Page 131 - Israel-palestine

Israeli military says its war jet downed unmanned aircraft over Gaza Strip

An Israeli fighter jet downed "an unidentified aircraft" over the Gaza Strip, Israel's military said in a statement

Israeli governance group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

An Israeli good governance group on Sunday asked the country's Supreme Court to punish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country's judiciary while he is on trial for corruption. The request by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel intensifies a brewing showdown between Netanyahu's government and the judiciary, which it is trying to overhaul in a contentious plan that has sparked widespread opposition. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a fierce opponent of the overhaul, asked the court to force Netanyahu to obey the law and sanction him either with a fine or prison time for not doing so, saying he was not above the law. A prime minister who doesn't obey the court and the provisions of the law is privileged and an anarchist, said Eliad Shraga, the head of the group, echoing language used by Netanyahu and his allies against protesting opponents of the overhaul. The

West Bank shooting attack casts shadow over Israel-Palestinian talks

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

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

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

Israel says Palestinian militants fired rockets after raid

The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed. The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus. The Israeli military said Aar defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas ..

10 Palestinians killed, 102 injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers

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

UN Security Council calls for de-escalation of Israeli-Palestinian tensions

The Security Council reiterates the obligation of all parties regarding the pursuit of accountability for all acts of violence targeting civilians

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli army raid in refugee camp in West Bank

A Palestinian teen was killed Tuesday during an Israeli army raid in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian officials said. The death was the latest in an almost year-long surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence that shows no signs of abating. The Israeli military said it carried out raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, and that during an operation in the Faraa refugee camp, a person approached troops with an explosive device. The army said that soldiers shot the person. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that local residents clashed with Israeli soldiers, who shot at them. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Mahmoud Al-Aydi, 17, died from a bullet wound to the head. Tensions have mounted for months as Israel has conducted nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, which were prompted by a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis last spring. Some 30 people were killed in Israel by Palestinians in 2022, and at least 12 others died in atta

Israel PM Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system. The boisterous demonstration outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu's program. The plan has triggered weeks of mass protests, prompted condemnations from wide swaths of Israeli society and drawn a statement of concern from President Joe Biden. Netanyahu and his allies say the country's unelected judges have too much power and need to be reined in. His opponents say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a deep conflict of interest. They say his planned overhaul will destroy the country's democratic checks and balances and is a poorly disguised plot to make his criminal case go away. Monday's demonstration was the largest to take place in t

Israelis protest PM Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul plans

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a weekly demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's proposed judicial overhauls, which opponents say threaten Israel's democratic values. The protesters marched at two locations in the central coastal city of Tel Aviv, waving flags and chanting slogans against the justice minister. Doctors fighting for the life of democracy, read a banner raised by a doctor at the Tel Aviv protest. The protest is the fifth against the new government, a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and far-right nationalist parties that took office in December. The government launched proposals to weaken the Supreme Court by giving parliament the power to overturn court decisions with a simple majority vote. It also wants to give parliament control over the appointment of judges and reduce the independence of legal advisers. Smaller protests were reported in several Israeli cities.

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

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

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

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

Israeli-Palestinian tensions test US diplomacy as Antony Blinken visits

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

Palestine urges CIA chief to pressure Israel to stop unilateral measures

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Israelis press on with protests against Netanyahu's new government

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

Israelis, Palestinians clash at UN amid escalating political rhetoric

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

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

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