Palestinian Report: 165 Killed Since Early 2022 in Gaza, West Bank

A protester attempts to reach a camera during clashes following the funeral of seven-year-old Palestinian boy Rayyan Suleiman, who according to his father has died of heart failure while being chased by Israeli soldiers, east of Bethlehem, Israeli-occupied West Bank September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
A protester attempts to reach a camera during clashes following the funeral of seven-year-old Palestinian boy Rayyan Suleiman, who according to his father has died of heart failure while being chased by Israeli soldiers, east of Bethlehem, Israeli-occupied West Bank September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
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Palestinian Report: 165 Killed Since Early 2022 in Gaza, West Bank

A protester attempts to reach a camera during clashes following the funeral of seven-year-old Palestinian boy Rayyan Suleiman, who according to his father has died of heart failure while being chased by Israeli soldiers, east of Bethlehem, Israeli-occupied West Bank September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
A protester attempts to reach a camera during clashes following the funeral of seven-year-old Palestinian boy Rayyan Suleiman, who according to his father has died of heart failure while being chased by Israeli soldiers, east of Bethlehem, Israeli-occupied West Bank September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

Since the beginning of 2022, 165 Palestinians have killed in Gaza and the West Bank, a Palestinian report said on Sunday.

The National Grouping of Palestinian Martyrs’ Families said that among the fatalities, there are 88 Palestinians killed only in the past three months of this year.

The group said 113 Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the West Bank, including Jerusalem and that the majority of fatalities were documented in Jenin Governorate, with 45 deaths.

According to the report published by the German news agency, 52 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip during the latest round of military tension between the Islamic Jihad movement and Israel, in early August.

It said that the last three months recorded more deaths compared with the first six months of 2022, which recorded a 66 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

The number of child deaths topped 34, representing 21 percent of fatalities. In addition, the report documented the killing of 14 women.

It said that in seven years, the death toll of Palestinians reached 1,127, including 229 children and 71 women, representing 26 percent of the overall fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of insisting to raise tension to serve its colonial interests and to avoid implementing peace.

In a press statement, the ministry said Israel “disregards all international and regional demands and calls to stop its escalation and attacks on Palestinian citizens.”



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.