Israeli settler seriously injured in stabbing attack at illegal West Bank settlement

An Israeli settler has sustained serious injuries following an alleged stabbing attack at the illegal Gilo settlement in the southwestern sector of East al-Quds amid the surge of violence by extremist Jewish elements across occupied territories in recent weeks.

Israeli media outlets reported that paramedics transferred the man, in his 30s, to Sha'are Zedek Medical Center in very serious and unstable condition for further medical treatment.

“The injured man was lying near the entrance to the building while he was conscious and suffering from a penetrating and bleeding wound on his body,” Elad Rozmarin, a paramedic for the Israeli regime's Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, said.

The Hebrew-language Walla news site cited eyewitnesses as saying there was a brawl between Jews and Arabs at the scene of the stabbing.

A large number of security forces, including helicopters, were deployed in the search for suspects after two knives were found at the scene, one of which was used in the stabbing, the Israeli police said in a statement.

Israel's so-called internal security service, Shin Bet, has launched an investigation into the incident, according to Hebrew media reports.

Palestinian killed, 4 others injured as Israeli forces raid Nablus

Israeli forces storm the northern West Bank city of Nablus and clash with Palestinians, killing a teen and injuring four others.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank for the past year and a half, with the Israeli military carrying out near-nightly raids and the Palestinians carrying out retaliatory attacks.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the beginning of this year.

Far-right Israeli min. pushing for demolishing Palestinian structures in W. Bank

Meanwhile, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, in his capacity as a minister in the regime’s ministry of military affairs, is reportedly developing a plan to allow the Tel Aviv regime to demolish Palestinian-owned buildings in the areas A and B of the occupied West Bank in flagrant violation of the so-called Oslo Accords.

According to a report by the Israeli Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday, the plan, which would constitute a sharp shift in Israeli policy, was announced by Smotrich in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. 

While Israel currently enforces construction regulations only in the so-called Area C of the West Bank, where it claims to have full civil and military control, the discussion centered around the subject of Palestinian construction in areas A and B, where Israel does not hold civilian jurisdiction.

According to the report, Smotrich told the committee that policy regarding enforcement of construction regulations should not be guided by the rule of law, but rather by “Israel’s diplomatic and security interest in the area.”

The plan takes into account “national security considerations, and it’s key to our ability to operate in areas A and B, too, in places where it’s needed,” he said.

Smotrich said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is involved in the scheme, and that an inter-ministerial committee would be established to advance the initiative.

He added that the plan would involve the founding of a border patrol unit dedicated to enforcing construction regulations in the West Bank.

The report further stated that an Israeli military representative at the hearing said that 90-95 percent of Palestinian requests for construction requests are denied while 60-70% of Israeli construction requests are approved.

Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian houses in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, claiming that the structures have been built without permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. They also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own houses or pay the costs of the demolition.

Israel has already occupied thousands of dunums of Palestinian agricultural land to construct and expand new illegal settler units in various areas in the West Bank.

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian home in West Bank town of Tira

Israeli forces have demolished a two-story Palestinian house in the Arab city of Tira.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in 279 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as its capital.

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