Palestinians on Saturday took to the streets for a third straight day across the West Bank to protest the death of political activist Nizar Banat, who reportedly was severely beaten during a raid on his house last week by security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Banat had been a longtime outspoken critic of Abbas’ government.
PA officials have accused Hamas and former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who is living in exile in the United Arab Emirates, of fomenting the unrest in a bid to weaken Abbas’ standing.
To this end, the heads of various political factions denounced PA forces as “guards of [Israeli] settlements,” and called for an end to all security cooperation between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
That coordination is viewed as key to preventing Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organization, from making inroads throughout the West Bank.
According to a poll published earlier this month, Hamas’ popularity has skyrocketed among Palestinians in the aftermath of the 11-day war in May. Conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, the survey found that if new Palestinian presidential elections were held, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would win 59 percent of the votes compared to 27 percent for Abbas.
Meanwhile, Banat’s family reportedly intends to file a case against the PA in an international court over Nizar’s “murder and torture.”
An Israeli delegation will reportedly visit Cairo this week to present the new government’s stance towards Hamas, including a possible prisoner exchange deal and reaching a long-term ceasefire. According to sources, Deputy National Security Council Adviser Eytan Ben-David will head the high-level Israeli team, whose negotiating positions will then be relayed to Hamas through Egyptian intermediaries.
There are reportedly signs that the Jewish state would not insist on tying Gaza’s reconstruction to a prisoner exchange deal. Last week, Israel expanded the coastal enclave’s fishing zone from six to nine nautical miles and approved the import of raw materials for “essential civilian factories” through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
A prisoner swap, however, may be out of the question due to Hamas’ reported demand that arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa’adat, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, be released as part of any deal.
The parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing Israel’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic met Sunday to discuss next steps as the country experiences a rise in cases. The decision to convene came after the restoration of the directive to wear masks indoors and in crowded areas due to numerous localized outbreaks of the Delta variant.
Among the options reportedly proposed were requiring citizens to again wear masks outdoors, limiting public gatherings, and introducing testing for unvaccinated people who want to attend certain events and activities.
The committee will likely opt for strengthening PCR testing and contact tracing for confirmed cases, as well as a stricter application of the rules imposed on travelers returning from abroad.
Despite the seriousness of the threat, senior Health Ministry officials are reminding the public that the country’s successful vaccine rollout will likely prove effective in continuing to protect Israelis.
In what has been dubbed “Operation Helping Hand,” the Israel Defense Forces sent a search and rescue team to Florida to assist with life-saving efforts following the Surfside building disaster that occurred late last week. The collapse of the 12-story tower has left at least five people dead, with nearly 160 still reported missing.
“The delegation’s mission is to assist in the life-saving efforts by mapping out the destruction site, assisting the Jewish community in identifying victims and survivors, and supporting the local rescue forces generally,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said.
A group of expert army reservists left after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis to express his condolences and offer assistance.
Tonight, we are sending an emergency team to help deal with the tragedy in Miami. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and we are committed to doing everything we can to help.
I’m proud of the @IDF soldiers & @IsraelMFA diplomats and wish them well on their mission. pic.twitter.com/9WVWg6eJEC
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid🟠 (@yairlapid) June 26, 2021
Media reports initially said that at least 35 members of the local Jewish community were among the missing, with some 20 people being Israeli citizens. The area where the disaster happened is estimated to be more than a third Jewish.
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