Israeli military forces have raided at least 15 towns and cities across the northern occupied West Bank, detaining dozens of Palestinians. The sweeping operations unfold hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a complete lockdown of the territory following a shooting attack in Hebron that left two Israeli soldiers dead.
The military actions targeted multiple northern locations, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, and Qalqilya. In Nablus, troops carried out arrests and searched homes in the villages of Jalud and Qaryut. Additional arrests were reported in Arrabeh and Burqin near Jenin, while forces entered Tubas and the nearby town of Aqqaba.
In the southern West Bank, Israeli bulldozers demolished a three-story building in Hebron after giving affected families a five-minute window to collect their belongings. Authorities also ordered hundreds of Palestinian families to forcibly evacuate their homes in the Ein Deir Bahha area of Hebron and its surrounding neighborhoods. Troops surrounded the home of one of the suspects in the Hebron shooting and conducted raids in the city’s al-Jalda neighborhood.
The Israeli army announced late Friday that its forces initiated an operation in Hebron expected to last for several days, alongside concurrent operations by other units across dozens of areas throughout the West Bank. Further east, military units entered Jericho and the nearby Aqabat Jabr refugee camp.
The lockdown involves the closure of nearly 1,000 checkpoints and gates across the West Bank, impacting millions of residents. Prime Minister Netanyahu issued the order on Friday shortly after the military reported killing two Palestinian gunmen who had attacked a reserve battalion near the Israeli settlement of Telem, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers. Israel’s ambulance service reported that at least three additional soldiers were injured in the incident. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
The attack and subsequent clampdown occurred amid heightened regional tensions, marked by frequent clashes involving Israeli settlers and soldiers. Attacks on olive harvesters have surged as aggression increases ahead of upcoming Israeli elections scheduled for Tuesday.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the soldiers’ deaths by calling for full Israeli control of the West Bank, where the government has continued encouraging settlement construction. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, argued that incitement from far-right ministers is worsening the crisis. He stated that the sweeping closure effectively turns every city and village into a small prison, with checkpoints and gates obstructing healthcare, the economy, and education, and warned that collective punishment would lead to further unrest.
