GENEVA:&nbsp;Israel&#39;s increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinians &quot;raise concerns over ethnic cleansing&quot; in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations said Thursday. The UN human rights office said the cumulative impact of Israel&#39;s military conduct during the war in Gaza, plus its blockade of the territory, had inflicted living conditions &quot;increasingly incompatible with Palestinians&#39; continued existence as a group in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-conducting-gradual-de-facto-annexation-of-west-bank-un-official" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gaza</a>.&quot; &quot;Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza,&quot; the office said in a report. &lsquo;Ethnic cleansing&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-accused-of-move-expanding-jerusalem-borders-for-first-time-since-1967" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">West Bank</a>.&quot; The report covered the period from Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025. In the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, the report said the &quot;systematic use of unlawful force&quot; by Israeli security forces, &quot;widespread&quot; arbitrary detention, and the &quot;extensive unlawful demolition&quot; of Palestinian homes were being carried out to &quot;systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people&quot;. These violations were &quot;altering the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing,&quot; it said. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Inhumane choice&#39;&nbsp;</h2>In Gaza, the report condemned the continued killing and maiming of &quot;unprecedented numbers of civilians&quot;, the spread of famine, and destruction of the &quot;remaining civilian infrastructure.&quot; During the 12 months covered in the report, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, starved to death in Gaza, it said. &quot;Palestinians faced the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risking being killed while trying to get food,&quot; said the report. &quot;The situation of famine and malnutrition was the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli government,&quot; with the deaths and suffering from hunger &quot;foreseeable and repeatedly foretold.&quot; <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Impunity &#39;kills&#39;&nbsp;</h2>Last week, UN rights chief Volker Turk warned that the world was witnessing &quot;rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory.&quot; On Tuesday, Israel&#39;s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to encourage &quot;emigration&quot; from the Palestinian territories. And on Wednesday, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo warned the Security Council that steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to &quot;gradual de facto annexation.&quot; Thursday&#39;s rights office report concluded that, considered together, Israeli practices &quot;indicated a concerted and accelerating effort to consolidate annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to deny Palestinians&#39; right to self-determination.&quot; The report said there was a pervasive climate of impunity for serious violations of international law by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories. &quot;Impunity is not abstract -- it kills. Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for a just and durable peace in Palestine and Israel,&quot; Turk said in a statement.

Middle East

‘Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza,’ UN human rights office says in a report.

UN says Israeli actions raising 'ethnic cleansing' fears in West Bank, Gaza

JERUSALEM: Israel&#39;s government has approved a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;state property,&quot; drawing condemnation from Arab nations and critics who said it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Israel&#39;s foreign ministry said the measure, approved late Sunday, would enable &quot;transparent and thorough clarification of rights to resolve legal disputes,&quot; and was needed after unlawful land registration in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticized the move as illegal under international law. The Pakistani&nbsp;Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also rejected what it described as Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;illegal measures,&rdquo; strongly condemning attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of the territory into so-called state property and expand settlement activities. The measure is &quot;aimed at imposing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank&quot; that would undermine peace efforts in the region, Saudi Arabia&#39;s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. Jordan&#39;s King Abdullah II said the actions &quot;undermine efforts to restore calm and threaten to exacerbate the conflict,&quot; according to a statement released by the royal court. The European Union called on Israel to reverse the move. &quot;This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control,&quot; EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. &quot;We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law.&quot; UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed that point and called the move &quot;destabilizing,&quot; warning that the &quot;decision could lead to the dispossession of Palestinians of their property.&quot; He also called for the decision&#39;s immediate reversal, adding in a statement from his spokesman that &quot;the current trajectory on the ground is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution.&quot; The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority called for international intervention to prevent the &quot;de facto beginning of the annexation process and the undermining of the foundations of the Palestinian state.&quot; Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now called the measure a &quot;mega land grab.&quot; Jonathan Mizrachi, the NGO&#39;s co-director, told AFP that the move would attribute new resources for land registration. The process will take place only in Area C, which constitutes some 60% of the West Bank&#39;s territory and is under Israeli security and administrative control. &quot;There was a lot of ambiguity regarding the land, and Israel decided now to deal with it,&quot; Mizrachi said, adding that the grey area over Area C land ownership is likely to be used against Palestinians. &quot;A lot of land that Palestinians consider theirs, they will find out it&#39;s not theirs under this new registration process,&quot; he said, believing the move would further the Israeli right&#39;s annexation agenda. Changing demography&nbsp;Palestinians see the West Bank as foundational to any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel&#39;s religious right want to take over the land. Last week, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords, in place since the 1990s. Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority&#39;s control. The latest Israeli initiatives come in the wider context of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to rights groups. &quot;We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave,&quot; UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement. US President Donald Trump has opposed Israel&#39;s annexation of the West Bank, saying stability in the territory helps keep Israel secure. However, Trump has held off from directly criticising the new Israeli measures, despite the international outrage. Excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan criticize move as illegal under international law; Pakistan rejects Israel’s “illegal measures,” strongly condemns attempts by the occupying power to convert areas of territory into "state property."





Israel’s West Bank ‘mega land grab’ draws international outrage

Web Desk

The measures, announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, include canceling decades-old prohibitions on land sales to Jewish citizens in the West Bank, declassifying land registry records to facilitate land acquisition, and expanding Israeli enforcement powers into Areas A and B — zones that under the Oslo Accords fall under Palestinian Authority administration.

New Israeli West Bank settlement measures draw global backlash

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.

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

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."

Articles tagged with "West Bank"