Netanyahu orders West Bank closure after deadly checkpoint shoot-out
Two Palestinian gunmen killed and five Israelis wounded near Hebron as prime minister freezes campaign events ahead of tight national vote
Suspected Palestinian militants wounded five Israelis on Friday before two gunmen were killed in a prolonged shoot-out, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of the West Bank days before Israeli elections.
Netanyahu, facing a tight race for a new term in Tuesday’s election, said that Israeli troops prevented what could have been a major attack, with the assailants allegedly carrying a large quantity of ammunition in their vehicle.
An Agence France-Presse journalist who witnessed the firefight saw two Palestinian men in casual attire and armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle exchanging fire with Israeli forces at a checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Hebron.
The journalist reported that Israeli forces eventually shot and killed the attackers, their two lifeless bodies on the ground next to a petrol station as Israeli troops patrolled all around.
