Israel to seal occupied West Bank crossings on election day as Hebron lockdown enters second day

Israel has announced it will shut all land crossings with the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the day of the country's general election.

In a statement issued early on Sunday, the Israeli army said Palestinian workers would be barred from entering most areas of the West Bank from Sunday through Monday, with a full closure of crossings into and out of the territory taking effect on election day itself.

The move was revealed a day after the army imposed a lockdown on Hebron and forced thousands of Palestinians from their homes. Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of raids since Friday, when two Palestinian gunmen attacked an Israeli army reserve base, killing two soldiers. The two attackers were also killed.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a "full lockdown" of the occupied West Bank. Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that "about 2,000" people had been displaced, and told public broadcaster Kan in an interview: "They will not be allowed to return to their neighbourhood until we've finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron."

Hebron's mayor, Yousef al-Ja'bari, told Al Jazeera that the city and several nearby villages were under a complete blockade. He said on Saturday that 2,200 people had been driven from their homes by Israeli troops and raids.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, has appealed for international pressure on Israel to protect Hebron's residents. Residents said soldiers used loudspeakers to announce forced evacuation orders late at night, giving them no time to prepare and leaving them with few places to go. The PA described Israel's measures as "collective punishment", pointing to home demolitions, the forced displacement of entire neighbourhoods and the "closure and siege of Palestinian cities".

Hebron is the most populous area of the West Bank, with about 200,000 Palestinians living in the city and another 600,000 in the surrounding governorate.

The Israeli military has said its operation will continue for several days. Netanyahu has signalled that a larger campaign may follow, saying he was planning an operation on a scale not seen since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister, is locked in a tight contest for a new term in Tuesday's vote. Analysts say he is seeking to draw on continuing regional military conflicts and fears over national security to bolster his re-election campaign.