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Israel’s new defense minister has said security forces would no longer apply administrative detention orders to Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, and thus only Palestinian suspects can be held indefinitely without trial. Israel Katz, a long-time ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was appointed defense minister earlier in November and announced the decision on Friday. In 2019, Trump abandoned the long-held U.S. position that West Bank settlements are illegal before it was restored by President Joe Biden. Settler immunity from administrative detention coincides with heightened rhetoric from Israeli ministers calling for the West Bank to be annexed. The U.N. said four Palestinian children have been killed every week in the West Bank on average since the current conflict began, a three-fold increase from the first nine months of 2023.
Persons: Donald Trump, Israel Katz, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Katz Bebeto Matthews, B’Tselem, Yair Lapid, Israel's, Itamar Ben, Trump, Joe Biden, Israel’s, Bezalel Smotrich, Trump’s, Smotrich, , , Mike Huckabee, Yossi Mekelberg, Defense Lloyd J, Austin, Katz Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian Prisoner Society, National, Palestinian Authority, Arkansas Gov, Arutz, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Chatham House’s, NBC, Defense Locations: Gaza, Lebanon, Israel, Bank, U.S, Washington, Arkansas, East, North Africa, South Lebanon
In this 2014 photo, Israeli soldiers in the Netzah Yehuda battalion are seen taking part in training in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, near the Syrian border. While he was in Netzah Yehuda, he said, the battalion’s commanders played a key role in perpetuating a culture of violence, both by standing by as it happened and promoting it. The findings by the expert panel would have been enough to disqualify a military unit from any other country, the officials said. Lt. Col. Nitai Okashi oversaw the Netzah Yehuda battalion from 2018 to 2020. Lt. Col. Uri Levy was in charge of Netzah Yehuda from 2014 to 2016.
Persons: Yehuda, Menahem Kahana, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, Mike Johnson, Israel “, Blinken, Netzah Yehuda, , ” Charles Blaha, they’re, , , Biden, Israel, Netzah, Ahmad Jamil Fahd, Sanad, Shin Bet, Gil Cohen, Josh Paul, Paul, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Amanpour, ” Paul, Eyad Baba, Joe Biden, Leahy, Sen, Patrick Leahy, Charles Blaha, Blaha, Omar Assad, Assad, Netzah Yehuda –, Mati Shevach, Nasser Nasser, ” Blaha, Shevach, Nitai Okashi, Okashi, Der Spiegel,  , Uri Levy, Levy, Johnson, don’t, ” Netzah Yehuda, Col, Shlomo Shiran, Katie Polglase, Benjamin Brown, Barbara Arvanitidis, Alex Platt, Mark Baron, Augusta Anthony, Alberto Mier, Toby Hancock, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Laura Smith, Eliza Mackintosh, Dan Wright, Matt Wells Ami Kaufman, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, US State Department, State Department, Getty, IDF, State Department’s Office, Security, Human Rights CNN, Congress, Department, Israel Border Police, Internal Security Forces, ” CNN, Israeli Air Force Base, Magen, State, Human, Kfir Brigade, AP, Netzah, Urban Warfare Training Center, CBS, Battalion, Kfir Infantry Brigade, West Bank ., Jerusalem Brigade, Britain’s Guardian, Okashi, Israeli, Augusta Anthony Visual Locations: Israeli, United States, Gaza, Golan, Syrian, AFP, Palestinian, Israel, Ramallah, Rahat, Jerusalem, Jiljilya, Col, West Bank, Jiljiliya, Beit Hanoun
CNN —Israel has warned that its war in Gaza could extend until the end of the year. Prolonging the war could have catastrophic consequences for Palestinians in the already ravaged territory and significant repercussions for Israel and beyond, experts said. “And currently Hamas doesn’t seem to be ready to release them.”Impact on Israel’s economyThe war hit Israel’s economy hard in the immediate aftermath of October 7. As of January, the Israeli military was spending $272 million per day on the war, according to the Israeli news site Ynet. Despite these efforts, the war persists, civilian casualties rise and famine spreads in Gaza, intensifying pressure from some of his electorate.
Persons: CNN — Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, , Joe Biden, , Assaf Orion, Juliette Touma, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Yohanan Plesner, Plesner, Israel, Malcolm Shaw, Yaron Wax, Johanna Geron, INSS, Amir Levy, Orion, Daniel Hagari, ” Plesner, Biden Organizations: CNN, National, Institute for National Security Studies, Israel Defense Forces, London School of Hygiene, Tropical Medicine, Johns Hopkins Center, Humanitarian Health, Israel, United Nations, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israeli, Israel Democracy Institute, International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, United, P Global, Moody’s, Service, Troops, American, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv, Rafah, Europe, Palestinian, British, The Hague, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Egypt, United Arab Emirates
Mr. Netanyahu said in a social media post that his government would “act by all means” against any such move. The sanctions, if imposed, would not hold up the military aid that was just approved in Congress. The Israeli military disciplined three of the unit’s commanders after the investigation. Human rights organizations have long accused the Israeli military justice system of whitewashing wrongdoing and the military of acting with impunity. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the six months of war, according to Gazan health officials.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu, Axios, Netzah Yehuda, Leahy, Yehuda, Omar Abdelmajed Assad, , Assad’s, Biden, Benny Gantz, Yoav Gallant, Antony J, Blinken, Jacob J, Lew, Gallant, Mick Mulroy, , ” Natan Odenheimer, Gabby Sobelman Organizations: West Bank, Biden, Netzah, Jewish, Israel, Pentagon, State Locations: States, Gaza, Israel, Israel’s, Iran, U.S, United States
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will impose sanctions on Israeli settlers who incite violence in the West Bank and introduce new sanctions on Hamas leaders, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Sunday, after the United States took similar action last week. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on Sunday, Joly said some settlers "will be sanctioned" and "we will also bring new sanctions on Hamas leaders". Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said he was considering imposing sanctions on "extremist" settlers in the West Bank. War in Israel and Gaza View All 194 ImagesSince the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. In the 18 months before Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the West Bank had already seen its highest levels of unrest in decades.
Persons: Melanie Joly, Joly, Justin Trudeau, Steve Scherer, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: OTTAWA, West Bank, United, United States, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, West Bank ., West Bank of Locations: Canada, United States, Ukraine, I'm, Ottawa, Israel, Gaza, Jordan
Among Israeli and Palestinian leaders, reactions to Biden administration sanctions against West Bank settlers fell predictably along ethnic and ideological lines, from far-right Jewish nationalists who denounced the penalties as unjust to Arabs who said they did not go far enough. The sanctions announced on Thursday came in response to violence by Jewish settler extremists, which has increased sharply in recent months. “4 settlers?! Pathetic,” Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Parliament, wrote on X. “The ‘settler violence’ campaign is an anti-Semitic lie spread by Israel’s enemies,” Mr. Smotrich wrote on X, though such violence has been amply documented.
Persons: Biden, ” Ahmad Tibi, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben, ” Mr, Smotrich, Yossi Dagan, Organizations: West Bank Locations: West
Palestinians Abandon Villages Following West Bank Settler ViolenceThe U.N. said Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank have doubled since the Israel-Hamas war began, prompting many Palestinians to abandon their homes. WSJ’s Margherita Stancati visited the village of Zanuta to find out more. Photo Illustration: Marina Costa/Tanya Habjouqa
Persons: Margherita Stancati, Marina Costa, Tanya Habjouqa Organizations: Bank Settler, West Bank, Hamas Locations: Israel, Zanuta
REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that rising violence by extremists in the Israeli-occupied West Bank had to stop. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. And to this end, unacceptable violence by extremists in the West Bank has to stop," she added. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron also urged Israel to crack down on what he called "completely unacceptable" violence by West Bank settlers. Israel occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state, in a 1967 Middle East war.
Persons: Raneen, Ursula von der Leyen, Von der Leyen, Justin Trudeau, Charles Michel, Joe Biden, David Cameron, it's, Sudip Kar, William Maclean Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Canadian, European, Britain's, BBC, Thomson Locations: Huwara, Rights BRUSSELS, Israel, Canada, Gaza, , United States
“I continue to be alarmed about extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank; pouring gasoline on fire is what it’s like,” President Biden recently said. Despite the national preoccupation with Gaza over the past month — or perhaps because of it — the zealots have kept at it. Mr. Smotrich has called for widening Palestinian no-go areas around Israeli settlements, including a ban on Palestinians harvesting olives near the settlements. In that same time, three Israeli soldiers were killed in attacks by Palestinians. Mr. Saleh was shot dead, the seventh Palestinian to be killed by settlers since Oct. 7.
Persons: Biden, , Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Smotrich, Ben, Bilal Mohammad Saleh, Saleh Organizations: West Bank, , Hamas, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, The Times Locations: Israel, West Bank, Judea, Samaria, Gaza, Palestinian
The Israeli military said it apprehended Ahed Tamimi, 22, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. The text threatened to "slaughter" Israel's West Bank settlers. Violence has also flared in the West Bank, which has seen regular clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians. Since Oct. 7, Israeli troops have killed at least 141 Palestinians in the territory, including 43 children, according to U.N. figures. Reporting by Ismael Khader in Nabi Saleh, West Bank; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Ahed Tamimi, Raneen, NABI SALEH, Nabi Saleh, Tamimi, Nariman Tamimi, Hitler, Ismael Khader, Rami Ayyub, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Bank, REUTERS, West Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nabi Saleh, West, West Bank, Israel, Gaza
The Israeli military said it apprehended Ahed Tamimi, 22, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. The text threatened to "slaughter" Israel's West Bank settlers. Violence has also flared in the West Bank, which has seen regular clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians. Since Oct. 7, Israeli troops have killed at least 141 Palestinians in the territory, including 43 children, according to U.N. figures. (Reporting by Ismael Khader in Nabi Saleh, West Bank; Writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Persons: NABI SALEH, Ahed Tamimi, Nabi Saleh, Tamimi, Nariman Tamimi, Hitler, Ismael Khader, Rami Ayyub, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: West Bank, Reuters, Bank Locations: West Bank, Israel, Gaza, West
Israeli settler attacks fuel the fire as Gaza war rages
  + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( John Davison | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +9 min
Ben-Gvir's office did not respond to a request for comment about whether guns had already been distributed in the West Bank. At least eight of those were since Oct 7. alone, worrying ordinary Palestinians, Israeli security experts and Western officials. Washington has condemned settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank while the European Union on Tuesday denounced "settler terrorism" that risked a "dangerous escalation of the conflict." Hamas cited Israeli actions in the West Bank, core to a would-be Palestinian state, in waging its killing spree. 'GREAT DANGER'Settler-related violence is becoming harder to stem with the ongoing Gaza war and the augmented power of far-right politicians, Israeli security experts say.
Persons: Ammar Awad, Father, QUSRA, Mourning, Mohammed Wadi, Israel hurtled, Wadi's, Shira Liebman, Itamar Ben, Mohammed's, Ahmed, Ibrahim, Abdullah Abu Rahma, Liebman, We've, Lior Akerman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben, Ariel Danino, Akerman, Den, Wadi, I'm, Emily Rose, Ali Sawafta, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: West Bank, REUTERS, Reuters, Yesha, National, Twitter, Humanitarian Affairs Office, OCHA, European Union, Wall Resistance Commission, Hamas, United Nations, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Nablus, West, Bank, Gaza, Qusra, Yesha Council, Lebanon, Washington, Israel's, Israel, Lebanese, Wadi, Abdullah, Jerusalem, Ramallah
On June 12 of that year, Hamas kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers; soon after, Israelis murdered a Palestinian teenager. The horrific exchange escalated into a larger conflict; ultimately some 70 Israelis and 2,250 Palestinians were killed over seven weeks. I wrote that some members of my team had been tallying the number of soldiers killed and discussing whether this operation was worth the losses. In the years since, Hamas has only grown stronger, despite our sacrifices and despite the death and destruction we had wrought on Gaza. My friend not only fought against Hamas during his final moments to protect his friends and family; he also fought against Hamas during years of activism against the occupation.
Persons: postapocalyptic, There’s, Nasr, , , Israel, Ami Ayalon, Shin Organizations: 993rd Nahal Brigade, Hamas, West Bank, Beit, Air Force Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, Umm al, Israel, Burrah, Beit Hanoun, Al
U.S. President Joe Biden lholds a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2023. As president, Biden has frequently stressed support for independent Israeli and Palestinian states. Having returned to office in late December, Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood anytime soon and has approved thousands of new housing units for West Bank settlers. "If President Biden can stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, I hope President Biden can stand with Israel for as long as it takes," said Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a foreign policy hawk, on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "Biden is not in love with Bibi Netanyahu," he said, using the prime minister's nickname.
Persons: Joe Biden lholds, Benjamin Netanyahu, Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Biden, Barack Obama’s, Donald Trump, Jonathan Panikoff, government’s, Tom Cotton, BIBI, Israel, Aaron David Miller, Bibi Netanyahu, Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick, Heather Timmons, Howard Goller Organizations: Israeli, General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Israel, Administration, West Bank, Republican, U.S, White, Hezbollah, Hamas, Atlantic Council, Fox News, AIPAC, Biden, General, Carnegie Endowment, International, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Yom, Gulf, Lebanese, Jerusalem, Ukraine, New York, Saudi Arabia
Netanyahu’s vow to unleash the full force of the Israeli military on Hamas has raised fears for the safety of Israeli civilians spread in undisclosed locations across the densely populated Gaza Strip. “It will make things much more complicated.”Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesLocating Israeli hostages in Gaza — something Israeli intelligence agencies failed to do in the case of Shalit — poses further challenges. “So the army would have to bomb everything.”Hamas already has said it seeks the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails — some 4,500 detainees, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem — in exchange for the Israeli captives. There is “absolutely no chance” that the current government would agree to the release of Palestinian prisoners, said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This included the Schalit deal in 2011, and Israel’s release of 1,150 jailed Palestinians in exchange for three Israeli prisoners in 1985.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Gilad Shalit, Israel, Netanyahu, ” Michael Milstein, Shalit, , Yaakov Amidror, , Khalil Shikaki, , Gayil Talshir, Yair Lapid, Netanyahu “, Bezalel Smotrich, ” “, Ehud Yaari, Tali Levy, Adva Adar Organizations: JERUSALEM, Gaza, Hamas, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Center, Policy, Survey Research, Palestinian, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Saturday Locations: Jihad, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, , Ashdod
She refers to the overhaul as a “judicial coup,” saying it risks facilitating the “de facto annexation of the West Bank without any critique or any review” from the Supreme Court. The cabinet includes a number of West Bank settlers in powerful positions, and the agreement that brought together the government calls for extending Israel’s sovereignty in the West Bank, effectively a call for annexation. Under Netanyahu’s far-right government, Israel has approved a record number of housing units in West Bank settlements, Peace Now said in a July report. “Did the Supreme Court protect Palestinian rights in the West Bank? More recently in 2017, Israeli security forces bulldozed nine homes built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Ofra.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, West Bank haven’t, Sawsan, Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s, Israel, Israel doesn’t, ” Zaher, Eliav, ” Lieblich, Zaher, Ahmed Tibi, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Tibi, ” Tibi, ” Gershon Baskin, Bond, ” Baskin, Organizations: CNN, West Bank, Legal Center, Arab, Rights, United Nations, Israel Democracy Institute, Tel Aviv University, Palestinian Authority, Supreme Court, Court of Justice, Israel’s, Israeli, Court Locations: Palestinian, Israel, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jerusalem, West, The Hague, Dura, Qara, Ofra
A Grave Escalation in the West Bank - The New York Times
  + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Ori Nir | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +2 min
Indeed, it seems ever more clear to me that ultranationalist West Bank settlers today are pursuing the same objective espoused by that American settler in 1988: to drive Palestinians out. In the process, more and more Israelis have accepted the view that areas in the West Bank inhabited by Jewish settlers have become a part of sovereign Israel. Of course, not all West Bank settlers are ultranationalists who believe that living in the Land of the Bible is a religious edict. For many years, the ultranationalist settlers’ strategy was mostly focused on avenging Palestinian terrorism and maintaining their illegal outposts — proto-settlements built without government approval and in violation of Israeli law. We are praying for a miracle.” I took that “miracle” to mean that through divine intervention, Israel would be able to annex the land of the West Bank without its Palestinian residents.
Persons: Organizations: West Bank, Oslo Accords Locations: West, Israel, Oslo, Israeli
They undermine law and order in Judea and Samaria [West Bank] and must stop immediately,” he said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday. These calls hurt the vital interests of the State of Israel and they must stop immediately.”Israeli authorities describe the West Bank as Judea and Samaria. I emphasize – approved.”The recent uptick in violence peaked on Wednesday, when Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Turmusayya in the occupied West Bank, the day after the killing of four Jewish settlers nearby, according to the mayor of the village. ‘Nationalist terrorism’Senior Israeli security officials condemned what they called “nationalist terrorism” by some settlers, after the latest attacks took place on Saturday around the Palestinian village of Umm Safr, north of Ramallah. Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, the head of the European Union's mission to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, stands inside a destroyed structure in Ramallah on Friday.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, , , , Herzi Halevi, Yaakov Shabtai, Umm, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, Ahmad Gharabli, ” Ghassan Douglas, Mohammad Radee Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israeli, West Bank, West, UN, Palestinian, Nationalist, Israeli General Staff, Israel Security Agency, ISA, Israel’s Police, Israel Police, Getty, Palestine TV, CNN, Palestine, Palestinian Foreign Ministry Locations: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, West, Israel, West Bank, Turmusayya, Jenin, Umm Safr, Ramallah, , Gaza, AFP
US criticizes Israeli order on West Bank settler outpost
  + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Sunday rebuked Israel over an order that allows Jewish settlers to establish a permanent presence in a West Bank outpost that Washington has warned Jerusalem it should avoid legitimizing. The chief of the Israeli military's Central Command signed an order on Thursday that allows Israelis to enter the Homesh outpost area, paving the way for a formal settlement to be built there, the Times of Israel reported. The State Department has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from any moves that escalate tensions with Palestinians, like formalizing settler outposts, and specifically warned it over Homesh. "We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which according to Israeli law was illegally built on private Palestinian land," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Sunday. The order is inconsistent with Israeli government commitments made in 2004 and more recently to Biden administration officials, Miller said.
For them, weakening the Supreme Court would undermine the bedrock of Israel's democracy and could set the country on the path to becoming a corrupt and religiously coercive state. In 2020, the Supreme Court struck down a law that had retroactively legalised homes built by settlers on land owned by Palestinians, like Amona. Settlers driven by ideology see themselves as pioneers redeeming land that was promised by God and many feel betrayed by Supreme Court rulings against settlements. The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment. "The Supreme Court has challenged parliament time and again, playing politics, not nicely."
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A Palestinian gunman killed two Jewish settlers in their car in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, which came as Israeli and Palestinian security officials met in Jordan to discuss ways of lowering tensions. Medics said the casualties near Hawara, an area that sees regular friction between Palestinians and settlers, were men in their twenties. A settlements spokesperson said they were residents of Har Bracha, a settlement 8 km (5 miles) away. Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[1/5] An aerial view shows mobile homes in the Jewish settlement of Givat Haroeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunJERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Drama therapist Yael Drori left bustling Jerusalem 16 years ago to live in an unrecognised outpost in the Israeli occupied West Bank. As a youth, she was active in the Israeli settler movement supporting new communities in the West Bank and protesting against Israeli disengagement from Jewish communities in Gaza. She moved to the West Bank out of ideology, but what she found was a sense of community. Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.
[1/5] An aerial view shows mobile homes in the Jewish settlement of Givat Haroeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunJERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Drama therapist Yael Drori left bustling Jerusalem 16 years ago to live in an unrecognised outpost in the Israeli occupied West Bank. She moved to the West Bank out of ideology, but what she found was a sense of community. Along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, the Palestinians seek the occupied West Bank for a state. Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.
JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Israel granted retroactive authorisation on Sunday to nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and announced mass-construction of new homes within established settlements, moves likely to draw U.S. opposition. Since capturing the West Bank in a 1967 war, it has established 132 settlements, according to the Peace Now watchdog group. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's administration, whose U.S.-sponsored statehood talks with Israel broke down in 2014, said Sunday's announcement should be "condemned and rejected". While welcoming the Netanyahu government's announcement, West Bank settler leader Yossi Dagan urged "a total removal of curbs on construction, to enable construction in full swing". The other Palestinian territory, Gaza, is under Hamas Islamists who reject peacemaking with Israel.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel will increase security and “strengthen the settlements” in response to gun attacks in Jerusalem Friday and Saturday that killed seven Israelis and badly wounded five others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. On Saturday, two people were allegedly injured in a separate gun attack in east Jerusalem by a Palestinian shooter in his early teens. In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip fired rockets into Israel, which in turn triggered retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. The attacks present a challenge for the recently re-elected Netanyahu, who on Sunday visited those injured in Friday's attack at two hospitals in Jerusalem. At protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Saturday night, demonstrators held a moment of silence for the Jerusalem shooting victims.
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