Israel’s defence minister says Gaza truce deal a ‘strategic opportunity’
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has backed an agreement to release captives in the first phase of a Gaza truce deal, saying it would give Israel a “strategic opportunity” to address other security challenges.
Bringing the captives home is “the right thing to do,” Gallant told foreign journalists. “Achieving an agreement is also a strategic opportunity that gives us a high chance to change the security situation on all fronts,” he said.
Gallant recently issued harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying his decision to prioritise remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor over striking a deal was coming at the cost of the captives’ lives.
Doesn't sound like Gallant wants an end to the genocide either, just phase 1 of the ceasefire proposal.
Gallant says Hamas as ‘military formation no longer exists’
Here is more from Israel’s defence minister, who has been speaking to foreign journalists. Gallant said Hamas’s military capabilities had been severely damaged after more than 11 months of war and that it no longer existed as a military formation in Gaza.
“Hamas as a military formation no longer exists. Hamas is engaged in guerrilla warfare and we are still fighting Hamas terrorists and pursuing Hamas leadership,” he said.
Israel says American-Turkish activist killed in West Bank likely shot ‘unintentionally’ by army
The Israeli military has said American-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed in the West Bank last week, was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli forces while aiming at someone else.
The 26-year-old activist from Seattle died from a bullet wound to the head on Friday, during a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the town of Beita.
The military said its inquiry “found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by [Israeli army] fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot”.
Other protesters said there had been clashes between Israeli forces firing tear gas and live rounds and Palestinians throwing rocks but that the violence had subsided before Eygi was shot.
American-Turkish activist killed ‘to curb and suppress’ protests
Every witness we’ve been speaking to from beta or from the international activists who attended that protest negates this vision that has been published in a statement by the Israeli army.
They say that at the time of the shooting, there were no confrontations happening between the Palestinian protesters and the Israeli forces who were there. This is a site that Palestinians often go to to protest Israeli settlers taking over Palestinian lands.
As far as Palestinians are concerned, they say that this is done intentionally to curb and suppress these Palestinian protests that aim to regain and reclaim back the land that has been taken by Israeli settlers.
Blinken says death of American woman in occupied West Bank ‘unjustified’
Israeli forces fatally shot American-Turkish activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi last week at a demonstration in the occupied West Bank, leading world-wide condemnation.
“No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a news conference in London, adding that Eygi’s death was “unprovoked and unjustified”.
“In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the [occupied] West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement,” he said.
You say the words, but you don't believe them yourself... Nothing will come from this as usual.
