West Bank - The African Mirror

Sep

15

2024

Palestinian economy “in freefall” amid ongoing Gaza conflict – UNCTAD

WORLD

Gaza’s economy has “collapsed months ago” while in the West Bank, violence and trade restrictions are fueling a massive surge in poverty and unemployment, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned on Thursday. The war-torn enclave’s economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its 2022 level, while up to 96 per cent of its agricultural assets and 82 per cent of all its businesses have been destroyed, according to UNCTAD’s latest report. “The Palestinian economy is in freefall,” UNCTAD deputy chief Pedro Manuel Moreno told journalists in Geneva. “The report calls for the international community to halt this economic…

Jul

01

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and KAMEL HAMDAN

Israeli tanks advance into areas in north and south Gaza

WORLD

ISRAELI forces advanced further into the Shejaia neighbourhood of northern Gaza and also pushed deeper into western and central Rafah in the south, killing at least six Palestinians and destroying several homes, residents said. Israeli tanks, which moved back into Shejaia four days ago, fired shells towards several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave, the residents said. Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his stance that there is no substitute for victory in the war against the Islamist militant group Hamas. "We are committed to fighting until we achieve all of…

Jun

05

2024

By EMMA FARGE

UN rights office criticises Israel over deaths of 500 Palestinians in West Bank

WORLD

THE U.N. human rights office called for an end to violence in which it said Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers have killed more than 500 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. It said in a statement that Israel had used "unnecessary and disproportionate" force in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and condemned what it said was the systematic denial of medical aid. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the U.N. statement. Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva said its actions in the West Bank were in…

Apr

15

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Iran’s attack on Israel stirs admiration among Gaza Palestinians

WORLD

IRAN'S attack on Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza as rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave, although some said they suspected Tehran had staged the assault more for show than to inflict real damage. "For the first time, we saw some rockets that didn’t land in our areas. These rockets were going into the occupied Palestine,” said Abu Abdallah, referring to land that became Israel in 1948 rather than the occupied West Bank and Gaza. “We are hopeful that if Iran or any other country enters the war a solution for Gaza might be nearer than ever. The Americans may…

Apr

14

2024

By MOHAMMED TOROKMAN

Settlers incensed over teen’s slaying rampage in Palestinian towns

WORLD

ARMED Jewish settlers blocked roads, vandalised property and scuffled with Palestinians around towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, medics and witnesses said, after an Israeli teenager was killed in a suspected militant attack. Israeli authorities said they were beefing up security forces to tamp down the flare-up, worried about a possible spread of violence from the Gaza war now in its seventh month. The friction between settlers and Palestinians, at several locations between the city of Ramallah and northern Nablus, began on Friday after a 14-year-old Israeli went missing in the area. His body was discovered on Saturday,…

Nov

03

2023

By JOHN DAVISON

Israeli settler attacks fuel the fire as Gaza war rages

WORLD

MOURNING his father and brother, Mohammed Wadi says armed Israeli settlers from outposts overlooking his olive-growing West Bank village no longer aim low when they shoot at Palestinian neighbours. "Now, they shoot to kill," he said. Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already at a more than 15-year high this year, surged further after Israel hurtled into a new war in the separate enclave of Gaza in response to Palestinian militant group Hamas unleashing the deadliest day in Israel's history on October 7. Days later, on October 12, Wadi's father and brother were shot dead when armed Israeli settlers and…

Oct

15

2023

By SULEIMAN AL-KHALIDI and MAYA GEBEILY

Arab states say Palestinians must stay on their land as war escalates

WORLD

CALLS for a humanitarian corridor or an escape route for Palestinians from Gaza as a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has escalated have drawn a blunt reaction from Arab neighbours. Egypt, the only Arab state to share a border with Gaza, and Jordan, which is next to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, have both warned against Palestinians being forced off their land. It reflects deep Arab fears that Israel's latest war with Hamas in Gaza could spark a new wave of permanent displacement from the land where Palestinians want to build a future state. "This is the cause of all causes, the…

Oct

08

2023

By MAAYAN LUBELL, NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and AMMAR AWAD

‘Sea of bodies’ in Israel, scores dead in Gaza as shock Hamas attack unleashes war

WORLD

GUNMEN from the Palestinian group Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns killing and capturing scores of civilians and soldiers in a surprise assault, met by Israel with massive retaliatory air strikes that killed scores in the Gaza Strip. The worst attack on Israel for decades unleashed a war that both sides vowed to escalate. At least 200 Israelis were reported killed and 1,100 wounded by gunbattles raging in more than 20 locations inside Israel. In Gaza, health officials reported more than 230 people killed and 1,600 wounded. "Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known," Prime Minister…

Sep

29

2023

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Israel reopens Gaza crossings, lets Palestinians back to work after two weeks

WORLD

ISRAEL reopened crossing points with Gaza, allowing thousands of Palestinian workers to get to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after nearly two weeks of closure prompted by violent protests along the border. Around 18,000 Gazans have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing an injection of cash amounting to some $2 million a day to the impoverished territory's economy. The move comes amid stepped-up international efforts by Egypt and the United Nations to defuse tensions and prevent a new round of armed conflict in the enclave. For around two weeks, protesters throwing stones…

Jul

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Eight hurt in Palestinian car-ramming, stabbing in Tel Aviv

WORLD

A Palestinian rammed a pickup truck into pedestrians in Tel Aviv and then went on a stabbing rampage, wounding eight people on Tuesday in an attack claimed by the Hamas militant group. The 20-year-old Palestinian, from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was shot dead by an armed civilian, police said. Israel's Shin Bet security agency said he entered Israel without a permit and had no record of security offences. Hamas claimed him as a member, saying he struck Israel's commercial capital in retaliation for the ongoing military raid in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin, in which 10 Palestinians have been killed…