Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza – areas claimed by the Palestinians for a future state – in the 1967 war. It has settled more than 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, in addition to more than 200,000 in contested east Jerusalem.
Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler movement, including Smotrich and cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force. Settler expansion has been compounded by a surge of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months.
Children stay next to a vehicle that was torched during an Israeli settlers rampage early morning in the West Bank town of Ein Yabrud on December 17.Credit: AP
A Palestinian man takes a picture of a graffiti in Hebrew that was made during an Israeli settlers rampage early morning and reads “Avi Bluth, don’t mess with us, king David brigades,” in the West Bank town of Ein Yabrud on December 17.Credit: AP
During October’s olive harvest, settlers across the territory launched an average of eight attacks daily, the most since the United Nations humanitarian office began collecting data in 2006. The attacks continued in November, with the United Nations recording at least 136 more by November 24. Settlers burnt cars, desecrated mosques, ransacked industrial plants and destroyed cropland. Israeli authorities have done little beyond issuing occasional condemnations of the violence.
Two Palestinians killed in West Bank clashes, ministry says
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed in clashes with Israel’s military on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT) in the northern part of the West Bank.
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Israel’s military said a militant was shot and killed after he threw a block at troops in Qabatiya, and another militant was killed after he hurled explosives at troops operating in the town of Silat al-Harithiya.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the Palestinian killed in Qabatiya as 16-year-old Rayan Abu Muallah. Palestinian media aired brief security footage of the incident, where the youth appears to emerge from an alley and is shot by troops as he approaches them without throwing anything. Israel’s military said the incident was under review.
The Health Ministry identified the second man as Ahmad Ziyoud, 22.
Israel’s military has scaled up military operations in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
Cardinal celebrates Christmas Mass in Gaza City
The top Catholic leader in the Holy Land visited Gaza’s only Catholic Church and celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass on Sunday that included the baptism of a baby. Dozens of Palestinians gathered in the Holy Family Parish.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is on his fourth visit to Gaza since the war began, and said the Christian community aimed to be a “stable, solid reference point in this sea of destruction” as rebuilding slowly began.
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“It is different this time,” Pizzaballa said. “I saw the new desire for a new life.”
The Holy Family compound was hit by fragments from an Israeli shell in July, killing three people in what Israel called an accident and for which it expressed regret. The parish has served as a refuge for Christians and Muslims, sheltering hundreds of displaced people.
There was a mix of gratitude and grief as people at the church marked Christmas away from home. “They welcomed us with great love and respect,” Nazih Lam’e Habashi, who stays there with his family, said. “This is the third holiday we are marking since the war.”
“God willing, life will improve,” added Najla Saba.
