Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the actions of a “handful of rioters” in the occupied West Bank after weeks of settler violence, while Israeli strikes and fire in Gaza killed three Palestinians on Saturday, according to local health officials. In Iran, the country’s new leadership appears to be centred on military generals and clerics long entrenched in the ruling theocracy after six months of war.
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The developments come amid unrest in the West Bank town of Qusra, continued violence in Gaza despite a ceasefire that has held since October, and signs that Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is consolidating power with close allies while remaining out of public view.
Netanyahu said criminal acts by a “handful of rioters” in the West Bank did injustice to the “law-abiding settler public”. His statement came after more than two weeks of unrest in Qusra, where settlers surrounded several homes, including one owned by a Palestinian American. In an unusually sharp statement, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee referred to the settlers as “terrorists”, a word US officials usually use for Palestinian militants.
Earlier on Saturday, Israel’s military and police said Israeli rioters arrived in the Qusra area and violent clashes followed. They said dozens of rioters barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while residents were in it. They said the groups were separated and the rioters’ vehicles were confiscated.
The Associated Press saw ambulances taking away injured Palestinians. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi told AP that two people inhaled tear gas and two others were hurt when settlers threw stones. He said the house that had been targeted was no longer under siege. Israel’s foreign ministry said, “The actions of these violent extremists are a disgrace and stand in complete contradiction to the values of the State of Israel.” The official statements did not mention any arrests.
Netanyahu’s government, described as the most ultranationalist and religious in Israel’s history, has overseen a rise in settlement construction in the West Bank. Most of the international community views the settlements as illegal, and Israel has been seeing an erosion of support in the United States.
In Gaza, local health officials said Israeli strikes and fire in central parts of the territory killed three Palestinians and wounded others on Saturday. In Gaza City, officials at Shifa hospital said two Palestinians were killed and another was wounded in an Israeli strike on a motorbike. The Israeli military said it struck a “military operative”, without giving more details.
Elsewhere, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said tank fire killed a farmer in eastern Deir al-Balah, where the body was taken. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Gaza health ministry officials also said the latest airstrike on the compound of Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital wounded three Palestinians. Israel’s military said it “struck a Hamas commander who planned to execute terror attacks” adjacent to the compound.
The military accused the commander of hiding in the compound. It said medical authorities in Gaza were warned on Thursday that medical facilities should not be used for “terrorist purposes” and that Israeli forces would act on any threat if that continued. Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital did not comment on the strike.
While the heaviest fighting in Gaza has eased, Gaza’s health ministry said Israel’s military has killed at least 1,313 Palestinians since October, when the ceasefire began. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are regarded as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts, though it does not separate civilians from militants.
In Iran, the new leadership appears prepared for a potentially long confrontation with the United States and determined to prevent unrest at home. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since his father and other senior leaders were killed in the opening strikes of the war on February 28, when the US and Israel attacked.
With appointments announced on August 11 and 12, Khamenei has surrounded himself with long-time personal allies, including Mohsen Rezaei as the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and Hossein Taeb as the new head of the Basij, the Revolutionary Guard’s volunteer street force. Together, the latest developments in the West Bank, Gaza and Iran point to a region still dealing with unrest, military action and shifting political control.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
