Two Soldiers Dead, Israeli Minister Films Bulldozer Tearing Down West Bank Home

Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men on Friday after a 20-minute gunfight at a temporary checkpoint outside Hebron, according to the military. Two soldiers died and three others were wounded in the exchange.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by announcing a siege on Hebron and the neighboring town of Halhul. He said residents of the neighborhoods the gunmen came from would be forced out and that home demolitions would follow on a large scale.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video of himself standing before a bulldozer knocking down a Palestinian home near the site. He said the structure had been built without permits and that the demolition would "create deterrence and exact a price." No connection was claimed between the building's owners and the attackers.

Israel's high court issued a temporary order halting demolitions shortly after the work began. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition for two nearby factory owners, arguing the destruction violated international law on collective punishment as well as Israeli administrative law. "What we saw today was an attempt to copy the illegal practices used in Gaza, in the heart of the West Bank," Dahleh said. Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard called the video a "direct admission" that the demolitions amounted to collective punishment.

Defence Minister Israel Katz promised further mass demolitions and forced displacement, drawing a comparison with the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have left their homes. "Every clan neighborhood in Hebron from which the terrorists emerged today will be evacuated of its residents," Katz said. Hebron holds about 250,000 residents and is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank. Netanyahu said plans exist for the largest military operation in the territory since 1967, adding that no date had been set but that it was "on the way".

An AFP photographer witnessed the checkpoint exchange, seeing two Palestinian men firing a handgun and an automatic rifle at Israeli forces. Prominent Israelis, including a candidate for the far-right Amcha Yisrael party, circulated conspiracy theories linking the photographer to the attackers. The Foreign Press Association called such claims "dangerous and defamatory." The episode followed a week in which settlers severely injured photographer Heidi Levine while she documented attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives.

Violence in the West Bank has climbed since 7 October 2023, with more than 1,100 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers, and attacks have intensified since the olive harvest began in late September. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir traveled to Hebron on Friday and called for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled and for tighter limits on Palestinian movement. Polls indicate the governing far-right coalition, which backs settlers, could lose its majority in Tuesday's election.