JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he has instructed security forces to prepare for a "full lockdown" of the occupied West Bank, which he said would take effect later in the day following a shooting attack that injured five Israelis.
In a statement issued after a security assessment with senior military and intelligence officials, Netanyahu said he has also ordered the immediate cordoning off of the Palestinian city of Hebron.
The announcement came after Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, close to Hebron, after they allegedly opened fire, wounding five Israelis, including two critically, Israel's rescue service Magen David Adom and the military said.
The Israeli military said the two Palestinians arrived by car at a junction near Kiryat Arba and opened fire before fleeing the scene.
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The two were later killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops, the military said, adding that the area has been cordoned off as searches continued for possible suspects.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Netanyahu said Israeli forces are conducting extensive arrest operations across the West Bank.
The shooting occurred amid escalating violence in the West Bank, where Israeli military raids and settler attacks killed and injured Palestinians and forced residents from local communities to leave their homes.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces and settlers killed five Palestinians and injured more than 240 others in the West Bank in October, and since the beginning of 2026, 2,060 settler attacks have resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage.
