UN urges de-escalation as Israeli West Bank raids continue

[Pelican Press 0]

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UN urges de-escalation as ******** West Bank raids continue

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==AFP

The ******** military – pictured here on Wednesday – has conducted raids in a number of West Bank cities over the past two days

Five more Palestinians have been ******* by ******** forces in a second day of raids in the occupied West Bank, with the UN calling for de-escalation.

The ******* Defense Forces (IDF) said they were “five terrorists who had hidden inside a mosque” in Tulkarm, near the boundary with *******.

******* began what it said was a major counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank on Wednesday. There have been conflicting ****** tolls as the operation unfolded across multiple cities.

The IDF said yesterday that nine militants had been *******, five in Jenin and Tulkarm, and four in al-Faraa ******** camp. The ************ health ministry said on Thursday that 12 had been ******* in IDF attacks so far.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on ******* to immediately halt its operation, saying it was “fuelling an already explosive situation”.

He urged ******** forces to “exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable”.

The IDF said the five Palestinians were ******* after “exchanges of *****” in Tulkarm.

It identified one of the fatalities as Mohammed Jaber – also known as Abu Shujaa – who was reportedly the local leader of the ************ Islamic ****** militant group.

The IDF said Jaber was linked to a number of attacks on Israelis, and was planning more.

The deaths came on the second day of what ******** media say could be a days-long operation.

The ******** military said it also made arrests and seized weapons.

Homes and infrastructure were damaged in the attacks, Palestinians said.

It is the largest such action in the West Bank since the days of the second ************ intifada, or uprising, two decades ago.

*******’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said the operation has a “clear goal: preventing Iranian *******-by-proxy that would harm ******** civilians”.

In recent days ******** politicians have accused Iran – which backs both ****** and ************ Islamic ****** – of trying to smuggle in explosive devices with the aim of attacking *******.

******* “cannot sit idly by and wait for the spectacle of buses and cafes exploding in city centres”, Mr Danon said in a post on X.

There has been a spike in ********* in the West Bank since ******’s 7 October ******* on *******, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said *******’s operation in the West Bank “must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza”.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Mr Borrell said he was starting the process of asking EU members if they want to impose sanctions on “some ******** ministers”.

He accused the ministers – who he has not named – of “launching unacceptable hate messages against the Palestinians, and proposing things that clearly go against international law”.

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#urges #deescalation #******** #West #Bank #raids #continue

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