Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a major military operation in the occupied West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire near Hebron, leaving five people wounded, including soldiers.
The Israeli military said its forces killed both attackers at a junction near the city. Israeli paramedics said two of those injured were in a serious condition.
Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to cordon off Hebron, a city of more than 200,000 people, and said troops would enter the neighbourhood where the gunmen lived.
Residents there are to be evacuated before soldiers carry out house-to-house searches for weapons, according to the prime minister. “Our first step will be to demolish this site and completely transform it,” he said.
Netanyahu said the operation would target what he called the attackers’ “terror infrastructure”. “The IDF will enter the neighborhoods from which the terrorists emerged, evacuate the residents, go house-to-house, and dismantle the terror infrastructure,” he said.
He added: “We are prepared for an extensive operation in Judea and Samaria,” using Israel’s term for the West Bank.
The military said a large quantity of weapons and ammunition had been found in the attackers’ vehicle, and alleged that they had been preparing a major attack on civilians. It said the men used an M16 rifle and a handgun.
The escalation comes days before Israel’s elections on Tuesday, with national security a central theme of Netanyahu’s campaign for another term. He said the shooting was intended to influence the vote, referring to a warning he made several weeks ago that Israel’s enemies were preparing attacks to affect the election.
