DOMINANT ANGLE
Israel first notes the foiled attack and the price paid by its soldiers, and justifies by it the lockdown of Hebron and the West Bank just a few days before the election.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Two soldiers from the Ari battalion, Ron Yonatan Roytman (23 years old) and Yuval Shai Svilem (20 years old), were killed at the Judea junction, three others lightly injured.
- 02
Netanyahu ordered the closure of Hebron and the blocking of all movement in the West Bank, and cancelled the Likud events scheduled for Friday.
- 03
Ben Gvir called for the Palestinian Authority to be "dismantled, disarmed" and its terrorist infrastructure "completely eradicated".
ANALYSIS
Jérusalem, October 23, 2026. Friday morning, two armed men with an M4 rifle and a pistol, in a car, opened fire on four soldiers at the Judea intersection, near Hebron. Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, a squad commander, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon, from the Ari battalion (775), were killed; three other soldiers were lightly injured, according to the army cited by the Jerusalem Post. Haaretz mentions at least five injured Israelis, including two seriously.
The Jerusalem Post reiterates the army's account: the attackers wanted to continue towards the heavily trafficked route 35 for a larger attack, before realizing they would not get through. General Avi Bluth, head of the Central Command, praised the "bravery" of the soldiers and announced a "significant anti-terrorist operation" with the closure of areas in Hebron. Benyamin Netanyahu asserts that without the soldiers, a major attack would have probably targeted civilians; he ordered the closure of Hebron and the blocking of movement in the West Bank, promised to track down "Hamas terrorists and those who sent them," and had Likud events scheduled for Friday morning cancelled.
The political class is speaking in unison. President Isaac Herzog prayed for the injured, some of whom are in a very serious condition, and congratulated the soldiers. Itamar Ben Gvir, who came to the scene, demands that the Palestinian Authority be "dismantled, disarmed" and its terrorist infrastructure "completely eradicated": "We must not wait for a October 7th in Judea and Samaria."
Haaretz puts the attack into the context of the election: Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had suspended leave from Thursday to ensure safe elections, and the troops of the West Bank Command were already reinforced due to fear of election-related violence. The newspaper specifies that the army killed, after a brief chase, two Palestinians suspected of being the perpetrators, and closed off several villages.
The articles from the Israeli pool do not mention European condemnation of the closure or the situation of Palestinian inhabitants: attention remains on the victims, the military response, and the fear of a West Bank front comparable to October 7th.
