Netanyahu Orders Hebron Demolition After Checkpoint Kills Two Soldiers

Residents of the Hebron neighborhood targeted by the Israeli military face immediate displacement as crews began demolishing Palestinian buildings on Thursday. The action follows a deadly shooting at a checkpoint outside the city that killed two soldiers and wounded three others. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared from the scene that forces would "demolish this place and completely transform it," signaling a shift in tactical operations in the occupied West Bank.

The sequence began when two Palestinian gunmen exited a vehicle armed with a handgun and an assault rifle. Video verified by the BBC shows them opening fire on soldiers at the checkpoint before being killed in return fire. Military officials stated they recovered a large quantity of ammunition from the attackers' car. The army believes the gunmen originally targeted Route 35 for a larger strike but diverted their attack after encountering the checkpoint.

Netanyahu stated that Israel is prepared for "extensive action" in the West Bank, drawing comparisons to previous operations in refugee camps where residential structures were destroyed. He confirmed that he had reviewed plans for what he described as the largest military operation in the territory in decades, though he did not specify a timeline. Cordons were imposed around Hebron, which has a population of approximately 200,000, and the nearby city of Halhul.

The incident has injected volatility into the ongoing election campaign, with Israeli voters heading to the polls in four days. Netanyahu’s Likud party canceled campaign events scheduled for Friday morning. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a West Bank campaign "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority. Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused opposition leaders of undermining the government by criticizing Netanyahu's prior warnings of an attack. Opposition figures, including Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, offered condolences to the soldiers' families.

The shooting occurs during a period of heightened tension in the West Bank, where extremist Jewish settlers have been targeting Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. According to the United Nations, at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the territory since the start of the year. Over the same period, four Israelis, including security personnel and civilians, were killed by Palestinians, a figure that excludes the two soldiers lost in Thursday's attack.