West Bank Response: Netanyahu Orders Major Operation After Hebron Attack

Israel has occupied the West Bank for nearly 60 years, a period defined by shifting control and frequent military operations. On Friday, the Israeli military began dismantling structures in a Hebron neighborhood following a deadly shootout at a nearby checkpoint.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others wounded when two gunmen opened fire at a post guarded by troops behind concrete barriers. The firefight lasted approximately 20 minutes until soldiers neutralized the attackers. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a military operation in the West Bank "on a scale not seen since the Six Day War." Speaking from the attack site, he stated, "We will act to demolish this place, to change it completely."

Bulldozers started flattening homes near the shooting site on Friday afternoon. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem urged foreign governments to intervene to prevent "another wave of ethnic cleansing and war crimes." Netanyahu compared the planned operation to last year's assault on two Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank, an action that displaced tens of thousands of people. Human Rights Watch labeled those expulsions war crimes, a charge Israel rejects.

The episode occurs amid a surge in violence and land seizures by Israeli settlers. The United Nations Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian territory described the current situation as a "new level of dehumanization of Palestinians." Israel has imposed widespread closures in Hebron, the most populous city in the occupied West Bank, making movement difficult. The territory is crisscrossed by roughly 925 checkpoints, roadblocks, earth mounds, and other barriers.

Analysts link the scale of the response to the national elections scheduled for October 27. Polls show Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, running neck and neck, with neither currently holding enough support to form a government. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, noted that "For Netanyahu, his ticket before the election is, 'I'm Mr. Security.'" He argued that the Prime Minister will take harsh measures to demonstrate he is the protector of Israel.

Citrinowicz described the eviction of families from the attackers' neighborhood, without evidence linking them to the gunmen, as "collective punishment." He said, "The way to prevent [more attacks by Palestinians] is not collective punishment. It's by giving hope." Other analysts share this view, characterizing the operation as an effort to stay in power rather than a long-term security plan.