US Seeks to Halt Escalation in West Bank

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
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US Seeks to Halt Escalation in West Bank

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)

The US administration has launched talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel in an effort to contain the escalation in the West Bank.

The US urged officials from both sides to de-escalate.

Channel 12 reported that American, Israeli, and Palestinian security officials held talks to reach a de-escalation in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinians responded that Israel should first stop its raids against the cities to give them a chance to negotiate with the armed men and reach an agreement. They confirmed that they are seeking to de-escalate but the Israelis are hindering their work, the Israeli report added.

Eleven armed men were arrested including Palestinian security officers who had links with the “Lion’s Den” group in Nablus.

Israel's Channel 12 said that the PA negotiated with the Lions' Den group and other armed men in Nablus and Jenin, with the aim of disarming them in return for a pardon.

This measure had been previously used by the PA with the Fatah party's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade at the end of the 2nd intifada. This was a success back then and the armed men were integrated in the Palestinian security bodies.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are intensive talks to stop security from deteriorating in the West Bank. Egypt, Jordan, and the UN take part in them.

The PA also demanded that Israel halt its accusations of the authority being weak.

Israel killed five Palestinians in Nablus on Tuesday including the leader of the group.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Israel aims to dismantle the Lion’s Den after it killed a soldier in Nablus in the past weeks and carried out other operations.

“Despite the organization’s relatively low membership, any claim as to its elimination heard in the near future will sound unreliable, as there is no actual organizational background or clear-cut hierarchy,” said Amos Harel, in his Op-ed for Haaretz.

“The Lions’ Den is more of an idea than an organizational structure, and as such it is harder to stop it from spreading,” he added.

Israeli forces stormed the city of Nablus on Wednesday and arrested activists of ties with the group including the brother of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, whom Israel assassinated.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military drone crashed in Nablus Old City on Wednesday morning, the army said.

The drone crashed due to a technical malfunction, it added. There did not appear to be a risk that classified information could have been retrieved from the fallen device, the army said.



Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
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Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian group Hamas.

The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”

Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben-Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.

The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.