The Israeli operation in Hebron is not an escalation; it is the restoration of sovereign order. When Palestinian gunmen murdered two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others at a checkpoint last Friday, they did not attack soldiers alone—they attacked the idea that a state can protect its own. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response, authorizing the IDF to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and clear the structures used to stage that violence, is the minimum duty of any government that claims to rule its territory.
The facts demand moral clarity. The attackers used Hebron as a launching ground, and Netanyahu has made clear that those who harbor terrorists will face consequences. The IDF is now demolishing structures linked to the attackers and conducting house-to-house searches to remove weapons. This is standard security work, not collective punishment, and it is long overdue in a region where terror networks have been allowed to fester.
Liberty has no meaning without security, and security has no meaning without a government willing to enforce it. Local officials may complain about displaced residents, but the Israeli military’s first obligation is to protect citizens and soldiers from hostile actors. With an election approaching, Netanyahu is choosing national safety over political optics, demonstrating that accountable government does not retreat when its defenders are murdered.
Deterrence is the only language terrorists understand. By clearing dangerous areas and making those who wage war against Israel pay a heavy price, the IDF is reasserting that sovereignty carries real consequences. A state that abandons its own streets to armed gangs surrenders not just territory, but the trust of the people it exists to defend.
The broader lesson applies wherever governments hesitate to confront evil. Sovereignty is not a diplomatic abstraction; it is the willingness to destroy the infrastructure of attack and to defend the rule of law against those who reject it. Israel’s operation in Hebron should be recognized for what it is: a nation refusing to apologize for self-defense.
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