All land crossings in Judea and Samaria will close on Tuesday as Israelis vote in the Knesset elections. On that day, Palestinian Arab workers may not enter or leave any part of Judea and Samaria or the Jordan Valley, and the ban covers industrial zones. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued the announcement overnight Saturday, Arutz Sheva reported.
A narrower restriction applies before the vote. On Sunday and Monday, Palestinian Arab workers are barred from entering Israeli communities in both areas for work. Industrial zones and a limited number of other approved areas are exempt.
The two-day restriction followed a situational assessment. The security establishment recommended the election-day ban and the crossing closures, and the political echelon approved them.
Before the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, more than 100,000 Palestinian workers had permits to enter Israel. Only a small fraction of those permits have been restored since.
The closures build on measures IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered last Monday to raise the military's readiness for the vote. IDF personnel have had their leave suspended since Thursday, and additional troops have deployed to Judea and Samaria and other areas. Zamir stated that the IDF's mission is to ensure Israel's democratic elections proceed on schedule and in a secure environment. He added that the military remains at its highest level of alert on all fronts.
The security push intensified after Friday's shooting attack at Yehuda Junction near Hebron, which killed two soldiers. i24NEWS reported that the military named them as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, of Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, of Hod Hasharon. The two were members of the Ari Battalion in the Home Front Command's Search and Rescue Brigade. Zamir said the large amount of ammunition found in the terrorists' vehicle showed they had intended a larger attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that he had instructed security forces to immediately cordon off Hebron and prepare for a full closure of Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu said troops would evacuate the neighborhood the attackers came from, carry out house-to-house searches, seize weapons and destroy terror infrastructure, following what he called the "successful, aggressive model" used in refugee camps. "We will consider extending this model to other cities as well," he said.
