Two More Die as Israel-Palestinian Unrest Simmers, Political Faultlines Widen

Clashes broke out in the town of Jenin during the Israeli raid, according to witnesses. (File/AFP)
Clashes broke out in the town of Jenin during the Israeli raid, according to witnesses. (File/AFP)
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Two More Die as Israel-Palestinian Unrest Simmers, Political Faultlines Widen

Clashes broke out in the town of Jenin during the Israeli raid, according to witnesses. (File/AFP)
Clashes broke out in the town of Jenin during the Israeli raid, according to witnesses. (File/AFP)

A growing wave of unrest between Israelis and Palestinians claimed two more lives on Monday, after a poll showed plummeting support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party amid a divisive plan to rein in the Supreme Court's powers.

A Palestinian teen was killed during a military raid in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, while hospital officials said the mother of two Israeli sisters killed last week in their car by a suspected Palestinian gunman had died of her injuries.

The poll, for Channel 13 News, showed Likud would lose more than a third of its seats if an election were held now, and Netanyahu would fail to gain a majority with his hard-right coalition partners.

In a sign of Israel's fracturing political faultlines, thousands of Israelis marched towards Eviatar, an evacuated outpost in the West Bank, in support of the expansion of settlements.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged this year, with frequent military raids and violence by Israeli settlers amid a spate of Palestinian attacks. More than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since January.

Tensions have risen following Israeli police raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound last week, which triggered rocket attacks on Israel that were met with Israeli strikes in Gaza, south Lebanon and Syria.

The Palestinian health ministry said 15-year-old Mohammad Balhan sustained gunshot wounds to his head, chest and abdomen after an Israeli raid near the occupied West Bank city of Jericho.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces operated in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, adjacent to Jericho, to apprehend Palestinians suspected in involvement in attacks against Israelis.

The military said that during the raid suspects opened fire and hurled explosives at its forces, who responded with live fire and hit some of the suspects, but no soldiers were wounded.

An eyewitness said he saw some people hurling rocks at the military after they raided the camp.

"I had just left my house when I saw military forces and people throwing stones," said Fayez Balhan, the teen's father.

After carrying another wounded person to an ambulance, the father noticed a young man lying on the ground, who turned out to be his son, he told Reuters.

The Palestinian Prisoners Association said the Israeli military arrested at least two people during the raid.

"We urge the world to hold this (Israeli) government accountable for its crimes," Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly government session.

Pro-settler march

Separately, hospital officials said the mother of two Israeli sisters who were killed last week in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank had died of her wounds.

Lucy Dee, 48, succumbed to her wounds, Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital said in a statement.

Her daughters Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, were killed on Friday when their car was shot at by a suspected Palestinian gunman. Israeli forces are still trying to track the assailant down.

In a separate part of the West Bank, thousands of Israelis, including government ministers, marched towards Eviatar waving Israeli flags and chanting religious slogans and songs as a Palestinian counter-protest was held nearby. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 191 Palestinians were injured by Israeli security forces.

"Now they understand why I have been pushing for the establishment of a national guard," far-right security chief Itamar Ben-Gvir said at the demonstration.

Ben-Gvir, a hardline Jewish settler, joined Netanyahu's coalition with an expanded law-and-order portfolio including a beefed-up national guard for use mainly in crime- and rioting-hit Arab communities.

Netanyahu agreed to bring Ben-Gvir's initiative for cabinet approval after the security chief backed Netanyahu's pause of the judicial overhaul proposal, which has triggered nationwide street protests.

Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital - territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

US-sponsored statehood talks have been stalled since 2014 while Jewish settlements have expanded, developments which Palestinians say have undermined the chances of a viable state being established.



Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
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Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)

The Sudanese army carried out a surprise military operation in the early hours of Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, regaining several positions in the city’s far southwest that it had previously abandoned to advancing Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Military sources reported that calm returned to El Fasher after intense clashes on Friday between the army and RSF fighters, who attempted a major offensive to deepen their hold inside the city. In a statement, the army said its Sixth Infantry Division successfully repelled a fresh RSF attack, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment, and restored control over all frontline areas.

RSF militants had infiltrated southern neighborhoods, seizing the Central Security Reserve headquarters and the Shalla prison. According to army sources, these forces were pushed back through ground combat supported by extensive drone strikes, forcing them to retreat to their original positions. The sources confirmed there were no significant breakthroughs or territorial gains by the RSF following the operation.

In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Kamel Idris expressed “deep anger, pain, and responsibility” over the worsening humanitarian disaster in El Fasher. He condemned the “suffocating and inhumane siege imposed by the RSF militia,” describing it as “one of the most brutal cases of collective extortion and systematic starvation in recent history.”

Idris vowed that the government would not stand idly by in the face of this “atrocious” crime and pledged to use all political, diplomatic, and humanitarian means to break the siege and ensure urgent aid reaches civilians trapped in El Fasher amid widespread starvation and international silence.

He called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with international and humanitarian organizations, to act immediately to pressure the militia to open humanitarian corridors and end the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.

The prime minister highlighted the RSF’s refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2736, which demands lifting the siege on El Fasher, and their rejection of UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. He held the militia responsible for obstructing aid and accountable for the ongoing starvation and terror inflicted on civilians.

Idris warned against silence over these crimes, including the killing of civilians fleeing the siege and bombardments. He also cited the systematic destruction of hospitals by RSF suicide drone and strategic attacks, threatening the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

“What is happening in El Fasher is a major crime committed in full view and hearing of the world,” he said, urging the international community to move beyond lukewarm statements to real action and pressure on those besieging, starving, and attacking civilians.

The RSF continues to attempt to seize the city and its army base, the last stronghold of government forces across all Darfur states. Military sources said defenders repelled the assault and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers.

The RSF has maintained a tight siege on El Fasher since May 2024, blocking all roads and supply routes and preventing humanitarian aid from entering, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths from starvation and medical shortages.