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.



Israel’s Army Says It Will Fire Air Force Reservists Who Condemned Gaza War

An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
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Israel’s Army Says It Will Fire Air Force Reservists Who Condemned Gaza War

An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)

Israel's military said Friday it will fire air force reservists who signed an open letter that condemns the war in Gaza for only serving political interests instead of bringing the hostages home.

In a statement to The Associated Press, an army official said there was no room for any individual, including reservists on active duty, “to exploit their military status while simultaneously participating in the fighting,” calling the letter a breach of trust between commanders and subordinates.

The army said it had decided that any active reservist who signed the letter will not be able to continue serving. It did not specify how many people that included or if the firings had begun.

Nearly 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists and retirees signed the letter, published in Israeli media Thursday, demanding the immediate return of the hostages, even at the cost of ending the fighting.

The letter comes as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza, trying to pressure Hamas to agree to free hostages, 59 of whom are still being held, more than half of which are dead. Israel's imposed a blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle. It has pledged to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor through it.

While the soldiers who signed the letter didn’t refuse to keep serving, it’s part of a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 18-month conflict, some saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines.

“It’s completely illogical and irresponsible on behalf of the Israeli policy makers ... risking the lives of the hostages, risking the lives of more soldiers and risking lives of many, many more innocent Palestinians, while it had a very clear alternative,” Guy Poran, a retired Israeli Air Force pilot who spearhead the letter told The AP.

He said he's not aware of anyone who signed the letter being fired, and since it was published, it has gained dozens more signatures.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the letter on Friday, saying it was written by a “small handful of weeds, operated by foreign-funded NGOs whose sole goal is to overthrow the right-wing government.” He said anyone who encourages refusal will be immediately dismissed.

Soldiers are required to steer clear of politics, and they rarely speak out against the army. After Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel quickly united behind the war launched against the group. Divisions here have grown as the war progresses, but most criticism has focused on the mounting number of soldiers killed and the failure to bring home hostages, not actions in Gaza.

The war in Gaza shows no signs of slowing.

Since Israel ended an eight-week ceasefire last month, it said it will push further into Gaza until Hamas releases the hostages. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed, according to the United Nations.

The Israeli military on Friday issued an urgent warning to residents in several neighborhoods in northern Gaza, calling on them to evacuate immediately. At least 26 people have been killed and more than 100 others wounded in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Palestinians lined up at a charity kitchen Friday in central Gaza said shortages of food, fuel and other essentials are worsening.

“There is no flour or gas or wood. Everything is expensive and there is no money," said Reem Oweis, a displaced woman from al-Mughraqa in south Gaza, waiting in line for a serving of rice, the only food available.

“I completely rely on charity kitchens. If those charity kitchens close, my children and I will die,” said another displace woman, Nema Faragallah.

Also this week, Brazil's Embassy in the West Bank said it had requested the immediate release of the body of a 17-year-old Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody.

A representative from Brazil's office in Ramallah, told the AP it was helping the family speed up the process to bring Walid Ahmad's body home. Ahmad had a Brazilian passport.

According to an Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy, starvation was likely the primary cause of his death.

Ahmad had been held for six months without being charged. He was extremely malnourished and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies, said a report written by Dr. Daniel Solomon, who watched the autopsy, conducted by Israeli experts, at the request of the boy’s family.

Israel’s prison service said it operates according to the law and all prisoners are given basic rights.