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West Bank: New Front Challenges Israel, Palestinian Authority

The West Bank witnessed widespread unrest on Tuesday night as Palestinian anger flared in the aftermath of the massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. (AFP)
The West Bank witnessed widespread unrest on Tuesday night as Palestinian anger flared in the aftermath of the massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. (AFP)
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West Bank: New Front Challenges Israel, Palestinian Authority

The West Bank witnessed widespread unrest on Tuesday night as Palestinian anger flared in the aftermath of the massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. (AFP)
The West Bank witnessed widespread unrest on Tuesday night as Palestinian anger flared in the aftermath of the massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza. (AFP)

The West Bank has witnessed escalating tensions that could potentially open a third front against Israel, along with Gaza and the Lebanese border, since Israel launched its war on the coastal enclave two weeks ago,

Hamas has been actively pushing the West Bank toward a larger confrontation with Israel, even before it launched Al-Aqsa Storm operation on Oct.7.

The Islamic Jihad has also explicitly urged Palestinians in the West Bank to bear arms and engage in the confrontation with Israel.

While much of the attention has been focused on the borders with Gaza and Lebanon, tensions have significantly escalated in the West Bank.

Palestinians there have carried out armed attacks on Israeli military positions, engaged in angry protests, and clashed violently with the army.

It appears that the army has decided to change its approach and crack down on the Palestinians in the area, much like what it is doing in Gaza.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the official spokesperson for Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas, accused Israel of waging a comprehensive war against Palestinians wherever they are located.

He stated that Israel is a lawless state committing crimes in both the West Bank and Gaza.

The West Bank witnessed widespread unrest on Tuesday night as Palestinian anger flared in the aftermath of the massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.

Thousands of people took to the streets across the West Bank, with some clashing with Palestinian security forces, protesting what they saw as “Abbas’s insufficient support for Hamas.”

While Abbas has not directly attacked Hamas, he has been keen on not supporting it, emphasizing multiple times that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole representative of the people and focusing more on efforts to halt the war against civilians.

The relationship between Abbas and Hamas has been strained since the movement’s takeover of Gaza in 2007, with the wars in Gaza only exacerbating these tensions.

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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
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Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.