Israel Launches Large-Scale Hebron Operation After Checkpoint Attack

Israeli forces began dismantling homes and displacing hundreds of residents in a Hebron neighborhood on Friday afternoon. This action followed an attack on a military checkpoint that left two soldiers dead and three others injured. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a new military operation in the West Bank, describing it as a scale not seen since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Netanyahu delivered a televised address from the site of the incident. He stated that Israel would demolish the area to change it completely. The Prime Minister compared the current plan to last year’s assault on two refugee camps in the northern West Bank. That previous operation displaced tens of thousands of people. Human Rights Watch labeled those expulsions as war crimes, a charge Israel rejects.

Military officials explained that two gunmen opened fire on soldiers positioned behind concrete barriers. A firefight continued for approximately 20 minutes until troops killed the attackers. Bulldozers started flattening structures near the shooting site immediately after the violence ended. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem asked foreign governments to intervene. The group warned against another wave of ethnic cleansing and war crimes.

The incident occurs during a period of increased violence and land seizures by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The United Nations Human Rights Office described the situation as a new level of dehumanization for Palestinians. Israel has imposed widespread closures in Hebron, the most populous city in the territory. Movement is further restricted by 925 checkpoints, roadblocks, and earth mounds across the region.

Political analysts link the scale of the response to the national elections scheduled for October 27. Polls indicate a tight race between Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot. Neither candidate currently holds enough support to form a government. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, noted that Netanyahu positions himself as the security leader. He said the Prime Minister will take harsh measures to demonstrate protection to the public.

Citrinowicz described the eviction of families without evidence linking them to the gunmen as collective punishment. Other analysts view the operation as a strategy to maintain power rather than a long-term security plan. Citrinowicz argued that authorities should arrest specific attackers while supporting peaceful residents with a stable economy. He stated that giving hope is the method to prevent future attacks, rather than punishing entire neighborhoods.