Israel will close all land crossings with the West Bank on election day, Tuesday, October 27, as part of a sweeping crackdown that followed a deadly checkpoint attack near Hebron. The army also said that, from Sunday, October 25, Palestinian workers would not be permitted to enter Israeli communities in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley for work, including industrial zones.
The announcement turns a security operation into an election-week story. Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday in a tight race, and the government has pledged a harder line after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers on Friday, October 23.
What happened
On Sunday, Israel said all land crossings with the West Bank would be closed throughout election day. The army said a ban on the entry and exit of Palestinian workers would apply across the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, including industrial zones.
The closure decision came a day after Israeli forces pushed into Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city, and forced around 2,000 Palestinians from their homes in one neighbourhood. Defence Minister Israel Katz said those residents would not be allowed to return until the army had finished dealing with what he called the Hamas issues in Hebron.
Hamas did not claim responsibility for Friday’s checkpoint killings, but it praised them. Two Israeli soldiers were shot dead and three more were wounded at a checkpoint near Hebron.
The Hebron operation
The operation centred on the Hebron neighbourhood of Ein Deir Baha. Residents described being woken in the middle of the night and told to leave, with soldiers announcing evacuations over loudspeakers. Some buildings were left marked with X’s, and streets stood deserted except for military vehicles.
Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, a 70-year-old shopkeeper who plays a leadership role in the neighbourhood, said he was woken at 1:00 a.m. and given only a short time to pack. He said the evacuation order gave no end date. His wife’s 90-year-old mother, who is ill, had to be carried out of the area.
Tamimi said he believed the operation was driven by the election, arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to win votes at the expense of Palestinians. His brother, Khaled Shawer al-Tamimi, 68, said he left after the loudspeaker order, and described the neighbourhood as middle-class and law-abiding, saying residents had never seen or heard a gunshot there.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a role in the defence ministry overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank, said he had personally ordered the immediate demolition of a row of structures after Friday’s shooting. On social media, he warned that anyone who attacked Israel would pay a painful price.
The army said that over Friday and Saturday it operated in about 40 areas across the West Bank and detained approximately 40 suspects, including people it linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It said the Hebron operation would last several days, while Netanyahu suggested bigger action was still to come.
Why the election matters here
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is fighting a tight race for a new term. His security-first reputation was badly damaged by the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, and the election has become, in part, a verdict on that failure.
Netanyahu has vowed to exact a heavy price for Friday’s killings and has said he is planning an operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967. In an interview released on Saturday, he also threatened what he called a very big surprise for the Palestinian Authority, the body that governs parts of the West Bank.
Critics see the timing differently. Hebron’s mayor, Youssef al-Jaabari, said the operation was being driven by the elections and was aimed at securing votes from the far right and from settlers. The Palestinian Authority called for international pressure to protect residents affected by the operation.
Protests in Tel Aviv
On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv for a large anti-government demonstration, three days before the vote. The rally was organised by the October Council, a group founded by families of victims and hostages taken on October 7, 2023, to demand accountability for the failure to prevent that attack and to press for a state commission of inquiry.
Leaders of the four main opposition parties attended, including Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief of staff who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu. The rally underlined how the election is being fought on two fronts at once: security in the West Bank, and accountability at home.
Why it matters
The crossing closure and the worker ban will hit ordinary life on both sides of the divide. Palestinian workers who depend on jobs in Israeli communities and industrial zones face days without work and without movement, while the election-day closure signals that security measures will dominate the final days of the campaign.
The measures also raise a familiar question that rights groups have pressed for years: whether sweeping restrictions imposed after an attack punish whole communities rather than only those responsible. Israeli forces regularly demolish homes of Palestinians suspected of attacks, a practice rights groups describe as collective punishment.
For voters, the sequence of events — an attack, a crackdown, a closure — is now inseparable from the ballot. Whether it strengthens Netanyahu’s security pitch or deepens anger at his government will become clear only when the votes are counted on Tuesday.
Timeline
- Friday, October 23: Gunmen kill two Israeli soldiers and wound three more at a checkpoint near Hebron; Hamas praises the attack without claiming it.
- Friday night into Saturday: Israeli forces move into Hebron, evacuate residents of Ein Deir Baha, and operate in about 40 areas across the West Bank.
- Saturday, October 24: Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against the government, organised by the October Council, with opposition leaders in attendance.
- Sunday, October 25: Israel announces the worker entry ban and says all West Bank land crossings will close on election day.
- Tuesday, October 27: Israel holds its general election, with all West Bank land crossings closed for the day.
What happens next
The immediate question is how long the Hebron operation lasts and whether residents are allowed home after the election. The army has said only that it will last several days, and Katz has tied any return to the completion of the operation.
The second question is what the closure looks like in practice on Tuesday — which crossings are affected, for how long, and whether any exceptions are made for medical or humanitarian cases. None of those details had been spelled out in the announcements reported on Sunday.
The third question is political. Netanyahu has promised further action, and his opponents have promised accountability. Tuesday’s result will show which argument voters found more convincing.
FAQs
When will the West Bank crossings close?
All land crossings with the West Bank will be closed throughout election day, Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Why did Israel announce the closure?
The government said it was responding to Friday’s checkpoint attack near Hebron, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and three more were wounded.
How many people were displaced in Hebron?
Around 2,000 residents were forced from their homes in the Ein Deir Baha neighbourhood, according to the defence minister’s account of the operation.
Can Palestinian workers still travel for work?
From Sunday, October 25, Palestinian workers are not permitted to enter Israeli communities in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley for work, including industrial zones, under the army’s announcement.
What is the Tel Aviv protest about?
Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand accountability for the failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack, and to call for a state commission of inquiry, days before the election.
Who is leading the opposition challenge?
Former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot is among the opposition leaders contesting the election, and he attended Saturday’s Tel Aviv rally.
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