Israeli leadership will formally annex the West Bank in the near future, in as little as two weeks, and Israeli troops struck the central Beirut neighbourhood of Basta early Saturday morning, killing four people and wounding 23 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Israel will annex the Palestinian West Bank
Israeli leadership will officially annex the West Bank in the near future, as soon as two weeks from now, claims veteran journalist Seymour Hersh. Hersh, who also revealed the alleged US role in the Nord Stream pipeline bombings, said there are also calls to “hand over northern Gaza” to Israeli settlers. He wrote:
“I was told this week by a well-informed Washington official that the Israeli leadership will formally annex the West Bank in the very near future—perhaps in two weeks.”
He also said the Israelis hope that “this decisive move will put an end once and for all to any talk of a two-state solution and persuade some sceptical members of the Arab world to reconsider funding the planned reconstruction of Gaza.”
Violence in the West Bank has soared since war broke out in Gaza on October 7 last year following a Hamas attack on Israel, and Israeli troops have since carried out several raids targeting the Jenin refugee camp, a known militant stronghold.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 777 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Ramallah-based Health Ministry.
Israel has held the West Bank since 1967. The territory is under partial Palestinian Authority control, with Israel retaining military and civilian authority over some areas. The West Bank is divided into Zones A, B and C with varying levels of Palestinian and Israeli control.
Israeli airstrikes in Beirut killed 4 people and injured 23, Lebanon’s health ministry said
Israeli airstrikes struck the central Beirut neighbourhood of Basta early Saturday morning, killing four people and injuring 23 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The ministry said in a statement:
“Four people were killed and 23 others were injured in an Israeli enemy airstrike on the Basta neighbourhood in Beirut.”
The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the strike completely destroyed a residential house on al-Mamoun Street in the neighbourhood.
Rescuers and first responders are trying to remove the bodies of the dead and treat those injured under the rubble. Several of the injured were taken to nearby hospitals, where some of them are in critical condition.
Israel has been waging a cross-border war with Lebanon, having launched an air campaign against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in late September.
Since October last year, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 3,600 people, injured more than 15,300 and displaced more than 1 million, according to Lebanese health authorities. Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground offensive into southern Lebanon on October 1.
World reacts after ICC issues arrest warrant against Netanyahu
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in response to allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza.
ICC judges said there were “reasonable grounds” that Netanyahu and Gallant ‘intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of items necessary for survival’ during Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, commonly referred to as genocide.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif for the group’s alleged role in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The arrest warrants require the 124 countries party to the Rome Statute, established by the ICC, to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant and hand them over to the court if they enter their territory.
Tel Aviv and its main ally, the US, condemned the court’s ruling against the Israeli leaders, while other Western countries and leading international human rights groups welcomed it.
Netanyahu’s office rejected the ICC ruling, calling the move “anti-Semitic” in a statement.
US President Joe Biden said the ICC’s decision against Israeli leaders was “outrageous” and added:
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
