bank operation, including house-to-house searches and displacement of residents
One story. Different accounts.
The Guardian“Israel has launched a campaign of collective punishment against Palestinians in Hebron”
NBC News“Soldiers would go ‘house to house’ in areas the attackers were believed to be from”
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Hebron attack triggers lockdown
Two Palestinian men opened fire at a junction near the West Bank city of Hebron, and Israeli forces killed the two gunmen after they opened fire, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring three others, according to Israeli data. Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a major military operation and told troops to cordon off Hebron, a city with more than 200,000 inhabitants, after the shooting attack on Friday. Netanyahu said his first step would be to demolish this site and completely transform it, and he ordered the IDF to cordon off Hebron and prepare for a broader military operation in Judea and Samaria.
The Israeli military said it discovered a large amount of weapons and ammunition in the attackers' vehicle, and it said the shooters used an M16 rifle and a handgun. The Israeli army announced a full closure of the city of Hebron and several surrounding towns following the operation, according to Anadolu Ajansı.
Hamas frames it as response
Hamas said the Hebron operation comes within the framework of a natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes and the brutal attacks against our people, our land, and our holy sites in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the continuing aggression on our people in Gaza. Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, urged Palestinians to rise up against the occupier in defense of their al-Aqsa and prisoners, and to confront the aggression on the West Bank and its camps. Islamic Jihad said the response “was, is, and will remain present in the field to confront the assaults of the occupation army and the settler gangs,” and it described the groups as desecrating Muslim holy sites and pursuing the Judaization of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Netanyahu characterized the Palestinian shooting attack as an attempt to influence Israel elections, and he called the gunmen involved in the shooting near Hebron "Hamas terrorists." Hamas called the attack heroic and a legitimate response to ongoing crimes and brutal attacks, but it stopped short of claiming responsibility, according to CBS News.
Demolitions and forced displacement
Netanyahu said Israeli forces would enter the attackers' neighborhood and displace its residents, and he told troops, "We will evacuate the residents, we will go from house to house, we will also seize the weapons there, and all the terrorist infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed." Bezalel Smotrich called for a military campaign in the West Bank "exactly like in Gaza," and he said, "Following the attack, I have ordered the immediate demolition of a wide row of illegal Arab structures adjacent to the attack site." B'Tselem said Israeli leaders were publicly announcing plans for collective punishment and acts that could constitute war crimes, and it called on the international community "to act now, using all means available under international law, to prevent the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians."
The Guardian reported that Israel launched a campaign of collective punishment in Hebron, and it quoted Netanyahu announcing a siege on Hebron and neighbouring Halhul with residents of the gunmen’s home neighbourhoods forced out. The Guardian also reported that Israel’s high court issued a temporary order to stop the demolitions after the destruction began within hours of the attack.