WEST BANK SETTLER VIOLENCE MUST STOP, ISRAELIS ARE TOLD
▶ ‘Friends’ in Paris have messages that Netanyahu will not like, French Foreign Minister says
France’s Foreign Minister has condemned a sharp rise in Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Stephane Sejourne said the aggression “must stop” and that “it is of utmost importance to refrain from any action, decision or statement that might spark violence”.
Speaking in Jerusalem after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Mr Sejourne described Israel as “a friend”, but said France will be making arguments about the war on Gaza “that Israeli partners may have a hard time hearing”.
Mr Sejourne’s visit came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on his fifth visit to the Middle East since October. Mr Blinken will also visit Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank in an effort to establish a second truce between Israel and Hamas.
Palestinian communities have been driven off their land by settlers during the weeks following the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.
In January, The National reported that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property donated by allies of Israel to West Bank NGOs were burnt by settlers. US President Joe Biden approved sanctions last week on four settlers who are accused of violence against Palestinians.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a settler, said: “It is a shame that the Biden administration is co-operating with an anti-Semitic campaign at a time when settlers are paying a heavy price in blood with their precious sons in Gaza.” Mr Sejourne also addressed calls from the Israeli far right that the people living in Palestinian areas should be replaced with Israelis.
“There can in no circumstance be any transfer of Palestinians,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu thanked Mr Sejourne, saying that they had discussed “medical humanitarian aid and of course co-operation between us on the topic of Lebanon”.
Two officials at Al Amal Hospital in southern Gaza are missing after being “summoned” by the Israeli military yesterday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has said.
The hospital’s general manager, Dr Haidar Al Qudra, and administrative director, Maher Atallah, were escorted away from the Khan Younis hospital by Israeli troops as hundreds of displaced Gazans were leaving the complex after a two-week siege, the Red Crescent said in a social media post.
Thousands of Gazan civilians have fled to the coastal town of Al Mawasi, near Khan Younis, and to the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, amid weeks of intense Israeli bombardment and fighting against Hamas militants in the city.
Unable to leave Al Amal Hospital during the siege, those seeking refuge there had begun burying the dead in the grounds of the complex.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.2 million population have been displaced to the Rafah area, the enclave’s Health Ministry has reported.
Overnight on Sunday, at least 128 people were killed by Israeli bombardment in southern and central Gaza, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Air strikes were conducted on Deir Al Balah, Khan Younis and areas around Rafah. A strike on a house in Deir Al Balah’s Al Hakar district killed 14 people.
In Gaza city, Israeli soldiers were reportedly seen setting fire to homes in the Burj Al Sousi neighbourhood.
Last week, Israeli media reported that troops were under direct orders to raze houses they occupied.
The war in the Gaza Strip has raged for almost four months, killing more than 27,400 people and injuring more than 66,800, the Health Ministry said yesterday. About 8,000 Gazans are missing.
Israel began its air and ground operation in the enclave on October 7 after Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.
The war has brought about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as displaced people struggle with shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine. Thousands are living in makeshift camps, where tents offer little protection from the winter cold.
Many Gazans are reliant on
Israeli soldiers were reportedly seen setting fire to homes in the Burj Al Sousi neighbourhood of Gaza city
food distributed by charity kitchens, and are forced to queue for hours in cold, wet weather to feed themselves and their children.
“I came to stand in line to have a chance to get some food for my children,” displaced Gazan woman Soad Ali told The National as she waited outside a kitchen in Deir Al Balah.
“The amount I receive is not enough for my children, but what can I do? I stand for hours to get some food that doesn’t satisfy them.”
The kitchen’s founder, Abu Hamza Al Nabaheen, said that when he started the operation with the help of friends, he initially employed two cooks. But as more people were displaced and in need of food, the number of cooks rose to 15.
He added that he is struggling to find enough food, as shortages have caused prices to soar.
The UN has said Israel is not allowing humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza quickly enough to meet the population’s growing needs.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on Gaza’s healthcare system, with most of the enclave’s hospitals having been put out of action amid the fighting.
The Red Crescent yesterday published footage of its medical centre in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
The video shows a destroyed building – the Red Crescent’s former offices – as well as damaged ambulances.