Netanyahu has ordered a complete closure of the West Bank and imposed a siege on Hebron. The area that Israel has occupied in violation of international law since 1967 will thus be sealed off even more. The move comes a few days before Israel's parliamentary elections.

Four days before Israel's parliamentary election, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a complete lockdown of the West Bank. The Israeli president, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with an arrest warrant, said on

“Our forces are operating with reinforced counterterrorism units and are carrying out extensive waves of arrests,” he continues. In the early hours of the morning, a shootout reportedly broke out at the northern entrance to Hebron, killing two Palestinians and wounding six Israeli soldiers.

The encirclement has been in place since the morning of October 23rd. The city of Hebron and other towns in the region have already been cordoned off with road closures. "This barrier is new, it was built about three years ago, and it is in a very busy area. The last time I was in the country, I was stuck for about four and a half hours just standing there and waiting," Walid Zaytoun, whose family is from Hebron, told Perspective.

Palestinian autonomous areas are distributed in various clusters across the West Bank. However, it is not possible for Palestinians to move freely there. There are separate highways for them that are many times longer than the routes for settlers. The newly planned E1 area with more than 1,000 new housing units would divide the West Bank for Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank militarily since 1967. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also declared the occupation to be contrary to international law in a report in 2024. At the same time, settlement construction, which is illegal under international law, continues to advance. More than half a million Israeli settlers now live there, accompanied by increasing settler violence against the Palestinian population. This year, over 1,600 settler attacks have already been recorded, which is 6.7 attacks per day.

"In general, the situation in the West Bank is very bad - every day there are new incidents, raids and escalations by the settlers. It is only natural that there are reactions from the people who live there. The pressure on the people is much greater than we can imagine. The situation has become unbearable," emphasizes Walid.

connection with parliamentary elections

“And that dog Netanyahu needs an excuse to postpone his elections,” he explains. Because the Knesst election is coming up in Israel on Tuesday. According to previous predictions, it will be a neck-and-neck race between incumbent President Netanyahu (Likud Party) and ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot (Jashar Party).

Netanyahu, the longest-serving president, continues to fight to stay in office. A simple majority in the meeting room will be difficult for both parties, which is why it depends on their coalition partners. But here too it is difficult to tell from the surveys how things could turn out on Tuesday. For some possible coalition partners, it is not clear whether they will get above the 3.25 percent threshold.

The Central Election Committee excluded the Arab parties from the election in September. The decision was revised by an order of the Supreme Court. In forecasts they are between 13 and 16percentof seats predicted. Both leading candidates have stated that they will not form a coalition with them.

Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, hopes to remain in office. Dealing with the Palestinians is an important issue in the election campaign. In the case of Israel, there is also the additional peculiarity that the Zionist state ideology is widespread in almost all sections of the population. Decisions and actions to maintain apartheid within Israel and Palestine receive high levels of popular support. For this reason, too, the government under Netanyahu was able to consolidate itself again despite the government crisis by starting hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu's popularity was already low before October 2023. With his attempt to push through a judicial reform that would allow the Israeli government to withdraw from control bodies, he sparked protests among the population. Parliament should be able to pass laws even if the Supreme Court rejects them. The October 7th attack allowed the government to focus on the expulsion and extermination of Palestinians. Parts of the judicial reform were implemented.

Palestinians continue to suffer

In September of this year, an Israeli daily published sources reporting that Netanyahu knew about the Hamas-led attack on October 7th. After failed negotiations with Hamas, several heads of government, including United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, warned the Israeli prime minister about the attack. He is said to have kept this information to himself.

After the research was published, Netanyahu denied the allegations and blocked an investigation into the events. The reports still made waves among the Israeli population, less than two months before the elections. Whether there are connections between the lockdown on Friday and the parliamentary election on Tuesday can only be speculated. It is to be expected that there will be a blockade and siege of the West Bank. Palestinians are suffering even more from the already unbearable conditions.

The postEscalation before the election: Netanyahu completely seals off the West Bankappeared firstperspective.