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Palestinian protesters take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in front of the UN headquarters, in Gaza City. [Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan was preparing international arrest warrants for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir before he went on administrative leave from his position, due to an ongoing investigation concerning him, TheWall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the arrest warrants relate to the two Israeli far-right ministers’ involvement in the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Citing current and former ICC officials, the paper also noted that the decision has reportedly been passed on to Khan’s deputies, although it remains unclear how they will proceed.
The ICC is reportedly investigating additional unnamed Israeli officials, along with Ben Gvir and Smotrich, over their involvement in settlement expansion.
Israeli military vehicles patrol the streets and alleys of the area during the second day of the raid on the Tulkarem Refugee Camp in the West Bank on December 25, 2024 [Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]
Palestinian factions called, Monday, for escalating resistance operations in the Occupied West Bank in retaliation for Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports.
Three illegal Israeli settlers were killed and six others injured early Monday in a shooting attack near the Kedumim settlement in the northern West Bank.
In a statement, Hamas hailed the attack as
a heroic response to the ongoing crimes and war of extermination committed by the (Israeli) occupation against our people in Gaza, the displacement plans in the West Bank, and the settler aggression on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and holy sites
“This operation is a message to the extremist Israeli government and its ministers that there is a free and rebellious nation that will not abandon its rights and that the resistance will continue until the occupation is removed from all of our lands,” it added.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called the shooting attack a “powerful message” to the Israeli occupation.
It called for escalating resistance operations in the West Bank “to confuse the occupation’s calculations and weaken its security system.”
The Popular Resistance Committees termed the attack “a natural response” to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the Judaisation and annexation plans in the West Bank.
Tension has been running high across the Occupied West Bank due to Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 45,800 people, mostly women and children, since 7 October, 2023.
At least 835 Palestinians have also been killed and nearly 6,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the Occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
IOF attacks in Al-Fara’a Camp in Tubas. Photo: Wafa News Agency
Israel continues to close all possible doors to a ceasefire in Gaza and de-escalation in the West Asia region, intensifying military operations and provocations in the West Bank and Gaza
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched the largest military operation across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, August 27, aiming at crushing the Palestinian armed resistance groups. According to Israeli media outlets, the operation is the largest assault carried out by the Israeli military since 2002 at the peak of the Second Intifada. The operation involves hundreds of Israeli ground soldiers, warplanes, drones, and bulldozers.
On Tuesday night, the IOF ordered the residents of Nour Shams refugee camp, in the city of Tulkarm north of the West Bank to evacuate the camp. Israeli forces also established a military checkpoint to search the residents before leaving. The IOF has resorted to similar evacuation orders in the Gaza strip during the 11-month Israeli genocidal aggression on the Palestinian people there.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Wednesday, August 28, “We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required. This is a war for everything and we must win it.”
Katz added regarding the expanded operation, which the IOF carried out in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm overnight, that the Israeli military has been working “to thwart Islamic-Iranian terror infrastructure that was set up there.”
The large-scale Israeli military operation that started on Tuesday night is intended to continue for several days, according to media reports. The operation also included the West Bank cities of Nablus, Tubas and Ramallah. At least 10 people have been killed in the last 24 hours. The death toll in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, has surpassed 660 people since October 7 attacks.
While storming different parts of the West Bank, the IOF has been committing flagrant violations of human rights against civilians and medical staff. According to the Palestinian News and Information Agency Wafa, the Israeli military seized the house of Palestinian resident Hamada Odeh Al-Barghouthi in the town of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah since Tuesday night. They turned the house into a field investigation center and a military barracks, where a number of Palestinian young men from the town, neighboring towns and villages have been detained.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) also reported that the IOF stormed a medical facility in the Al-Far’a refugee camp south of the city of Tubas, and detained and assaulted its staff, while shooting live ammunition inside the facility.
As Israeli incursions have been taking place in the West Bank, the massacres in Gaza and elsewhere in the region have not stopped. On Wednesday, August 28, IOF struck the Al-Manfalouti school, where displaced people were sheltering in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza strip, killing at least 8 Palestinians and injuring several others. At least 4 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a car in Syria near the border with Lebanon. The Israeli Army claimed that Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement’s top commander Faris Qasim was killed in the attack, without any confirmation by Islamic Jihad that Faris could have been assassinated.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) denied any possibility of a Palestinian state now or in future, rejecting Joe Biden’s (left) peace proposals earlier this week. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Rejecting proposals for peace in the region, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies any possibility of a two-state solution, wants Israeli occupation on Palestinian land to continue forever
Israel does not see any possibility of a two-state solution, proclaimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, January 18 even as his forces killed more than 150 Palestinians in less than 24 hours in various air and ground offensives across Gaza and other occupied territories. Gazans are also facing an unprecedented days-long communications blackout.
As of Friday, January 19, day 105 of the war, over 24,760 Palestinians have been killed and over 62,000 have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza which began on October 7.
In one Israeli attack, at least 15 civilians, most of them children and women, were killed near the Al-Shifa hospital on Friday morning and massive Israeli attacks are taking place in Khan Younis.
Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza have been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli forces since the early days of the war despite condemnations and allegations of war crimes.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their raid in Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank for the second consecutive day on Thursday. At least eight Palestinians have been killed in the raids with over a hundred injuries.
During the raid, Israeli forces shot and left Abdul Rahman Othman on the ground, preventing any medical aid from reaching him. They also tied his leg with rope and dragged his body on the ground. Othman died of his wounds later, Wafareported.
Israeli forces also bombed several houses inside the refugee camp which has been attacked several times since October 7 and detained hundreds of Palestinians.
The total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7 is now close to 370. At least 95 of these were children.
Unprecedented communication blackout in Gaza
In yet another attempt to prevent the flow of information about humanitarian suffering in Gaza caused by its war, Israeli forces have maintained a near total communication blockade in the territory for eight straight days now. This is the longest communication blackout imposed on Gaza since October 7.
Palestinian telecommunication companies PalTel and Ooredoo had announced a halt in their operation last week claiming their lines and infrastructure were completely damaged due to Israeli aggression. They have not been able to restore their services due to lack of equipment and repair work prevented due to Israeli blockade and attacks on the staff carrying out the repair work.
Ihab Sbeih, undersecretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed on Thursday that, “the communication sector has been continuously targeted during the Israeli aggression on Gaza with the extent of damage exceeding 80%. He also claimed that the technical crew has been constantly targeted by Israel, preventing them from carrying out repair work,” Wafa news reported.
At least two crew members of PalTel were killed last Saturday when their vehicle was attacked by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.
Israel says no to a two-state solution
In a press conference on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly denied any possibility of a Palestinian state now or in future in what is seen as a direct rebuttal to Joe Biden administration’s proposals earlier this week for a post-war scenario in the region.
“In any future arrangement, or in the absence of an arrangement Israel must maintain security control of all territory west of the Jordan River. That is the vital condition” Netanyahu said.
Facing widespread criticism for its total support to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, the Joe Biden administration has paid lip service to the proposal for a Palestinian state as a way forward for peace in the region.
As a compensation to Israel the US promised increased normalization with the Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. The proposals were worked out during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s fourth visit to the region since October 7 last week.
Speaking in Davos during the World Economic Forum, Blinken claimed on Wednesday that a two-state solution would bring “genuine security” to Israel as it will bring it closer to Arab states and isolate Iran.
Perhaps to pre-empt the Israeli rejection, Blinken emphasized that no future Palestinian government would be allowed to work “in active opposition to Israel.”
