Israel claims its bombing of the Gaza Strip is in retaliation for a missile fired from Palestinian territory over the weekend. Early on Monday, there were many reports of explosions in Gaza. The Israeli military claimed to have hit “an underground complex containing raw materials needed in the manufacture of missiles belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.” “in reaction to the rocket fire from Gaza into Israel on Saturday,” the army said of the attacks.
A report of casualties could not be obtained right away. No Palestinians have come forward to claim responsibility for the purported missile attack. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that one person was murdered in an early morning Israeli army operation in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, which has been the site of almost constant violence for the last year. After the Nablus raid, the Israeli military remained silent. One of the bloodiest bouts of violence in the region in recent memory coincides with the raid. At least 42 Palestinians have been murdered by Israelis so far in 2018. A total of ten Israelis were slain during that time. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has been on the rise recently, and on Sunday, dozens of presidents and high-ranking officials from Arab and Islamic nations expressed concern that Israeli activities in the occupied West Bank might make the situation worse. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were under “lethal attack” and called on international leaders to stop Israel’s occupation. To “defend” the Palestinian people, the international community must “put an end to Israeli aggression… [and] unilateral acts,” he urged the Arab League. “Israeli stubbornness and tactics have passed all red lines,” Abbas stated. Late on Saturday, in reaction to tragic Palestinian assaults in annexed east Jerusalem, Israel’s security cabinet declared it will legalize nine West Bank Jewish settlements, a decision sure to inflame tensions.
According to a statement released by Israel’s security cabinet, many of the newly authorized settlements had been around for years, if not decades, but had never been officially recognized by the Israeli government until now. While visiting the region last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly discouraged any more settlement construction. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank. It is estimated that there are now about 475,000 Jewish settlers living in communities established on occupied Palestinian land, despite the fact that such settlements are illegal under international law.
