JERUSALEM — Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in the occupied West Bank on Friday morning that also left two suspected gunmen dead, the military said, violence that is likely to heighten political tensions and security concerns ahead of Israel’s parliamentary election next week.
The army said two soldiers, Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, were killed and three others were lightly wounded during an attack by Palestinian gunmen. The attack took place near the Yehuda Junction outside the West Bank city of Hebron.
The army said it had prevented a “terror attack against Israeli civilians” and that the two suspects, both Palestinians from Hebron, were armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun.
It said the men arrived at an Israeli military position in the morning, triggering an exchange of fire lasting approximately 20 minutes, after which the gunmen were killed by Israeli troops. The army said its forces prevented the men from advancing further where the attack could have resulted in civilian casualties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said it had instructed security forces to immediately cordon off Hebron and prepare for a full closure of the West Bank, starting Friday.
During a visit to the site of the attack on Friday, the prime minister said Israel would retaliate with a sweeping anti-terror operation in the Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen had resided.
“We will evacuate the residents, we will go house by house, we will also remove the weapons there, and all the terror infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli voters will decide next Tuesday whether to grant Netanyahu yet another term in office — or usher in a new era of Israeli politics. The election comes three years after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Israel’s government has warned of potential attacks by the country’s “enemies” in the lead-up to the election.
Netanyahu holds an emergency meeting
Netanyahu later met with his Security Cabinet and officials from top military and security agencies in an emergency meeting, blaming Hamas for Friday’s attack.
“Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination,” he said, without elaborating on what the planned attack entailed.
“I commend them for their actions and wish our wounded a speedy recovery,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for extremist views, said that the attack shows that Israel needs to restrict the Palestinians’ freedom of movement in the West Bank.
“The lives of the residents of Judea and Samaria, of the settlers, the lives of the soldiers, the lives of the police officers, the lives of our fighters are a million times more important than freedom of movement,” he said, using an Israeli reference to the West Bank.
Dozens are arrested in West Bank security operations
Following the shooting on Friday, the army said soldiers and Israeli security and intelligence agencies conducted dozens of operations in the West Bank and apprehended dozens of people, including those affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups.
It also said it had located weapons, including M16 rifles and submachine guns.
Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, said a “large quantity of ammunition was found” in a vehicle used by the gunmen.
“This ammunition was intended to be used in a larger-scale attack,” he added.
Palestinian life is ‘impossible,’ says U.S. congressional candidate
Closures of the West Bank are becoming more common. It was the fourth time in the past month that Israel had imposed restrictions across the territory, shutting gates and checkpoints connecting Palestinian villages to major roads.
Roads in the territory remain open to Israeli drivers, including settlers, who can still travel through the area but may face delays.
U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, who was in the West Bank on Friday, said the Israeli army’s closure following the attack was an example of Israel enforcing an apartheid system on Palestinians.
“It’s part of the effort to take more control, to make Palestinian life impossible,” Lander, who was detained by Israeli forces on Wednesday, said in an interview.
Yishai Fleisher, an international spokesperson for Hebron’s Jewish community and a political candidate for the far-right Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, party, said Israel had the right to defend itself from a “hostile majority.”
“We are tired of the weapons and the brainwashing and incitement that is next door,” he said.
Mor and Mednick write for the Associated Press.
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