US President Joe Biden’s point person on the Israel-Palestinian conflict will hold a series of meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah to discuss reconstruction efforts in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as well as jump-starting the peace process. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr was slated to arrive on Sunday for a four-day trip that marks his second visit to the region.
Amr is also expected to raise concerns from Washington about the demolition of the home of an alleged Palestinian-American terrorist accused of murdering Israeli student Yehuda Guetta, 19. A spokesman for Israel’s US Embassy criticized the decision to demolish the family home of Muntasir Shalabi, which was reportedly occupied by his estranged wife and children.
US officials have also called for a probe into the death of Palestinian political activist Nizar Banat, who died during what his family has described as a violent arrest by PA forces last month.
The visit will be the first by a senior US official since Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett formed a new government. Amr first visited the region in May during the 11-day Israel-Hamas conflict as part of US efforts to support Egypt in the brokering of a ceasefire.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly held secret in-person talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the crown palace in Amman. A senior Israeli official confirmed details of the “positive” meeting, according to local media.
Bennett is said to have informed the monarch of Israel’s plans to increase water exports to drought-hit Jordan, which was announced following a high-profile meeting by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his counterpart Ayman Safadi.
The meeting comes after Israel’s President Isaac Herzog was called by Abdullah after the former was sworn into office last week. Herzog’s office said the two would “work together to advance cooperation between the states, for the benefit of their nations and the entire region.”
In another first official phone call by leaders, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Prime Minister Bennett and invited him to visit Britain. The two leaders are said to have discussed their shared commitment to deepening ties between Jerusalem and London on issues such as trade and defense.
Israeli security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle a huge cache of firearms worth NIS 2.7 million ($823,000) from Lebanon. An IDF spokesman confirmed 43 guns and ammunition were seized during a sting operation carried out near the Lebanese border village of Ghajar, located in the Golan Heights.
Officials are now probing whether the terror organization Hezbollah, which controls vast swathes of Lebanon, was behind the attempt. It is believed that Hezbollah is likely to have known about the plot.
This was the fifth smuggling operation from Lebanon to have been uncovered by the Jewish state since the beginning of 2021 and the largest bust in recent years.
Last month, Israeli forces arrested an Arab-Israeli father and his son who were accused of smuggling a large quantity of hashish and firearms into Israel via Lebanon at the behest of Hezbollah.
Israel is set to consider a plan allowing Qatari funds to be channeled into Gaza as part of a wide-ranging aid program. Israel’s security cabinet will reportedly consider a proposal that would see $30 million enter the Hamas-ruled enclave each month.
Israeli officials are keen to ensure the money does not fall into the hands of Hamas terrorists, although details of such safeguards have yet to be released.
According to the proposal, which was brokered in part by Egypt, $10 million will be transferred via the United Nations and go toward fuel purchases; another $10 million will go toward assistance for families through Gaza’s postal bank (after affirming that those families have no ties to terror); and the final $10 million will be put toward a cash-for-work program.
The Qatari cash handouts have been frozen since the May military conflict between the Jewish state and Gaza-based terrorists. Israel has refused to allow the money into the Palestinian enclave until Hamas releases two civilians it has been holding captive, in addition to the remains of two IDF soldiers that were killed during the 2014 war.
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- Palestinian Conflict Won’t Change Arab-Israel Normalization (Ahmed Quraishi, Algemeiner)
- Former Egyptian First Lady Dies at 88, Israeli Officials Send Condolences (Gadi Zaig, Jerusalem Post)
