Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised the prospect of a large-scale military operation in the West Bank that he himself has described as unprecedented since the 1967 Six-Day War, a threat issued just four days before Israel’s legislative elections and one that has reignited fears of a major escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The trigger was a more than twenty-minute clash at the Fround Hawa checkpoint west of Hebron, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and several others wounded. Both Palestinian attackers were killed at the scene. In response, Israeli forces imposed tight closures on the towns of Hebron and Halhul, alongside warnings of broader operations to come.
Netanyahu said his forces would enter the neighborhoods the attackers came from, evacuate residents, search homes for weapons, and demolish what he termed « terrorist infrastructure. » Regional analysts note the announcement appears to serve two purposes at once: genuine preparation for a significant military campaign, and an electoral calculation aimed at stemming the loss of right-wing votes just days before Israelis go to the polls.
Behind the rhetoric lies what several Israeli ministers have called the « decisive plan, » reportedly discussed by Netanyahu alongside Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The plan is said to aim at foreclosing any prospect of Palestinian statehood, entrenching Israeli control, and disarming Palestinian society. Smotrich has openly called for a comprehensive military operation across the West Bank to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and confiscate weapons, while Ben Gvir has demanded the Authority’s outright dissolution, branding Palestinian institutions a « terror state. »
Experts on Israeli affairs point to the precedent of the 2002 « Defensive Shield » operation and the repeated incursions into the Jenin refugee camp, during which more than 60,000 Palestinians were displaced. They warn that a similar pattern of systematic demolitions and mass evacuations could now be extended to Hebron and Halhul, raising the risk of settler attacks carried out with tacit government backing.
Netanyahu has also described settlers as a « forward line of defense, » touting the construction of more than one hundred new settlements and outposts under his tenure and vowing to continue building. His campaign message, summarized by some observers as « either the right or Palestine, » underscores how central the West Bank has become to Israel’s electoral contest.
No official international reaction had been recorded at the time of this report.
