Israel to close all West Bank land crossings on election day

The Israeli military said on Sunday that all land crossings between Israel and the West Bank will be closed during Tuesday's parliamentary election.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that, from Sunday, Palestinians would "not be permitted to enter Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley for work" — using terms used by many in Israel to refer to the occupied territories in the West Bank.

The army added that it would enforce "a ban on the entry and exit of Palestinian workers … as well as the closure of all land crossings throughout Election Day" on October 27.

The announcement came amid an ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank following a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen near the city of Hebron on Friday.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others injured in the attack, according to the IDF, which said the two suspected attackers were also killed.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas hailed the attack but did not claim credit for carrying it out.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to exact a heavy price for the attack which came just days before the poll in which he is facing a tough battle to secure a new term.

The Israeli army said it had been operating in 40 areas throughout the West Bank on Friday and Saturday, with locals reporting that soldiers had announced evacuations over loudspeakers late at night.

Israeli forces said they had "apprehended approximately 40 suspects, including terrorists affiliated with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations."

The mayor of Hebron, Yousef al-Jabari, told broadcaster Al Jazeera that some 2,200 people had been forced from their homes since Israeli raids began on Friday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that figure, telling Israeli broadcaster Kan that "selected army units are currently operating there" and that Palestinians "will not be allowed to return … until we've finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron."

Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a Defense Ministry position overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank, said he personally ordered "the immediate demolition of a row of illegal structures" in the territory following Friday's shooting.

"Anyone who messes with us will quickly understand that he will pay a painful price," he wrote on social media.

In the Hebron neighborhood of Ein Deir Baha, vacated buildings were marked by X's and the streets were deserted, except for a handful of Israeli military vehicles, reported the AFP news agency, which added that Israeli flags had been draped on a house apparently taken over by troops.

Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, 70, a shopkeeper with a senior role in the neighborhood, told AFP he was awakened at 1 a.m. by soldiers who said he had to leave and gave him only a short time to pack.

He added that, for other residents, leaving the neighborhood was much more difficult. "My wife's mother, who is 90 years old and lives in the area, had to be carried out because she is ill," he said.

In Al-Tamimi's opinion, the West Bank operation is taking place because Netanyahu wants to win the election with "the blood of the Palestinian people."

Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister but his security-first reputation was shattered by the deadly attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed. The attack sparked an Israeli invasion of Gaza which has left over 73,000 Palestinians dead, many of them civilians.

Following Friday's attack, Netanyahu vowed the response so far would be followed by an operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967.