Netanyahu orders Al-Khalil lockdown after deadly shooting

Shafaq News- Al-Khalil

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced a military operation in Al-Khalil (Hebron) and nearby Halhul, including plans to evacuate residents and search homes, after a shooting attack killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded four others in the southern occupied West Bank.

Visiting Al-Khalil, Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli forces had surrounded both areas and were considering extending the operation to additional locations. “The army will enter the neighborhoods from which the attackers came and evacuate residents,” he said, outlining plans to search properties and seize weapons, similar to previous operations in refugee camps across the northern West Bank.

Israeli media also reported that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz had agreed to impose a full closure on Al-Khalil and a wider security cordon across the West Bank until Israel’s parliamentary elections on October 27.

Shooting Attack And Investigation

The measures followed a shooting at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Friday, when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli troops at a temporary checkpoint near Judea Junction, also known as Beit Anun Junction.

According to an initial Israeli military investigation, the attackers exited their vehicle and fired at soldiers from the Home Front Command’s 775th Ari Search and Rescue Battalion, triggering a gun battle lasting more than 20 minutes. Reinforcements subsequently arrived and killed both gunmen, with troops recovering a large quantity of ammunition from their vehicle.

Investigators suspect the pair had intended to reach Route 35, used by Israeli motorists and settlers, to launch a larger attack but encountered the checkpoint before reaching their presumed target.

The Israeli military acknowledged receiving no specific intelligence warning beforehand. The Shin Bet security agency and military intelligence are examining whether the gunmen acted independently, belonged to a local cell, or had ties to a larger organization.

Palestinian media identified the attackers as Ahmed Bassam Al-Jaaba and Hamouda Al-Jaaba, reporting that Ahmed had spent more than two years in Israeli detention since the start of the Gaza war.

Israeli forces later raided the homes of the gunmen’s relatives and arrested several family members. Palestinian outlets also documented troops firing tear gas and stun grenades toward residents in Al-Khalil’s Wadi Al-Saman neighborhood.

Palestinian Factions React

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine welcomed the shooting, portraying it as “a response to Israeli military operations, settlement expansion, and arrests across the West Bank.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, praised the attack, while Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades urged further armed confrontations with Israeli forces and settlers.

None of the statements established that the groups had organized or directed the shooting.

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