--- title: "Israel Seals West Bank Crossings as Israelis Vote and Hebron Stays Locked Down" description: "Hebron officials say more than 2,200 people have been displaced since Friday’s attack, but the army says no civilians were forced out." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-27T06:28:13Z modified: 2026-10-27T10:24:28Z url: https://rews.cc/a/israel-seals-hebron-and-shuts-west-bank-crossings-for-tuesda-8f7b85 language: en tags: ["israel", "elections", "west-bank", "hebron", "gaza", "mideast"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Israel Seals West Bank Crossings as Israelis Vote and Hebron Stays Locked Down *Hebron officials say more than 2,200 people have been displaced since Friday’s attack, but the army says no civilians were forced out.* By rews desk · October 27, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/israel-seals-hebron-and-shuts-west-bank-crossings-for-tuesda-8f7b85 ## In brief - Israel closed all land crossings with the West Bank and barred Palestinian workers on election day, Tuesday - Hebron officials say more than 2,200 people have been displaced, Wafa says about 2,500, and the army says no one was forced out - The lockdown followed a Friday attack on a checkpoint that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three - Bezalel Smotrich said he ordered demolitions in Farsh al-Hawa, and the army reported 40 arrests - Six Israelis and 112 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year Israel closed every land crossing with the occupied West Bank and barred Palestinian workers from entering or leaving the territory on Tuesday as Israelis voted in a general election, with Hebron sealed for a fifth day after an attack that killed two soldiers. The election-day order, which the army announced on Sunday, goes further than the rules of the two days before it. On Sunday and Monday, Palestinian workers were kept out of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, “with the exception of industrial zones and a few other approved areas,” [Euronews reported](https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/25/israel-orders-west-bank-crossings-to-close-on-election-day-following-hebron-shooting). On Tuesday the ban covers the industrial zones as well, along with “the closure of all land crossings throughout election day,” the military said. Al Jazeera [first reported the plan](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/25/israel-to-close-occupied-west-bank-crossings-as-hebron-lockdown-continues) on Sunday morning, and [Haaretz described it](https://www.haaretz.com/west-bank/2026-10-25/ty-article/.premium/idf-announces-general-west-bank-closure-on-israels-election-day/000001a1-6fe4-d9e6-a5b1-6feda7180000) as a general closure of the territory. Hebron has been under a separate lockdown since Friday. More than 2,200 people, including nearly 200 children under 18, have been displaced there, the city’s municipality said, according to [CBS News and The Associated Press](https://cbsnews.com/news/israel-military-operation-west-bank-elections/). Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, gave a higher count: about 2,500 people removed from their homes in Al-Jalda and Deir Bahha, the two neighborhoods at the center of the operation. The army denied it. “No civilians were forced to evacuate,” it said, adding that residents could leave temporarily through “designated screening points.” Yousef Zuhair Al-Jabari, the mayor of Hebron, said every entrance and exit to the city had stayed shut since the attack. “People cannot reach or enter the city, and they cannot leave it. The blockade has affected every aspect of life,” he said. The attack came on Friday, when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint at the city’s northern entrance, in the Farsh al-Hawa area, killing two soldiers and wounding three. Both gunmen were killed. That afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three members of his government spoke from the site. “We warned a few weeks ago about attempts by our enemies to harm us, our citizens and our soldiers ahead of the election,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will act to destroy this place.” He ordered Hebron isolated and said troops would go house to house in the gunmen’s neighborhood, [Al Jazeera reported](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/palestine-weekly-west-bank-under-siege-as-israelis-go-to-the-polls) in its weekly roundup, which gave a longer version of his pledge: “We will act to destroy this place, to change it completely.” In Farsh al-Hawa, Israeli forces have since torn down a three-story building and several industrial sites. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, who also holds the West Bank portfolio in the Defense Ministry, said he had ordered the demolitions, [Nour Odeh reported for Al Jazeera](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/26/palestinians-are-opening-their-doors-to-the-displaced-of-besieged-hebron). The army said the buildings it destroyed posed a “security threat.” The military said it worked in more than 400 places over the weekend and arrested 40 Palestinians it said belonged to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Wafa said 20 more people were detained across the Hebron governorate on Sunday alone. Earlier rews coverage described how [troops took over homes in the city as barracks](https://rews.cc/a/israel-turns-hebron-homes-into-barracks-as-displacement-tops-d2fea7). The vote is widely treated as a referendum on Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership and security record over three years of war. He has President Trump’s endorsement and is in a [close race](https://rews.cc/a/israel-s-tied-election-is-fought-by-bots-and-gaza-waits-outs-ae540b), and a show of force in Hebron plays to Israelis worried about security. Six Israelis have been killed in West Bank attacks this year. Over the same period, 112 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. About 3 million Palestinians and 540,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 war. Hebron is the only place in the territory where Jewish settlers live inside a dense Palestinian city, guarded by the army. The army said crossings into Israel would stay closed until the voting was over. ## Sources - [Israeli military to seal West Bank crossings ahead of elections](https://cbsnews.com/news/israel-military-operation-west-bank-elections/) — cbsnews.com - [Israel to close West Bank crossings and lock down Hebron for election](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/25/israel-to-close-occupied-west-bank-crossings-as-hebron-lockdown-continues) — aljazeera.com - [Palestine weekly: West Bank under siege as Israelis go to the polls](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/27/palestine-weekly-west-bank-under-siege-as-israelis-go-to-the-polls) — aljazeera.com - [Palestinians in Hebron open their doors to the displaced](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/26/palestinians-are-opening-their-doors-to-the-displaced-of-besieged-hebron) — aljazeera.com