06:45
Israeli airstrike hits southern Beirut
An Israeli airstrike struck a building in Beirut, breaking months of ceasefire despite no reported injuries.
Israeli cabinet greenlights independence for 13 West Bank Settlements
Reuters
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to designate 13 Jewish settlements in the West Bank as independent entities, separating them from their parent communities, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Sunday.
The move follows recent approvals for tens of thousands of new housing units across the region and comes amid heightened security concerns following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.
Smotrich, posting on X, hailed the decision as a step toward “actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” the term Israel uses for the West Bank. “We continue to lead a revolution of normalisation and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologising – we raise the flag, build and settle,” he said, arguing that recognizing each settlement as independent will resolve longstanding management challenges.
The decision has deepened tensions in a region already marked by conflict. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the separation as a disregard for international legitimacy and resolutions. Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, denounced the move as a “desperate attempt to impose realities on the ground and consolidate colonial occupation on Palestinian lands.”
Israeli officials have cited security concerns as a key factor in the decision. In recent weeks, Israel has intensified counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank, targeting suspected militants in response to fears of further attacks similar to those on October 7, 2023.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers now live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem—territory captured by Israel in 1967 during the six-day war. While most of the international community considers these settlements illegal under international law, Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
The move has been welcomed by pro-settler politicians, with Smotrich—a prominent figure in the far-right Religious Zionism party and a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—asserting that the new status will facilitate the settlements’ growth and development. Critics, however, warn that such unilateral actions could further complicate the already fraught prospects for a lasting peace in the region.
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Thousands protest in Tel Aviv to demand Gaza ceasefire
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the Gaza war and pressing for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
02:00
Protesters and police clash in Israel over hostages
Protesters and police clashed in the Israeli town of Mazor as crowds rallied against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ongoing war in Gaza.
15:45
Israel
Israel considers limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities amid tensions
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s reluctance to support military action, Israel has not ruled out launching a limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to Israeli and other sources familiar with the matter.
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