Israel to seal off West Bank on election day as military operation continues

Israel's military said it will impose a lockdown on the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the day of the country's parliamentary election, as it continues a wide-ranging operation launched after a deadly attack near Hebron last week.

The army said Palestinian laborers would already be barred from entering Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley on Sunday and Monday, with exceptions only for industrial zones and a "limited number" of approved areas. All land crossings between the West Bank and Israel for Palestinians are to be closed on election day itself, after Israel's political leadership approved a recommendation from the defense ministry to bar Palestinian workers from entering settlements and industrial areas while voting takes place.

The measures follow an attack on Friday near the city of Hebron in which armed Palestinians killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others, according to the military. The army said the two suspected attackers, both from Hebron, were killed.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that roughly 2,000 Palestinians had been displaced from their homes in Hebron as part of the response. "Selected army units are currently operating there," Katz told Israeli broadcaster Kan. He said those affected would not be allowed to return to their neighborhoods "until we have resolved all the problems with Hamas in Hebron."

Hebron's mayor, Yussef al-Jabari, had earlier told the Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera that 2,200 people had been forced from their homes since Israeli raids began on Friday. The figures given by Katz and al-Jabari differ slightly but both point to a large-scale displacement in the city.

The Palestinian Authority called on the international community to intervene, describing the displacement of residents, the demolition of houses and buildings, and the sealing off of towns as collective punishment. It warned that the escalation would bring neither security nor peace to anyone and would instead fuel further tension.

According to the Israeli military, soldiers working alongside the border police and intelligence services carried out counter-terrorism operations in about 40 areas and at 400 locations across the West Bank. Forces detained around 40 suspects, including members of the Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the army said.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with other territories, during the 1967 Six-Day War and has occupied the West Bank since. Roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers now live there alongside about three million Palestinians. Conditions in the territory have deteriorated sharply since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Violence by radical Israeli settlers against Palestinians has also risen significantly over the same period, according to accounts from the region. The conflict with the Palestinians has become a central issue in the campaign ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary election. Right-wing politicians have promised tough action against Palestinian violence, while rarely addressing settler violence in their campaigns.

Separately, Israel has seen mass demonstrations against the right-wing government in recent days, adding to the tense atmosphere ahead of the vote. The protests come as the military operation in the West Bank continues alongside preparations for the election, with security forces bracing for a heightened presence across the territory through polling day.

The scale of Tuesday's lockdown, covering all West Bank crossings into Israel for Palestinians, marks one of the more extensive access restrictions imposed around an Israeli election in recent years. Officials have not indicated when the broader restrictions on Palestinian workers entering settlements might be lifted once voting concludes.