Families of Israeli captives demonstrate in Jerusalem
Families of captives held in Gaza demonstrated in front of the house of Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat, demanding a prisoner exchange deal, video taken by activists and Israeli media, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows.
According to Israeli Army Radio, the police arrested two demonstrators.
שניים נעצרו בהפגנה מול ביתו של השר ברקת בירושלים@nakash_noam pic.twitter.com/4a6nEJgNVK
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) November 12, 2024
Translation: Two were arrested in a demonstration in front of Minister Barkat’s house in Jerusalem.
Hamas official says Arab countries must sever ties with Israel
Hamas official Abdul Rahman Shadid is urging Arab countries to make every effort to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and added that:
- Arab countries that have normalised relations with Israel must sever those ties and engage with and stand by the Palestinian cause.
- Statements made by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich prove there is a dangerous plan to terminate the Palestinian cause with United States support.
- The goal of the extremist right-wing Israeli government is to dissolve the Palestinian existence and identity and to gain complete control over the occupied West Bank.
- What is happening in the West Bank is a dangerous plan and all Palestinians must defend their cause and land.
- The only option for the Palestinian people is to defend their rights and resist Israeli occupation.
Israeli minister’s annexation declaration ‘death sentence to two-state solution’
Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that the declaration by Israel’s Finance Minister Smotrich that Israel will impose its sovereignty over the West Bank in 2025 is a grave violation of international law.
“It also reveals the real policy and intentions of the fascist Israeli government, which rejects peaceful solutions,” Barghouti said in a statement, adding that Smotrich is being empowered by the US’s support for Israel.
“Smotrich would not have dared to go that far if it wasn’t for the unlimited support of the US and some other Western governments who continued to unequivocally support Israel while it was committing genocide, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing.”
EU foreign policy chief condemns proposed West Bank annexation
Josep Borrell said he “unequivocally condemn[s]” Smotrich’s call to “apply sovereignty” in the West Bank, describing it as a “clear step towards illegal annexation”.
As we previously reported, the far-right finance minister said he had ordered preparations for the annexation of the occupied West Bank in the hope that “2025 will be, with God’s help, the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria”.
