Israel wants to seal off the West Bank on election day

Parliamentary election on Tuesday Israel wants to seal off the West Bank on election day As of: October 25, 2026 • 9:51 a.m

Ahead of the parliamentary elections in Israel, the army is intensifying its crackdown in the West Bank. Accordingly, all crossings to the Palestinian territory should be closed, the military said.

Israel's army says it will impose a lockdown across the occupied West Bank during Tuesday's parliamentary election.

The army also announced that Palestinian workers would be denied access to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jordan Valley today and Monday. The exception is industrial zones and a “limited number” of approved areas.

The background is Israel's ongoing military operation in the West Bank after a deadly attack by armed Palestinians near the city of Hebron on Friday. According to the army, two soldiers were killed and three others were injured. The two suspected Palestinian perpetrators from Hebron were therefore killed.

After the deadly attack on Israeli soldiers, Israel continues to take action against Palestinians in Hebron. more

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, confirmed that around 2,000 Palestinians had been evicted from their homes in Hebron. “Selected army units are currently deployed there,” he told Israeli broadcaster Kan. The approximately 2,000 people affected will not be allowed to return to their neighborhoods "until we have solved all the problems with Hamas in Hebron."

The mayor of Hebron, Yussef al-Jabari, had previously told the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera that 2,200 people had been driven from their homes since the Israeli raids began on Friday. According to the Israeli army, its soldiers, together with the Israeli border police and intelligence services, carried out anti-terrorism operations in around 40 areas and 400 locations in the West Bank.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, announced a “very big surprise” for the Palestinian Authority. more

The emergency services arrested around 40 suspects, including members of the Islamist terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad, it said.

Against this background, Israel's political leadership approved the Defense Ministry's recommendation to impose a ban on Palestinian workers entering all settlements and industrial areas during Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday, it said. In addition, all land crossings between the West Bank and Israel are to be closed to Palestinians.

The outcome of the parliamentary election is completely open. Pollsters currently do not see a majority for any of the political blocs in the deeply divided country. The latest polls also point to an extremely close race between Netanyahu's Likud and the opposition.

This topic in the program: tagesschau24 | News | Oct 25, 2026 | 9:00 a.m