Israel Launches 'Counter-Terror Operation' in West Bank After Hebron Attack
Israel's army says it has launched an "anti-terror operation" in the occupied West Bank after two soldiers were killed in an attack near Hebron on Friday. Deutsche Welle reported the operation on Saturday, October 24.
In a joint statement, the army and the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet said security forces were searching targets in the Hebron area and questioning suspects in order to "locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure". They also said troops were tearing down "illegal structures that could pose a security threat". The operation is expected to last several days.
What happened at the checkpoint
On Friday morning, two attackers opened fire on Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron with a pistol and an automatic rifle. According to the army, they killed two soldiers, aged 20 and 23, and wounded three more before being shot dead. The Palestinian militant Islamist organization Hamas hailed the attack as a "heroic operation" but did not claim responsibility.
Politics before the vote
After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect of a "complete closure" of the Palestinian territory. He also spoke of a military offensive of a kind not seen since the Six-Day War. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is on the far right, demanded an offensive in the West Bank "just like in the Gaza Strip".
Israel elects a new parliament on Tuesday, and Netanyahu is seeking another term. Security dominates the campaign.
Background
Israel has held the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. About three million Palestinians and more than 600,000 Israeli settlers live there; under international law the settlements are illegal. Hebron is divided into a Palestinian-administered part and a part controlled by the Israeli army, where Israeli settlers live. Settler attacks on Palestinian olive farmers have recently heightened tensions, while Palestinians in turn carry out repeated attacks on Israeli soldiers or civilians in the West Bank.
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