Netanyahu orders Hebron cordon, prepares West Bank closure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate security cordon around Hebron and told security forces to prepare for a broader West Bank closure after two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting near the city on October 23. He also said a large-scale military operation was being considered, but gave no date for it. The Israel Defense Forces said its troops killed the two attackers after an exchange of fire near the Judea Junction area. The military identified the soldiers who died as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. Reports on the number and condition of other people wounded varied, so no single total is established in the accounts. Netanyahu said security forces would enter the Hebron neighborhood from which the attackers came, evacuate residents, search homes, seize weapons and destroy what he described as terrorist infrastructure. The military planned to map the attackers’ homes for possible sealing or demolition, subject to legal proceedings, according to an IDF statement. Netanyahu said he and Defense Minister Israel Katz were considering an extensive operation in the West Bank on a scale he said had not been seen since 1967....