Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday, October 23, a sweeping military operation in the West Bank after a shooting near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed. The army shot dead two Palestinian attackers.
The attack took place on Friday morning at a junction near Hebron. According to AP, the army said it had foiled a „terrorist attack aimed at Israeli civilians”, and the attackers had an M16 rifle and a pistol. The military did not say what the target of the attack was.
Casualties and injuries
According to CBS News, the army confirmed the deaths of two soldiers: Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. The Israeli outlet Times of Israel reports that they were 23 and 20 years old. The commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, said in a recording from the scene that the military had „paid a high price”.
Reports on the wounded differ between sources. AP and NPR write of at least five injured, some seriously. CBS, citing the military, mentions three lightly wounded soldiers, while the BBC reports five injured Israelis. The identities of the Palestinians killed have not been officially released.
Netanyahu’s decisions
After an emergency meeting of the security cabinet, the prime minister’s office ordered services to immediately surround Hebron and prepare a full closure of the West Bank. According to the Guardian, Netanyahu told the army to prepare a „very large” operation. CBS reports that the prime minister also ordered the evacuation of residents from the neighbourhood where the attackers lived, before searching homes for weapons. He announced its demolition: „The first step will be to destroy this place and completely transform it”.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas, claiming the group had planned a „serious attack”, and suggested it might be trying to influence the outcome of the elections. According to AP, he did not present evidence for this. Hamas, as Times of Israel reports, called the attack a „heroic operation” but did not claim responsibility. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the attack proved the need to restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement.
Political background
Israelis vote on Tuesday, October 27. According to CBS, Netanyahu has made security the central theme of the campaign. Times of Israel writes about a recent poll in which Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot are neck and neck. Tensions in the West Bank are rising, and violence in Hebron had also occurred earlier, as we reported after the death of a Palestinian infant in Hebron.
What it means for readers in Poland
Poles in Israel and the West Bank should expect closed roads and checkpoints, especially in the Hebron area, and should follow announcements from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of publication, no information has been given about injured Polish citizens.
