United News of Bangladesh

The Israeli military conducted a large-scale operation in the occupied West Bank over the weekend, displacing hundreds of Palestinian families and imposing strict movement restrictions following a gun attack in Hebron that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others on Friday. The operation comes just days before Israel's closely contested election, widely viewed as a test of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership and security policies during three years of war. The Israeli military said most Palestinian workers holding permits would be barred from entering Israeli communities in the occupied West Bank for work on Sunday and Monday. Crossings into Israel will remain closed until after Tuesday's election. The military said its forces conducted operations at more than 400 locations over the weekend and arrested 40 Palestinians allegedly affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The crackdown displaced hundreds of families, forcing some to cross military checkpoints on foot after roads were closed to traffic. Residents passed sacks of flour and gas canisters through gaps in military gates, while an elderly man pushed his wife in a wheelchair through an opening. Another family attempted to reach medical appointments. Following Friday's attack, the military said weapons were found in the suspected attackers' vehicle and that they had likely planned to target Israeli civilians before being stopped at a checkpoint. Troops were conducting targeted searches in the area where the attackers operated, the military said, while urging residents of Deir Bahha, the suspected gunmen's neighbourhood, to evacuate. Hebron municipal officials said 200 to 300 families had fled Deir Bahha and four neighbouring areas overnight, with most relocating elsewhere in the city. Six Israelis have been killed in West Bank attacks this year amid escalating violence. During the same period, 112 Palestinians, including the suspected attackers, have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. The attack triggered widespread anger in Israel. Netanyahu and three members of his right-wing government visited the scene on Friday and vowed a strong response. “We warned a few weeks ago about attempts by our enemies to harm us, our citizens and our soldiers ahead of the election,” Netanyahu said. “We will act to destroy this place.” Netanyahu faces pressure to demonstrate a forceful response to Palestinian attacks and strengthen his standing among security-conscious Israeli voters. Around 3 million Palestinians and 540,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Middle East war. Hebron is among the territory's most volatile cities and the only place where Jewish settlers live in the heart of a densely populated Palestinian area under Israeli military protection.