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Israel to close occupied West Bank crossings over election
Israel says it will close all land crossings with the occupied West Bank on the day of its general election this coming week.
The Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday that it would bar Palestinian workers from entering most areas of the West Bank from Sunday through Monday and enforce a full closure of crossings into and out of the territory on Tuesday, the day of the vote.
The announcement comes a day after the Israeli army imposed a lockdown in Hebron and forced thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
It has conducted hundreds of raids since Friday’s attack in the city by two Palestinian gunmen on an Israeli army reserve base, which killed two Israeli soldiers. The two Palestinians were also killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “full lockdown” of the West Bank after the attack while Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed “about 2,000” people had been forcibly displaced.
“They will not be allowed to return to their neighbourhood until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron,” Katz said in an interview with the public broadcaster Kan.
Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari told Al Jazeera that the city and several neighbouring villages were under a complete blockade.
He also said on Saturday that 2,200 people had been forced from their homes by Israeli soldiers and raids.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of Hebron and the West Bank, has called for international pressure on Israel to protect Hebron’s residents, who said soldiers announced forced evacuation orders over loudspeakers late at night, leaving them with no time to prepare and few places to go.
The PA called Israel’s actions “collective punishment”, citing the demolition of homes, forced displacement of entire neighbourhoods, and the “closure and siege of Palestinian cities”.
About 200,000 Palestinians live in the city of Hebron and a further 600,000 in Hebron governorate, making it the West Bank’s most populous area.
The Israeli military has said the operation will last several days.
But Netanyahu suggested bigger action was coming, saying he was planning an operation on a scale not seen since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, is facing a tight race in Tuesday’s elections, and analysts said he is trying to capitalise on ongoing regional military conflicts and national security fears to anchor his re-election campaign, reports AL Jazeera.