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A small correction. It was Rabbi Elhanan Beck (not Moshe Ber Beck).
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Outrage levels : Israeli aggression towards Palestinians vs Russia's attack on Ukraine
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A small correction. It was Rabbi Elhanan Beck (not Moshe Ber Beck).
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Foreigners must tell the Israeli defence ministry if they fall in love with a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, according to new rules.
If they marry, they will be required to leave after 27 months for a cooling-off period of at least half a year.
It is part of a tightening of rules on foreigners living in, or wanting to visit, the West Bank.
Palestinians and Israeli NGOs have accused Israel of "taking restrictions to a new level".
The new rules are due to come into force on Monday.
The regulations laid out in a lengthy document include a demand on foreigners to inform the Israeli authorities within 30 days of starting a relationship with a Palestinian ID holder.
New restrictions on Palestinian universities include a quota for 150 student visas and 100 foreign lecturers, while there are no such limits in Israeli ones.
Businesspeople and aid organisations say they will also be severely affected. The rules set strict limitations on the duration of visas and visa extensions, in many cases preventing people from working or volunteering in the West Bank for longer than a few months.
"This is about demographic engineering of Palestinian society and isolating Palestinian society from the outside world," says Jessica Montell, executive director of the Israeli non-governmental organisation HaMoked, which has petitioned the Israeli High Court against the regulations.
"They make it much more difficult for people to come and work in Palestinian institutions, volunteer, invest, teach and study."
'One state, two systems'
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War. Today, Cogat, a unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, is responsible for the administration of its occupation of the Palestinian territory.
The new 97-page Cogat order is titled Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area - the biblical name Israel uses for the West Bank. It was first published in February, but its introduction has been delayed.
The document says it sets out to "define the levels of authority and the manner of processing for applications from foreigners who wish to enter the Judea and Samaria area".
It cites interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s, which required Israeli approval to grant residency to spouses and children of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza, and approve visitor permits.
The new rules do not apply to those visiting Israel as well as Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank, nor Jewish settlements. In such cases, entry involves the Israeli immigration authorities.
The PLO - the umbrella body representing the Palestinian people - has said they bring in "apartheid regulations that impose a reality of one state and two different systems".
The BBC contacted Cogat for a response but did not receive one. Israeli authorities say that restrictions on travel into the territory are needed for security reasons.
Legal limbo
A longstanding Israeli ban on granting residency status to foreign spouses of Palestinians in the West Bank means that thousands of people continue to live with an uncertain legal status.
The campaign group, Right to Enter, complains of "discriminatory, cruel and arbitrary practices by Israeli authorities" causing "immense humanitarian difficulties" for foreign spouses which result in them being forcibly separated from their families in the West Bank.
It says the new procedures will only "formalise and aggravate many of the existing restrictions" and "will force many families to move or stay abroad to maintain their family unity."
Some categories of visits to relatives are not listed at all in the new rules, including visits to siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
Meanwhile, the European Commission says it has expressed concern about restrictions on foreign students and academics at Palestinian universities to the "highest levels" of the Israeli authorities.
Under its Erasmus+ programme, 366 European higher education students and staff went to the West Bank in 2020. At the same time, 1,671 Europeans were at Israeli institutions.
"With Israel itself benefitting greatly from Erasmus+, the Commission considers that it should facilitate and not hinder access of students to Palestinian universities," European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has said.
Business fears
The HaMoked petition to the High Court was joined by 19 individuals.
Bassim Khoury, CEO of a Palestinian pharmaceutical firm in the West Bank, says he would be severely limited in his ability to bring employees, investors, suppliers, and quality control experts from abroad because of visa restrictions and costs of travel.
The new rules specify that foreign visitors coming on a West Bank-only permit are obliged to travel via land crossings with Jordan and can only use Israel's Ben Gurion airport in exceptional cases.
One of Mr Khoury's major investors is Jordanian, and the new rules completely exclude nationals of Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and South Sudan - although these countries have diplomatic ties with Israel.
Holders of passports from these countries - including dual nationals - can only enter the West Bank in exceptional and humanitarian cases for a limited period.
Another petitioner was Dr Benjamin Thomson, who heads a Canadian charity, Keys to Health, which sends medical professors from North America and the UK to train Palestinian doctors.
"Anyone involved in work in the Occupied Territories of Palestine is already familiar with the multiple administrative delays in getting permission," he says.
"These new regulations make delays worse, increase cost, and decrease the predictability of travel in and out of the West Bank.
"This predictability is essential to be able to do charity work in the West Bank while still being able to continue [doing paid] work outside it," he goes on, suggesting that the new rules may prevent doctors employed elsewhere from being able to volunteer.
In July, the High Court rejected the petition on the rules as "premature," indicating that Cogat had yet to reach a "final decision" on them. However, there have been no changes announced to the procedures officially published online or their scheduled introduction.
BBC
If they marry, they will be required to leave after 27 months for a cooling-off period of at least half a year.
It is part of a tightening of rules on foreigners living in, or wanting to visit, the West Bank.
Palestinians and Israeli NGOs have accused Israel of "taking restrictions to a new level".
The new rules are due to come into force on Monday.
The regulations laid out in a lengthy document include a demand on foreigners to inform the Israeli authorities within 30 days of starting a relationship with a Palestinian ID holder.
New restrictions on Palestinian universities include a quota for 150 student visas and 100 foreign lecturers, while there are no such limits in Israeli ones.
Businesspeople and aid organisations say they will also be severely affected. The rules set strict limitations on the duration of visas and visa extensions, in many cases preventing people from working or volunteering in the West Bank for longer than a few months.
"This is about demographic engineering of Palestinian society and isolating Palestinian society from the outside world," says Jessica Montell, executive director of the Israeli non-governmental organisation HaMoked, which has petitioned the Israeli High Court against the regulations.
"They make it much more difficult for people to come and work in Palestinian institutions, volunteer, invest, teach and study."
'One state, two systems'
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War. Today, Cogat, a unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, is responsible for the administration of its occupation of the Palestinian territory.
The new 97-page Cogat order is titled Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area - the biblical name Israel uses for the West Bank. It was first published in February, but its introduction has been delayed.
The document says it sets out to "define the levels of authority and the manner of processing for applications from foreigners who wish to enter the Judea and Samaria area".
It cites interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s, which required Israeli approval to grant residency to spouses and children of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza, and approve visitor permits.
The new rules do not apply to those visiting Israel as well as Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank, nor Jewish settlements. In such cases, entry involves the Israeli immigration authorities.
The PLO - the umbrella body representing the Palestinian people - has said they bring in "apartheid regulations that impose a reality of one state and two different systems".
The BBC contacted Cogat for a response but did not receive one. Israeli authorities say that restrictions on travel into the territory are needed for security reasons.
Legal limbo
A longstanding Israeli ban on granting residency status to foreign spouses of Palestinians in the West Bank means that thousands of people continue to live with an uncertain legal status.
The campaign group, Right to Enter, complains of "discriminatory, cruel and arbitrary practices by Israeli authorities" causing "immense humanitarian difficulties" for foreign spouses which result in them being forcibly separated from their families in the West Bank.
It says the new procedures will only "formalise and aggravate many of the existing restrictions" and "will force many families to move or stay abroad to maintain their family unity."
Some categories of visits to relatives are not listed at all in the new rules, including visits to siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.
Meanwhile, the European Commission says it has expressed concern about restrictions on foreign students and academics at Palestinian universities to the "highest levels" of the Israeli authorities.
Under its Erasmus+ programme, 366 European higher education students and staff went to the West Bank in 2020. At the same time, 1,671 Europeans were at Israeli institutions.
"With Israel itself benefitting greatly from Erasmus+, the Commission considers that it should facilitate and not hinder access of students to Palestinian universities," European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has said.
Business fears
The HaMoked petition to the High Court was joined by 19 individuals.
Bassim Khoury, CEO of a Palestinian pharmaceutical firm in the West Bank, says he would be severely limited in his ability to bring employees, investors, suppliers, and quality control experts from abroad because of visa restrictions and costs of travel.
The new rules specify that foreign visitors coming on a West Bank-only permit are obliged to travel via land crossings with Jordan and can only use Israel's Ben Gurion airport in exceptional cases.
One of Mr Khoury's major investors is Jordanian, and the new rules completely exclude nationals of Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and South Sudan - although these countries have diplomatic ties with Israel.
Holders of passports from these countries - including dual nationals - can only enter the West Bank in exceptional and humanitarian cases for a limited period.
Another petitioner was Dr Benjamin Thomson, who heads a Canadian charity, Keys to Health, which sends medical professors from North America and the UK to train Palestinian doctors.
"Anyone involved in work in the Occupied Territories of Palestine is already familiar with the multiple administrative delays in getting permission," he says.
"These new regulations make delays worse, increase cost, and decrease the predictability of travel in and out of the West Bank.
"This predictability is essential to be able to do charity work in the West Bank while still being able to continue [doing paid] work outside it," he goes on, suggesting that the new rules may prevent doctors employed elsewhere from being able to volunteer.
In July, the High Court rejected the petition on the rules as "premature," indicating that Cogat had yet to reach a "final decision" on them. However, there have been no changes announced to the procedures officially published online or their scheduled introduction.
BBC
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Hamas authorities execute five Palestinians in Gaza
Two of them were executed on charges of espionage for Israel
GAZA:
Gaza's ruling Hamas executed five Palestinians on Sunday, two of them on charges of espionage for Israel that dated back to 2015 and 2009, the enclave's Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.
The dawn executions, by hanging or firing squad, were the first in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Past cases of capital punishment being carried out in Gaza have drawn criticism from human rights groups.
The ministry statement did not provide full names for any of the condemned men. It said three had been convicted of murder. The two convicted spies, aged 44 and 54, had given Israel information that led to the killing of Palestinians, it said.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees the country's intelligence services, declined comment.
"The execution was carried out after the conclusion of all legal procedures. The rulings had been final, with implementation mandatory, after all of the convicted were accorded full rights to defend themselves," the statement said.
Reuters could not immediately corroborate this.
Palestinian and international human rights groups have condemned the death penalty and urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to end the practice.
Palestinian law says President Mahmoud Abbas has final word on whether executions can be carried out. But he has no effective rule in Gaza.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned the executions by Hamas as a violation of Palestinian law. It said the move was also a violation of international commitments by Palestinian authorities.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza, its courts have sentenced around 180 Palestinians to death, and have executed 33 so far, the PCHR said.
Express Tribune
Two of them were executed on charges of espionage for Israel
GAZA:
Gaza's ruling Hamas executed five Palestinians on Sunday, two of them on charges of espionage for Israel that dated back to 2015 and 2009, the enclave's Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.
The dawn executions, by hanging or firing squad, were the first in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Past cases of capital punishment being carried out in Gaza have drawn criticism from human rights groups.
The ministry statement did not provide full names for any of the condemned men. It said three had been convicted of murder. The two convicted spies, aged 44 and 54, had given Israel information that led to the killing of Palestinians, it said.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees the country's intelligence services, declined comment.
"The execution was carried out after the conclusion of all legal procedures. The rulings had been final, with implementation mandatory, after all of the convicted were accorded full rights to defend themselves," the statement said.
Reuters could not immediately corroborate this.
Palestinian and international human rights groups have condemned the death penalty and urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to end the practice.
Palestinian law says President Mahmoud Abbas has final word on whether executions can be carried out. But he has no effective rule in Gaza.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned the executions by Hamas as a violation of Palestinian law. It said the move was also a violation of international commitments by Palestinian authorities.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza, its courts have sentenced around 180 Palestinians to death, and have executed 33 so far, the PCHR said.
Express Tribune
sweep_shot
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Just to be clear, Hamas is not the legal government of Gaza.
In the 2006 Palestinian election, Hamas won 44.45% of the vote (largely due to Christian Palestinians emigrating en masse to Chile) and 74 seats in parliament out of 132. But parliament never sat, largely because Fatah and Hamas refused to negotiate, and Hamas then overthrew the government in the Battle of Gaza in 2007 and unlawfully seized absolute power in Gaza, and in the following 15 years they have refused to hold any further elections or to recognise the right of women to vote.
So, to be clear, Hamas is a terrorist organisation which has unlawfully seized power and refuses to hold elections and when it "executes" people those killings are murder, not execution.
sweep_shot
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Those who work for Israel are traitors and should definitely be penalized.
Last edited:
sweep_shot
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Well, they are governing now.
Anyway. My post wasn't about Hamas. I honestly do not know much about them.
My post was about the spies. Spies are bad for any state; they are traitors.
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Israel has dropped a controversial demand for foreigners visiting the occupied West Bank to report romantic links with Palestinians within 30 days.
Revised rules also on foreigners living in, or wanting to, visit the territory remove a quota for university lecturers and students from abroad.
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, described them as "racist measures".
Israel says restrictions on travel into the West Bank are for security reasons.
The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides said he had "aggressively engaged" with the Israeli government and continued "to have concerns with the published protocols".
European diplomats previously said they had brought up concerns "at the highest level" with the Israeli authorities.
Mr Shtayyeh has called on the US and EU to apply diplomatic pressure to make further changes.
The procedures affect thousands of foreign spouses, as well as Palestinians living in the diaspora, businesspeople, academics and volunteers.
A senior source at the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the unit of the Israeli ministry of defence responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, told me they were intended "for the convenience of foreigners" and would allow requests for more long-term visas.
'Negative impact'
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and continues to occupy it.
In February, Cogat published a lengthy document titled "Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area" - using the biblical term that Israel uses to refer to the West Bank. It was meant to replace a four-page one.
However, petitions to the High Court delayed the rules from taking effect.
The updated document has removed a requirement for a foreigner starting a relationship with a Palestinian from the West Bank to tell Israeli authorities in writing within 30 days.
The revised draft adds new categories of work permits for teachers and doctors and removes a limit of 100 visiting lecturers and 150 students at Palestinian universities.
It also allows for the extension of foreigners' visas from 90 days to 180 days.
In addition, it now gives a route for nationals of Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, South Sudan and Morocco - all countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel - to apply for an entry permit, which it did not before.
Despite the changes, Ambassador Nides raised questions "regarding Cogat's role in determining whether individuals invited by Palestinian academic institutions are qualified to enter the West Bank, and the potential negative impact on family unity".
The new arrangements - which affect many Americans with dual nationality - have complicated recent discussions on Israel joining the US visa-waiver programme.
'Too burdensome'
The new rules do not apply to those visiting Israel as well as Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank, nor Jewish settlements. In such cases, entry involves the Israeli immigration authorities.
As the basis for its authority, Cogat cites the Oslo Accords, interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s, which required Israeli approval to grant residency to foreign spouses and children of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza, and approve visitor permits.
However, Israeli lawyer Leora Bechor, who petitioned the High Court over the rules on behalf of the non-governmental organisation HaMoked, argues that it is "in direct violation" of these agreements in the way it deals with the Palestinian population registry.
"Instead of the Palestinian Authority determining which foreigners will receive Palestinian IDs, as required by the Oslo Accords, Israel appropriates that right under the new policy, designing a host of requirements so onerous that no foreign spouse can meet them," she says.
She says that many demands for change in the new document "were completely ignored" and that "tight restrictions" continue to affect all aspects of Palestinian civil society.
They new rules were published late on Sunday and are due to take effect on 20 October for a pilot period of two years.
Israeli officials say that further amendments are possible and that there are ongoing discussions with the Palestinian Authority, foreign
diplomats and others.
BBC
Revised rules also on foreigners living in, or wanting to, visit the territory remove a quota for university lecturers and students from abroad.
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, described them as "racist measures".
Israel says restrictions on travel into the West Bank are for security reasons.
The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides said he had "aggressively engaged" with the Israeli government and continued "to have concerns with the published protocols".
European diplomats previously said they had brought up concerns "at the highest level" with the Israeli authorities.
Mr Shtayyeh has called on the US and EU to apply diplomatic pressure to make further changes.
The procedures affect thousands of foreign spouses, as well as Palestinians living in the diaspora, businesspeople, academics and volunteers.
A senior source at the Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), the unit of the Israeli ministry of defence responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, told me they were intended "for the convenience of foreigners" and would allow requests for more long-term visas.
'Negative impact'
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and continues to occupy it.
In February, Cogat published a lengthy document titled "Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area" - using the biblical term that Israel uses to refer to the West Bank. It was meant to replace a four-page one.
However, petitions to the High Court delayed the rules from taking effect.
The updated document has removed a requirement for a foreigner starting a relationship with a Palestinian from the West Bank to tell Israeli authorities in writing within 30 days.
The revised draft adds new categories of work permits for teachers and doctors and removes a limit of 100 visiting lecturers and 150 students at Palestinian universities.
It also allows for the extension of foreigners' visas from 90 days to 180 days.
In addition, it now gives a route for nationals of Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, South Sudan and Morocco - all countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel - to apply for an entry permit, which it did not before.
Despite the changes, Ambassador Nides raised questions "regarding Cogat's role in determining whether individuals invited by Palestinian academic institutions are qualified to enter the West Bank, and the potential negative impact on family unity".
The new arrangements - which affect many Americans with dual nationality - have complicated recent discussions on Israel joining the US visa-waiver programme.
'Too burdensome'
The new rules do not apply to those visiting Israel as well as Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank, nor Jewish settlements. In such cases, entry involves the Israeli immigration authorities.
As the basis for its authority, Cogat cites the Oslo Accords, interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s, which required Israeli approval to grant residency to foreign spouses and children of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza, and approve visitor permits.
However, Israeli lawyer Leora Bechor, who petitioned the High Court over the rules on behalf of the non-governmental organisation HaMoked, argues that it is "in direct violation" of these agreements in the way it deals with the Palestinian population registry.
"Instead of the Palestinian Authority determining which foreigners will receive Palestinian IDs, as required by the Oslo Accords, Israel appropriates that right under the new policy, designing a host of requirements so onerous that no foreign spouse can meet them," she says.
She says that many demands for change in the new document "were completely ignored" and that "tight restrictions" continue to affect all aspects of Palestinian civil society.
They new rules were published late on Sunday and are due to take effect on 20 October for a pilot period of two years.
Israeli officials say that further amendments are possible and that there are ongoing discussions with the Palestinian Authority, foreign
diplomats and others.
BBC
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At least 100 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem this year amid a massive increase in Israeli military raids, according to figures compiled by the BBC.
The number was reached as an 18-year-old man was shot dead in East Jerusalem on Saturday and after a week which saw Israeli forces reportedly firing an anti-tank missile at a house in Jenin that killed a wanted gunman and three others.
It means this year is now on course to become the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2015.
The vast majority were shot dead by Israeli security forces and several by armed Israeli civilians.
In a small number of cases the source of gunfire - Israeli or Palestinian - is disputed, while one man was shot dead during an arrest raid carried out by Palestinian security forces.
As human rights groups express mounting alarm, the figures show nearly a fifth of the Palestinians killed were children, the youngest of whom was 14.
Meanwhile the US this week called for an immediate investigation after a seven-year-old boy died of apparent heart failure when the Israeli military came to the family home after his brothers were accused of throwing stones. The army says an initial inquiry found no connection between its search and the boy's death.
The list of fatalities includes gunmen from militant groups, teenagers and young men shot after reportedly throwing stones or petrol bombs, unarmed civilians and bystanders, protesters and anti-settlement activists, and individuals carrying out alleged knife attacks or using other weapons against Israeli soldiers or civilians.
Palestinian officials have accused Israel of carrying out "field executions", while the period also saw the worst wave of violence against Israelis in years.
In the spring, a spate of deadly attacks by Arab Israelis and Palestinians killed 16 Israelis and two foreigners, after which near nightly army raids have taken place in the West Bank as Israeli officials said they would aggressively counter a growing terrorism threat.
Their pace has stoked fears of a much wider flare-up, with the Israeli military accused of routinely using excessive force and collective punishment, while security forces of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) have been losing their grip to armed groups whose firepower has grown to levels unmatched in years.
The raids frequently spark gunfights with young, newly-armed militants in densely populated areas of Jenin and Nablus.
Israeli and Palestinian officials blame each other for the security collapse in the northern West Bank.
In a statement the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it used live fire when all other options were exhausted in response to "violent riots and acts of terrorism daily".
It said: "In the case of the death of a Palestinian as a result of IDF activity, a Military Police criminal investigation is generally launched to clarify the circumstances of the incident. However, in incidents where the operations were of a real combat nature, a criminal investigation is not immediately launched."
In August, then-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said many cases appeared to break international law combined with "an almost total lack of accountability".
Our analysis of the Palestinian death toll draws on a range of sources including the BBC's own on-the-ground coverage, regional media reporting and official statements cross-referenced with reports from non-governmental groups and UN agencies.
The youngest Palestinian killed in the West Bank was 14-year-old Mohammad Salah, shot by soldiers in late February close to Israel's separation barrier south of Bethlehem.
The IDF alleged he threw petrol bombs on to a road but didn't say why it used lethal force to stop this. His family say he wasn't close to the road when he was shot dead.
The oldest fatalities were two 80-year-old men in separate incidents. One of them, Palestinian-American Omar Assad, died from a heart attack after being bound and gagged by troops during a village search in January.
The army later said it had suspended two officers from command positions and passed the file to military investigators.
By mid-March, 20 Palestinians had been killed, before this year's deadly wave of violence that struck Israel's streets.
A wave of attacks earlier this year by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs on the streets of Israel caused shock and anger
Those attacks were carried out by Arab Israeli supporters of the Islamic State group and by Palestinian gunmen mostly from the Jenin area.
The deadliest attack was claimed by the militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades while each was praised by Hamas - the Palestinian militant group that dominates the blockaded Gaza strip - and Islamic Jihad. All three are listed by Israel and the West as terrorist organisations.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Breakwater. Naftali Bennett, prime minister at the time, gave security forces "full freedom" to end the threats. "There are not and will not be limits for this war," he said.
'Uneven battle'
Of the 100 fatalities, most were shot dead by Israeli forces during search, arrest and punitive home demolition raids.
More than half the total number have been in Jenin and Nablus or surrounding villages in the northern West Bank.
Around a third of all those killed were militant gunmen. In many but not all cases Israeli soldiers shot them during or after reported exchanges of fire, although the IDF virtually never gives accounts of what happens in any detail.
Across the West Bank, at least a quarter of the total number of fatalities took place when soldiers used live ammunition to fire at young men or teenagers in groups it said had thrown stones, petrol bombs or improvised explosives.
In June the BBC witnessed the aftermath of an army raid into Jenin, reportedly a weapons search, in which gunmen from three militant groups were said to have pursued and fired at army jeeps, before an Israeli sniper on a rooftop shot them dead in their car.
Several young men also suffered bullet wounds after apparently throwing stones, while crowds outside the hospital called for revenge.
It came amid a collapse of security control by the PA, which has limited powers to govern Palestinian cities.
We saw the growth of weaponry in Jenin refugee camp, new formations of militants - many still just teenagers - and a rejection of the formal Palestinian leadership viewed as corrupt and unwilling to defend them.
Young gunmen backed by established armed groups have fused into the Jenin Brigade, while in Nablus militants patrolling the Ottoman-era alleyways of the Old City dub themselves the Den of Lions.
In the summer Israeli forces targeted the group's 19-year-old leader Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, or the Lion of Nablus, as he was known from his TikTok videos - as part of a trend for such footage to go viral among Palestinians.
Early on 9 August soldiers raided the city in unmarked vans, surrounded his safe house and fired shoulder launched missiles at it, killing him and another gunman.
Israel wanted al-Nabulsi for a spate of shooting attempts against Israelis around Nablus. Another two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were also shot dead during the raid in unclear circumstances.
The building's ruins have become a shrine, where other gunmen vow to fight on.
But this is an "uneven battle", according to Amos Harel, defence analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, given Israel's overwhelming military superiority.
He says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did two things to try to stem the threat of attacks: It flooded Israel's West Bank separation barrier with troops, and readied battalions and commando units to raid Palestinian cities to carry out "preventative" arrests.
Mr Harel was embedded with Israeli forces on a raid into Jenin refugee camp in March.
"You saw young people on motorcycles getting close to the Israeli jeeps, sometimes 20 or 30 metres [65-100ft] behind them, and just shooting," he told the BBC.
"This is different [from the recent past]. These are people who are willing to fight and willing to die."
'Life has changed a lot'
According to the figures, 19 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank this year.
Most of the under-18s were shot dead by Israeli soldiers during military search-and-arrest raids or anti-occupation protests.
One boy was killed while carrying out an alleged hammer attack on a soldier.
The human rights group Defence for Children International (DCI) Palestine has said the death toll indicates a "complete disregard for international norms" by the Israeli military.
In July, 16-year-old Amjad Nasr was shot dead in the village of Al Mughayyir, where tensions frequently erupt as Israeli settlers have targeted nearby land to build illegal outposts.
Palestinians and settlers confronted each other, both groups throwing stones, while at least one of the settlers was armed with a machine gun.
Video of the moment Amjad was hit shows him starting to run away as a gunshot is heard.
A soldier can be seen nearby although it's still not clear who fired the fatal bullet - Amjad's family maintain it was one of the settlers.
Amjad's father, Nashaat Nasr, told the BBC he had not received any explanation from the army about his son's death.
"Life has changed a lot without Amjad. He left school to help me as I suffered from cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatment. He used to help the family," he said.
Asked about the incident at the time the Israeli army said it was being "examined", and forwarded the BBC a video and photos of Palestinians on a road attacking a passing Israeli car with stones. It didn't respond to questions about how this was connected to the shooting of Amjad Nasr in a different location while he was running from security forces.
The IDF subsequently said a military police investigation was under way into his death.
Meanwhile, the IDF's competence or willingness to investigate itself over fatal incidents has been increasingly subject to question this year.
After the killing in Jenin of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Israeli officials gave misleading statements to the media, before a final internal probe falsely suggested a soldier probably mistakenly shot her because he was being fired at by militants from her location at the time.
The IDF routinely says it acts to protect its civilians and soldiers from "violent riots" during raids or protests, while officials defend its rules of engagement allowing for the use of live fire.
Two years ago, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier was killed when a large rock was thrown at him from a rooftop during an arrest raid near Jenin.
This year, two members of Israel's security forces have been killed in the escalating violence in the West Bank.
One of them, Maj Bar Falah, was shot dead in September near the separation barrier in a reported gunfight with two Palestinian militants who were also killed.
The IDF says the number of gun attacks by Palestinians targeting civilians and the military in the West Bank has risen three-fold compared with last year. It put the number at 170 by mid-September.
Israeli officials also briefed reporters that Operation Breakwater had prevented 550 separate attacks in the last two months, but did not provide further details.
In at least eight cases this year Palestinians were killed during attempted or alleged attacks against Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank.
On 31 March, an Israeli bus passenger was stabbed with a screwdriver near the settlement of Efrat, leaving him badly wounded. Another Israeli civilian onboard shot dead the alleged attacker, 30-year-old Palestinian Nidal Jaafra.
Meanwhile the frequent IDF raids have seen more than 1,500 Palestinians arrested since April.
Aseel AlBajeh, an advocacy officer with the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, describes the overall impact of Israel's operation as "collective punishment on the entire region", citing further restrictions on movement, the closure of military checkpoints to Israel, denial of work permits and detentions without trial that have accompanied it.
Many Palestinian families have been waiting for a clear explanation about loved ones' deaths.
A 47-year-old widow, Ghada Sabatien, was shot dead by an Israeli soldier at close range after the IDF says she "ignored orders to halt". It happened on 10 April in the village of Husan near Bethlehem.
She was unarmed and a subsequent report by the UN's humanitarian affairs agency said she was visually impaired. The IDF said afterwards it had opened an investigation into her death.
Human rights groups say they will seek to add many of this year's cases to a current investigation by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes by Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
In August, 49 Palestinians were also killed in the Gaza Strip during a military escalation between Israel and Islamic Jihad.
The list of 100 fatalities does not include Palestinians who were killed this year while carrying out the attacks inside Israel.
BBC
The number was reached as an 18-year-old man was shot dead in East Jerusalem on Saturday and after a week which saw Israeli forces reportedly firing an anti-tank missile at a house in Jenin that killed a wanted gunman and three others.
It means this year is now on course to become the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2015.
The vast majority were shot dead by Israeli security forces and several by armed Israeli civilians.
In a small number of cases the source of gunfire - Israeli or Palestinian - is disputed, while one man was shot dead during an arrest raid carried out by Palestinian security forces.
As human rights groups express mounting alarm, the figures show nearly a fifth of the Palestinians killed were children, the youngest of whom was 14.
Meanwhile the US this week called for an immediate investigation after a seven-year-old boy died of apparent heart failure when the Israeli military came to the family home after his brothers were accused of throwing stones. The army says an initial inquiry found no connection between its search and the boy's death.
The list of fatalities includes gunmen from militant groups, teenagers and young men shot after reportedly throwing stones or petrol bombs, unarmed civilians and bystanders, protesters and anti-settlement activists, and individuals carrying out alleged knife attacks or using other weapons against Israeli soldiers or civilians.
Palestinian officials have accused Israel of carrying out "field executions", while the period also saw the worst wave of violence against Israelis in years.
In the spring, a spate of deadly attacks by Arab Israelis and Palestinians killed 16 Israelis and two foreigners, after which near nightly army raids have taken place in the West Bank as Israeli officials said they would aggressively counter a growing terrorism threat.
Their pace has stoked fears of a much wider flare-up, with the Israeli military accused of routinely using excessive force and collective punishment, while security forces of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) have been losing their grip to armed groups whose firepower has grown to levels unmatched in years.
The raids frequently spark gunfights with young, newly-armed militants in densely populated areas of Jenin and Nablus.
Israeli and Palestinian officials blame each other for the security collapse in the northern West Bank.
In a statement the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it used live fire when all other options were exhausted in response to "violent riots and acts of terrorism daily".
It said: "In the case of the death of a Palestinian as a result of IDF activity, a Military Police criminal investigation is generally launched to clarify the circumstances of the incident. However, in incidents where the operations were of a real combat nature, a criminal investigation is not immediately launched."
In August, then-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said many cases appeared to break international law combined with "an almost total lack of accountability".
Our analysis of the Palestinian death toll draws on a range of sources including the BBC's own on-the-ground coverage, regional media reporting and official statements cross-referenced with reports from non-governmental groups and UN agencies.
The youngest Palestinian killed in the West Bank was 14-year-old Mohammad Salah, shot by soldiers in late February close to Israel's separation barrier south of Bethlehem.
The IDF alleged he threw petrol bombs on to a road but didn't say why it used lethal force to stop this. His family say he wasn't close to the road when he was shot dead.
The oldest fatalities were two 80-year-old men in separate incidents. One of them, Palestinian-American Omar Assad, died from a heart attack after being bound and gagged by troops during a village search in January.
The army later said it had suspended two officers from command positions and passed the file to military investigators.
By mid-March, 20 Palestinians had been killed, before this year's deadly wave of violence that struck Israel's streets.
A wave of attacks earlier this year by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs on the streets of Israel caused shock and anger
Those attacks were carried out by Arab Israeli supporters of the Islamic State group and by Palestinian gunmen mostly from the Jenin area.
The deadliest attack was claimed by the militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades while each was praised by Hamas - the Palestinian militant group that dominates the blockaded Gaza strip - and Islamic Jihad. All three are listed by Israel and the West as terrorist organisations.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Breakwater. Naftali Bennett, prime minister at the time, gave security forces "full freedom" to end the threats. "There are not and will not be limits for this war," he said.
'Uneven battle'
Of the 100 fatalities, most were shot dead by Israeli forces during search, arrest and punitive home demolition raids.
More than half the total number have been in Jenin and Nablus or surrounding villages in the northern West Bank.
Around a third of all those killed were militant gunmen. In many but not all cases Israeli soldiers shot them during or after reported exchanges of fire, although the IDF virtually never gives accounts of what happens in any detail.
Across the West Bank, at least a quarter of the total number of fatalities took place when soldiers used live ammunition to fire at young men or teenagers in groups it said had thrown stones, petrol bombs or improvised explosives.
In June the BBC witnessed the aftermath of an army raid into Jenin, reportedly a weapons search, in which gunmen from three militant groups were said to have pursued and fired at army jeeps, before an Israeli sniper on a rooftop shot them dead in their car.
Several young men also suffered bullet wounds after apparently throwing stones, while crowds outside the hospital called for revenge.
It came amid a collapse of security control by the PA, which has limited powers to govern Palestinian cities.
We saw the growth of weaponry in Jenin refugee camp, new formations of militants - many still just teenagers - and a rejection of the formal Palestinian leadership viewed as corrupt and unwilling to defend them.
Young gunmen backed by established armed groups have fused into the Jenin Brigade, while in Nablus militants patrolling the Ottoman-era alleyways of the Old City dub themselves the Den of Lions.
In the summer Israeli forces targeted the group's 19-year-old leader Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, or the Lion of Nablus, as he was known from his TikTok videos - as part of a trend for such footage to go viral among Palestinians.
Early on 9 August soldiers raided the city in unmarked vans, surrounded his safe house and fired shoulder launched missiles at it, killing him and another gunman.
Israel wanted al-Nabulsi for a spate of shooting attempts against Israelis around Nablus. Another two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were also shot dead during the raid in unclear circumstances.
The building's ruins have become a shrine, where other gunmen vow to fight on.
But this is an "uneven battle", according to Amos Harel, defence analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, given Israel's overwhelming military superiority.
He says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did two things to try to stem the threat of attacks: It flooded Israel's West Bank separation barrier with troops, and readied battalions and commando units to raid Palestinian cities to carry out "preventative" arrests.
Mr Harel was embedded with Israeli forces on a raid into Jenin refugee camp in March.
"You saw young people on motorcycles getting close to the Israeli jeeps, sometimes 20 or 30 metres [65-100ft] behind them, and just shooting," he told the BBC.
"This is different [from the recent past]. These are people who are willing to fight and willing to die."
'Life has changed a lot'
According to the figures, 19 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank this year.
Most of the under-18s were shot dead by Israeli soldiers during military search-and-arrest raids or anti-occupation protests.
One boy was killed while carrying out an alleged hammer attack on a soldier.
The human rights group Defence for Children International (DCI) Palestine has said the death toll indicates a "complete disregard for international norms" by the Israeli military.
In July, 16-year-old Amjad Nasr was shot dead in the village of Al Mughayyir, where tensions frequently erupt as Israeli settlers have targeted nearby land to build illegal outposts.
Palestinians and settlers confronted each other, both groups throwing stones, while at least one of the settlers was armed with a machine gun.
Video of the moment Amjad was hit shows him starting to run away as a gunshot is heard.
A soldier can be seen nearby although it's still not clear who fired the fatal bullet - Amjad's family maintain it was one of the settlers.
Amjad's father, Nashaat Nasr, told the BBC he had not received any explanation from the army about his son's death.
"Life has changed a lot without Amjad. He left school to help me as I suffered from cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatment. He used to help the family," he said.
Asked about the incident at the time the Israeli army said it was being "examined", and forwarded the BBC a video and photos of Palestinians on a road attacking a passing Israeli car with stones. It didn't respond to questions about how this was connected to the shooting of Amjad Nasr in a different location while he was running from security forces.
The IDF subsequently said a military police investigation was under way into his death.
Meanwhile, the IDF's competence or willingness to investigate itself over fatal incidents has been increasingly subject to question this year.
After the killing in Jenin of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Israeli officials gave misleading statements to the media, before a final internal probe falsely suggested a soldier probably mistakenly shot her because he was being fired at by militants from her location at the time.
The IDF routinely says it acts to protect its civilians and soldiers from "violent riots" during raids or protests, while officials defend its rules of engagement allowing for the use of live fire.
Two years ago, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier was killed when a large rock was thrown at him from a rooftop during an arrest raid near Jenin.
This year, two members of Israel's security forces have been killed in the escalating violence in the West Bank.
One of them, Maj Bar Falah, was shot dead in September near the separation barrier in a reported gunfight with two Palestinian militants who were also killed.
The IDF says the number of gun attacks by Palestinians targeting civilians and the military in the West Bank has risen three-fold compared with last year. It put the number at 170 by mid-September.
Israeli officials also briefed reporters that Operation Breakwater had prevented 550 separate attacks in the last two months, but did not provide further details.
In at least eight cases this year Palestinians were killed during attempted or alleged attacks against Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank.
On 31 March, an Israeli bus passenger was stabbed with a screwdriver near the settlement of Efrat, leaving him badly wounded. Another Israeli civilian onboard shot dead the alleged attacker, 30-year-old Palestinian Nidal Jaafra.
Meanwhile the frequent IDF raids have seen more than 1,500 Palestinians arrested since April.
Aseel AlBajeh, an advocacy officer with the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, describes the overall impact of Israel's operation as "collective punishment on the entire region", citing further restrictions on movement, the closure of military checkpoints to Israel, denial of work permits and detentions without trial that have accompanied it.
Many Palestinian families have been waiting for a clear explanation about loved ones' deaths.
A 47-year-old widow, Ghada Sabatien, was shot dead by an Israeli soldier at close range after the IDF says she "ignored orders to halt". It happened on 10 April in the village of Husan near Bethlehem.
She was unarmed and a subsequent report by the UN's humanitarian affairs agency said she was visually impaired. The IDF said afterwards it had opened an investigation into her death.
Human rights groups say they will seek to add many of this year's cases to a current investigation by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes by Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
In August, 49 Palestinians were also killed in the Gaza Strip during a military escalation between Israel and Islamic Jihad.
The list of 100 fatalities does not include Palestinians who were killed this year while carrying out the attacks inside Israel.
BBC
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Look at this
==
Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem – Sabah Bader, 57, spent her life savings from working as a chef on an apartment she could finally call her own, hoping for some sense of security for herself and her son.
But since she moved into a 13-unit building in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, south of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, eight years ago, the single mother’s life has been far from secure.
Bader and the nearly 100 other Palestinians living i**n the same building have had the threat of demolition and forced displacement by Israeli authorities constantly hanging over them.
Residents of the 13-unit building – at least half of whom are minors – received a final Israeli demolition order on February 5, under the pretext that their building “lacks a permit”.
Days later, following international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the demolition would be indefinitely postponed.
While the building’s removal was put off, the demolition order remains in force and may be executed at any moment.
“Even if they demolish this building, I will put up a tent and stay here. I am not better than any of the people living in refugee camps – I will become exactly like them,” Bader told Al Jazeera from her home.
Under the new right-wing Israeli government sworn in late last year, Israeli officials have been fast-tracking the demolition of Israeli-designated “illegal” Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, including in the neighbourhoods of Silwan, Jabal al-Mukaber and Hizma.
These Israeli policies mean that at least one-third of all Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem lack an Israeli-issued building permit, with more than 100,000 residents at risk of forced displacement, according to United Nations (UN) figures.
Close to 1,000 other Palestinians are facing forced eviction from their homes in cases filed against them by Israeli settler groups, many with support from the Israeli government.
On Monday, Israeli forces demolished two homes belonging to a father and his son from the Basheer family in Jabal al-Mukaber, unleashing widespread confrontations with residents, during which at least 30 Palestinians – including an Al Jazeera cameraman – were shot and injured with rubber-coated bullets.
Raed Basheer, the lawyer for the families of the neighbourhood, said there were also at least two people injured with live ammunition, who are currently hospitalised.
“This was the first time in years that such a confrontation happens in Jabal al-Mukaber,” Basheer told Al Jazeera.
“What is happening is purely political – it is a policy of collective punishment and pressure, to forcibly displace Palestinian Jerusalemites and intensify Judaization of the city,” he added.
Since the start of this year, Israeli forces have demolished at least 47 Palestinian-built structures in occupied East Jerusalem, including inhabited and uninhabited homes, stores, and other structures. By February 7, at least 60 Palestinians were made homeless due to the demolitions, according to the UN.
Bader, the retired chef in Silwan, says it is “impossible” for her to leave yet another house after struggling with high rent in the city for years.
“They want us to leave Jerusalem and to leave the country by demolishing our homes. I – the mother of Ameen Bader – say that there is no way that I will leave this house. They can demolish it on top of our heads – at least we will die as martyrs fighting for our homes and lands”.
Local and international NGOs and rights groups have long pointed to a range of Israeli practices and policies in Jerusalem aimed at altering the demographic ratio in favour of Jews.
Israel militarily occupied and illegally annexed the eastern half of the city in 1967. Only 13 percent is zoned for Palestinian development and residential construction, most of which is already built up, with the remainder under Israeli state and settler control.
Forcible displacement and transfer of a militarily-occupied population is a violation of international law and a war crime.
Approximately 200,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, many built on private Palestinian land. They also live in Palestinian homes taken over by settlers with the help of the state.
On January 11, the Palestinian Authority (PA) said the home demolitions in Jerusalem and in ‘Area C’ of the occupied West Bank are among the “worst forms of ethnic cleansing committed by the Israeli government”.
The PA said it “regards very seriously the policy of the Israeli government to intensify and escalate the demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities, in an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and all areas classified as Area C” in order to allocate these areas for illegal settlements.
Between 1967 and 1995, more than 88 percent of housing construction in occupied East Jerusalem took place in illegal Israeli settlements supported by governmental subsidies.
Due to the very high cost of housing and restrictive Israeli policies, Bader – like thousands of other Palestinians – resorted to purchasing an apartment in an “unlicenced” – therefore cheaper – building.
While an apartment in an Israeli-licenced building in occupied East Jerusalem costs approximately 1-1.5 million Israeli shekels ($284,000-$425,000), those without permits range from 350-400,000 shekels ($99,000-$113,000).
“Where am I going to get this kind of money to buy an apartment in a licenced building? I studied to be a chef and I worked for 15 years,” said Bader.
“I put all my savings into this house, and now it’s going to go for nothing. And for what? Because of Israel? And because it’s a building without a licence? All of their construction is without a licence! Their entire presence here is without a licence!” she added.
Many of those who build homes without permits, or purchase in “unlicenced” buildings do so with the hope and the impression that their homes may eventually become “licenced” by the Israeli Jerusalem municipality.
Residents in many areas take it upon themselves to develop their own land planning schemes, which they present to the municipality in order to challenge their demolition orders, in the hope of getting their structures added to the current boundaries of each neighbourhood, many of which have not been updated since the 1967 occupation.
They end up paying millions in monthly fines to the Israeli municipality as violations for living in an “unlicenced building,” and to lawyers and engineers to develop alternative plans, only to have their homes demolished in the end.
Those in the Silwan building, for example, were told by the municipality that they could get the building licenced if they managed to purchase an adjacent plot of land to be allocated for “public use” for the neighbourhood. They were given a week to do so in December.
The lands around the building are all privately owned and are worth over 1 million shekels ($284,000), which the residents of the building have to pay for out of their own pockets.
“We applied for a licence – we have an engineer and a lawyer – and we submitted an organisational plan for the area, yet we have been suffering for seven years,” Arafat al-Nabi, a 57-year-old resident of the building, told Al Jazeera.
“It’s a war on our nerves. We don’t sleep, we don’t eat, we don’t leave the building,” he continued.
To al-Nabi and the rest of the residents, the motive of Israeli demolitions is clear.
“It is forced displacement. They want us to give up and move to the West Bank. The more they empty Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents, the more settlers they can bring in,” said al-Nabi.
Still, he believes Palestinians “will always have hope” of remaining in their homes. “We have knocked on every door to try and get this resolved,” he said. “They cannot kill our hope.”
Al JAzeera
==
Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem – Sabah Bader, 57, spent her life savings from working as a chef on an apartment she could finally call her own, hoping for some sense of security for herself and her son.
But since she moved into a 13-unit building in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, south of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, eight years ago, the single mother’s life has been far from secure.
Bader and the nearly 100 other Palestinians living i**n the same building have had the threat of demolition and forced displacement by Israeli authorities constantly hanging over them.
Residents of the 13-unit building – at least half of whom are minors – received a final Israeli demolition order on February 5, under the pretext that their building “lacks a permit”.
Days later, following international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the demolition would be indefinitely postponed.
While the building’s removal was put off, the demolition order remains in force and may be executed at any moment.
“Even if they demolish this building, I will put up a tent and stay here. I am not better than any of the people living in refugee camps – I will become exactly like them,” Bader told Al Jazeera from her home.
Under the new right-wing Israeli government sworn in late last year, Israeli officials have been fast-tracking the demolition of Israeli-designated “illegal” Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, including in the neighbourhoods of Silwan, Jabal al-Mukaber and Hizma.
These Israeli policies mean that at least one-third of all Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem lack an Israeli-issued building permit, with more than 100,000 residents at risk of forced displacement, according to United Nations (UN) figures.
Close to 1,000 other Palestinians are facing forced eviction from their homes in cases filed against them by Israeli settler groups, many with support from the Israeli government.
On Monday, Israeli forces demolished two homes belonging to a father and his son from the Basheer family in Jabal al-Mukaber, unleashing widespread confrontations with residents, during which at least 30 Palestinians – including an Al Jazeera cameraman – were shot and injured with rubber-coated bullets.
Raed Basheer, the lawyer for the families of the neighbourhood, said there were also at least two people injured with live ammunition, who are currently hospitalised.
“This was the first time in years that such a confrontation happens in Jabal al-Mukaber,” Basheer told Al Jazeera.
“What is happening is purely political – it is a policy of collective punishment and pressure, to forcibly displace Palestinian Jerusalemites and intensify Judaization of the city,” he added.
Since the start of this year, Israeli forces have demolished at least 47 Palestinian-built structures in occupied East Jerusalem, including inhabited and uninhabited homes, stores, and other structures. By February 7, at least 60 Palestinians were made homeless due to the demolitions, according to the UN.
Bader, the retired chef in Silwan, says it is “impossible” for her to leave yet another house after struggling with high rent in the city for years.
“They want us to leave Jerusalem and to leave the country by demolishing our homes. I – the mother of Ameen Bader – say that there is no way that I will leave this house. They can demolish it on top of our heads – at least we will die as martyrs fighting for our homes and lands”.
Local and international NGOs and rights groups have long pointed to a range of Israeli practices and policies in Jerusalem aimed at altering the demographic ratio in favour of Jews.
Israel militarily occupied and illegally annexed the eastern half of the city in 1967. Only 13 percent is zoned for Palestinian development and residential construction, most of which is already built up, with the remainder under Israeli state and settler control.
Forcible displacement and transfer of a militarily-occupied population is a violation of international law and a war crime.
Approximately 200,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, many built on private Palestinian land. They also live in Palestinian homes taken over by settlers with the help of the state.
On January 11, the Palestinian Authority (PA) said the home demolitions in Jerusalem and in ‘Area C’ of the occupied West Bank are among the “worst forms of ethnic cleansing committed by the Israeli government”.
The PA said it “regards very seriously the policy of the Israeli government to intensify and escalate the demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities, in an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and all areas classified as Area C” in order to allocate these areas for illegal settlements.
Between 1967 and 1995, more than 88 percent of housing construction in occupied East Jerusalem took place in illegal Israeli settlements supported by governmental subsidies.
Due to the very high cost of housing and restrictive Israeli policies, Bader – like thousands of other Palestinians – resorted to purchasing an apartment in an “unlicenced” – therefore cheaper – building.
While an apartment in an Israeli-licenced building in occupied East Jerusalem costs approximately 1-1.5 million Israeli shekels ($284,000-$425,000), those without permits range from 350-400,000 shekels ($99,000-$113,000).
“Where am I going to get this kind of money to buy an apartment in a licenced building? I studied to be a chef and I worked for 15 years,” said Bader.
“I put all my savings into this house, and now it’s going to go for nothing. And for what? Because of Israel? And because it’s a building without a licence? All of their construction is without a licence! Their entire presence here is without a licence!” she added.
Many of those who build homes without permits, or purchase in “unlicenced” buildings do so with the hope and the impression that their homes may eventually become “licenced” by the Israeli Jerusalem municipality.
Residents in many areas take it upon themselves to develop their own land planning schemes, which they present to the municipality in order to challenge their demolition orders, in the hope of getting their structures added to the current boundaries of each neighbourhood, many of which have not been updated since the 1967 occupation.
They end up paying millions in monthly fines to the Israeli municipality as violations for living in an “unlicenced building,” and to lawyers and engineers to develop alternative plans, only to have their homes demolished in the end.
Those in the Silwan building, for example, were told by the municipality that they could get the building licenced if they managed to purchase an adjacent plot of land to be allocated for “public use” for the neighbourhood. They were given a week to do so in December.
The lands around the building are all privately owned and are worth over 1 million shekels ($284,000), which the residents of the building have to pay for out of their own pockets.
“We applied for a licence – we have an engineer and a lawyer – and we submitted an organisational plan for the area, yet we have been suffering for seven years,” Arafat al-Nabi, a 57-year-old resident of the building, told Al Jazeera.
“It’s a war on our nerves. We don’t sleep, we don’t eat, we don’t leave the building,” he continued.
To al-Nabi and the rest of the residents, the motive of Israeli demolitions is clear.
“It is forced displacement. They want us to give up and move to the West Bank. The more they empty Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents, the more settlers they can bring in,” said al-Nabi.
Still, he believes Palestinians “will always have hope” of remaining in their homes. “We have knocked on every door to try and get this resolved,” he said. “They cannot kill our hope.”
Al JAzeera
sweep_shot
ODI Captain
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- 46,795
Truly heartbreaking.
Western media is unlikely to report this. They are too busy cheering for Azov Brigade.
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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A firebrand Israeli minister claimed there’s “no such thing” as a Palestinian people as Israel's new coalition government, its most hard-line ever, plowed ahead on Monday with a part of its plan to overhaul the judiciary.
The development came a day after an Israeli and Palestinian delegation at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and U.S. officials, pledged to take steps to lower tensions roiling the region ahead of a sensitive holiday season.
It reflected the limited influence the Biden administration appears to have over Israel’s new far-right government and raised questions about attempts to lower tensions, both inside Israel and with the Palestinians, ahead of a sensitive holiday season.
As the negotiators were issuing a joint communique, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivered a speech in Paris saying the notion of a Palestinian people was artificial.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language,” he said in France late Sunday. He spoke at a lectern draped with what appeared to be a map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank and parts of Jordan.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...p&cvid=f85aa88fa8d843e7a6dc7617613e583f&ei=12
The development came a day after an Israeli and Palestinian delegation at a meeting in Egypt, mediated by Egyptian, Jordanian and U.S. officials, pledged to take steps to lower tensions roiling the region ahead of a sensitive holiday season.
It reflected the limited influence the Biden administration appears to have over Israel’s new far-right government and raised questions about attempts to lower tensions, both inside Israel and with the Palestinians, ahead of a sensitive holiday season.
As the negotiators were issuing a joint communique, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivered a speech in Paris saying the notion of a Palestinian people was artificial.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian nation. There is no Palestinian history. There is no Palestinian language,” he said in France late Sunday. He spoke at a lectern draped with what appeared to be a map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank and parts of Jordan.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...p&cvid=f85aa88fa8d843e7a6dc7617613e583f&ei=12
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Palestinians have described remarks about Israel by the head of the European Commission as "inappropriate, false and discriminatory".
It follows a congratulatory video message by Ursula von der Leyen on Israel's Independence Day on Wednesday.
In it she praised Israel, including for having "made the desert bloom".
It has sparked an unusual diplomatic spat between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the European Union (EU), its main donor.
A spokesperson for the commission told the BBC: "The EU is unpleasantly surprised by the inappropriate statement of the Palestinian foreign ministry accusing the president of the European Commission of racism."
"We are requesting clarification from the Palestinian authorities regarding this unacceptable reaction to her video."
The response of the Palestinian foreign ministry is a rare strong rebuke to a top figure in Brussels, with which it typically has good relations.
The PA singled out Ms von der Leyen's suggestion that Israel had cultivated barren land, calling it an "anti-Palestinian racist trope".
The phrase "making the desert bloom" is commonly used by Israel and its backers to describe what they view as the country's success in developing the land since the founding of the modern state in 1948.
However, Palestinians argue that it erases their history and suggests that the land was previously uninhabited or untended.
The PA is calling for an apology from the European Commission president.
"Seventy-five years ago, a dream was realised with Israel's Independence Day," Ms von der Leyen said in her message. "After the greatest tragedy in human history, the Jewish people could finally build a home in the promised land."
"Today, we celebrate 75 years of vibrant democracy in the heart of the Middle East, 75 years of dynamism, ingenuity and groundbreaking innovations. You have literally made the desert bloom, as I could see during my visit to the Negev last year."
Her video shared on the @EUinIsrael Twitter account has had more than 2.9m views.
The PA statement describes the message, addressed to Israel's President Isaac Herzog, as "propagandist discourse" and part of an "ongoing dispossession" of Palestinians.
The PA claims it "dehumanizes and erases the Palestinian people and falsifies their rich history and civilization".
In addition, it says that the European statement "whitewashes" Israel's occupation of lands Palestinians claim for their hoped-for future state and denies what they call "the Nakba" (Arabic for "catastrophe") of 1948.
Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their homes in the war that followed the Israel's creation.
Palestinians mark Nakba Day on 15 May according to the Gregorian calendar, while the timing of Israel's Independence Day follows the Hebrew calendar.
Some Palestinians on social media have also criticised or mocked the European leader, including for her comments about shared values with Israel.
The European Commission is part of the executive of the European Union.
The spokesman for the commission stressed the EU's diplomatic ties with the PA, pointing out that Ms von der Leyen met PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh when she visited the region in June 2022.
They said a meeting to co-ordinate the delivery of international aid to the Palestinians was due to take place in Brussels next week.
"The EU is actively looking for solutions for the difficult situation of the Palestinian people," they added.
BBC
It follows a congratulatory video message by Ursula von der Leyen on Israel's Independence Day on Wednesday.
In it she praised Israel, including for having "made the desert bloom".
It has sparked an unusual diplomatic spat between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the European Union (EU), its main donor.
A spokesperson for the commission told the BBC: "The EU is unpleasantly surprised by the inappropriate statement of the Palestinian foreign ministry accusing the president of the European Commission of racism."
"We are requesting clarification from the Palestinian authorities regarding this unacceptable reaction to her video."
The response of the Palestinian foreign ministry is a rare strong rebuke to a top figure in Brussels, with which it typically has good relations.
The PA singled out Ms von der Leyen's suggestion that Israel had cultivated barren land, calling it an "anti-Palestinian racist trope".
The phrase "making the desert bloom" is commonly used by Israel and its backers to describe what they view as the country's success in developing the land since the founding of the modern state in 1948.
However, Palestinians argue that it erases their history and suggests that the land was previously uninhabited or untended.
The PA is calling for an apology from the European Commission president.
"Seventy-five years ago, a dream was realised with Israel's Independence Day," Ms von der Leyen said in her message. "After the greatest tragedy in human history, the Jewish people could finally build a home in the promised land."
"Today, we celebrate 75 years of vibrant democracy in the heart of the Middle East, 75 years of dynamism, ingenuity and groundbreaking innovations. You have literally made the desert bloom, as I could see during my visit to the Negev last year."
Her video shared on the @EUinIsrael Twitter account has had more than 2.9m views.
The PA statement describes the message, addressed to Israel's President Isaac Herzog, as "propagandist discourse" and part of an "ongoing dispossession" of Palestinians.
The PA claims it "dehumanizes and erases the Palestinian people and falsifies their rich history and civilization".
In addition, it says that the European statement "whitewashes" Israel's occupation of lands Palestinians claim for their hoped-for future state and denies what they call "the Nakba" (Arabic for "catastrophe") of 1948.
Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their homes in the war that followed the Israel's creation.
Palestinians mark Nakba Day on 15 May according to the Gregorian calendar, while the timing of Israel's Independence Day follows the Hebrew calendar.
Some Palestinians on social media have also criticised or mocked the European leader, including for her comments about shared values with Israel.
The European Commission is part of the executive of the European Union.
The spokesman for the commission stressed the EU's diplomatic ties with the PA, pointing out that Ms von der Leyen met PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh when she visited the region in June 2022.
They said a meeting to co-ordinate the delivery of international aid to the Palestinians was due to take place in Brussels next week.
"The EU is actively looking for solutions for the difficult situation of the Palestinian people," they added.
BBC
People ignore losing causes. Palestine is a lost cause. Ukraine isn't. Also Israel -Palestine conflict is limited to a small region. People rightly think Russia - Ukraine conflict is a way for China to test the mettle of NATO with far reaching consequences.
daytrader
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Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan dies in Israeli prison
Israeli prison authorities said Adnan was found unconscious in his cell after almost three months on hunger strike.
Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who was affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, has died in an Israeli prison after almost three months on hunger strike, Israeli prison officials said.
Adnan “refused to undergo medical tests and receive medical treatment” and “was found unconscious in his cell” in the early morning on Tuesday, the Israeli prison service said.
Adnan began his hunger strike shortly after being arrested on February 5.
He had gone on hunger strike several times after previous arrests, including a 55-day strike in 2015 to protest his arrest under so-called administrative detention, in which suspects are held indefinitely by Israel without charge or trial.
Israel is currently holding more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees without charge or trial, the highest number since 2003, according to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked.
“Khader Adnan has been executed in cold blood,” the WAED Prisoners Association in Gaza told the Reuters news agency upon hearing of Adnan’s death.
Palestinian new agency WAFA reported that Adnan, 44, from the town of Arraba near Jenin city in the occupied West Bank, had refused to eat for 87 days to protest against his detention without charge, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
A father of nine, Adnan had been arrested 12 times during his life and had undertaken hunger strike action during several stints in Israeli prisons, WAFA reported.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023...r-striker-khader-adnan-dies-in-israeli-prison
Israeli prison authorities said Adnan was found unconscious in his cell after almost three months on hunger strike.
Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who was affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, has died in an Israeli prison after almost three months on hunger strike, Israeli prison officials said.
Adnan “refused to undergo medical tests and receive medical treatment” and “was found unconscious in his cell” in the early morning on Tuesday, the Israeli prison service said.
Adnan began his hunger strike shortly after being arrested on February 5.
He had gone on hunger strike several times after previous arrests, including a 55-day strike in 2015 to protest his arrest under so-called administrative detention, in which suspects are held indefinitely by Israel without charge or trial.
Israel is currently holding more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees without charge or trial, the highest number since 2003, according to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked.
“Khader Adnan has been executed in cold blood,” the WAED Prisoners Association in Gaza told the Reuters news agency upon hearing of Adnan’s death.
Palestinian new agency WAFA reported that Adnan, 44, from the town of Arraba near Jenin city in the occupied West Bank, had refused to eat for 87 days to protest against his detention without charge, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
A father of nine, Adnan had been arrested 12 times during his life and had undertaken hunger strike action during several stints in Israeli prisons, WAFA reported.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023...r-striker-khader-adnan-dies-in-israeli-prison
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The EU has cancelled its diplomatic event for Europe Day in Israel because of the planned participation of the far-right minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Organisers said they did not want "to offer a platform" to someone whose views contradicted its values.
As the Israeli government's designated representative, Mr Ben-Gvir had insisted he would give the customary speech at a ceremony on Tuesday.
In response to the decision, he accused the EU of "undiplomatic gagging".
It is understood that the Israeli Government Secretariat put forward Mr Ben-Gvir's name according to a rotating list of ministers selected to attend official diplomatic events and that EU ambassadors were caught by surprise.
Despite explicit requests from the EU and its prominent member states to send a minister who was not identified with the extreme right, Mr Ben-Gvir insisted that he would go.
The national security minister had stated that he would use his speech to call for a united "struggle against jihad and terrorism" while also telling EU representatives it was "inappropriate for EU countries to fund initiatives against IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers and Israeli citizens".
BBC
Organisers said they did not want "to offer a platform" to someone whose views contradicted its values.
As the Israeli government's designated representative, Mr Ben-Gvir had insisted he would give the customary speech at a ceremony on Tuesday.
In response to the decision, he accused the EU of "undiplomatic gagging".
It is understood that the Israeli Government Secretariat put forward Mr Ben-Gvir's name according to a rotating list of ministers selected to attend official diplomatic events and that EU ambassadors were caught by surprise.
Despite explicit requests from the EU and its prominent member states to send a minister who was not identified with the extreme right, Mr Ben-Gvir insisted that he would go.
The national security minister had stated that he would use his speech to call for a united "struggle against jihad and terrorism" while also telling EU representatives it was "inappropriate for EU countries to fund initiatives against IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers and Israeli citizens".
BBC
KingKhanWC
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Disagree, Ukraine is a lost cause. Palestine will be free.
Now we have this farce known as Eurovision.
Russia banned for Ukraine war but Israel not? Western regimes are hypocrites and pathetic.
daytrader
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Russia on UN ‘list of shame’ for killing children, Israel absent
UN chief Antonio Guterres criticised by right workers for ‘disservice’ to Palestinian children by leaving Israeli forces off list.
The United Nations has placed Russia’s military and allied armed groups on its “list of shame” over the killing and maiming of hundreds of children in its war against Ukraine, but Israeli forces have been left off the list despite killing more than 40 Palestinian children last year, according to reports.
Human rights organisations had made repeated requests that Israel be added to the UN blacklist over the killing and maiming of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour on Thursday called UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s decision to leave Israel off the shame list a “big mistake”.
In the UN’s annual report on the treatment of children in conflict zones, which was distributed to members of the UN Security Council on Thursday, Guterres said that he was “appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine” in 2022.
According to news organisations that had seen a copy of the report, 477 children were listed as killed in Ukraine last year, including 136 deaths directly attributed to Russian forces and affiliated groups.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023...t-of-shame-for-killing-children-israel-absent
UN chief Antonio Guterres criticised by right workers for ‘disservice’ to Palestinian children by leaving Israeli forces off list.
The United Nations has placed Russia’s military and allied armed groups on its “list of shame” over the killing and maiming of hundreds of children in its war against Ukraine, but Israeli forces have been left off the list despite killing more than 40 Palestinian children last year, according to reports.
Human rights organisations had made repeated requests that Israel be added to the UN blacklist over the killing and maiming of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour on Thursday called UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s decision to leave Israel off the shame list a “big mistake”.
In the UN’s annual report on the treatment of children in conflict zones, which was distributed to members of the UN Security Council on Thursday, Guterres said that he was “appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine” in 2022.
According to news organisations that had seen a copy of the report, 477 children were listed as killed in Ukraine last year, including 136 deaths directly attributed to Russian forces and affiliated groups.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023...t-of-shame-for-killing-children-israel-absent
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Hypocrisy is what we can call to these barbaric actions from Israel towards Palestine.
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FearlessRoar
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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to bring food into Gaza as Israeli air strikes pounded the Palestinian enclave.
As the conflict intensifies, civilians, including vulnerable children and families, face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies, the WFP said.The WFP provides direct food assistance to some 350,000 Palestinians every month, while also offering aid to nearly one million Palestinians in cooperation with other humanitarian partners via cash transfers.
While most shops in the affected areas in Palestine currently maintain one month of food stocks, these risk being depleted swiftly as people buy up food in fear of a prolonged conflict, it said.
Source: Al Jazeera
Gharib Aadmi
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So many people on social media calling for Gaza to be leveled, glassed, carpet bombed, etc, its sickening. These same people rightfully condemn Russia when they do this to Ukraine, yet are cheering for Israel.
FearlessRoar
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The fighting between Israel and the Gaza military organization Hamas continues for the third day. Rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Sunday night and Monday morning, while Israel also carried out airstrikes on Gaza.
Many properties have been destroyed in Israeli attacks. Hundreds of people have been killed in this fight so far. According to the United Nations, the number of displaced people in Gaza has exceeded 120,000.
Source: VOA
Many properties have been destroyed in Israeli attacks. Hundreds of people have been killed in this fight so far. According to the United Nations, the number of displaced people in Gaza has exceeded 120,000.
Source: VOA
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Muslim and Arab sports stars hold summit over Israel-Hamas war as players clash
Muslim and Arab players across football, cricket and rugby have held a summit meeting over the Israel-Hamas war.
Mirror Sport understands around 30 athletes - including players from the Premier League and the Championship - came together to warn colleagues to stay off social media. Also to share their collective view that they would like to see fitting tributes to all of those who lost their lives over the past five days.
It comes with the FA set to light up the Wembley arch in solidarity with Israel ahead of England’s friendly against Australia on Friday night.
Some Muslim and Arab players made it clear in this week’s meeting, held on Monday, that they would walk off the pitch ahead of upcoming fixtures for their club sides if respect is not shown for Palestinians lost in the conflict.
The FA, Premier League and Football League were accused of “double standards” in 2019 for not holding tributes for 50 people killed in New Zealand's mosque attacks, despite doing so after November 2015’s Paris attacks.
A source said: “Over 950 people died in Gaza and 1000 people died in Israel. Every single civilian life is a tragedy and must be mourned. Why would we have a minute’s silence for the Israelis but not the Palestinian people who are also suffering?
“None of the players are against a minute’s silence for the victims of war. Why would we be? But we have a voice and we won’t be silent on this.” Muslim and Arab stars were also warned in the meeting to limit their social media use - or steer clear of it completely - to avoid a backlash.
Players have already received abuse, some racist, after posting or retweeting material this week. In the Premier League Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko restricted his Instagram profile after trolls targeted him for posting that he 'stands with Israel’.
His team-mate Mohamed Elneny was also vilified for appearing to show his support for Palestine by changing his Instagram profile picture to that of their flag. At another club, two players are understood to have had to be separated after a heated argument over the conflict.
Other players have defied trolls to make clear their solidarity is with the Palestinian people and not Hamas. With neither Fifa nor Uefa issuing any statement about what has been happening in the war, the FA has so far yet to comment.
MIRROR
Muslim and Arab players across football, cricket and rugby have held a summit meeting over the Israel-Hamas war.
Mirror Sport understands around 30 athletes - including players from the Premier League and the Championship - came together to warn colleagues to stay off social media. Also to share their collective view that they would like to see fitting tributes to all of those who lost their lives over the past five days.
It comes with the FA set to light up the Wembley arch in solidarity with Israel ahead of England’s friendly against Australia on Friday night.
Some Muslim and Arab players made it clear in this week’s meeting, held on Monday, that they would walk off the pitch ahead of upcoming fixtures for their club sides if respect is not shown for Palestinians lost in the conflict.
The FA, Premier League and Football League were accused of “double standards” in 2019 for not holding tributes for 50 people killed in New Zealand's mosque attacks, despite doing so after November 2015’s Paris attacks.
A source said: “Over 950 people died in Gaza and 1000 people died in Israel. Every single civilian life is a tragedy and must be mourned. Why would we have a minute’s silence for the Israelis but not the Palestinian people who are also suffering?
“None of the players are against a minute’s silence for the victims of war. Why would we be? But we have a voice and we won’t be silent on this.” Muslim and Arab stars were also warned in the meeting to limit their social media use - or steer clear of it completely - to avoid a backlash.
Players have already received abuse, some racist, after posting or retweeting material this week. In the Premier League Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko restricted his Instagram profile after trolls targeted him for posting that he 'stands with Israel’.
His team-mate Mohamed Elneny was also vilified for appearing to show his support for Palestine by changing his Instagram profile picture to that of their flag. At another club, two players are understood to have had to be separated after a heated argument over the conflict.
Other players have defied trolls to make clear their solidarity is with the Palestinian people and not Hamas. With neither Fifa nor Uefa issuing any statement about what has been happening in the war, the FA has so far yet to comment.
MIRROR
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And the village idiot has spoken...
==
The Israel-Gaza war is "taking away the focus" from the conflict in Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted.
He said this was "one of the goals" of Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
And he denied that fighting in Ukraine had reached a stalemate, despite a recent assessment to this effect by the country's top military general.
Ukraine's counter-offensive in the south has so far made little headway.
This has prompted fears of war fatigue among Kyiv's Western allies, with suggestions of growing reluctance in some capitals to continue giving Ukraine advanced weapons and funds.
==
The Israel-Gaza war is "taking away the focus" from the conflict in Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted.
He said this was "one of the goals" of Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
And he denied that fighting in Ukraine had reached a stalemate, despite a recent assessment to this effect by the country's top military general.
Ukraine's counter-offensive in the south has so far made little headway.
This has prompted fears of war fatigue among Kyiv's Western allies, with suggestions of growing reluctance in some capitals to continue giving Ukraine advanced weapons and funds.
Ukraine war: Zelensky says Israel-Gaza conflict taking focus away from fighting
One of Russia's goals is to draw global attention away from the war in Europe, says Ukraine's president.
www.bbc.com
daytrader
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Russia says Israeli nuclear remark raises 'huge number of questions'
MOSCOW, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a remark by an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza had raised a huge number of questions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday suspended Heritage Minister Amihay Eliyahu, from a far-right party in the coalition government, from cabinet meetings "until further notice".
Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Eliyahu had replied: "That's one way."
"This has raised a huge number of questions," Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, was quoted as saying by state RIA news agency.
Zakharova said the main issue was that Israel appeared to have admitted that it had nuclear weapons.
Israel does not publicly acknowledge it has nuclear weapons though the Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads.
"Question number one - it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?" Zakharova said.
If so, she said, then where are the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear inspectors?
Eliyahu remark drew condemnation from around the Arab world, scandalised mainstream Israeli broadcasters, was deemed "objectionable" by a U.S. official, and Iran called for a swift international response.
"The UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency must take immediate and uninterrupted action to disarm this barbaric and apartheid regime. Tomorrow is late," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on platform X on Monday.
MOSCOW, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a remark by an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza had raised a huge number of questions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday suspended Heritage Minister Amihay Eliyahu, from a far-right party in the coalition government, from cabinet meetings "until further notice".
Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Eliyahu had replied: "That's one way."
"This has raised a huge number of questions," Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, was quoted as saying by state RIA news agency.
Zakharova said the main issue was that Israel appeared to have admitted that it had nuclear weapons.
Israel does not publicly acknowledge it has nuclear weapons though the Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads.
"Question number one - it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?" Zakharova said.
If so, she said, then where are the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear inspectors?
Eliyahu remark drew condemnation from around the Arab world, scandalised mainstream Israeli broadcasters, was deemed "objectionable" by a U.S. official, and Iran called for a swift international response.
"The UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency must take immediate and uninterrupted action to disarm this barbaric and apartheid regime. Tomorrow is late," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on platform X on Monday.
FearlessRoar
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Israel says the minors being released as part of the four-day truce are terrorists - but Palestinians say many are youths, held without sentence for what other countries would regard as civil disorder offences.
We've seen Israel's hostages coming home in a blaze of coverage, but very little of Palestinian prisoners returning to Jerusalem as part of the truce.
There's a good reason for that. The Israeli police in Jerusalem don't want the homecomings filmed, celebrated or becoming the focus of gatherings and potential unrest.
In the narrow lanes of Silwan, in the shadow of Jerusalem's Old City ramparts, paramilitary border police were out in force.
We tried to reach one house where four boys were being returned to one family. "Not now," we were told before being firmly moved on.
The area is predominantly Arab and the scene of frequent unrest.
The neon blue stars of Jewish settlement buildings shine out from among the homes of Palestinians who resent their presence and the fact that the city spends millions less on their neighbourhoods than the majority Jewish west of the city.
To suppress that unrest the Israeli police routinely round up and detain teenage boys after clashes between them.
Israel has a controversial policy of administrative detention when suspects can be held for six months without trial or detention.
Twenty-one of the 39 prisoners released in Sunday's third hostage prisoner exchange were from East Jerusalem and have been returned there.
We moved on to another prisoner's family's home but this time filmed from a distance until the police moved on. Inside we found the Abu Ghannam family as they welcomed home their 17-year-old son.
Ghannam Abu Ghannam was detained a year ago, charged with throwing stones at a bus. He has never been convicted, his family say. He's now been released as part of the Gaza truce.
"It's a gift from God," his mother told Sky News. "It's as if it's a miracle."
Source: Sky News
news.sky.com
We've seen Israel's hostages coming home in a blaze of coverage, but very little of Palestinian prisoners returning to Jerusalem as part of the truce.
There's a good reason for that. The Israeli police in Jerusalem don't want the homecomings filmed, celebrated or becoming the focus of gatherings and potential unrest.
In the narrow lanes of Silwan, in the shadow of Jerusalem's Old City ramparts, paramilitary border police were out in force.
We tried to reach one house where four boys were being returned to one family. "Not now," we were told before being firmly moved on.
The area is predominantly Arab and the scene of frequent unrest.
The neon blue stars of Jewish settlement buildings shine out from among the homes of Palestinians who resent their presence and the fact that the city spends millions less on their neighbourhoods than the majority Jewish west of the city.
To suppress that unrest the Israeli police routinely round up and detain teenage boys after clashes between them.
Israel has a controversial policy of administrative detention when suspects can be held for six months without trial or detention.
Twenty-one of the 39 prisoners released in Sunday's third hostage prisoner exchange were from East Jerusalem and have been returned there.
We moved on to another prisoner's family's home but this time filmed from a distance until the police moved on. Inside we found the Abu Ghannam family as they welcomed home their 17-year-old son.
Ghannam Abu Ghannam was detained a year ago, charged with throwing stones at a bus. He has never been convicted, his family say. He's now been released as part of the Gaza truce.
"It's a gift from God," his mother told Sky News. "It's as if it's a miracle."
Source: Sky News
Israel-Hamas war: 'We were treated like dogs' - released Palestinian prisoners complain of mistreatment
Israel says the minors being released as part of the four-day truce are terrorists - but Palestinians say many are youths, held without sentence for what other countries would regard as civil disorder offences.
news.sky.com
FearlessRoar
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Jon Stewart highlights clear double standards, hypocrisy at its best.
JaDed
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Yup the legend is back but again on this forum itself there are many hypocrites that supported Russia but called out Israel.
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Challo some consistency now from Trump
He is nasty to both!
He is nasty to both!
HalBass9
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While I have consistently opposed the war in Ukraine, it is crucial for the American people to recognize that redirecting 350 billion in spending would not have tangibly improved their lives. Slashing funding for programs like USAID will not enhance their quality of life or reduce the deficit, the debt ceiling was raised to 4 trillion. The root causes of their struggles lie in systemic inequality, unchecked corporate greed, and the growing wealth gap. As billionaires amass more wealth, the purchasing power of the middle and working classes diminishes, exacerbating economic hardship. Our forebears fought for fairness and equitable taxation, yet cutting taxes for the wealthy only deepens the divide, leaving the majority of Americans behind. True progress requires addressing these structural inequities, not scapegoating foreign aid or essential programs.