During overnight operations in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces conducted a series of raids, leading to the detention of hundreds of individuals and the tragic loss of two lives within the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah. This unsettling development was reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
According to residents of Jalazone, Israeli forces entered the camp, resulting in a large number of arrests and confrontations with armed individuals and young protesters who resorted to stone-throwing.
The Health Ministry disclosed that approximately 20 individuals were apprehended as a result of these operations.
Subsequently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to the periphery of the camp, as reported by the camp’s residents. This incident underscores the ongoing tensions and clashes in the region, which continue to impact the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis.
The Israeli military has yet to release an official statement regarding these events.
Reportedly, overnight operations in the West Bank led to the detention of approximately 120 individuals believed to be Palestinians, as per the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Among these detentions, 59 were reported in the city of Hebron, including 40 laborers originating from the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an acceleration in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He also indicated that the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers would deliberate on the possibility of advocating for a “humanitarian pause” in the ongoing conflict.
“I think a humanitarian pause is needed to allow the humanitarian support to come in and be distributed, seeing that half of the population of Gaza has been moving from their houses,” Borrell said.
Norway backs war crime probe
Norwegian Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl condemned attacks on civilians and announced Norway is “prepared to provide resources quickly” if the country receives a request to contribute to an investigation of possible war crimes in Gaza and Israel.
“War crimes are never acceptable” and “those guilty of any war crimes must be held accountable,” the minister said in a statement on Monday, according to a CNN report.
“Regardless of who is behind it, civilians have special protection against attacks in a conflict,” Mehl said, reiterating that Norway “will make available capacity related to a possible investigation of war crimes in Gaza and Israel if desired.”
“It is inhumane how civilians are affected in the bloody conflict in Gaza and Israel,” Mehl added. “Thousands of civilians have already been killed on both sides. Norway condemns illegal attacks on civilians regardless of who commits them.”
Mehl also urged the international community to “come together to protect fundamental principles in a war.”
Villagers displaced
Some 19,646 people have left villages in south Lebanon due to cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said Monday.
The Iran-backed Shiite group has launched increasing attacks on Israel, raising fears it intends to open a Lebanese front in support of ally Hamas.
Israel has ordered the evacuation of thousands of people from a string of communities near its northern border, without giving an exact figure for the displaced.
At least 40 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally, mostly combatants but also at least four civilians, one of them a Reuters journalist. Four people have been killed in Israel, including three soldiers and a civilian.
UN meets Thursday
The United Nations General Assembly will meet Thursday to discuss the conflict triggered by the attack by Hamas militants on Israel, the body’s president announced in a letter to member states.
The Security Council has so far failed to agree on a resolution concerning the war, but several states including Jordan on behalf of an Arab group of nations, Russia, Syria, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia, formally requested General Assembly President Dennis Francis to schedule the meeting.
Last week, the UN Security Council, regularly divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, rejected a Russian draft resolution calling for a “humanitarian pause.”
Only five of the 15 member states had supported the text, which condemned all violence against civilians and all terrorist acts but did not name Hamas, an unacceptable omission to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
Washington then vetoed a second resolution put forward by Brazil as the text did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself.
Twelve out of 15 Council members voted in favor of that resolution, which also condemned the “heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas,” while Russia and the United Kingdom abstained.
The United States was the only vote against it, but as one of the body’s five permanent members, its vote counts as a veto.
The Security Council will meet to discuss the issue on Tuesday ahead of the General Assembly’s gathering on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. (1400 GMT).
