Israel's military has announced a full closure of all West Bank land crossings on Tuesday, the day of the country's legislative elections. The move follows a shooting in Hebron earlier this week that killed two Israeli soldiers, prompting a broad security crackdown in the occupied territory.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that a "ban on the entry and exit of Palestinian workers to and from all of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, including industrial zones, as well as the closure of all land crossings throughout election day" would be in effect. From Sunday through Monday, Palestinian workers were also barred from entering those areas, except for industrial zones and a few other approved locations.
Hebron under lockdown
In the aftermath of the shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to "cordon off the city" of Hebron and take "additional security measures." The IDF said it had launched a "targeted operation" around Hebron aimed at dismantling "terrorist infrastructure" and preventing future attacks.
As part of the operation, Israeli forces have demolished buildings in the area. The military confirmed that several structures were razed, claiming they posed a "security threat" and that all other demolished buildings were "built illegally" and removed "in accordance with international law."
However, the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported that more than 200 families have been displaced in Hebron over the past three days, with around 2,500 people forcibly removed from their homes in the al-Jilda and Ain Deir Baha areas. Israeli forces also detained 20 people across the wider Hebron Governorate on Sunday.
The IDF denied that civilians were forced to evacuate, saying that "civilians were permitted to temporarily leave the area through designated screening points." The military added that "no civilians were forced to evacuate."
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem condemned the "plans to forcibly displace Palestinian residents from their homes and carry out widespread destruction in the area." The group has long documented what it describes as systematic violations of Palestinian rights in the occupied territories.
The closure of crossings on election day is a familiar tactic in Israel, where security measures are often tightened during sensitive periods. But the scale of the Hebron operation has drawn international attention, with reports of hundreds of families displaced and growing concerns about the humanitarian impact.
The European Union has repeatedly called for restraint and respect for international law in the West Bank, and the bloc's foreign policy chief has urged Israel to halt settlement expansion and forced evictions. The situation in Hebron, a city with a significant Palestinian population and a small but vocal settler community, remains a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As Israelis head to the polls, the security crackdown in the West Bank is likely to feature prominently in the election campaign, with right-wing parties vowing to take a hard line against Palestinian militancy. The closure of crossings will affect thousands of Palestinian workers who rely on access to Israel for their livelihoods, adding to the economic strain in the occupied territories.
European observers and human rights organizations have called for an independent investigation into the Hebron events, but Israel has rejected such demands, insisting that its actions are necessary for security. The coming days will show whether the closure and the broader operation will be lifted after the elections, or whether they signal a longer-term shift in Israel's approach to the West Bank.
