Jordan’s King, Rubio discuss Gaza, occupied West Bank
King Abdullah II is in Washington, DC, where he has met with the US secretary of state, according to a brief statement from the US State Department. The pair discussed “bilateral and regional issues, including the situation in Gaza, as well as developments in the West Bank and Syria”, the State Department said.
“[Marco Rubio] emphasised the United States’s continued interest in working together on counterterrorism and expressed appreciation for Jordan’s cooperation in advancing regional security, stability, and prosperity,” the statement added.
Raids, arrests, buildings demolished in Israeli operations in occupied West Bank: Reports
Israel’s onslaught on the occupied West Bank continued overnight and into early Tuesday morning, with raids reported in several towns and cities, including:
- A Palestinian man was taken from his home during a raid in the south of Tulkarem city.
- Israeli troops stormed the Masaken area east of Nablus.
- Military raids were carried out on Salfit city, in the north of the West Bank.
- Israeli soldiers raided the al-Shu’aba areas in Hebron, and the Khallet al-Eis area in the town of Ash-Shuyukh, north of Hebron.
- Troops also conducted raids and searches in the Balata al-Balad areas east of Nablus.
- Israel’s Channel 14 media outlet reported that Israel’s military was working throughout the night “to demolish” buildings in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
Palestinians find olive trees cut down in the West Bank
A Palestinian man reacts after Israelis cut down Palestinian olive trees in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Monday
The UN estimated that more than 10,000 Palestinian-owned olive trees were vandalised, ‘presumably by settlers’, across the West Bank in 2023 alone. Olive trees in the occupied West Bank can be hundreds of years old, with the Palestinian Olive Oil Council estimating the oldest tree is at least 5,500 years old.
Olives and olive oil are an important source of income for the occupied West Bank, which has suffered economic losses since October 2023.
