Netanyahu orders West Bank crackdown after two soldiers killed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a major military operation in the West Bank and a full cordon around Hebron on Friday. The orders followed a shooting incident in which two Palestinian men killed two Israeli soldiers. The military confirmed the deaths of Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem. Three other soldiers suffered minor injuries during the exchange.

The Israeli military stated that the gunmen opened fire at a junction near Hebron. Forces at the scene killed both attackers. The army recovered an M16 rifle and a handgun from the suspects' vehicle. Officials noted that a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was found inside, suggesting the shooters had planned a larger attack on civilians. The military said it began offensive counterterrorism operations in the area. Soldiers are currently searching the homes of the attackers and other suspects. Authorities arrested approximately 70 wanted Palestinians in West Bank operations over the past week.

Netanyahu instructed troops to evacuate residents from the specific Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen lived. He said the first step would be to demolish the site and transform it. Hebron has a population of more than 200,000 people. The prime minister announced that a wider campaign would follow the initial cordon. He stated that the Israel Defense Forces would enter the neighborhoods where the terrorists emerged and dismantle the infrastructure.

Netanyahu described the gunmen as Hamas terrorists. Hamas, designated a terrorist group by Israel and the United States, called the attack heroic. The group described the shooting as a legitimate response to ongoing crimes against Palestinian people, land, and holy sites. Hamas did not claim formal responsibility for the incident. The group urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The escalation occurs days before Israel holds general elections on Tuesday. Netanyahu has made national security a central theme of his campaign for another term. He characterized the shooting as an attempt to influence the vote. He recalled a warning he issued weeks earlier that enemies were preparing attacks to sway the election. His Likud party announced that Netanyahu convened senior security chiefs on Friday. All campaign events for the remainder of the day were canceled.

The attack follows a recent surge in violence in the West Bank. It also came after Brad Lander, a New York Democratic candidate for Congress, was briefly detained by Israeli forces this week. Lander was helping Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest when he was stopped.