The attack in the West Bank unites Israel’s political landscape for a day

Ramla, from our correspondent. Hamouda and Firas Jua’ba were driving towards Route 35 in their car, armed with an assault rifle and a pistol. Upon reaching the Yehuda junction, at the entrance to the city of Hebron, they opened fire on the checkpoint, killing two Israeli soldiers before being shot dead. According to the Israeli army and the security services, the two Palestinians were planning a larger-scale attack; they intended to reach Road 35 to open fire on civilians but, realising they would never get past the checkpoint, changed their plans. They were killed after a twenty-minute gun battle whilst attempting to flee. A large quantity of ammunition was found in the car; the two terrorists had made extensive preparations and were linked to Hamas, but it is not yet known how far-reaching the planning for the attack might have been. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of the city of Hebron and a blockade on entry to and exit from the West Bank: “We will hunt down the Hamas terrorists and those who send them. You have nowhere to hide.” With three days to go until 27 October, the candidates have hurled every possible accusation at one another, made mutual accusations, attempted coalition talks only to scupper them, exchanged promises and have already started stabbing each other in the back; yet yesterday, following the attack on the outskirts of Hebron and Netanyahu’s decision to seal off the regions of Judea and Samaria, no one objected. There are moments that lie outside the election campaign, when Israel unites and politics takes a back seat. People are quick to claim this is an existential vote, but this phrase – so often overused in Israeli politics – seems to lose its impact in an election campaign that, so far, has been lacklustre and tedious, dominated by the towering figure of Prime Minister Netanyahu and by a word no one disputes: security. There is no right formula, and the paradox of this election lies entirely in the debate; whilst the international press scrambles to portray Israel’s grim face, the truth is that amidst the candidates’ long-distance squabbles – in which no one has dared to challenge the other’s strongholds – the democratic process has shifted voters’ focus to the centre. “After 7 October and three years of war, Israelis have put security back at the centre,” Shmuel Rosner, an analyst at the Jewish People Policy Institute, tells Il Foglio. “They have adopted a more aggressive approach to issues concerning current and future defence; they support stricter measures to ensure security; on this front, they have shifted to the right.” However, to assert that security in Israel is a right-wing issue erases part of the history of the Israeli left, which has now dwindled and shrunk within Yair Golan’s Democrats, whilst Yair Lapid, former leader of Yesh Atid, has chosen to merge his party and create a new venture with Naftali Bennett, accepting the terms of a centre-right movement. “On the one hand, there is ideology,” says Rosner, “and on the other, there is the political reality, which tells us that the current right-wing governing coalition is struggling to assert itself against a centrist opposition. Although the focus on security has increased, opinion polls suggest that Israelis seem more inclined to move towards the centre, towards a right wing very different from the one currently in power.” Israeli democracy is contentious; the debate is acrimonious and has now often taken on a contemptuous tone. Yet the citizens – even as they live out their divisions, detesting one another’s political camps, and flaunting either their loyalty to the Prime Minister – such as a trader at the Ramla market who displays his portrait on the stall where he sells underwear – or their anger towards him, have already weathered many elections described as vital, with shifts from left to right; and even today, “the polls tell us they are seeking a new direction”.

A country often portrayed through its extremes is now looking towards the centre; a place depicted amidst religious fervour, armed soldiers and debates on the meaning of ‘Zionism’ is showing weariness at the never-ending reckoning, and the magic formula exists – everyone knows it – even if certain boundaries will be needed, which are being called for whilst people whisper ‘memshelet achdut’, meaning a government of national unity. “We are living in a situation that has remained unresolved since before 7 October; during the demonstrations against this government, Israelis truly felt they were engaged in a struggle for national identity. There is a touch of exaggeration, even hysteria, but it is partly true; there have been many changes. They would accept a government of national unity, but only on condition that Netanyahu steps down.” It’s always him; he’s always back, capable for years of turning an election into a referendum.