Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops arrested two Palestinians on Wednesday suspected of involvement in the killing earlier this week of an American-Israeli, the military said, in a daylight raid in a West Bank refugee camp.

The arrest raid came as Israel’s parliament gave initial approval to a proposal to impose the death penalty against Palestinians convicted in deadly attacks. A top minister in Israel’s far-right government, meanwhile, called for “erasing” a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank where radical Jewish settlers went on a rampage earlier this week.

28 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party called, Monday, for a return to the policy of assassinations and the "elimination" of the Palestinian factions' leaders who, according to him, "incite against Israel".

This came during a visit to an illegal outpost built on Palestinian land in Beita village near the city of Nablus, in the northern Occupied West Bank, before completing its evacuation process.

28 Feb 2023; MEMO: An Israeli court rejected an appeal today against the demolition of a Palestinian primary school in the southern occupied West Bank governorate of Bethlehem, reported Wafa news agency.

Submitted by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission and the Society of St. Yves, a Catholic human rights organisation, the appeal was against a previous court order to demolish Al-Tahadi School 5 in Beit Taamir.

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: An extreme far-right member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) said today that he wants to see the "burning" of Palestinian villages in response to the killing of Israeli settlers. Zvika Fogel of the extreme-right Otzma Yehudit party, headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, said that he backs the settlers who attacked Palestinian villages yesterday and killed a Palestinian man.

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel's far-right occupation government approved on Sunday a draft bill which, if it becomes law, will authorise the execution of Palestinian prisoners, Arab48.com has reported. The bill was proposed by extreme far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel has erected "a formal, full-fledged apartheid regime," the editorial of Haaretz newspaper said yesterday, in a stark warning about the direction of the occupation state. Drawing attention to measures introduced by the far-right government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Haaretz's editorial said that they include the contentious decision to grant Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, control over the occupied West Bank.

JERUSALEM (AP) — An ultranationalist ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tendered his resignation as a deputy minister in the new government.

Avi Maoz’s departure was the first crack in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which assumed office in late December after securing a parliamentary majority in the November elections.

28 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel's Knesset Plenum held a session after collecting the signatures of 40 members to force Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend a debate on the government's policy and plan to weaken the judiciary.

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, Feb 27 (NNN-WAFA) – Hundreds of Israeli settlers launched violent revenge attacks in the northern occupied West Bank last night, killing at least one Palestinian, injuring dozens, and burning down homes, shops, cars and farmlands, after a Palestinian shooting attack killed two Israelis, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Scores of Israeli settlers went on a violent rampage in the northern West Bank, setting dozens of cars and homes on fire after two settlers were killed by a Palestinian gunman. Palestinian medics said one man was killed and four others were badly wounded in what appeared to be the worst outburst of settler violence in decades.

The deadly shooting Sunday, followed by the late-night rampage, immediately raised doubts about Jordan’s declaration that Israeli and Palestinian officials had pledged to calm a year-long wave of violence.