presidential statement that strongly criticized settlements. The Israeli decision comes in the wake of a U.N. ![]() ![]() He urged both sides to avoid steps that could “inflame tensions,” including the possible approval of new settlements. recognizes Israel’s “very real” security concerns, but was also “deeply concerned” about the deaths and injuries from the raid. In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. There was no immediate confirmation from the government, but an announcement was expected Thursday. In a move that could further raise tensions, Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. The Cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hard-line government took office. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.ĭays later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. In response, Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza. Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. Israel’s police force said it was beefing up security in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in anticipation of violence. He said the military then fired missiles at the house, flattening the building and killing the other two men. One militant who tried to flee the building was shot and killed. Hecht said Israeli forces surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. Richard Hecht said forces moved quickly after intelligence services tracked down the men in a hideout. The military usually conducts raids at night in what it says is a tactic meant to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. The main suspect was wanted in the killing of an Israeli soldier last fall. The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Bank’s commercial center, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesday’s operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals. Israeli officials liken these operations to “mowing the lawn,” saying they are necessary to prevent a difficult situation from turning worse. Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street. ![]() In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. The four-hour operation left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was “running out.” Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza.Īmong the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Israeli aircraft then struck several targets in northern and central Gaza. The Israeli military said air defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus. JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country’s south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed.
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