Israel to close West Bank crossings on election day as military operation continues

Israel is introducing a series of restrictions ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary elections. The decision to impose a lockdown comes after a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank on Friday that left two Israeli soldiers dead. The closure of all border crossings will prevent Palestinian workers from entering settlements. The Israeli military has also begun demolishing homes and businesses in the territory. The CBC's Crystal Gomansing is in Jerusalem following the latest for this. Crystal, what more can you tell us about the Israeli occupation in the Occupied West Bank and the number of people who have now been displaced? Well, Marianne, specifically looking at the Occupied West Bank city of Hebron and areas around it, we just got some new numbers from the Support and Relief Committee for Hebron Governance. And it is now saying that just over 2,600 individuals have been displaced with the current military operation that was launched as of Friday evening. That was following those two Palestinian gunmen ambushing a checkpoint near the city of Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed. Now of those individuals who are now self-reporting saying that they are being displaced, 407 of those households are included in that 2600 of those households 168 are reporting that they have no place to go that they are essentially homeless now that they have been told to leave their properties around that major city in the occupied west bank and where i am right now in jerusalem right over my shoulder directly back that is the occupied west bank sort of way off in the distance is the city of ramallah that is where an individual i spoke with last night Mustafa Barghouti he is the leader of the palestinian national initiative he told me that what's happening right now in hebron in that area is something that everyone across the occupied west bank is paying attention to They are fearful that this sort of military operation will be expanded beyond that one particular city and that they will see widespread displacements. Barghouti says what is happening right now in Hebron and area, he describes it as collective punishment. Let's hear a little bit more about what he had to say directly. Some families find shelter in the houses of their relatives, but that can be only for a few days, you know, not for long. And some others are maybe will be sheltered in some municipality buildings. But these facilities don't have what people need for a dignified life. What they do in Hebron is nothing but a war crime, conducting collective punishment against hundreds of thousands of people. Now we have not seen hundreds of thousands displaced at this point. As I mentioned, the latest numbers, just over 2,600 individuals. The allegation of collective punishment, something that is considered a war crime under international law, is a very serious allegation. I put that directly to Israel Defense Forces International Communications Unit. We did receive a statement. I want to share that statement with you it says this is not collective punishment this is counter-terrorism activity aimed at thwarting terrorism in the area and preventing recurring threats to our forces saying that some of the illegal structures around that checkpoint where the ambush occurred Friday morning and those two soldiers were hit and killed that those buildings were used as a part of the attack and they say any other buildings that are being demolished are being demolished because they say they are illegal builds so it is a complicated situation it is a situation that continues to evolve IDF is also saying there have been no forced evictions that people are being told where activity is happening and they are very much saying that this is in response to the attack on Israeli soldiers the mayor of Hebron says that all of this relates back to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's desire to bolster his support in Tuesday's election and that this is a way to really get more support from far-right settler voters. And let's talk more about the election on Tuesday. They are potentially pivotal elections. They are the first since the October 7th attacks. But when we look at Benjamin Netanyahu specifically, who served as prime minister for the past four years, he's facing a lot of opposition. What more do we know about that pushback? Yeah, so this is an election that is being called the most consequential in Israel's history. It will be the first election since the October 7th massacres. Last night in Tel Aviv, thousands of people rallied at what used to be called Hostages Square. They are demanding accountability, calling for change, saying Israel needs to change course. Bibi is corrupted, the ministers are corrupted, we are living under corruption. And this massacre on the 7th of October is because of the government, so we need change. And they are attacking the Supreme Court. They are trying to make Israel, instead of democracy, dictatorship. Now, when it comes to this election and the vote on Tuesday, the polls have Benjamin Netanyahu and his bloc very close in terms of what the numbers are suggesting for the anti-Netanyahu bloc. However, the people at that rally made a point last night to say that Netanyahu has been in power for so long here in Israel, and it is an important fact to understand. Of the last 30 years, Netanyahu has been prime minister for 19 of those. The CBC's Crystal Gamansingh in Jerusalem. Thanks, Crystal.