Photo via hindustantimes.com
Israel displaces 250 families in Hebron after soldier shooting
Netanyahu vows West Bank operation at scale unseen since 1967, days before elections, following killing of two Israeli soldiers.
What happened
Israeli forces pushed into the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on October 24 and displaced approximately 250 families from their homes, some in the middle of the night, following a Friday shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint near Hebron, killing Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, wounding three others, before being shot dead by Israeli forces.
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered what he said would be the most intense military operation in the West Bank since Israel's 1967 occupation, calling for a full lockdown of the territory and house-to-house searches in neighborhoods where the attackers lived. The military said it would conduct "precise, targeted and thorough searches" focused on areas the gunmen were believed to be from, lasting several days. Netanyahu indicated larger action would follow, saying soldiers would go "house to house" and that "infrastructure for settlement" would be built.
Palestinian officials disputed the scale of the operation, with Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin estimating 150 families affected while the mayor and local activists put the figure at 250. Dudin called it "collective punishment" of civilians uninvolved in the attack. Some residents reported being given as little as five minutes to evacuate. Israeli bulldozers demolished at least one building, and the military marked evacuated homes in the Ein Dir Baha neighborhood with X symbols.
The incident occurred days before a tightly contested Israeli election in which Netanyahu's handling of security is a central issue. The operation drew international concern, with Palestinian officials warning it could trigger a crisis.
Chanakya's Move
Netanyahu's move is electoral strategy layered over tactical response. The timing—days before elections centered on his security record—turns a military operation into a campaign tool. By announcing an operation "unseen since 1967" rather than a proportional response, he signals strength to right-wing voters and hardline settlers who dominate Likud's base, while also demonstrating willingness to expand settlements (explicitly mentioned). The scale of announced action (full West Bank lockdown, house-to-house searches, settlement building) far exceeds what military sources say is operationally necessary, suggesting political calculation. The risk: escalation beyond the initial operation could draw international condemnation and destabilize the region, especially if the lockdown expands to other cities as Netanyahu suggested. A challenger like Eisenkot could frame this as reckless timing before elections rather than measured security response.