West Bank: Guterres alarmed as Israel imposes sweeping closures after deadly Hebron attack

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and at least five injured when gunmen opened fire near a military checkpoint outside the city, according to news reports. The two Palestinian attackers were also killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Hebron sealed, pledged house-to-house raids and home demolitions, and reportedly threatened a wider assault on a scale not seen since the Six-Day War. It is the fourth time in a month that Israel has imposed restrictions across the territory.

Speaking at the noon briefing in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary-General António Guterres was deeply concerned by the closures and by reports of home demolitions and possible displacement in Hebron.

“Those closures severely restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement, access to basic services and livelihoods,” he said.

Record settler violence

Mr. Guterres condemned “the violence caused by record numbers of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in 2026”, recalling Israel’s obligation as the occupying power “to protect the Palestinian population from such attacks and to hold perpetrators to account”.

Mayy El Sheikh, spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the lockdown was “yet another episode in a never-ending stream of suffocating measures making life more and more unbearable for Palestinians.”

‘Pattern of collective punishment’

“It follows a pattern of collective punishment whenever Palestinians commit acts of violence against Israeli settlers or soldiers,” she said, noting that similar incidents had previously brought lockdowns, intensified raids and arbitrary detentions.

Hebron’s entrances and exits were closed after Friday’s attack, she said, and the Ibrahimi Mosque was shut, leaving worshippers unable to perform Friday prayers.

The closure comes at the height of the olive harvest.

“Israeli movement restrictions are already preventing thousands of Palestinian farmers from reaching their olives for the harvest,” Ms. El Sheikh said. “This is bound to have devastating effects on the season.”

OHCHR has documented more than 160 settler attacks in the first two weeks of October alone, involving live ammunition, arson, crop theft and damage to olive groves. 

Settlers also targeted European Union diplomats, and a Washington Post photojournalist was badly assaulted a week ago by masked settlers while covering the harvest near Ramallah. 

Gaza deaths

Mr. Guterres also remained deeply concerned about civilian deaths in Gaza, including children, and severe aid restrictions ahead of winter.

He called on all parties “to immediately cease all acts of violence, to exercise restraint and refrain from action that could further inflame tensions”.