Israel’s wartime security Cabinet will meet late Wednesday in the West Bank offices of the military’s Central Command “due to warnings by security officials about the potential for a serious escalation in violence” in the territory, the Ynet website reported, citing a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Israeli media reported last week that the Shin Bet security agency issued such a warning, noting an increase in violence by Jewish settlers.
Quick Read
- Israel’s Wartime Security Cabinet Meeting
- Scheduled late Wednesday at West Bank military offices due to escalation warnings.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office cites security officials’ concerns.
- Shin Bet warned of increased violence by Jewish settlers.
- Rising Violence in the West Bank
- Israeli military operations against Hamas militants continue.
- Hamas’s Oct. 7 incursion resulted in over 1,400 deaths in southern Israel and more than 240 hostages.
- 167 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in the past month, 371 since the start of the year.
- Settlers accused of escalating attacks and provocations.
- Military Operations and Arrests
- Daily military arrest raids and aerial attacks increase in the West Bank.
- Since Oct. 7, 1,430 wanted individuals arrested, over 900 from Hamas.
- Israeli Judicial Selection Committee
- Justice Minister Yariv Levin agrees to convene on Nov. 16 to fill court vacancies.
- Controversy over proposed changes to weaken judiciary and government control over appointments.
- Protests paused after Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
- Palestinian Civilian Displacement in Gaza
- U.N. reports an increase in civilians fleeing northern Gaza.
- 15,000 fled on Tuesday, an escalation from previous days.
- Civilians report having to pass Israeli checkpoints and tanks under tense conditions.
- Humanitarian Conditions in Gaza
- Focus on crushing Hamas in densely populated northern Gaza, especially Gaza City.
- Many civilians remain in combat zones, some in U.N. shelters.
- Dire conditions and ongoing airstrikes deter movement to the south.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli Cabinet to meet in West Bank after warnings of more violence
Israel’s wartime security Cabinet will meet late Wednesday in the West Bank offices of the military’s Central Command “due to warnings by security officials about the potential for a serious escalation in violence” in the territory, the Ynet website reported, citing a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Israeli media reported last week that the Shin Bet security agency issued such a warning, noting an increase in violence by Jewish settlers.
Deadly violence has been surging in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as Israel’s military pursues Hamas militants following the group’s bloody Oct. 7 incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip. The violence threatens to open another front in the war Israel launched against Hamas after it killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel and took more than 240 people hostage.
As of Tuesday, 167 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank over the past month, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops. The toll since the beginning of the year was 371.
Some of the dead have been killed in violent anti-Israel protests, and Palestinians have said eight people were killed in attacks by settlers, who have intensified assaults and provocations since the war began.
Daily Israeli military arrest raids in the territory have intensified, with once-rare aerial attacks becoming much more common. The military said Wednesday that 1,430 wanted men have been arrested in the West Bank since Oct. 7, including more than 900 from Hamas.
ISRAELI GOVERNMENT TO CONVENE JUDICIAL SELECTION COMMITTEE
JERUSALEM — After months of refusal, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin said he will convene the judicial selection committee on Nov. 16 to fill empty slots in the Supreme Court and lower benches.
The committee has been a central battleground in Levin’s plan to weaken the country’s judiciary because he wanted to change its makeup to give the government control over appointments. The proposed judicial overhaul touched off months of mass protests across the country by demonstrators who accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of seeking to weaken the only serious check on politicians.
Levin said earlier this week that he would convene the panel soon. In a letter Sunday to the Supreme Court, he said, “wartime is not the time to deal with controversial subjects,” and that he would bring before the panel candidates who have broad support.
The government maintains the courts have overstepped their powers and need to be reined in. The demonstrations against the proposed overhaul were put on hold after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking over 240 hostages, touching off a fierce Israeli assault to crush Hamas.
MORE PALESTINIANS FLEEING COMBAT ZONE IN NORTHERN GAZA
JERUSALEM — The pace of Palestinian civilians fleeing the combat zone in northern Gaza has picked up as Israel’s air and ground campaign there intensifies, U.N. monitors said Wednesday. About 15,000 people fled on Tuesday, compared to 5,000 on Monday and 2,000 on Sunday, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The civilians flee during a four-hour window set daily by the Israeli military that assures safe passage from Gaza City and its surroundings to the south. Most of those fleeing were children, the elderly and people with disabilities, the U.N. agency said. Many arrived on foot with minimal belongings.
In a new development, some of those fleeing reported that they had to cross Israeli checkpoints to reach the south and that they had witnessed some arrests by Israeli forces. Others have said they had to walk past Israeli tanks with raised hands while waving white flags.
The densely populated northern area of Gaza, specifically Gaza City and adjacent urban refugee camps, are the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years. The war, now in its second month, was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians remain in the combat area, many sheltering at hospitals or U.N. schools. Some said they were deterred from moving south because of dire humanitarian conditions in the evacuation zone and ongoing Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including the south.
