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.