Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that he had ordered security forces to close Hebron immediately and prepare for a full lockdown across the occupied Palestinian territory.
The order followed an Israeli military announcement that occupation forces had killed two Palestinian gunmen who allegedly attacked a reserve battalion near the illegal Israeli settlement of Telem.
The lockdown comes amid mounting tensions across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers and occupation forces have escalated attacks against Palestinians, including assaults on olive harvesters during the annual harvest season.
The violence has intensified ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections, as the Israeli regime continues to expand settlements and tighten its grip on Palestinian land.
Netanyahu said security forces had prevented a “major attack” and announced on social media that he had ordered the immediate closure of Hebron and preparations for a full lockdown across what Israel calls “Judea and Samaria,” its designation for the occupied West Bank.
According to Israeli sources, two Palestinians driving a car with an Israeli license plate opened fire on soldiers near one of the numerous military checkpoints surrounding Hebron.
Israel’s ambulance service reported that at least five Israeli soldiers were wounded, two of them critically.
Witnesses said the exchange of fire lasted approximately 20 minutes, complicating the evacuation of the wounded.
Images distributed by AFP appeared to show a man holding a handgun during the confrontation and later lying on the ground surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
Israeli forces subsequently reportedly arrested two Palestinians and imposed a lockdown on Hebron, while Netanyahu cancelled several election-related engagements.
Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir used the incident to demand that the Israeli regime establish full control over the occupied West Bank, where the government is promoting the expansion of illegal settlements.
“We have to act before it’s too late. The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarized, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement.
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) praised the attack on the checkpoint, describing it as a response to Israeli military operations, settler violence and Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
The Palestinian resistance groups also called for intensified confrontations with Israeli soldiers and settlers.
Israeli raids intensify across the occupied West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces continued raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank as settler violence and military operations placed further pressure on Palestinian communities.
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim described the deteriorating situation amid escalating attacks by settlers and Israeli security forces.
“This is coming at a time of great tension, not just before the Israeli elections, but there has been a ramp-up in attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank,” she said.
Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians during raids across the West Bank on Thursday, as attacks against Palestinian farmers and their land intensified during the olive harvest.
In Jenin governorate, occupation forces raided several towns and villages, arresting 10 Palestinians, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing information from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Israeli soldiers also raided Tuqu in the Hebron governorate, arresting former prisoner Shorok al-Badan and five other people from different parts of the governorate, according to Wafa.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that Israeli forces arrested 14 people in Khirbet Jawaya, a village in Masafer Yatta in Hebron governorate.
Wafa, citing a security source, reported that three additional Palestinians were arrested elsewhere in the governorate.
In Nablus and Al-Quds governorates, occupation forces arrested three more Palestinians during raids in Burin village, Awarta town and Qalandiya refugee camp.
Israeli settlers and occupation forces target olive harvest
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it documented 17 pogroms carried out by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their land on Thursday during the olive harvest.
The attacks were recorded across several West Bank governorates, including Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Jenin and Salfit.
According to the commission, the incidents involved assaults on farmers, restrictions preventing Palestinians from reaching their land, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, and the damaging and burning of olive trees.
The reported attacks also included arrests, threats at gunpoint and the use of live fire.
The commission said the pattern reflected an escalation in attacks targeting the olive harvest, undermining Palestinians’ ability to access and cultivate their land and sustain their livelihoods.
The assaults on Palestinian farmers have drawn international attention and condemnation.
On Wednesday, US Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was briefly detained by the Israeli military while volunteering to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.