Israel will close all land crossings with the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, election day, and bar Palestinian workers from entering Israeli communities, as the government intensifies its security crackdown following the killing of two Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military announced the restrictions on Sunday, days after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers and wounded three others at a checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Hebron.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a strong response to the attack, signalling plans for a major military operation in the territory, which Israel occupied in 1967.
The military said Palestinian workers would be barred from entering Israeli communities and industrial zones in the West Bank and Jordan Valley from Sunday. All land crossings would also be closed on October 27, when Israelis vote in the general election.
The restrictions come amid an expanding Israeli military operation in Hebron, where troops displaced about 2,000 residents after moving into parts of the occupied city on Saturday.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the displaced residents would not be allowed to return until the military had dealt with what he described as Hamas-related issues in Hebron.
The army said its forces had operated in 40 locations across the West Bank on Friday and Saturday, arresting about 40 suspects, including individuals it said were affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Hamas praised Friday’s attack on the Israeli soldiers but did not claim responsibility.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank in coordination with Israel, called for international pressure to protect residents affected by the military operation.
The crackdown has drawn attention to the worsening security situation as Netanyahu seeks another term in office. His long-standing reputation for security has been challenged by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In Hebron’s Ein Deir Baha neighbourhood, residents described being forced from their homes at night, with little time to gather their belongings.
Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, a 70-year-old shopkeeper, said soldiers woke him at about 1am and ordered him to leave.
“I asked them how long the evacuation would last. They said: ‘Until further notice,’” he told AFP.
He said some residents struggled to leave, including his 90-year-old mother-in-law, who had to be carried out because of illness.
Another resident, Khaled Shawer al-Tamimi, 68, said he left with his son after soldiers issued evacuation orders over loudspeakers.
“The army was announcing through loudspeakers: ‘Leave the area.’ So we left,” he said.
He expressed surprise that the gunmen involved in Friday’s attack reportedly came from the neighbourhood, which he described as middle-class and law-abiding.
Meanwhile, Israel’s right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had ordered the immediate demolition of a row of structures he described as illegal following the shooting.
“Anyone who messes with us will quickly understand that he will pay a painful price,” Smotrich wrote on X.
Katz said the military operation would continue until Israel addressed the alleged Hamas presence in Hebron, while the army indicated that its activities would last several days.
However, al-Tamimi accused Netanyahu of exploiting the operation for electoral gain, saying the crackdown was taking place because the prime minister wanted to win the election at the expense of Palestinians.
“I have lived through all the stages of the occupation, and I will die here,” he said.
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