TEL AVIV – The Israeli military pressed ahead with a sweeping operation in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, forcing hundreds of Palestinians from their homes and sharply limiting movement after a shooting in Hebron killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three others on Friday.
The escalation comes just days before Israel’s closely watched election, which is widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and his security policies during three years of war.
Israel’s military said most Palestinian workers holding permits would be barred from entering Israeli settlements in the West Bank on Sunday and Monday. Crossings into Israel will also remain closed until after Tuesday’s election.
The military said its forces operated at more than 400 sites over the weekend and detained 40 Palestinians it alleged were linked to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Officials said the operation would continue at the same intensity on Sunday.
Hebron operation displaces thousands of Palestinians
Hebron’s municipality reported that more than 2,200 people had been displaced, including nearly 300 children younger than 18.
Israeli troops were searching the area where the shooting suspects allegedly operated and ordered residents to leave Deir Bahha, the neighborhood identified as their home. Following Friday’s attack, the military said it discovered weapons inside the suspects’ vehicle and believed they had been preparing to target Israeli civilians before being stopped at a checkpoint.
According to Hebron Mayor Yousef Zuhair Al-Jabari, all roads into and out of the city remained closed. The military operation was concentrated in Deir Bahha and Al-Jalda, another section of Hebron.
“People cannot reach or enter the city, and they cannot leave it. The blockade has affected every aspect of life,” Al-Jabari said. He said the restrictions had forced businesses to shut and closed a mosque.
Shadi al-Qawasmi, a Hebron resident displaced with his family, said the military initially told residents the area would be sealed for 12 days. “Now they’re saying 12 days, but maybe they’ll leave the area after two or three days,” he said. “This may be because of the elections or some political matter no one knows except God Almighty.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Parents Fear America’s Rising ‘No Contact’ Trend With Their Kids
With roads closed to vehicles, some families left Hebron on foot through military crossings. At several gates, residents handed sacks of flour and gas canisters through narrow openings. An elderly man pushed his wife in a wheelchair through one such passage, while another family tried to get through for medical appointments.
Netanyahu pledges forceful response before election
Municipal officials in Hebron said the crackdown had emptied nearly 500 apartments in Deir Bahha and nearby neighborhoods.
The West Bank has seen a sharp increase in violence. Six Israelis have been killed in attacks there this year, while 112 Palestinians, including the suspected gunmen, have died, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, based in Ramallah.
The shooting prompted anger across Israel. Netanyahu and three members of his right-wing coalition addressed the public from the attack site Friday afternoon, promising a severe response. “We warned a few weeks ago about attempts by our enemies to harm us, our citizens and our soldiers ahead of the election,” Netanyahu said. “We will act to destroy this place.”
With security a central concern for Israeli voters, Netanyahu faces pressure to project strength and demonstrate that his government can respond decisively to Palestinian attacks.
About 3 million Palestinians and 540,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 Mideast war. Hebron remains one of the territory’s most volatile cities and is the only place where Jewish settlers live in the center of a densely populated Palestinian community under Israeli military protection.
___
Associated Press writer Sam Metz contributed from Hebron, West Bank.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.