Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A Palestinian hurls stones towards Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 14 May 2023. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
A Palestinian hurls stones towards Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 14 May 2023. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A Palestinian hurls stones towards Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 14 May 2023. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
A Palestinian hurls stones towards Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, 14 May 2023. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man during a raid in the city of Nablus early on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said, the latest incident in more than a year of surging violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said suspects hurled rocks and explosives and fired at its forces in Nablus, a flashpoint city where there have been regular raids and clashes. The soldiers shot at the suspects and "a hit was identified", the military said.

It added that the forces were in Nablus to prepare for the possible demolition of the home of a Palestinian suspected of killing two brothers from a Jewish settlement near the village of Huwara on Feb. 26.

The attack prompted a settler rampage in Huwara, during which a Palestinian man was killed and cars and homes were set alight while people were inside, Reuters reported.
The raid, near a refugee camp in a part of the West Bank where Palestinians exercise limited self-rule, sparked "intense confrontations" with Palestinian fighters, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.

The Nablus raid came after an Egyptian-mediated truce ended five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad in Gaza last week, in which 34 Palestinians and an Israeli were killed.

Israel-Palestinian violence has been intensifying for months, with frequent Israeli military raids and settler violence in the West Bank amid a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.