Israel’s ban on UNRWA would leave hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees without education, jobs, or essential services. But the real reason it is going after the UN agency lies in Israel’s political and territorial ambitions.
Palestinians say life has been “paralyzed” as Israel expands its military operations to Tulkarem and the northern Jordan Valley. Ground troops have been deployed, imposing curfews and carrying out home demolitions, forcibly displacing thousands.
The Israeli army is expanding its offensive in the northern West Bank and employing some of the same tactics that it has used in Gaza over the past 15 months, including the mass expulsion of residents, airstrikes, and large-scale demolitions.
110 Palestinians were freed from Israeli captivity in exchange for three Israeli captives in Gaza, after Israel initially tried to suspend releasing the Palestinian prisoners over complaints of “chaos” during the handover of the Israeli captives.
The Israeli army is launching offensives in the northern West Bank as Israeli politicians, emboldened by Donald Trump, seek to realize their dreams of annexation.
Israel is continuing an offensive on the West Bank city of Jenin that analysts say is meant to appease the settler movement as it pushes the government to exert more control over the occupied territory in preparation for annexation.
Scenes of celebration overtook the streets of Ramallah as the first group of Palestinian prisoners, mostly women, were released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. Despite the joy many felt, tensions remain high in the West Bank.
A ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, promising an end to more than a year of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire is planned to take effect on January 19, pending a vote from the Israeli security cabinet.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has failed because although it destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure, it couldn’t destroy Gaza itself; it couldn’t destroy the people. Just as Israel has been unable to destroy Palestine after 76 years of trying.
A new report documents the mass killing of Palestinians in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas and Israel have discussed the details of a prisoner exchange that could serve as the centerpiece of a 60-day ceasefire.