Five Israelis wounded, two suspected Palestinian attackers killed in West Bank shooting

Five Israelis were wounded in a shooting near Hebron in the southern West Bank, and Israeli troops killed two suspected Palestinian attackers. The attack came four days before Israel’s general election, adding a security crisis to the closing stages of the campaign amid already heightened tensions.

First responders said two of the wounded were seriously injured and three had light-to-moderate injuries, according to The Times of Israel. The Israeli military said soldiers returned fire at Judea Junction on Route 35 and killed two Palestinian gunmen. The initial reports did not identify the wounded.

A preliminary military account described the shooting as beginning near a temporary checkpoint at an exit from Hebron. According to The Times of Israel’s reporting on that account, the two men arrived by car, left the vehicle armed with a rifle and a pistol, and fired toward soldiers while using nearby buildings for cover.

The military believes the men had originally intended to reach Route 35 and attack Israeli civilians, but instead opened fire at the checkpoint. That assessment remains preliminary, rather than an independently established account of their intentions. The reported exchange of fire lasted more than 20 minutes before troops killed both men.

The political repercussions were immediate. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled morning campaign activities after receiving information about the shooting, according to reporting citing his Likud party. With the election approaching, the incident put the government’s security response under scrutiny, although the available reports offered no basis for assessing whether it would affect voting intentions.

The BBC’s initial account placed the shooting against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the West Bank. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, and violence there has intensified since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war. That broader context does not establish a specific motive or organisational connection in this case.

Important questions remained unresolved in the initial reporting, including whether the suspected attackers had outside assistance. The military’s account of their intended target should be distinguished from what was directly reported at the scene: a shooting, five wounded Israelis and two Palestinian suspects killed. No claim of responsibility was established in the accounts reviewed.

The next stage is an investigation into the attackers’ preparations and possible connections. According to The Times of Israel, the military and Shin Bet security service were examining whether the men acted independently or received funding and direction from a wider network. Those findings, alongside updates on the wounded, will be central to establishing a fuller account as Israel approaches election day.