Page 2 - Israel-palestine

Blinken's 2-day visit to Mideast highlights US limitations in region

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank with no visible signs of progress toward halting one of the deadliest outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in years. The anemic outcome highlighted what appears to be the limited influence the Biden administration has over Israel's new government, which is dominated by hard-line nationalists who oppose concessions toward the Palestinians. But it also reflected a years-long process that has turned the U.S. into little more than a conflict manager drawing Palestinian accusations that Washington is a dishonest broker with a bias toward Israel. Blinken arrived in the region at a particularly tense time ending a month in which 35 Palestinians and seven Israelis were killed. The bloodshed overshadowed what was meant to be a mission to establish working relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new far-right government. Instead, Blinken spent much of

Israeli-Palestinian tensions test US diplomacy as Antony Blinken visits

An alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and sharp responses by both sides are testing the Biden administration as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plunges into a cauldron of deepening mistrust and anger on visits to Israel and the West Bank this week. What had already been expected to be a trip fraught with tension over differences between the administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new far-right government has grown significantly more complicated over the past four days with a spate of deadly incidents. Blinken's high-wire diplomatic act begins on Monday after he completes a brief visit to Egypt that has been almost entirely overshadowed by the deteriorating security situation in Israel and the West Bank. US officials say the main theme of Blinken's conversations with Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be de-escalation. Yet Blinken will arrive in Israel just a day after Netanyahu's Security Cabinet announced a series of punitive

Palestine urges CIA chief to pressure Israel to stop unilateral measures

The CIA chief arrived in Israel on Thursday amid growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

Palestine retaliation: Israeli forces on high alert around West Bank, Gaza

Netanyahu said in a statement that his country "is not interested in an escalation"

Israeli troops kill 10 in West Bank violence, many wounded: Palestinians

Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman, and wounded several others in a large-scale raid on Thursday in a flashpoint area of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said. It was the deadliest single operation in the territory in two decades. The Israeli military also fatally shot a 22-year-old Palestinian later in a separate incident. The raid in the Jenin refugee camp increases the risk of a major flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian fighting days, poses a test for Israel's new hard-line government and casts a shadow on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's expected trip to the region next week. Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, threatened revenge. Violent escalations in the West Bank have previously triggered retaliatory rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces in the West Bank and on the country's border with Gaza went on heightened alert. Protesters poured into the streets across the territory, chanting in .

Blinken to travel to Mideast amid US concern over Israel-Palestine violence

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank this weekend in his first trip to the Middle East this year, amid an escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence, US concerns over the direction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government and ongoing issues with Egypt's human rights record. The State Department said on Thursday that Blinken would leave Washington on Saturday for stops in Cairo, Jerusalem and Ramallah. The announcement came just hours after an Israeli raid on suspected terrorists in the West Bank city of Jenin that Palestinian officials say killed nine people in the deadliest such incident this year. After visiting Cairo for talks on Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Blinken will go to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday to see Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the department said. With both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the secretary will underscore the urgent need for the .

Israelis press on with protests against Netanyahu's new government

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the judicial system, measures that opponents say imperil the country's democratic fundamentals. Israeli media, citing police, said some 100,000 people were out protesting. The protest followed another demonstration last week that also drew tens of thousands in an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox government the most right-wing in Israeli history. The government says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Netanyahu has pledged to press on with the changes despite the opposition. Protesters filled central streets in the seaside metropolis, raising Israeli flags and banners that read The Supreme Court and Israel, We Have A Problem. All generations are concerned. This is not a joke, said Lior Student, a protester. "This is a .

Israelis, Palestinians clash at UN amid escalating political rhetoric

Israel's new hardline govt responded on Jan 6 by approving steps to penalize Palestinians in retaliation. PM Benjamin said they were aimed at what he called "an extreme anti-Israel" step at UN

Israel revokes Palestinian FM's travel permit over push for ICJ opinion

Israel on Sunday revoked the Palestinian foreign minister's VIP travel permit, part of a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians that Israel's new hard-line government announced days ago. Riad Malki said in a statement that he was returning from the Brazilian president's inauguration when he was informed that Israel rescinded his VIP travel permit, which allows top Palestinian officials to travel more easily in and out of the occupied West Bank than ordinary Palestinians. It was not clear whether the permits of other officials had been revoked as well. Israel's government on Friday approved the steps to penalize the Palestinians in retaliation for them pushing the U.N.'s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation. Rulings by the International Court of Justice are not binding, but they can be influential on world opinion. The decision highlights the tough line the current government is already taking toward the Palestinians just days into its tenure

New Israeli government takes steps to penalise Palestinian leadership

In some of its first acts since coming to power, Israel's new Security Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinian leadership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday. According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, the move is in retaliation for Palestinians pushing the UN's highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation. The Palestinians vowed to continue their diplomatic efforts despite the Israeli new measures. The development underscores the hard-line approach to the Palestinians that Israel's new ultranationalist government has promised at a time of rising violence in the occupied territories. It comes a week after the United Nations General Assembly voted to approve a resolution requesting that the International Court of Justice intervene and render an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel's Security Cabinet described the Palestinian Authority's request

New Israeli govt takes punitive steps against Palestinian leadership

In some of its first acts since coming to power, Israel's new Security Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinian leadership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Friday. According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, the move is in retaliation for Palestinians pushing the U.N.'s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation. The development underscores the hard-line approach to the Palestinians that Israel's new ultranationalist government has promised at a time of rising violence in the occupied territories. It comes a week after the United Nations General Assembly voted to approve a resolution requesting that the International Court of Justice intervene and render an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel's Security Cabinet described the Palestinian Authority's request to the U.N. as a decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel. "The .

Israel builds 4.6 km wall around Gaza Strip to protect communities

Israel has already built on-ground and underground barriers to prevent Palestinians in Gaza from entering the Jewish state

Huge crowds of Palestinians mark Fatah anniversary in Gaza City park

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians thronged a Gaza City park on Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party, a rare show of popularity in the heartland of the militant Hamas group, Fatah's main rival. The crowds turned Katiba Park into a sea of yellow flags and pictures of Fatah founders and leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Hamas, which took over Gaza after routing pro-Abbas forces in 2007, permitted Fatah to hold the rally. In several past occasions following the 2007 takeover, Hamas had blocked or restricted activities for Fatah. While polls indicate Fatah is not that popular, the huge turnout could be seen as a rare opportunity to protest Hamas' heavy-handed rule in Gaza. The Islamic group has exhausted Gazans with heavy taxes amid record levels of unemployment and poverty. The 2.3 million residents live under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that Israel says is necessary to stop Hamas .

India abstains on UNGA resolution on ICJ opinion on Palestinian rights

India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that asked the International Court of Justice for its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's prolonged occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territory. The draft resolution Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem' was adopted by a recorded vote on Friday, with 87 votes in favour, 26 against and 53 abstentions, including by India. The resolution decided to request the UN's highest judicial body to render an advisory opinion on what are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related

Israeli PM-designate Netanyahu agrees to annex West Bank in coalition deal

Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to annex the occupied West Bank in a coalition deal that was made public

Israel's Netanyahu set to return to office, eyes deal with Saudi Arabia

Israel's designated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday vowed to seek full diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia once he takes office, claiming that doing so would also promote peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu also said he would be open to restarting behind-the-scenes peace talks with the Palestinians. The comments, made in a rare interview with an Arab news outlet, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, appeared to be aimed at easing concerns over the far-right makeup of the government that Netanyahu is forming. He has already reached a series of coalition agreements with hard-liners who favour tougher action against Palestinian militants, increased settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and vehemently reject the idea of an independent Palestinian state. Netanyahu told the channel that he will set overall policies. I will govern and I will lead, he said. The other parties are joining me. I'm not joining them. Netanyahu said he hoped to expand the Ab

Israeli ultra-orthodox army unit linked to American's death exits West Bank

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it is temporarily removing a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers out of the occupied West Bank after a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man died following an arrest by its soldiers early this year. The army said the Netzah Yehuda Battalion will be moved to the Golan Heights, along Israel's northern front with Syria, by the end of the year. The announcement made no mention of the death of Omar Assad, who died after being detained, handcuffed and blindfolded by Israeli soldiers. Instead, it said the decision was made out of a desire to diversify their operational deployment in multiple areas, in addition to accumulating more operational experience. It said the unit would return to the West Bank at the end of next year. Netzah Yehuda, or Judea Forever, is a special unit for ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers. The unit was formed to encourage religious men, who often receive special exemptions from compulsory military service, to join the army. But its ..

India extends 'unwavering' support to Palestinian people, says PM Modi

In the statement, PM Modi said that India's ties with the friendly people of Palestine are rooted in the shared history

Health ministry: Israeli fire kills Palestinian in West Bank

A Palestinian was killed and 11 were wounded by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that clashes erupted between Israeli forces and residents of north Hebron city on Monday evening. The Israeli military said soldiers shot at Palestinians who hurled rocks and improvised explosive devices at the forces who were operating in the town. It said the Palestinians also shot at the troops, and two army vehicles got stuck due to mechanical issues. The ministry said nine Palestinians were wounded by live fire and two others suffered breathing problems from tear gas. One of the wounded succumbed early Tuesday, the ministry said, without identifying him. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been surging for months amid nightly Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people in the spring. More than 138 Palestinians

Israel deploys remote-controlled robotic guns, stun grenades in West Bank

In two volatile spots in the occupied West Bank, Israel has installed robotic weapons that can fire tear gas, stun grenades and sponge-tipped bullets at Palestinian protesters. The weapons, perched over a crowded Palestinian refugee camp and in a flashpoint West Bank city, use artificial intelligence to track targets. Israel says the technology saves lives both Israeli and Palestinian. But critics see another step toward a dystopian reality in which Israel fine-tunes its open-ended occupation of the Palestinians while keeping its soldiers out of harm's way. The new weapon comes at a time of heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank, where unrest has risen sharply during what has been the deadliest year since 2006. The victory by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line alliance, which includes an extreme right-wing party with close ties to the settler movement, has raised concerns of more violence. Twin turrets, each equipped with a watchful lens and a gun barrel, .