Deadly shooting prompts West Bank closures days before Israeli election
Netanyahu says troops will evacuate residents, search homes and destroy terror infrastructure in the Hebron neighborhood the attackers came from
Israel imposed closures on the West Bank cities of Hebron and Halhul and ordered preparations for a wider closure of the territory after a shooting attack near Hebron killed two Israeli soldiers. This comes days ahead of Tuesday's much anticipated general election.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops would evacuate residents from the Hebron neighborhood from which the attackers set out, conduct house-to-house searches, seize weapons and destroy terror infrastructure. He said the operation would follow the “successful, aggressive model” used in refugee camps.
“We will consider extending this model to other cities as well,” Netanyahu said. His office earlier announced that he had instructed security forces to immediately cordon off Hebron and prepare for a full West Bank closure.
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IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth said the military was launching a significant counterterrorism operation alongside the cordons around Hebron and Halhul. The IDF said soldiers and Border Police had entered Hebron and reached the attackers’ homes and those of other suspects.
The military identified the soldiers killed at Yehuda Junction as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon. Both served in the Ari Battalion of the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade. Three other soldiers were lightly wounded, the IDF said.
The two Palestinian gunmen, both from Hebron, were killed following an exchange of fire lasting about 20 minutes, the military said. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said a large quantity of ammunition found in their vehicle indicated they had intended to carry out a larger attack.