Israel to close all West Bank land crossings on election day after two soldiers killed

Mixed · 2The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday 25 October that all land crossings between Israel and the West Bank will be closed on election day, Tuesday 27 October. 1 2 Mixed · 2The army also announced a ban on the entry and exit of Palestinian workers throughout the West Bank, including industrial zones, and said Palestinians would not be permitted to enter Israeli communities there for work. 3 2 Centre · 1The BBC reported that most workers would be barred from settlements from Sunday, with exceptions for industrial zones and a limited number of other areas, and noted that only a small fraction of the more than 100,000 Palestinian workers permitted before 7 October 2023 have had permits restored. 3

Mixed · 2The measures follow an attack on Friday 23 October at a checkpoint near Hebron in which Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three; the IDF said the two attackers were also killed. 1 2 Mixed · 2Hamas hailed the attack but did not claim responsibility. 1 2 Right · 1Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to exact a heavy price and said an operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967 was planned; the military said the current operation would last several days. 2

Centre · 2Israeli forces pushed into Hebron and displaced residents: Defence Minister Israel Katz put the number at about 2,000, while Hebron's mayor told Al Jazeera some 2,200 people had been forced from their homes, a figure DW said Katz confirmed. 3 1 Centre · 1Katz said the displaced would not be allowed to return until Israel had finished dealing with all the "Hamas issues in Hebron". 1 Centre · 1The BBC reported that the military has been demolishing homes and businesses in Hebron, with at least one street appearing flattened in footage shared online, and that Israeli rights groups have criticised such demolitions as collective punishment. 3

Mixed · 2Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a Defence Ministry role overseeing West Bank civilian affairs, said he ordered the immediate demolition of a row of "illegal structures" after the shooting. 1 2 Mixed · 2The army said it operated in 40 areas of the West Bank over 23–24 October and detained about 40 suspects it linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 2 1 Mixed · 2Residents quoted by AFP described being woken at night and told to leave 'until further notice'; shopkeeper Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, 70, said Netanyahu wants to win the election on "the blood of the Palestinian people". 2 1

Centre · 1Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari told the BBC the operation was "driven by the elections", with Netanyahu and his ministers trying to secure far-right and settler votes. 3 Right · 1The Palestinian Authority called for international pressure on Israel to protect affected residents. 2 Mixed · 2The election is a tight race for Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, whose security-first reputation was damaged by the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023; the BBC says former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is neck and neck with him, and thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding a state commission of inquiry. 2 3