NEW YORK: The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by the UN chief seen by AFP on Friday. In 2025, &quot;plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, compared with some 26,170 in 2024,&quot; the report said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the &quot;relentless&quot; expansion, saying it &quot;continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.&quot; &quot;These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years,&quot; he added, noting an average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022. Excluding East Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, some 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents. &quot;These developments are further entrenching the unlawful Israeli occupation and violating international law and undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,&quot; Gutteres said. Guterres also condemned the &quot;continued escalation of violence and tensions in the occupied West Bank,&quot; pointing out operations by the Israeli Defense Forces in the northern West Bank that have killed a &quot;high number&quot; of people, displaced residents, and destroyed homes and other infrastructure. Violence in the West Bank has soared since Hamas&#39;s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,022 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the conflict, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures. At least 44 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank from Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period, according to Israeli data.

Middle East

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,022 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the conflict, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

Israeli settlements in West Bank growing at highest level since 2017: UN

JERICHO: Three Italians and a Canadian were treated at a Jericho hospital on Sunday after being attacked by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, one of the group told AFP.&nbsp;The Palestinian official news agency Wafa described them as &quot;international activists&quot;.&nbsp;In Rome, the foreign ministry said in a statement that &quot;three Italian international volunteers were attacked last night by Israeli settlers&quot;, adding that they were &quot;still in shock from the incident&quot;.&nbsp;Riyad Eid, director of the Jericho government hospital, told AFP: &quot;Four foreigners arrived at the hospital this morning after being beaten by settlers, according to what they reported.&nbsp;&quot;They were suffering from bruises on the face for some of them, and on the chest, and one of them was beaten in a sensitive area.&nbsp;&quot;They were examined, given X-rays and ultrasound scans, provided with the necessary treatment and then discharged.&quot;&nbsp;More than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, as do around three million Palestinians.&nbsp;Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.&nbsp;The United Nations said that October had been the worst month for settler violence since it began recording incidents in 2006, with 264 attacks that caused casualties or property damage.&nbsp;One of the four, who had visible bruising and did not wish to be identified, told AFP that they were three people from Italy and one from Canada, staying in the Duyuk area on the western edge of Jericho in the central West Bank.&nbsp;&quot;We were asleep at night... 10 masked settlers came; two of them had guns, some of them had sticks,&quot; they said.&nbsp;&quot;They kicked me multiple times in the face, in the ribs, in the hip.&nbsp;&quot;It lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. And then they took all of our things. They stole my passport, my phone, my wallet, my bank cards, and then they left.&nbsp;&quot;We had to have X-rays, painkillers. Our friend was beaten more severely than we were.&quot;&nbsp;Italy&#39;s foreign ministry also said in its statement that &quot;the settlers reportedly entered their home, attacked the volunteers, and stole all their personal belongings&quot;.&nbsp;Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani &quot;is following the incident&quot;, in close contact with Italy&#39;s consul general in Jerusalem, the statement said.&nbsp;

Four foreign volunteers, three Italians and a Canadian were beaten and robbed by masked Israeli settlers near Jericho. They sustained bruises, received treatment, and were discharged as officials condemned rising West Bank settler violence since 2023.

Four foreigners hurt in 'settler attack' in West Bank

SINGAPORE: Palestinian student Razan Shawar has travelled for 24 hours to showcase her team&#39;s AI-powered invention at World Robot Olympiad in Singapore, telling AFP innovation not war should be why people hear about her country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The 15-year-old high school student from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said she dreams of making &quot;something big, so the world can know that the one who did this is Palestinian&quot;.&nbsp;Together with the rest of the Palestinian delegation, she made the journey from the West Bank via Jordan and Dubai to attend the three-day global robotic tournament in Singapore that ended on Friday.&nbsp;More than 1,500 competitors from over 90 countries and territories gathered in the Southeast Asian city for the event, aimed at harnessing the innovative spirit of the world&#39;s youth to find solutions for pressing challenges.&nbsp;Malaysia stamped its class in the tournament, winning a third of the contested medals in various categories, according to an AFP tally.&nbsp;Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Canada and the Philippines were also among the first-place awardees.&nbsp;For the Palestinian students, who left without a medal, it was important to represent their nation on the global stage.&nbsp;Palestinian delegations have attended World Robot Olympiads since 2014, but the Israel-Hamas war meant they did not send representatives at all to the 2023 edition in Panama, and since then, no participants from the Gaza Strip only the West Bank.&nbsp;Palestinians canCompeting in the Future Innovators senior category, this year&#39;s Palestinian delegation created a robot that can be used to boost agriculture production.&nbsp;The &quot;Agribot&quot;, supported by artificial intelligence technology, works by measuring six key soil parameters like moisture, acidity and nutrients using sensors.&nbsp;It takes precise readings with its mechanical arm, and the analysis can help farmers increase yield and reduce waste.&nbsp;The students now aim to make it easily available to farmers who mostly rely on traditional methods, said Razan.&nbsp;Jehad Abudayyeh, 16, said that agriculture &quot;is so important in our country because it&#39;s a way of life. I&#39;m very happy that my project will help them.&quot;&nbsp;Team member Mustafa Assi, who is also 16 and hopes to become an IT engineer, dreams of a more conducive environment for technology to thrive.&nbsp;&quot;I hope my country will be safer and the war ends,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Razan hopes to shine a light on other aspects of Palestinian life apart from conflict.&nbsp;&quot;We want to show the world that we are not just under war, that we can stand here and show people and the world that we can do this, we can be in this competition,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;We made our project, we&#39;re proud of it,&quot; she added.&nbsp;&quot;Palestine has students who aim to be better, and show the world that Palestinians can.&quot;

Artificial Intelligence

Palestinian teens travelled from the West Bank to Singapore’s World Robot Olympiad, showcasing their AI-powered “Agribot” to highlight innovation over conflict. Though medal-less, they aimed to represent their nation proudly and show that Palestinian youth can excel globally.

Big dreams for Palestinian teens at Singapore robot fest

NUR SHAMS: An Al Jazeera journalist was shot and injured while covering a demonstration by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank that was dispersed by Israeli soldiers, AFP journalists witnessed on Tuesday.&nbsp;The demonstrators were protesting their displacement by Israel from the Nur Shams refugee camp on the edge of Tulkarem in the north of the Palestinian territory.&nbsp;&quot;Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi Yassin was shot in the leg by Israeli forces in the city of Tulkarem,&quot; Al Jazeera reported.&nbsp;The journalist was evacuated by ambulance after being shot while working in the middle of a crowd of about 150 camp residents, AFP journalists reported.&nbsp;&quot;His condition is stable and we managed to control the bleeding,&quot; Palestinian Red Crescent Society paramedic Abdullah Nairat, who handled the medical evacuation, told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;A bullet entered his right leg from the outside, passed through, and hit his left thigh.&quot;&nbsp;Nur Shams residents were demonstrating for the right to return to their homes inside the camp, which was evacuated in early 2025 during an ongoing Israeli military operation in several refugee camps in the northern West Bank.&nbsp;After gunshots rang out from inside Nur Shams, Yassin fell, AFP journalists reported. He was then carried to an ambulance.&nbsp;Israeli soldiers then walked down from inside the camp and began to disperse the crowd, briefly detaining two demonstrators and a cameraman for Jordanian television channel Roya.&nbsp;When asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s one of the most basic rights we were given, to have the (refugee) camp after they displaced us in 1948,&quot; Noha Zait, a Nur Shams resident, told AFP before the demonstration was dispersed.&nbsp;Refugee camps were created in the Palestinian territories and in neighboring Arab countries for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel at the time of the country&#39;s creation in 1948.&nbsp;&quot;We must return to our homes, and not a single soldier should remain in the camp,&quot; added Zait, 56.&nbsp;Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.&nbsp;It says its months-long operation in the territory&#39;s north is aimed at cracking down on several camps that are strongholds of Palestinian armed groups.&nbsp;The UN humanitarian agency OCHA says that nearly 40,000 Palestinians were displaced by the Israeli operation in the refugee camps of the northern West Bank.

An Al Jazeera cameraman was shot and injured by Israeli forces while covering a protest in Nur Shams camp, where displaced Palestinians were demanding a return to their homes. 

Al Jazeera journalist shot and injured at West Bank protest

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned what it called escalating Israeli violations in the occupied West Bank, including the &ldquo;storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque,&rdquo; warning that the actions breach international law and endanger regional stability.&nbsp;In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli forces and extremist settlers were committing &ldquo;clear violations&rdquo; of international law and relevant UN resolutions. It stressed that &ldquo;the sanctity of all holy sites must be upheld&rdquo; in line with global norms and the &ldquo;recognized historical status&rdquo; of the area.&nbsp;The ministry urged the international community to take &ldquo;effective and immediate measures&rdquo; to halt settler violence, prevent further provocations, and ensure full adherence to UN decisions.&nbsp;Reaffirming Islamabad&rsquo;s long-standing stance, the statement said Pakistan supports a two-state solution that leads to a sovereign and independent Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 borders, &ldquo;with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan condemned escalating Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque raid, calling them violations of international law. Pakistan urged global intervention and reaffirmed support for a two-state solution.

Pakistan condemns Israeli actions, demands protection of Palestinian holy sites

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank would be a &quot;red line&quot; and would provoke a European reaction. He spoke as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Paris one month into a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, following two years of war triggered by the group&#39;s October 7, 2023, attack against Israel. Abbas, 89, is the longtime head of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and is being considered to possibly assume governance in Gaza under the deal. Macron, whose country in September recognized a Palestinian state, warned against any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank following an uptick in violence in the Palestinian territory. &quot;Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners,&quot; Macron said at a joint press conference with Abbas. &quot;The violence of the settlers and the acceleration of settlement projects are reaching new heights, threatening the stability of the West Bank and constitute violations of international law,&quot; the French president said. Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023. At least 1,002 Palestinians, including fighters, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures. Constitutional committee&nbsp;Following their meeting to discuss the next steps after the Gaza ceasefire, Macron and Abbas announced the creation of a joint committee &quot;for the consolidation of the state of Palestine,&quot; the French leader said. It &quot;will contribute to the drafting of a new constitution, a draft of which President Abbas presented to me.&quot; Abbas renewed his commitment to &quot;reforms,&quot; including &quot;holding presidential and parliamentary elections after the end of the war.&quot; &quot;We are nearing completion of a draft of the provisional constitution of the state of Palestine and the laws on elections and political parties,&quot; he added. Under US President Donald Trump&#39;s 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would stabilize Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw, while a transitional authority would take over the territory&#39;s administration from Hamas until the Palestinian Authority has carried out reforms. Trump said last week he expected an International Stabilization Force tasked with monitoring the ceasefire to be in Gaza &quot;very soon.&quot; Last month&#39;s ceasefire has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers. Hamas&#39;s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The Israeli military&#39;s retaliatory campaign has since killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza&#39;s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Europe

French president says settler’s violence, acceleration of settlement projects are reaching new heights; says it threatens stability of West Bank, constitute violations of international law.

Macron warns any planned West Bank annexation a 'red line'

JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Israel over annexing the West Bank in an interview published on Thursday, as visiting Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced confidence that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza would hold. Trump&#39;s remarks were made to Time magazine by telephone on October 15 &mdash; just days after the Gaza truce plan he spearheaded took effect &mdash; but were only published on Thursday. &quot;It won&#39;t happen,&quot; Trump said when asked about calls in Israel to annex the Palestinian West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. &quot;It won&#39;t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries.&quot; He added: &quot;Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.&quot; Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday advanced two bills paving the way for West Bank annexation, leading to condemnation Thursday from US Vice President JD Vance, who was in Israel at the time and who echoed Trump&#39;s comments. When asked on Thursday if he was concerned by the votes, Trump told reporters at the White House: &quot;Don&#39;t worry about the West Bank. Israel&#39;s not going to do anything with the West Bank.&quot; The United States remains Israel&#39;s most important military and diplomatic supporter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s Likud party boycotted and criticized the vote, though members of his ruling coalition support annexation. Arab and Muslim countries, which the US has been courting to provide troops and money for a stabilization force in Gaza &mdash; a key element of Trump&#39;s ceasefire plan &mdash; have warned that annexation of the West Bank is a red line. In a joint statement carried by Saudi state media on Thursday, more than a dozen such states, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey, condemned the Israeli parliament&#39;s vote. Rubio, one of a string of top US officials to visit Israel in recent days, had warned before his arrival that the annexation moves were &quot;threatening&quot; to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. But he expressed confidence in the truce after meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday. &quot;We feel confident and positive about the progress that&#39;s being made. We&#39;re clear-eyed about the challenges, too,&quot; said Rubio, just hours after Vance wrapped up his own three-day visit. &#39;Very stupid&#39;&nbsp;As he ended his trip, Vance hit out at the votes in Israel&#39;s parliament in favor of examining two annexation bills, which mean they will be brought forward for further readings. &quot;If it was a political stunt, it was a very stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it,&quot; Vance said. &quot;The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel, the policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel, that will continue to be our policy.&quot; Netanyahu, standing next to Rubio after their meeting on Thursday, was quick to avoid any suggestion of tension with Washington, calling the secretary an &quot;extraordinary friend of Israel&quot; and saying that the back-to-back visits were part of a &quot;circle of trust and partnership.&quot; Violence has surged in the West Bank since the war began in Gaza with Hamas&#39;s October 7, 2023, attack. According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops and settlers have killed nearly 1,000 Palestinians, including Palestinian fighters and civilians, since October 2023. Over the same period, at least 43 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have died in Palestinian attacks or Israeli operations, official figures show. The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank. &nbsp;&#39;Tough task&#39;&nbsp;The Gaza truce faced its toughest test on Sunday, when Israeli forces launched strikes in Gaza after two soldiers were killed. The strikes killed at least 45 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza. Gaza&#39;s Nasser Hospital said that one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday in the Khan Younis area. During his visit, Vance warned that disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza would be a &quot;very, very tough task.&quot; Under Trump&#39;s 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would oversee Gaza&#39;s transition as Israeli troops withdraw. Delegations from Hamas and its rival Fatah, meanwhile, met in Egypt to discuss post-war arrangements for Gaza, Egypt&#39;s state-linked Al-Qahera News reported on Thursday. &#39;Not enough food&#39;&nbsp;In Gaza, civilians displaced by two years of war continued to struggle. &quot;We were afraid of dying during the war, and now we&#39;re afraid of living after it,&quot; said Maher Abu Wafah, 42. &quot;Our lives and our children&#39;s future are slipping away before our eyes. We just want a stable life.&quot; The World Health Organization said on Thursday there had been little improvement in the amount of aid going into Gaza since the ceasefire took hold &mdash; and no observable reduction in hunger. &quot;The situation still remains catastrophic because what&#39;s entering is not enough,&quot; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, lamenting that &quot;there is no dent in hunger because there is not enough food.&quot;

Rubio has warned that annexation moves were "threatening" Gaza ceasefire; Vance hits out at Israel's parliament in favor of examining two annexation bills, terms it "very stupid political stunt."

US pressures Israel on West Bank, Rubio voices confidence in Gaza truce

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza peace deal, according to the AFP. Commenting on the move before his visit to Israel, Rubio said, &quot;I think the president&#39;s made clear that&#39;s not something we can be supportive of right now.&quot;&nbsp; Annexation moves are &quot;threatening for the peace deal,&quot; he told reporters. &quot;They&#39;re a democracy, they&#39;re going to have their votes, and people are going to take these positions,&quot; he said. &quot;But at this time, it&#39;s something that we ... think might be counterproductive,&quot; he said. Asked about increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, Rubio said: &quot;We&#39;re concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we&#39;ve worked on.&quot; But Rubio -- the latest high-ranking US visitor to Israel following Vice President JD Vance -- voiced optimism overall for preserving the peace deal. &quot;Every day there&#39;ll be threats to it, but I actually think we&#39;re ahead of schedule in terms of bringing it together, and the fact that we made it through this weekend is a good sign,&quot; Rubio said. Knesset advance bills on annexing West BankIsraeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack. The vote coincided with US Vice President JD Vance&rsquo;s visit to Israel, who is visiting the Middle East to strengthen the Gaza ceasefire.&nbsp; According to AFP, the first text, passed by 32 members of Parliament to nine, proposed annexing Maale Adumim, a large Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem.&nbsp; The second proposal to annex the entire West Bank was supported by 25 MPs while 24 voted against, AFP said. Pakistan condemns Israeli movePakistan&#39;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in a statement on Thursday said that it strongly condemns Israel&rsquo;s attempt to extend its so-called &#39;sovereignty&#39; over parts of the Occupied West Bank, including illegal Israeli settlements, through a draft law introduced in the legislature of the occupying power. These actions, it said, constitute a flagrant violation of international law, relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Such provocative and unlawful measures undermine ongoing efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region, the statement added. MOFA said that Pakistan calls upon the international community to take urgent and decisive action to halt these illegal steps and to hold the Israeli occupying forces accountable for their continued violations of international law. Pakistan reiterates its commitment to working with regional and international partners to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, and to ensure peace, justice, and dignity for the Palestinians, said the statement. MOFA said that Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Qatar condemns Knesset proposals Meanwhile, Qatar on Wednesday condemned in &ldquo;strongest terms&rdquo; the Israeli Knesset&#39;s decision on advancing two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, terming it &ldquo;a blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law and relevant resolutions.&rdquo; The Qatar foreign ministry called on the international community &mdash; and the United Nations Security Council &mdash; &ldquo;to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to take urgent action to compel the Israeli occupation authorities to halt their expansionist plans and settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.&rdquo; The ministry reaffirmed Qatar&rsquo;s firm and longstanding position in support of the Palestinian cause, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution, the statement said.&nbsp; Israel in the West Bank &nbsp;Israel originally captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War in 1967 from Jordan, and it has maintained military control, establishing a large and growing network of settlements across the West Bank. Approximately half a million Palestinians had to leave the territory due to the war.&nbsp; On November 22, 1967, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called for a &ldquo;withdrawal of Israel&#39;s armed forces from territories occupied&rdquo; during the war. In June 1980, Israel passed the Jerusalem Law, which claimed East Jerusalem, stating, &ldquo;Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.&rdquo; Then, according to the New York Times, in a televised address in 1988, Jordanian King Hussein &mdash; respecting the wishes of the Palestinian Liberation Organization &mdash; gave the territory to the Palestinian group. &nbsp; The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 between then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington, divided the territory into Areas A, B, and C.&nbsp; According to Al Jazeera, Area A, representing 18% of the territory, is under Palestinian control, and Area C, which represents 60% of the area, is under Israeli occupation. Area B, representing 22% of the territory, is under joint control of both governments. Annexation would be &#39;most serious violation of international law&#39;However, in 2002, Israel started building walls in the West Bank to facilitate the movement of even more Jewish settlers inside the West Bank. More than 700,000 Jewish settlers &mdash; nearly 10% of Israel&rsquo;s population &mdash; now reside within the West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.&nbsp; The pace of the settlement has increased since Israel started its bombardment of Gaza after the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters. According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 6,000 people have been displaced from the West Bank since the start of 2024. Earlier in January, UN Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres said, &ldquo;Senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law,&rdquo; Guterres had said. The United Nations had said earlier that the Israeli government has shown a clear intent to establish permanent control over Gaza and to ensure a majority in the occupied West Bank.

Says 'not something we can be supportive of right now'; 'threatening for the peace deal'; 'might be counterproductive'. On increased violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank: "We're concerned about anything that threatens to destabilize what we've worked on."

Rubio warns Israel against annexing the West Bank

RAMALLAH: Illegal Israeli settlers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters and activists this week in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, beating them with clubs in an attack Palestinian health officials said sent at least one woman to the hospital with serious injuries. The attack Sunday in the town of Turmus Ayya, which was captured in videos obtained by The Associated Press, came as Palestinians say settler violence in the region is worsening. The United Nations and rights groups have raised the alarm as harvest season begins and Palestinian farmers are at growing risk while gathering olives.&nbsp;Settler violence skyrockets&nbsp;&ldquo;Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency,&quot; Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territory, said in a statement released Tuesday. &ldquo;Two weeks into the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen severe attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children, and foreign solidarity activists.&quot; In one of the videos obtained by the AP, a masked man was seen running through an olive grove and beating at least two people with a club, including a woman as she lay motionless on the ground. The masked man appeared to be wearing tzitzit, a ritual fringed garment for Jews.&nbsp;The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said. Torched carsIn a separate video, more than a dozen masked men were seen running down a village road alongside an olive grove, pursuing a car. One settler clubbed the car and opened the door. A passenger managed to escape and run away with the group of men running after him. A third video showed flames and smoke rising from several torched cars. Israel&rsquo;s Channel 12 reported that the head of the West Bank police force said in an internal police WhatsApp group that the footage of the masked settler beating the woman &ldquo;kept him up at night&rdquo; and instructed officers to bring the settler to justice. Israel&#39;s military and police did not respond to an AP request for comment on the attack.&nbsp;Palestinian American population&nbsp;Turmus Ayya, whose population is predominantly Palestinian American, has long been a target of settler attacks, but villagers say the violence worsened during the Israel-Hamas war. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by hilltops crowned with Israeli settlements and outposts. Since the killing of a 14-year-old Palestinian-American, Amer Rabee, by Israeli forces in the town in April, protests against settler violence and the military&#39;s perceived failure to curb it have provoked regular clashes with settlers. More broadly, settler violence is surging across the West Bank.&nbsp;Over 750 settler attacks&nbsp;The UN says the first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage &mdash; a 13% increase compared with the same period last year. The first week of olive harvest season has seen more than 150 settler attacks and over 700 olive trees uprooted, broken, or poisoned, according to Muayyad Shaaban, who heads an office in the Palestinian Authority that is tracking the violence. Israel captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. Settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions that grant them and the settlers an essential say over the West Bank.

UN says first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage; settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions that grant them and the settlers an important say over the West Bank. 

Illegal Israeli settlers beat Palestinian farmers on video as attacks mount 

ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Donald Trump vowed Thursday to stop Israel from annexing the West Bank as he presses to end the Gaza war, ahead of a high-stakes visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, AFP reported. Netanyahu will address the United Nations on Friday and later meet Trump in Washington as Israeli ministers muse of annexing the West Bank in response to recognition of a Palestinian state by France, Britain and several other Western powers. But Trump, who has offered crucial support to Netanyahu as Israel comes under mounting global pressure, made clear he would not back annexation, which far-right Israelis see as a way to kill any real prospect of an independent Palestine. &lsquo;I will not allow&rsquo;&quot;I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,&quot; Trump told reporters at the White House. &quot;No, I will not allow it. It&#39;s not going to happen.&quot; &quot;There&#39;s been enough. It&#39;s time to stop now,&quot; he said, Reuters reported. Trump voiced optimism about ending nearly two years of devastating war, echoing the confidence expressed a day earlier on the sidelines of the United Nations by his roving envoy, Steve Witkoff, AFP reported. &quot;We&#39;re getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza and maybe even peace,&quot; said Trump, who also spoke to Netanyahu by telephone on Thursday. Trump met Tuesday at the United Nations with the leaders of key Arab and Muslim nations who warned him of consequences if Israel moved ahead. &quot;I think the president of the US understands very well the risks and dangers of annexation in the West Bank,&quot; Saudi Arabia&#39;s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters. Netanyahu nonetheless has defied Trump in recent months with attacks in Iran, Qatar and Syria amid US diplomacy. Netanyahu&#39;s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump&#39;s remarks, according to Reuters. Israeli settlements have grown in size and number, opens new tab since Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. They stretch deep into the territory with a system of roads and other infrastructure under Israeli control, further slicing up the land. No role for Hamas: AbbasPalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in his own address to the United Nations on Thursday sought to allay concerns as he called for all countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, AFP reported. The veteran 89-year-old president of the Palestinian Authority was forced to address the General Assembly by video after the United States took the unusual step of denying him a visa to come to New York. Abbas made clear he was different from Hamas, which took control of Gaza in 2007. &quot;Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority,&quot; Abbas said in a speech that received loud applause by delegates watching the video. He distanced himself from the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 as well as frequent accusations by Israel&#39;s supporters that the Palestinians are denying the rights of Jews. &quot;Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7 -- actions that targeted Israeli civilians and took them hostage -- because these actions do not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,&quot; Abbas said. &quot;We reject confusing the solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism, which is something that we reject based on our values and principles,&quot; he said. Abbas nonetheless called the nearly two-year Israeli assault in Gaza &quot;one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy of the 20th and 21st century&quot; -- by implication putting it alongside the Holocaust against the Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. Israel&#39;s offensive has killed more than 65,500 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures that the United Nations considers reliable.

Americas

Trump vowed to not allow Israel from annexing the West Bank, ahead of Netanyahu's UN visit. Netanyahu nonetheless has defied Trump in recent months with attacks in Iran, Qatar and Syria amid US diplomacy.

Articles tagged with "West Bank"