Israel's West Bank Operation Has Displaced More Than 2,600 as Election Nears
The Associated Press reports that the Israeli military pressed ahead Sunday with a large operation in the occupied West Bank, displacing hundreds of Palestinians and placing major restrictions on movement after a gun attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three.
The operation focused on Hebron, the site of Friday's attack, and came in the final days before an election widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership and security policies.
The Hebron municipality said the operation displaced more than 2,600 people. No militant group has taken responsibility for the attack.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The election context cuts both ways: Netanyahu is under pressure to demonstrate a strong show of force on security, but the operation has displaced more than 2,600 people, according to the Hebron municipality.
That does not make it merely a campaign move. The army says it operated in more than 400 locations over the weekend and arrested 40 Palestinians it claims were affiliated with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
The wider toll is part of the story: six Israelis have been killed this year in West Bank attacks, and the Palestinian Health Ministry says 112 Palestinians have been killed over the same period, including the suspected gunmen.