JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack in the occupied West Bank that also left two suspected gunmen dead Friday morning, the military said. The violence is likely to heighten political tensions and security concerns ahead of next week's parliamentary election.
Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, were killed and three others were lightly wounded during the attack near the Yehuda Junction outside the West Bank city of Hebron, the army said.
The army said its soldiers had prevented a “terror attack against Israeli civilians” and that the two suspects, both Palestinians from Hebron, used 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 toward civilians.
Netanyahu vows ‘house-by-house’ retaliation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later visited the attack site as his office instructed security forces to immediately cordon off Hebron and prepare for a full closure of the West Bank, starting Friday.
Israel will retaliate with a sweeping anti-terror operation in the Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen lived, Netanyahu said.
“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 are deciding Tuesday whether to grant Netanyahu yet another term in office — or usher in a new era of Israeli politics three years after Hamas-led attacks 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 later met with his Security Cabinet and top military and security officials, and blamed Hamas for Friday's attack.
“Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination,” he said. “I commend them for their actions and wish our wounded a speedy recovery.”
Smotrich urges removing Palestinian Authority control
Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for extremist views, said the attack shows Israel needs to restrict the Palestinians’ freedom of movement in the West Bank.
He and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right member of Netanyahu’s Cabinet, both called for Israel’s military to wrest control of the West Bank from the Palestinian Authority, though there was no evidence Friday to suggest the governing body had any ties to the gunmen.
“There is no alternative to a comprehensive military campaign in Judea and Samaria to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, collect the weapons, and eliminate the terrorists, exactly as we did in Gaza and Lebanon,” Smotrich wrote on social media.
Within hours, on orders from Smotrich, the Israeli military began demolishing Palestinian-owned buildings surrounding the site of the attack. He called it “establishing deterrence and exacting a price” in a video that appeared to show him at a demolition site, and claimed the buildings set to be torn down were built illegally. Critics say it is nearly impossible to obtain a construction permit from Israel.
Dozens are arrested in West Bank security operations
Following the shootout, soldiers and Israeli security and intelligence agencies conducted dozens of operations in the West Bank and said they apprehended dozens of people, including those affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups.
The military said it also 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 US congressional candidate
Closures of the West Bank are becoming more common. Friday was the fourth time in the past month that Israel 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 army’s response to the attack is 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 had been 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 must defend itself from a “hostile majority.”
“We are tired of the weapons and the brainwashing and incitement that is next door,” he said.
