Israel razes Hebron homes after checkpoint shooting kills two soldiers
Demolition crews entered the city as Prime Minister Netanyahu announced cordons around 200,000 residents and prepared for a national vote in four days.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
Israeli military crews began tearing down Palestinian buildings in Hebron on Thursday. The operation followed a shooting at a checkpoint outside the city where two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others were wounded. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the troops before they were shot dead by returning fire. Footage of the incident shows the men exiting a vehicle armed with a handgun and an assault rifle.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene and declared the military would "demolish this place and completely transform it." He referred to the neighborhood the attackers reportedly came from. Netanyahu stated that Israel was ready for "extensive action" in the occupied West Bank. He compared the current plans to earlier operations in refugee camps where residential buildings were destroyed and thousands of people were displaced.
The prime minister said he had reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank in decades, though he did not give a timeline. He also announced that cordons were in place around Hebron, which has approximately 200,000 residents, and the nearby city of Halhul. The Israeli military said it recovered a large quantity of ammunition from the attackers' vehicle. Officials believe the gunmen intended to strike the nearby Route 35 but engaged the checkpoint first.
The attack has shifted the focus of the election campaign. Israel holds its national vote in four days. Netanyahu’s Likud party canceled campaign events scheduled for Friday morning. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a campaign in the West Bank "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon." National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged Israel to dismantle the Palestinian Authority.
Political tensions rose earlier in the week when Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused opposition leaders of undermining the government. He said they would be "responsible" for any future attacks. Opposition figures, including frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, sent condolences to the families of the dead soldiers. Israeli rights groups have historically criticized the demolition of homes suspected of harboring attackers as a form of collective punishment.
The shooting occurred during a period of high tension in the West Bank. Extremist Jewish settlers have targeted Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. According to the United Nations, at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the territory since the start of the year. Over the same period, four Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank. That total does not include the two soldiers killed in the latest checkpoint attack.
