West Asia WORLD
Flareup in West Bank as Gaza toll over 800; UN calls for ceasefire
must include a guaranteed end to Israel’s eight- year blockade of Gaza.
“We want a ceasefire as soon as possible, that’s parallel with the lifting of the siege of Gaza,” he said.
In the West Bank, tensions over the situation in Gaza erupted into protests in several cities after Gaza City/ Nablus ( Palestinian Territories), July 25: International efforts for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza ramped up on Friday, as tensions erupted in the West Bank where five Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire.
The United States has worked with Egypt on a plan that, diplomats say, would provide a humanitarian pause in the deadly Israel- Hamas conflict ahead of talks on key issues.
The plan is being pressed by US secretary of state John Kerry, who is with UN chief Ban Ki- moon in Cairo for talks to end violence that has killed 832 Palestinians as well as 36 people on the Israeli side.
Israel’s security Cabinet was meeting to discuss a truce proposal passed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Mr Kerry, Israeli media reported.
Meanwhile, Hamas claimed it had fired three rockets at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, with an Army spokeswoman confirming that “two rockets were shot down over metropolitan Tel Aviv”.
The claim raised new fears after many US and European carriers resumed flights to the airport after a two- day suspension following rocket fire near the facility.
However, several major European carriers have announced that they will stick to their decision to suspend their flights to Israel despite the lifting of a flight ban by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Mr Ban called for “an immediate, unconditional humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza and Israel.”
“This pause would last through the Id- ul- Fitr holiday period,” Mr Ban said, adding that a halt in the fighting could lead to a Friday prayers. Overnight, one Palestinian was killed and 150 injured in clashes in the West Bank, and on Friday afternoon, five more Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops and settlers.
A group of Israeli settlers opened fire on protesting Palestinians “longer- term ceasefire plan”.
Mr Ban’s remarks were contained in a speech emailed to reporters, but which the UN said later was a draft of prepared remarks that had “not been delivered”.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu flew to Qatar on Friday to help efforts after Mr Kerry reached out to Hamas allies Ankara and Doha to push for a ceasefire.
Under the proposal, once a humanitarian lull takes hold, delegations from Israel and Hamas will arrive in Cairo for indirect talks that could lead to a lasting deal.
Hamas’ exiled Dohabased leader Khaled Meshaal insisted in a Thursday interview with the BBC that any truce after they threw stones at their car near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian security sources said.
The settler fire killed one Palestinian, and a second was killed by live bullets shot by Israeli soldiers who arrived on the scene shortly afterwards, the sources added.
Three other Palestinians were injured by live fire in the incident near Nablus, with others suffering the effects of tear gas.
In Gaza, the death toll rose to 832 on the 18th day of the conflict.
The European Union called on Friday for an “immediate” investigation after 15 Palestinians were killed when an Israeli shell slammed into a UN- run shelter in Gaza.