Declaring that the security forces had prevented a \u201cmajor attack\u201d, Netanyahu announced on social media that he had ordered security forces to immediately close Hebron and \u201cprepare for a full lockdown across all of Judea and Samaria [the Israeli term for the West Bank] starting today\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/afp_6adb0310c7f7-1792738064.jpg\")
One of two Palestinian gunmen runs during an exchange of fire with Israeli forces at the northern checkpoint of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on October 23, 2026 [AFP]<\/p>\n
Israeli sources said earlier that two Palestinians driving a car with an Israeli licence plate began shooting towards soldiers near one of the many military checkpoints surrounding Hebron.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s ambulance service reported at least five Israeli soldiers were injured in addition to the two who died.<\/p>\n
Witnesses in the area said the shooting lasted for 20 minutes, which complicated the process of evacuating the injured.<\/p>\n
Images shared by the AFP news agency appeared to show a man holding a handgun during the fight and later lying on the ground surrounded by Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, the military raided several areas across the occupied West Bank and detained two Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces locked down Hebron while Netanyahu cancelled election-related events ahead of next week\u2019s poll.<\/p>\n
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the gun battle by calling for Israel to take full control of the West Bank, in which the Israeli government is encouraging the construction of numerous settlements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to act before it\u2019s too late. The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarised, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely,\u201d Ben-Gvir said in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n
Ben-Gvir also said the attack would be enough reason to have Israel restrict Palestinians\u2019 freedom of movement in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) praised the attack on the checkpoint, calling it a response to Israeli military operations, settler violence and Israel\u2019s genocidal war in Gaza, and encouraged intensified confrontations with Israeli soldiers and settlers.<\/p>\n
Israeli raids<\/p>\n
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera\u2019s Nida Ibrahim noted the precarious situation in the territory as settlers and Israeli security forces maintain pressure on the Palestinian population.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is coming at a time of great tension, not just before the Israeli elections, but there has been a ramp-up in attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians during raids across the West Bank on Thursday as attacks on Palestinian farmers and their land during the olive harvest ramp up.<\/p>\n
In Jenin governorate, Israeli forces raided towns and villages, arresting 10 Palestinians, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing data from the Palestinian Prisoner\u2019s Society.<\/p>\n
The town of Tuqu in the Hebron governorate was also raided by soldiers who arrested former prisoner Shorok al-Badan along with five other people from other parts of Hebron, according to Wafa.<\/p>\n
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israeli forces also arrested 14 people in Khirbet Jawaya, a village in Masafer Yatta in Hebron governorate, while Wafa reported three other Palestinians were arrested across the governorate, quoting a security source.<\/p>\n
In Nablus and Jerusalem governorates, three more Palestinians were arrested during Israeli raids in the village of Burin, the town of Awarta and the Qalandiya refugee camp.<\/p>\n
Attack pattern<\/p>\n
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it documented 17 pogroms by Israeli forces and settlers on Thursday against Palestinian farmers and their land during the olive harvest.<\/p>\n
The incidents were recorded across West Bank governorates, including Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Jenin and Salfit.<\/p>\n
According to the commission, the attacks included assaulting farmers, preventing them from reaching their land, stealing crops and farm equipment, and damaging and burning olive trees as well as arrests, threats at gunpoint and live fire.<\/p>\n
The commission said the pattern represents an escalation in attacks targeting the olive harvest and undermines Palestinians\u2019 ability to access and cultivate their land and maintain their livelihoods.<\/p>\n