Israel removes around 250 Palestinian families from West Bank city of Hebron after soldier deaths

Israeli forces pushed into the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday and displaced up to 250 families, some in the middle of the night, vowing a heavy price over a deadly attack on two soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was planning an operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967. The lockdown comes after Palestinian militants killed two Israeli soldiers on Friday at a checkpoint near Hebron, a flashpoint city in which hardline Israeli settlers live surrounded by local Palestinians. The operation is taking place just days before Israel is set to hold elections on Tuesday, in which Netanyahu is expected to face a tight race with the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.