Israel West Bank news on Friday centred on an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lock down the occupied West Bank after a shootout near Hebron. Two Palestinians allegedly wounded five people in the attack before Israeli forces killed them, according to the military and emergency services. Netanyahu issued the order days before a national vote on Tuesday, in which he faces a tight race for a new term.
What the order requires
Netanyahu said he had told the army and security forces to impose an immediate cordon on the city of Hebron and to prepare a full lockdown of all of Judea and Samaria, the biblical name he uses for the occupied West Bank, starting that day. He said troops were carrying out stepped-up operations against militant activity and conducting large-scale waves of arrests. In a statement, he praised the courage of soldiers who, he said, prevented what could have been a major attack.
The shooting took place in the early morning at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint, near Hebron. A photographer working nearby saw two men, allegedly armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle, exchange fire with Israeli forces before both were shot dead beside a petrol station. The Israeli military said its soldiers rushed to the nearby Judea Junction area and killed the two men, whom it described as terrorists.
Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical rescue service, said five Israelis were wounded, two of them in critical condition. Netanyahu said the attackers were carrying a large quantity of ammunition. That remains his claim, and it has not been confirmed independently.
Reactions and what comes next
Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack, but it praised the operation as a heroic one and called for more. Netanyahu also cancelled all Likud party political meetings planned for Friday because of the attack. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a fresh military offensive in the West Bank, exactly like in Gaza, and said the only option was a comprehensive campaign to dismantle the Palestinian Authority.
How long the lockdown will last and how it will be enforced are not yet clear. For readers following Israel West Bank news, the next marker is the vote on Tuesday, in which Netanyahu is seeking a new term.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Israel ke Prime Minister Netanyahu ne Friday ko West Bank mein lockdown ka hukm diya, Hebron ke paas ek hamle ke baad jismein paanch Israeli zakhmi hue. Hamle mein shamil dono Palestinian Israeli forces ki firing mein maare gaye, aur unpar hamla karne ka ilzam hai. Netanyahu ka kehna hai ke yeh qadam bade hamle ko roknay ke liye uthaya gaya, aur Tuesday ke election se pehle Israel mein siyasi tanaav barh gaya hai. Pakistan ke aam logon par iska seedha asar abhi saaf nahi hai, lekin Middle East ki har taza khabar par nazar rakhna mufeed hai.
