JENIN, Palestine: Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed 12 people in three separate raids in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, as violence in the occupied territory showed no sign of abating.
Five people were killed in the Jenin area and four in Aqaba town in Tubas district when Israeli forces carried out early-morning raids, the health ministry in Ramallah said.
The Israeli army said three people were killed and two arrested in another raid in the village of Kafr Qud, west of Jenin.
The army added that its aircraft struck “armed terrorist cells” in the Jenin area, but did not give details on casualties.
The Palestinian Red Crescent had earlier reported deaths and injuries “due to the occupation’s shelling of two vehicles in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin.”
Aqaba residents said Israeli troops arrived at dawn and surrounded the house of Amid Ghanam, leading to clashes between troops and young Palestinians.
Ghanam and two others were killed in the clashes, while another teenager was killed near a hospital, Tubas governor Ahmed Assad told AFP.
“The army entered and surrounded the house as snipers took positions on nearby rooftops and shot anyone who moved,” he said.
The teenager was shot when the troops “entered the area of the hospital,” Assad said.
Aqaba mayor Abdel Razzaq Abu Arra said the teenager “was killed in cold blood.”
“This Zionist crime is a systematic crime that the Israelis carry out on a daily basis,” he added.
Since war broke out in October between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, tensions have soared in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
At least 617 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian official figures.
At least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed by Palestinian attacks in the West Bank over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, police said they killed a Palestinian after he attacked a border police officer with a screwdriver at a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
Police officers immediately “neutralized the terrorist with gunfire, and he was subsequently pronounced dead,” the force said in statement.
Palestinian officials say 12 dead in Israel West Bank raids
https://arab.news/8j9mk
Palestinian officials say 12 dead in Israel West Bank raids
- Five people were killed in the Jenin area and four in Aqaba town in Tubas district
- At least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, 617 Palestinains have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7
Lebanon media says UN peacekeepers hurt in Israeli strike
- National News Agency: ‘Enemy aircraft targeted a car in Sidon near the army checkpoint’
- Vehicles from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force were in the ‘same lane’ during the raid
“Enemy aircraft targeted a car in Sidon near the army checkpoint,” NNA said, adding vehicles from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force were in the “same lane” during the raid, which led to injuries among its members who were receiving treatment at the scene.
Hezbollah does not pin ceasefire hopes on any US administration, lawmaker says
BEIRUT: Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on any particular US administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al-Moussawi said on Thursday, when asked about Donald Trump’s election victory.
France sees ‘window’ to end Gaza, Lebanon wars after Trump win
JERUSALEM: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Thursday in Jerusalem he saw prospects for ending Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Donald Trump was elected US president.
“I believe a window has opened for putting an end to the tragedy in which Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region have been immersed since October 7” last year, Barrot told reporters in Jerusalem.
Speaking alongside outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Barrot cited Trump’s “wish to see the end of the Middle East’s endless wars” as well as Israel’s recent “tactical successes.”
Barrot said he hoped a “diplomatic solution” would emerge “in the coming weeks.”
“Force alone will not be enough to guarantee Israel’s security,” he said, adding that “military success could not be a substitute for a political perspective.”
“It is time to move toward a deal that would allow for the liberation of all hostages, a ceasefire and the mass entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to prepare for the day after.”
Barrot said “Israel has the right to defend itself” but pointed to “colonization,” “humanitarian aid restrictions” and “the continuation of air strikes in north Gaza” as risk factors for Israel’s security.
Barrot is expected to speak with Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas and his prime minister, Muhammad Mustafa
Israel signs $5.2 billion deal to acquire 25 F-15 fighter jets from Boeing
- The $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid
- Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031
JERUSALEM: The Israeli defense ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co.
It said the $5.2 billion agreement was part of a broader package of US aid approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and included an option for 25 additional aircraft.
Delivery of the new F-15IA aircraft will begin in 2031, with 4-6 aircraft to be supplied annually, it said.
The aircraft will be equipped with weapons systems integrated with existing Israeli weapons as well as having increased range and payloads.
“These advantages will enable the Israeli Air Force to maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This F-15 squadron, alongside the third F-35 squadron procured earlier this year, represents a historic enhancement of our air power and strategic reach — capabilities that proved crucial during the current war,” the director general of the defense ministry, Eyal Zamir, said in the statement.
Zamir said that the government has secured procurement agreements worth nearly $40 billion since the onset of the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, 2023.
“While focusing on immediate needs for advanced weaponry and ammunition at unprecedented levels, we’re simultaneously investing in long-term strategic capabilities,” he said.
For Boeing, the F-15 agreement is the second major deal this year. In August, flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines, signed a deal with Boeing for the purchase of up to 31 737 MAX aircraft worth as much as $2.5 billion, beating out rival Airbus.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, said the company’s relationship dates back to Israel’s establishment and “will continue working with the US and Israeli governments to deliver the advanced F-15IA aircraft through standard military procurement channels.”
Erdogan phones Trump to discuss cooperation
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with US president-elect Donald Trump to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the presidency said on Thursday.
Erdogan “congratulated Trump on his election victory” and “expressed his desire to develop cooperation between Turkiye and the United States in the period ahead,” it said in a statement.
Erdogan was twice hosted at the White House by Trump during his first term, but has never been received there by current President Joe Biden.
