West Bank

West Bank shooting attack casts shadow over Israel-Palestinian talks

Israeli and Palestinian officials were meeting on Sunday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in a bid to ease tensions between the sides and rein in a spiral of violence ahead of a sensitive holiday period beginning this week. But as the talks continued, Israeli officials said two people were wounded, one seriously, in a West Bank shooting attack that immediately raised questions about the prospects for the new talks. The meeting was the second attempt by the sides, shepherded by regional allies Egypt and Jordan as well as the US, to end a year-long spasm of violence that has seen more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners killed in Palestinian attacks. Whatever progress emerged out of the previous meeting in Jordan late last month, which ended with pledges to de-escalate tensions, was quickly derailed when a new burst of violence erupted on the same day. A Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israelis in the occupied West

European nations condemn West Bank violence, urge to rekindle peace talks

A group of European countries expressed grave concern Saturday that recent violence in the West Bank could derail efforts to rekindle peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians as they called on both sides to restore calm. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain issued a joint statement condemning attacks against both Israelis and Palestinians following an outbreak of violence that left three people dead in the occupied West Bank town of Hawara. These acts can lead nowhere, except to more violence, the European nations said. Those responsible must face full accountability and legal prosecution. All unilateral actions that threaten peace and incitement to violence must cease.'' Scores of Israeli settlers rampaged through Hawara on Feb. 26, setting dozens of cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman. Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four others were badly wounded in one of the worst outbreaks of settler violen

10 Palestinians killed, 102 injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers

A total of 10 Palestinians were killed and 102 others injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry

Palestinians protest US visit to West Bank as tension rises with Israel

'The matter is very simple. Blinken came here to pressure the Palestinian leadership to not adopt any decision against the security cooperation with Israel'

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 .

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

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 ..

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, .

2 Israelis stabbed to death by Palestinian attacker in West Bank

Israel's emergency service says that two Israelis have been killed by a Palestinian attacker in a stabbing in the occupied West Bank. The Magen David Adom paramedic service says the two were killed in Tuesday's attack in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. Earlier, the Israeli military said the attacker was shot as he tried to flee the scene. The Palestinian Health Ministry said confirmed he was killed. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid sent condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and said Israel was fighting terror nonstop and full force. Our security forces are working around the clock to protect Israeli citizens and harm terror infrastructure everywhere, all the time, he said.

Govt asks Kolkata Metro to compensate Bowbazar victims for cracks in houses

The West Bengal government on Saturday asked Kolkata Metro to compensate families whose houses in the Bowbazar area have developed cracks due to construction work of the East-West Corridor with Rs 5 lakh each within a month, mayor Firhad Hakim said. The affected shop owners of the area will also be compensated for the loss of livelihood based on a formula derived by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) -- Rs 1.5 lakh for up to 100 sq ft, and Rs 5 lakh if more than 100 sq ft, he said. The decision was taken in a meeting at state secretariat Nabanna, chaired virtually by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Besides Hakim, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi, Home Secretary GP Gopalika, Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal, KMC commissioner Binod Kumar and senior officers of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (KMRCL) and experts from Jadavpur University were present in the meeting. At least 12 houses in Madan Dutta Lane developed cracks since Friday morning, following water seepage during wo

Tension in West Bank fuels atmosphere of fear, hatred: UN official

An escalation of tension in the West Bank would fuel an atmosphere of fear, hatred and anger between Israelis and Palestinians, a senior UN official has warned

Two Palestinians killed in Israel during military raid in West Bank

Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians on Saturday in an exchange of fire that erupted during a military raid in the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian accounts, in the latest confrontation that has made 2022 the deadliest year of violence in the occupied territory since 2015. The raid occurred in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the site of repeated clashes between Israeli forces and local gunmen and residents. The camp is known as a stronghold of Palestinian militants and the army often operates there. Palestinian officials said soldiers entered the camp early Saturday and surrounded a house. In videos circulated on social media, exchanges of fire could be heard. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported two dead and 11 wounded, three of them critically. The official Wafa news agency said both of the dead were 17-year-old boys. The Israeli military said it had arrested a 25-year-old operative from the Islamic Jihad militant group who has ...

Palestine urges Europe to put pressure on Israel against West Bank conflict

Palestine has urged the European countries to tie their relations with Israel to its adherence to international law, UN resolutions, and human rights principles

WBSSC scam: CBI's 1st charge sheet details how Partha Chatterjee conspired

The CBI in its first charge sheet in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission scam, has pinpointed former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee as the principal mastermind

Israel restricts movement to Palestinian territories during Jewish holidays

The Israeli military announced that it will close all the checkpoints and crossings connecting the country and the West Bank during the upcoming Jewish holidays

Israeli military body announces new rules for foreigners in West Bank

An Israeli military body has released a list of rules and restriction for foreigners wanting to enter Palestinian areas of the West Bank, extending its control of daily life and movement in and out of the occupied territory. COGAT, the Israeli body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, on Sunday stepped back from a number of controversial restrictions that had appeared in a draft of the rules published earlier this year, such as a requirement that people who form romantic relationships with local Palestinians register with Israeli authorities. But many of the changes in the 90-page document appeared to be largely cosmetic. The US ambassador expressed concern over the rules, and critics said they merely entrenched Israel's 55-year control over the Palestinian population in the territory. The Israeli military is proposing new restrictions in order to isolate Palestinian society from the outside world and keep Palestinian families from living together, said Jessica Montell, ...

Palestinian death toll reaches 85 as Israel steps up West Bank raids

At least 85 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year as Israeli forces have carried out nightly raids in cities, towns and villages, making it the deadliest in the occupied territory since 2016. The military says the vast majority were militants or stone-throwers who endangered the soldiers. The tally, from the Palestinian Health Ministry, includes Palestinians who carried out deadly attacks inside Israel. But it also includes several civilians, including a veteran journalist and a lawyer who apparently drove unwittingly into a battle zone, as well as local youths who took to the streets in response to the invasion of their neighbourhoods. The length and frequency of the raids has pulled into focus Israel's tactics in the West Bank, where nearly 3 million Palestinians live under a decades-long occupation and Palestinians view the military's presence as a humiliation and a threat. Israeli troops have regularly operated across the West Bank since Israel captured the .

1 killed during Israel military raid in West Bank, say Palestinians

At least one Palestinian was killed and another wounded during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry said

Palestinians deserve an independent state: Biden during West Bank visit

'Two states for two peoples, both of whom have deep and ancient roots in this land, living side by side in peace and security'

Joe Biden heads to West Bank, expected to announce financial assistance

Biden is expected to announce $316 million in financial assistance about a third of which will require congressional approval and a commitment from Israel to modernize wireless access for Palestinians