Israel launches major operation in West Bank after soldiers killed

Israel’s military launched an operation in the occupied West Bank on Friday it said would last several days and include searches and building demolitions, after gunmen killed two soldiers days ahead of Israeli elections featuring security as a key focus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a tight race to keep his job in Tuesday’s vote, having campaigned on promises to keep Israelis safe, and he and his right-wing allies visited the scene of the attack to pledge an even harder line on West Bank militancy.

Security forces were searching targets and questioning suspects to “locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure” in the Hebron area from which they said the attackers had emerged, according to a joint statement from the Israeli military and Shin Bet domestic security agency.

Forces were also “demolishing illegal structures that could pose a security threat at the site of the encounter”, they said, adding that “counterterrorism operations” were under way at dozens of locations.