Netanyahu threatens ‘aggressive’ offensive after West Bank shooting

{"text":[[{"start":7.52,"text":"Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened widescale military operations in the occupied West Bank in response to a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen, as tensions escalated before next week’s parliamentary elections in Israel."}],[{"start":19.84,"text":"Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three injured after the gunmen opened fire outside the city of Hebron on Friday morning. The attackers, whom Israeli officials said were Hebron residents affiliated with Hamas, were later killed by Israeli troops."}],[{"start":33.24,"text":"Netanyahu later said he had ordered the military to launch an “aggressive” operation into the neighbourhood from where the attackers allegedly hailed, which would include evicting residents and demolishing houses."}],[{"start":44.48,"text":"The Israeli leader also announced a security cordon around Hebron and the nearby town of Halhul, as well as the closure of the West Bank itself, a measure that typically prevents Palestinians from travelling into Jerusalem and Israel."}],[{"start":56.6,"text":"“We are going to implement the successful and aggressive model we used in the refugee camps” of the northern West Bank in early 2025, Netanyahu added in a statement, referring to large-scale anti-militant operations in which 40,000 people were expelled from their homes."}],[{"start":72.2,"text":"Residents have not been allowed to return and Israeli troops are still stationed inside the camps, many of which were destroyed."}],[{"start":79.3,"text":"“This is exactly what we will do here inside a neighbourhood in Hebron from which the terrorists emerged,” Netanyahu added, threatening that an even bigger operation across the West Bank — the largest since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in his words — was planned and “on the way”."}],[{"start":95.36,"text":"The veteran Israeli premier is preparing for a tough re-election battle next week, which will be the first referendum on his leadership since Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack from Gaza and the regional wars that followed."}],[{"start":107.72,"text":"Opinion polls are forecasting that neither Netanyahu’s far-right coalition nor the opposition bloc is likely to have a clear path to an absolute majority in parliament."}],[{"start":116.78,"text":"But Netanyahu has on the campaign trail consistently sought to position himself as the toughest candidate on security, and warned of the potential for militant groups in the region to launch attacks around Tuesday’s poll in a bid to undermine the ruling coalition’s chances of re-election."}],[{"start":131.6,"text":"The FT reported this week that Netanyahu had made plans to launch widescale air strikes against Iran earlier this month, though the operation did not go ahead as US President Donald Trump opposed attacking Iran before the American midterm elections."}],[{"start":147.56,"text":"Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz, in a statement of his own on the impending operation in the West Bank, said the entire clan affiliated with the gunmen would be expelled from their homes and “terror infrastructure . . . dismantled”."}],[{"start":160.56,"text":"“This is the only language that jihadist terrorism understands. Just like in Gaza, just like in Lebanon,” he added."}],[{"start":168.2,"text":"The military said that the two Palestinian attackers on Friday were armed with an M16 assault rifle and handgun."}],[{"start":175.56,"text":"Witness accounts and video from the scene that was aired on Israeli media showed exchanges of gunfire that lasted for more than 15 minutes. Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said a large quantity of ammunition was found in the car used by the gunmen and claimed that a “larger-scale attack” had been thwarted."}],[{"start":193.24,"text":"Hamas “commended” what it described as the “heroic operation” and called for more attacks across the West Bank “using all available means”, but stopped short of claiming responsibility in a statement."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":205.04,"text":"Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded, in a video statement from the scene, that the Palestinian Authority — which exerts limited self-rule over parts of the West Bank — be “dismantled”."}],[{"start":216.2,"text":"He also called for Palestinians to be prevented from travelling freely on the territory’s highways. “The freedom of movement for authority residents is less important than our right to live,” he said."}],[{"start":227.08,"text":"Israel’s opposition leaders unanimously condemned the attack and extended condolences to the families of the soldiers killed."}],[{"start":234.8,"text":"Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival for the premiership who has repeatedly accused him of endangering Israel by trying to politicise security policies, expressed support for the “security forces, who work day and night in all sectors for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens”."}],[{"start":252.52,"text":"In a separate incident, authorities in Jordan said that gunmen had killed seven people and injured at least 34 more after opening fire at a church in the town of Karak."}],[{"start":261.72,"text":"There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting, but officials condemned the attack, which took place during a funeral, as terrorism."}],[{"start":271.2,"text":"Additional reporting by James Shotter"}],[{"start":279.24,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792806032_3571.mp3"}