Israel’s security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank
Israel’s security cabinet has approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the country’s far-right finance minister said was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The latest approvals come days after the UN said the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank – all of which are considered illegal under international law – had reached its highest level since at least 2017.
“The proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare and formalise 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria has been approved by the cabinet,” the statement said, without specifying when the decision was taken.
Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces near Jenin
A Palestinian child has been killed by Israeli forces during a raid in the northern West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 16-year-old Rayyan Mohammad Abu Mualla was shot and killed on Saturday evening in Qabatiya, south of Jenin.
Israeli forces reportedly stormed the town and opened fire, hitting the child. Soldiers prevented Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances from reaching him, leaving him bleeding for some time before he died. His body has been withheld by Israeli forces.
In a separate incident earlier on Saturday, the ministry said 22-year-old Ahmad Zyoud from Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, was killed after being shot in the chest during another Israeli raid.
Israeli forces shoot child at point-blank range
Out of the 1,100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who have been killed [by Israeli soldiers and settlers] since October 7, [2023,] we don’t often have video to show these extrajudicial killings.
This video shows a 16-year-old boy walking towards what Palestinians say is his home when Israeli forces shoot him from point-blank range. They refuse to let anyone come close to the body for 40 minutes – a practice we have seen a lot in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces wait for the person to die.
We called the family, who said they have no idea what happened. It shows how little regard the Israeli army has for Palestinian life.
Israel shutters Palestinian school in east Jerusalem: Report
Israeli forces have shut down the Noor al-Quds school, located in east Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood, reports the Wafa news agency. The report said the school’s students were forced to move to other schools without parental consent.
Israeli forces shoot, wound two near West Bank separation wall: Report
Israeli forces have shot and injured two young men near a separation wall in the town of ar-Ram in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency. The men have been hospitalised, Wafa cites the Palestinian Red Crescent as saying, without detailing their condition.
