Far-right Israeli minister says there’s a ‘great opportunity’ to annex West Bank
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told workers at the Civil Administration in charge of Israeli and Palestinian affairs in the occupied West Bank that he hopes to close the department as Israel was annexing the territory, Israeli media is reporting.
“I hope we’ll have a great opportunity with the new US administration to create full normalisation [of Israeli rule] and bring government ministries in here,” Smotrich was quoted as saying.
The minister added that he had spoken to Netanyahu and the ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, about the matter.
Gunfight erupts in Jenin between PA officers and armed groups
In Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, gunfights erupted between Palestinian security forces and armed groups over the theft of vehicles belonging to the Palestinian Authority (PA), AFP news agency reported.
Intense exchanges of fire began around 9:30pm (19:30 GMT), which was followed by the deployment of members of the security forces around the Jenin refugee camp.
General Anwar Rajab, the security forces’ spokesman, said in a statement that the forces would “recover the vehicles and hold accountable anyone who committed this act”.
But the Jenin battalion of the al-Quds Brigades said that PA officers had arrested one of its members and confiscated money that was for the family of a killed Palestinian fighter.
“In the face of this absurd aggression, we decided to return our right by force, so they and their masters know that the Jenin Battalion has men who will not let go of their rights or accept insults and dishonour,” the group said.
The battalion also condemned the PA’s security coordination with Israel, calling it a “poisoned dagger in the side of the Palestinian people”.
Israeli forces shoot teenager during West Bank raid
The 16-year-old was wounded after Israel forces stormed the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and fired live ammunition, the Wafa news agency reports.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the teenager was shot in the thigh and has been transferred to hospital. They did not state the severity of his condition.
Israeli forces have also stormed the following locations over recent hours:
- The city of Qalqilya
- The town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem
- The town of Hizma, northeast of Jerusalem
- The town of Beita, south of Nablus
- The town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, west of Salfit
- The town of Deir al-Ghusun, near Tulkarem
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