Israeli Army Eases Siege on Nablus

A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
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Israeli Army Eases Siege on Nablus

A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

The Israeli army on Friday announced a partial easing of the tight blockade it imposed on the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The decision was not welcomed by settlers, who continued to hold rallies in various parts of the West Bank, protesting against what they called “the tolerance of Palestinian terrorism and the shedding of the blood of Jewish citizens.”

On Friday, the Israeli army removed two of the six checkpoints erected more than two weeks ago in the city’s vicinity.

The army justified its move by claiming that it had dealt a major blow to the Lions’ Den group.

At the same time, the military boasted that it killed “two terrorists” who turned out later to be members of the Civil Defense, which is part of the Palestinian Security Services.

Israeli circles justified the killing saying “it was done by mistake,” and that “the Israeli soldiers shot in self-defense, fearing that Palestinians had set up an ambush.”

The Palestinians deemed the killing a heinous crime.

The Israeli army had imposed a tighter siege on Nablus two and a half weeks ago, following an increase of operations and shootings.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Friday that after assessing the security situation in the West Bank, the army decided to change and ease the restrictions imposed on Nablus, by opening two entrances to the city on Thursday night, keeping four other entrances under strict procedures, and monitoring vehicles that leave the city.

Later, reports said the easing of the siege was carried out in coordination with the Palestinian security services, which informed Israel that a number of activists from the “Lions’ den” in Nablus had surrendered.

Meanwhile, the Israeli right and settler leaders lashed out at the military’s decision to ease the siege on Nablus.

They organized several demonstrations in the West Bank against the army and its chief of staff Aviv Kohavi.

Head of Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, said the “Israeli army’s decision to remove the roadblocks on the way out of Nablus is a political decision by the Israeli government, in which it abandons the lives of settlers in the northern West Bank and throughout the country.”

Meanwhile, right-wing journalist Yoni Ben-Menachem, who is close to opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, said the decision to lift the siege on Nablus is a mistake, and that it only encourages the Palestinians to carry out more operations.



Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League urged on Saturday the UN Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to stop its assaut against the Palestinian people and to ensure that it provides all humanitarian assistance needed by the people in Gaza Strip.

In a statement marking the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Arab League urged Britain and all the other countries that did not recognize the Palestinian state to take this step in support of peace in line with the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the only way to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The Balfour Declaration continues to be a profound wound in the human conscience due to the Nakba that the Palestinian people have experienced and the ongoing deprivation of their legitimate and inalienable rights to freedom and independence. This refers to the Israeli occupation's violations and practices, settlement and Judaization, annexation and siege, the destruction of the Palestinian people's livelihoods, and the desecration of their religious shrines," the Arab League statement said.

It stressed that Israel's continued crimes and violations are a reflection of the international community's inability to fulfil its obligations and assume its responsibilities in resisting aggression and occupation, protecting the Palestinian people.

It must ask Israel to comply with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions in a manner that ends the occupation and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab League stressed that Israel continues to insist on expanding the area of its hostilities to include Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights despite the imminent danger of a regional war.

Moreover, the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA's work in the occupied Palestinian territories is an additional flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of the international will, and of all human values.

The aim of this step is to destroy generations of Palestinians for whom the UN agency represents a lifeline in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. It is imperative that Israel stop these crimes and protect the agency's work in accordance with its UN mandate.