In the days of a critical truce occupied the Gaza Strip.Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers. There is a riot through two Palestinian cities.
The violence comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces domestic pressure from his far-right allies. Armistice and exchange of hostages with the militant group Hamas. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has canceled the Biden administration. Sanctions against Israelis Allegation of violence in the area.
It’s a volatile mix that could undermine the truce, which is expected to last at least six weeks and free dozens of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, most of them in the West Bank. will
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. An increase in an area Spread frequentlyraises further concerns. The second and far more difficult step A Gaza ceasefire – which has yet to be negotiated – may never come.
Riots and military raids
Dozens of masked men stormed two Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank late Monday, throwing stones and burning cars and property, according to local Palestinian officials. The Red Crescent Emergency Service said 12 people were beaten and injured.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces carried out a raid elsewhere in the West Bank, which the army said was in response to firebombing of Israeli vehicles. It said several suspects had been detained for questioning, and a video circulating online showed dozens of people marching through the streets.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army… Started another big operation.This time in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, where his forces regularly clash with Palestinian militants. In recent yearsAn attack by Hamas outside the Gaza Strip before October 7, 2023, had sparked a war there.
At least nine Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed and 40 wounded on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The military said its forces carried out airstrikes and defused a roadside bomb and “killed” 10 militants – although it was unclear what that meant.
Palestinian residents have reported large increases in Israeli checkpoints and delays throughout the region.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz portrayed the Jenin operation as part of Israel’s larger struggle against Iran and its military allies in the region, saying, “We will beat the arms of the octopus until they die.” Don’t be broken.”
Palestinians see such actions. Expansion of settlements As a means of strengthening Israeli control over the region, where three million Palestinians apparently live under open Israeli military rule, The Western-backed Palestinian Authority Management of cities and towns.
Prominent human rights groups It is called a form of apartheid. As more than 500,000 Jewish settlers in the area enjoy full rights of Israeli citizenship. Israel denies these allegations.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies are up in arms.
Since agreeing to a ceasefire, Netanyahu has struggled to contain a rebellion by his ultra-nationalist coalition partners. The deal requires Israeli forces to withdraw from most of Gaza and free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners – including militants convicted of murder. Hostages were taken in the October 7 attack..
an alliance partner, Itamar Ben-GvirResigned in protest on the day the ceasefire was implemented. Another finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to resume hostilities if Israel does not resume the war after the first phase of the ceasefire expires in early March.
They want Israel to annex the West Bank and encourage voluntary resettlement of large numbers of Palestinians, along with the rebuilding of settlements in Gaza.
Netanyahu still has parliamentary majority after Ben Guerr leaves, but Smutrich’s loss – whatever The de facto governor of the West Bank – would seriously weaken his coalition and possibly lead to early elections.
That could spell the end of Netanyahu’s nearly 16 years in power, leaving him even more exposed. Allegations of corruption for a long time And A prospective public inquiry On Israel’s failure to prevent the October 7 attack.
Trump’s return could give settlers a free hand.
Trump’s return to the White House offers Netanyahu a potential lifeline.
The newly sworn-in president, who had been unrelentingly supportive of Israel during his previous term, has surrounded himself with aides who support Israeli settlements. Some support the settlers’ claim. A biblical right Because of the Jewish kingdoms in the West Bank that existed there in ancient times.
The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal.
It was one of the executive orders Trump signed on his first day back in office. Repeal of the Biden administration’s sanctions Settlers and Jewish extremists are accused of violence against Palestinians.
Restrictions – Which had very little effect. — was one of the few concrete steps the Biden administration took in defiance of a close U.S. ally, even as it delivered. Billions of dollars in military aid For Israel’s campaign in Gaza The most deadly and destructive In decades
Trump claimed to have helped finalize the Gaza ceasefire agreement in the final days of Biden’s presidency.
But this week, Trump said he was “not confident” he would hold on and signaled he would give Israel a free hand in Gaza, saying: “It’s not our war, it’s their war. ”
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But follow AP’s coverage of the battle. https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
