Security cordon in Hebron ahead of decisive elections

Israeli occupation authorities imposed a strict military closure and total security cordon on the city of Hebron and its surrounding towns in the southern West Bank, following a shooting carried out by two Palestinians near a military checkpoint that left six Israeli soldiers with varying injuries and the death of the two attackers at the hands of forces stationed at the site. Army units proceeded to search several residential neighborhoods, set up additional inspection checkpoints, and close main entrances with earth mounds and iron gates, completely paralyzing the movement of citizens.

These field measures coincide with a state of maximum political and security alert within Israel ahead of the start of the Knesset elections, where the security dossier and the escalation of operations in the West Bank dominate the electoral campaigns of the contending parties. These elections acquire exceptional sensitivity due to the narrow margin in the polls between the radical right-wing block and the opposition blocks, amid expectations regarding the role that the voting percentages of the Arab blocks will play in defining the shape of the future governing coalition and preventing the formation of a far-right government.