Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Aug 30: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned criminal acts committed by a “handful of rioters” in the occupied West Bank, as settler violence continued in the area and Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least three Palestinians on Saturday.
Netanyahu said the actions of the violent settlers did injustice to the wider “law-abiding settler public”. His remarks came after more than two weeks of unrest in the West Bank town of Qusra, where settlers have surrounded several Palestinian homes, including one belonging to a Palestinian American.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee unusually referred to the settlers involved as “terrorists”, a term US officials generally use for Palestinian militants.
Israeli military and police said Israeli rioters entered the Qusra area on Saturday, triggering violent clashes. According to the forces, dozens of rioters barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while residents were still inside. The groups were subsequently separated and the rioters’ vehicles confiscated.
The Associated Press reported seeing ambulances transporting injured Palestinians. Qusra Mayor Abdel Azim Wadi said two people suffered from tear gas inhalation while two others were injured after settlers threw stones. He added that the targeted house was no longer under siege.
“The actions of these violent extremists are a disgrace and stand in complete contradiction to the values of the State of Israel,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.
The statements did not say whether any arrests had been made.
Netanyahu’s government, widely regarded as Israel’s most ultranationalist and religious government, has overseen increased settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the territory illegal, while Israel has also faced growing criticism and declining support in the United States.
In Gaza, Israeli strikes and tank fire killed three Palestinians and wounded others on Saturday, according to local health officials.
In Gaza City, two Palestinians were killed and another wounded when an Israeli strike hit a motorcycle, officials at Shifa Hospital said. The Israeli military said it had targeted a “military operative” but provided no further details.
In eastern Deir al-Balah, tank fire killed a farmer, according to officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the body was taken. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
An Israeli airstrike near the compound of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital also wounded three Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas commander who was allegedly planning “terror attacks” near the hospital compound. It accused the commander of using the facility for cover and said Gaza medical authorities had been warned that medical facilities should not be used for “terrorist purposes”.
The hospital did not immediately comment on the strike.
A fragile ceasefire in Gaza has remained in place since October, with the intensity of fighting significantly reduced. However, Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli military operations have killed at least 1,313 Palestinians since the ceasefire began.
The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led administration, maintains detailed casualty records regarded by UN agencies and independent experts as generally reliable, although its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Meanwhile, Iran’s leadership appears increasingly centred on military commanders and long-standing figures within the country’s ruling theocracy as Tehran prepares for what could be a prolonged confrontation with the United States.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared 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 launched attacks against Iran.
In appointments announced on August 11 and 12, Khamenei surrounded himself with long-time allies, including Mohsen Rezaei, who was named secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Hossein Taeb, appointed head of the Basij, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ volunteer paramilitary force.
The appointments signal an emphasis on security and regime stability as Iran’s new leadership seeks to consolidate its position following months of conflict.