Full story
Tell clashes and deaths
Israel deployed troops across the occupied West Bank after clashes broke out Friday following the killing of an Israeli settler, leaving two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in the northern West Bank, while the military reported the deaths of two soldiers, one of whom was a settler in a local defense squad.
The Israeli military said it was preparing for an “extensive” counterterror operation in the West Bank and conducting a manhunt for Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis, after it apprehended two during a raid in Nablus.
In a separate account of the same violence, the Israeli military said a Palestinian resident took a weapon from local security personnel and fired on the Israeli civilians hiking in the area, killing the officer and another Israeli, while Palestinian officials said Palestinians from Tal were attacked and four were shot dead and four wounded by both Israeli civilians and Israeli soldiers.
Netanyahu, UN and warnings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, called for more troops to the West Bank and the razing of the homes of the accused in Tell, as well as collecting weapons and revoking work permits in the village.
Netanyahu and Katz said, “The security forces must be allowed to act freely and with full force against terrorism,” while Bezalel Smotrich went farther, saying the villages of Tell, Iraq Burin and Beit Furik “need to look exactly like the refugee camps in Nablus and Tulkarm.”
The UN warned that the violence “underscores the urgent need to protect civilians and prevent further escalation in the occupied West Bank,” and said there is no military solution to the conflict.
In the West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said Israeli forces imposed a security cordon around Nablus and Tal and that “the Israeli army generally prevents the injured Palestinians from accessing medical help by setting up siege-like conditions around the city,” as checkpoints leading to Tal were closed.
Operations, lockdowns and Gaza stakes
The Israeli military launched “counterterrorism” operations and ordered a curfew in the occupied West Bank after the outbreak of violence that left six people killed, with troops reported to have surrounded Nablus and the Tel village area.
“Northern West Bank in lockdown as clashes rock villages and Israel deploys troops in Nablus Northern West Bank in lockdown as clashes rock villages and Israel deploys troops in Nablus NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — Israel widely deployed troops in the West Bank after clashes broke out Friday across the occupied territory following the killing of an Israeli settler triggered violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead”
The Israeli army said it imposed a temporary lockdown on the city of Nablus and the Tel village area, erected roadblocks, and set up new checkpoints, while also preparing to carry out a wide-scale military operation in the area.
Beyond the West Bank, the UN said funding shortfalls pose the greatest threat to Gaza’s food security, warning that the challenge has moved beyond humanitarian access to become a funding crisis.
The UN’s World Food Programme Director of Preparedness and Response, Russ Smith, said WFP and partners provide assistance to 1.5 million people in Gaza each month, representing 70% of the population, and that “more than $420 million is needed to continue operations in Gaza and the West Bank for the remainder of the year.”
