Netanyahu orders 'very extensive' West Bank operation after two Israeli soldiers killed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered the army to prepare a “very extensive” operation in the occupied West Bank. The order followed a gunfight at a temporary checkpoint near Hebron that left two Israeli soldiers and two armed Palestinians dead. It comes at a tense moment, with an Israeli election next week that will help decide whether Netanyahu stays on as prime minister.

The shooting

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the two assailants opened fire on soldiers at the checkpoint after failing to reach a nearby highway, where the army believes they intended to attack civilians. A preliminary military investigation found the gunfight lasted more than 20 minutes. Five Israelis were wounded, and two of them later died. An AFP photographer who witnessed the clash described two Palestinian men armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle.

Netanyahu's statements

After the attack, the prime minister held an emergency meeting of his security cabinet. He said Hamas was “planning a major attack” on civilians. His office said security forces were told to cordon off Hebron immediately and prepare a full closure of the West Bank.

During a visit to Hebron, Netanyahu said forces would enter the attackers' neighbourhood and displace its residents, applying a model previously used in refugee camps in the northern West Bank. The “Iron Wall” operation, launched in January 2025, forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people, according to the UN rights office. Netanyahu said the army would go from house to house, seize weapons and destroy what he called terrorist infrastructure.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who also holds a post in the defence ministry, called for a military campaign in the West Bank “exactly like in Gaza” to dismantle the Palestinian Authority.

Wider context

Friday's lockdown was the fourth time in the past month that Israel imposed restrictions across the territory. Human rights groups warn the government could use the attack to justify tougher measures against Palestinians and bolster its security credentials before the vote. Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, more than 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers.