Summary:
- Israeli troops reinforce presence in Qusra.
- Settlers block families, cut water and electricity.
- U.N. says 15 Palestinians trapped in 'state of terror'
- U.S. envoy calls settlers' actions criminal.
QUSRA, West Bank, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Israeli troops took up positions inside Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday, the mayor said, after settlers trapped Palestinian families this week in a siege Palestinians say is aimed at forcing them from their land...
...Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American based in Ohio whose brother is besieged in his home, said that he felt helpless. "It is terrifying, frustration, fear of my family for their lives," he told Reuters in a phone interview.
Ridi said he had been watching the developments over the security camera installed in his Qusra home, but that the soldiers today removed it. He was planning to travel to the home soon, he said...
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The military has come under increasing pressure to halt rogue land seizures by settlers emboldened by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Earlier on Thursday, a day after troops deployed tear gas in a failed attempt to remove the settlers, it said it had sent more troops to the area "to carry out defensive missions and patrols in the area to maintain security and protect the area."
Video from earlier in the week showed several Israeli men in green military garb joining the settlers in a morning prayer in the tent. The military said it was taking disciplinary action against any personnel involved...
- Palestinian girl Hind Rajab died after pleading to medics for help for hours.
- 2024 incident was one of the most high-profile of the Gaza war.
- Israeli military investigations rarely lead to convictions, rights groups say.
- Police and medics say 15 people were wounded in strike on municipal police headquarters.
- Separate airstrike in refugee camp kills one Palestinian.
- Israeli military says Nuseirat strike targeted Hamas militant.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a new documentary film which alleges that mass civilian deaths were routinely built into targeting decisions in Gaza was part of a wave of global incitement against Jews
"NAZA", directed by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday and received a 25-minute standing ovation when it was screened on Thursday.
The film takes its title from an Israeli military term for expected "collateral casualties" and is built around anonymous interviews with intelligence officers and soldiers involved in the war...
CUAD, SJP, and JVP are groups with extensive histories of harassment and hate speech against Jews. CUAD in particular has said very bluntly that most of the world's Jews should be killed, and they put out leaflets with the Hamas logo on them.
"In a two-minute speech on 4 September, the Grammy-winning artist told the audience he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”, prompting owners of subsequent stadium tour venues – including Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and a prominent supporter of and donor to Israel – to object to Macklemore’s appearance on the tour...
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He also played his protest anthem Hind’s Hall, which celebrated protesters’ occupation of a building they named in honor of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old killed by the Israeli military in 2024, accompanied by images of the Israeli military’s destruction of Gaza, which has killed more than 75,000 people in 16 months, according to some estimates.
At the second of his appearances at MetLife on 5 September, Macklemore reiterated his support for Palestine and addressed Jewish members of the audience: “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love; for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.”