At least three Palestinians, including one journalist, killed by Israeli strike on Gaza City
The reports said that Palestinian journalist Islam al-Koumi and his son were among the victims.
Earlier this month, Israel assassinated prominent Gaza journalist Anas al-Sharif, along with scores of Palestinians.
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Middle East Eye
33 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel approves E1 settlement to 'erase' Palestinian state with 'actions not slogans'
Israel has rubber stamped the construction of the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank, in a move that a minister described as 'erasing' a Palestinian state 'not with slogans but with actions'. The settlement subcommittee of the Civil Administration on Wednesday approved the building of 3,400 new housing units on occupied Palestinian territory. The majority of them will be built near an existing settlement in Maale Adumim, in an area that aims to connect settlements in the West Bank with occupied East Jerusalem. The plan also includes 342 units in a new settlement in Asael, in the south of the West Bank. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, said: 'Today we are placing historical facts on the ground. In E1 we are finally realising what has been promised for years. This is a defining moment for settlement, for security, and for the entire state of Israel.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters For the second time in recent days, the minister directly linked the project with killing a two-state solution. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions. Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,' Smotrich said. The minister, who leads the Religious Zionism party, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'complete the move' by 'applying full sovereignty in Judea and Samaria - here and now'. He was referring to the formal annexation of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied in violation of international law since 1967. The E1 construction plan dates back to the late 1990s, but its implementation has been delayed due to international opposition. Both the United States and the European Union have warned successive Israeli governments against advancing the project, citing its impact on a two-state solution. 'European leaders will have nothing to recognise' The acceleration of the plans appear to be in response to France, Britain, Canada and Australia announcing their intentions to recognise a Palestinian state at a United Nations summit next month. Last week, Smotrich declared that any state which 'tries to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground,' not in the form of documents or statements, but through the building of 'houses, neighbourhoods [and] roads'. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions' - Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli finance minister He repeated that idea on Wednesday, stating: 'The time has come to forever put the idea of dividing the land on the back burner and ensure that by September the hypocritical leaders in Europe will have nothing to recognise.' The E1 project seeks to cut off Palestinian communities between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, which includes a historic area known as al-Bariyah, or "the Wilderness of Jerusalem", which Palestine submitted to Unesco's tentative list of heritage sites. 'This also means that the main historical route that has existed for more than 3,000 years - the road Jesus took from Jericho to Jerusalem - is going to be totally closed for the Palestinians,' Jamal Juma, coordinator of the Stop the Wall campaign, told Middle East Eye last week. The isolation of East Jerusalem from parts of the West Bank will force Palestinians to take lengthy detours to travel between several cities and towns. The plan has been likened to fragmenting occupied Palestine into 'Bantustans', a reference to Black-only ghettos created across apartheid South Africa. 'Hebron and Bethlehem will become another Gaza - a strip isolated from the West Bank. Ramallah will be the same,' Juma said. Apartheid road In March, Israel's political-security cabinet approved a separate road for Palestinians south of the E1 area, linking the northern and southern West Bank. The road was viewed as a preparatory step to expanding settlement construction in the area. 'The Israeli government is openly announcing apartheid' - Aviv Tatarsky, Israeli rights group Ir Amim Under the plan, Palestinian traffic would be rerouted away from Route 1 - the main highway connecting Jerusalem to Maale Adumim - reserving it primarily for Israeli use. 'The Israeli government is openly announcing apartheid,' said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Israeli rights group Ir Amim. 'It explicitly states that the E1 plans were approved to 'bury' the two-state solution and to entrench de facto sovereignty. An immediate consequence could be the uprooting of more than a dozen Palestinian communities living in the E1 area.' Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, all of which have been built since Israel seized the territories in the 1967 Middle East war. Under international law, settlement construction in an occupied territory is illegal.
Middle East Eye
33 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel steps up Gaza bombing as it signals ceasefire deal rejection
Israeli fighter jets intensified air strikes in northern Gaza on Wednesday, as the government approved a plan for the occupation of the strip and signalled its rejection of a ceasefire deal accepted by Hamas. Overnight raids targeted residential buildings in Jabalia, causing widespread destruction and leaving dozens dead or wounded, according to local reports. Medical sources said at least 35 Palestinians have been killed across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Wednesday. Among them, at least 10 people were reportedly killed while queuing for aid. On Tuesday evening, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the latest plans to occupy Gaza City, presented by the military's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, and its high command. The escalation comes as Israeli Army Radio reported that the initial phase of the occupation has begun in the Zeitoun and Jabalia neighbourhoods in northern Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to Haaretz, recruitment of approximately 60,000 reservists began on Wednesday, with military officials indicating that up to 130,000 could be called up as part of the occupation effort. While Israeli officials claim the plan aims to dismantle Hamas, shelling in recent days has reportedly destroyed 400 homes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood alone. Mixed signals on ceasefire Meanwhile, Israeli officials have signalled the rejection of a ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted earlier this week. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told the BBC in an interview that they were not interested in "partial deals". Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal set out by mediators, sources say Read More » "Things have changed now. The prime minister has laid out a plan for the future of Gaza," Mencer added. The proposal accepted by the Palestinian movement earlier this week - barring some minor details - is the same as the one that had been accepted on 1 June before both the Israelis and the Americans withdrew their teams from talks in Doha. While Israel is on the verge of a military occupation of Gaza City - and a possible complete takeover of the strip - the Kan public broadcaster said on Monday that the war cabinet is not ruling out the possibility of this deal taking hold, and that there are "positive" signs. Netanyahu issued cryptic remarks in a video on Monday appearing to address Hamas' statement that it had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. "I, like you, hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression - Hamas is under immense pressure," he said. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Hamas must be "confronted and destroyed" in order for the captives to be retrieved from Gaza, effectively backing Netanyahu and his far-right government's latest offensive to fully occupy Gaza.
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Syrian foreign minister held meeting with Israeli officials in Paris
Asaad al-Shaibani, Syria's foreign minister, participated in a US-mediated meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday, according to Syria's state news agency Sana. Syria and Israel have held US-mediated talks in recent months, though it has rarely been acknowledged in Syrian state media. The most recent discussions focused on de-escalation in southern Syria and non-interference in Syrian domestic affairs, Sana reported. 'These talks are taking place under US mediation, as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in Syria and preserving the unity and integrity of its territory,' Sana reported. The two sides discussed re-activating the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, which created a UN buffer zone in Syria's Golan Heights, an area that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters When Bashar al-Assad's government fell in December, Israel occupied the buffer zone and declared that the 1974 agreement was null and void. There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials about the talks on Tuesday. Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that Ron Dermer, Israel's strategic affairs minister, was set to attend the meeting, alongside Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Syria. It was the second such meeting to take place between the two countries in Paris in less than a month, Reuters reported. Sweida after the ceasefire: Executions, a mass grave, and the voices left behind Read More » Dermer and Shaibani also met in Azerbaijan a few weeks ago. The talks last month centred around the situation in the southern region of Sweida. Violence in Sweida erupted on 13 July between Bedouin fighters, Druze factions and government forces, killing over 1,500 people. Israel also carried out strikes on Syrian cities, including the capital Damascus, framing its attacks as an effort to protect the Druze minority. A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, while the Syrian government said it had set up a committee to investigate the violence. Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, Syria has been rocked by waves of sectarian violence which new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has struggled to manage. In March, attacks by Assad loyalists in the coastal province of Latakia provoked a violent sectarian backlash against the Alawi population, which the former president and his family were members of. At least 1,500 Alawis were killed in the subsequent violence, with a Reuters investigation tracing much of it back to officials in Damascus.
