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Amidst the ongoing tensions in West Asia, a bloody and deadly encounter has come to light in the occupied West Bank, just four days before voting in parliamentary elections in Israel. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a fierce gunfight between Palestinian attackers and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the early hours of Friday, while in retaliation, security forces killed two armed Palestinian attackers on the spot. Many other people have been seriously injured in this violent confrontation. The Israeli leadership has become furious after this major security breach that occurred just before the elections and the casualties among the soldiers. Following strict instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Army has launched a large-scale targeted counter-terrorism operation by surrounding the sensitive Hebron area of the West Bank. Along with imposing a complete ban on the movement of Palestinians in the entire West Bank, work has been started on a war footing to raze the infrastructure and suspicious houses linked to the attackers by running bulldozers on them.
According to official information and military statements, this deadly bloody clash took place near the highly strategic Yehuda Junction in the city of Hebron. On Friday morning, two heavily armed Palestinian fighters came very close to an Israeli military post in the West Bank and without any warning started firing indiscriminately at the soldiers stationed there. After this sudden, well-planned attack, there was a fierce gunfight between the two sides for about 20 minutes. Israeli soldiers took charge and retaliated and killed both the attackers, although two Israeli soldiers also lost their lives during this period. During a search of the encounter site, the IDF recovered an American-made M-16 assault rifle, a handgun and a large quantity of live ammunition from the slain attackers. Israeli army spokespersons have claimed that due to the timely retaliatory action, the plan of a major terrorist attack on civilians and military targets in the election environment has been completely foiled.
Immediately after the encounter, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Border Police and internal security agency Shin Bet began an intensive and aggressive siege operation in the Palestinian residential areas in and around the city of Hebron. According to an official IDF spokesperson, special forces have launched a targeted search operation to locate and destroy networks, secret weapons warehouses and suspicious hideouts linked to the attackers. Door-to-door searches are being conducted in the area and the suspects are being rigorously interrogated on the spot. Security forces have so far arrested dozens of local Palestinians for questioning and suspicion of terrorist links. Along with this, the Israeli government, adopting a strict punitive policy, has started demolishing with the help of heavy bulldozers the houses of the families of the killed Palestinians and suspected helpers involved in the attack, which has spread deep tension and anger in the entire area.
This attack, which took place just before the general elections for the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) to be held on Tuesday, has created panic in the political and security circles of the country. As soon as the incident was reported, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a high-level emergency review meeting in Tel Aviv with the security cabinet, the IDF chief, the defense minister and top officials of the intelligence wings. Giving a strong message after the meeting, Netanyahu said that the brave soldiers of Israel, showing promptness, have destroyed a major terrorist plan. He bluntly said that there is no safe haven left for Hamas and other extremist groups. The Prime Minister said in a warning tone that the conspiracies of Palestinian terrorist organizations to disrupt the democratic process by inciting violence at the sensitive time of national elections will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. He wished speedy recovery of those injured in the encounter, which clearly indicated that Israeli security personnel and civilians were among the injured.
Immediately after the incident, the entire West Bank, and especially the city of Hebron, was sealed off with concrete barricades and military checkpoints on orders from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. There has been a complete ban on the movement of the Palestinian population from one district to another and all major crossing points have been closed indefinitely. Armored vehicles are patrolling every nook and corner of this Palestinian-dominated area occupied by Israel and military surveillance drones are keeping a close watch on the situation from the sky. Political and human rights experts believe that the Israeli security apparatus is in no mood to give any relaxation in this entire area until the voting is over on Tuesday. On the other hand, due to this sudden implementation of the complete blockade and bulldozer action, the daily routine of thousands of local Palestinian citizens has come to a complete standstill, due to which there is a serious possibility of further outbreak of violent confrontation and public anger in the West Bank.