Netanyahu orders West Bank lockdown after attack wounds five Israelis

Checkpoint Attack

An AFP journalist witnessed the prolonged gun battle at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Hebron, where two men armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle exchanged fire with Israeli forces. The military stated that soldiers rushed to the scene and "eliminated two terrorists" after the early-morning assault, which left two of the five wounded victims in critical condition.

Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical service, confirmed that all five wounded were Israelis in their 20s, including one man in "very serious condition" suffering from gunshot wounds. Netanyahu said the assailants carried substantial quantities of ammunition in their vehicle and that troops acted with determination to prevent what could have been a larger attack.

Lockdown Orders

Netanyahu announced the immediate measures ahead of Tuesday's tightly contested vote, suspending all political meetings for his Likud party. "I have instructed the IDF and security forces to impose an immediate cordon on the city of Hebron and to prepare for a full lockdown of all of Judea and Samaria starting today," he said, using the biblical term for the occupied West Bank.

Far-right ministers seized on the incident to demand harsh retaliatory measures. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a comprehensive military campaign similar to Gaza to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and collect weapons, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declared that "the Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarised, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely."

Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief running against Netanyahu, praised the military response while extending condolences to the victims. "Like all Israelis, I pray for the complete and quick recovery of the injured," he said, adding that he saluted the courage of the soldiers involved in the operation.

Hamas Reaction and Death Toll

Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group that carried out the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, praised the Friday operation as a "natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes and brutal attacks against our people," though the group stopped short of claiming direct responsibility. The movement called on supporters to mobilize and escalate attacks against Israeli forces.

Netanyahu responded with a vow to "pursue Hamas terrorists" everywhere, warning that "you have no place to hide." The incident underscores rising tensions in the West Bank, where Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to Palestinian health ministry data cited by AFP.

Israeli figures indicate that at least 49 Israelis have died in Palestinian attacks or during military operations in the territory during the same period. The lockdown comes amid heightened friction over attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters in the occupied territory.