An Israeli attack targets the town of Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon

Talks continue on Friday in Doha to secure a truce in the Gaza Strip, while an attack launched by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which led to the death of a Palestinian, drew widespread condemnation, the including Israeli leaders.

The attack launched by a group of Jewish settlers in the Palestinian village of Jit, which resulted in the death of one person and the serious injury of another on Thursday, has been strongly condemned by the United States and many Israeli officials. by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The White House also condemned the “unacceptable” attacks on the West Bank.

According to the Israeli army, dozens of Israeli civilians attacked the town of Jit, located between Nablus and Qalqilya, setting fire to buildings and vehicles, and throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Soldiers and border guards were working to “evacuate Israeli civilians from the city,” and handed over one of them to the police, a military spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the attack resulted in the death of 23-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sada “in settlement fire”, while another Palestinian was seriously injured after being shot in the chest.

A statement issued by Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli Prime Minister “takes seriously the riots that took place tonight (Thursday) in the town of Git,” stressing that “those with responsible for arrest and prosecution of any criminal act”.

Since December 2022, Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud Party, has led a government supported by far-right parties that want to expand settlement in the West Bank, and even put this region in the involved

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (right), one of the main supporters of the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, said on the platform “X”, “The rioters have no business – appeared in Git to settlements and settlers.”

“criminals”

Smotrich said: “These are criminals who must be dealt with strictly by the authorities responsible for maintaining public order. “

Defense Minister Yoav Galant condemned the attack “strongly.”

Settlers from the Israeli right (dpa)

The West Bank, which has been part of Israel since 1967, has seen an increase in violence for more than a year, but the situation has worsened since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, at least 633 Palestinians have been killed by bullets from Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, according to statistics prepared by Agence France-Presse, based on official Palestinian figures.

At least 18 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank during the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

The United Nations regularly denounces Israeli settlement in the West Bank as a violation of international law, and considers it one of the main obstacles to establishing a just peace and between Israelis and Palestinians.

During the negotiations in Doha, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip will continue on Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that “the efforts of the mediators in the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America are continuing,” adding that “the mediators are determined to move forward in their efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip when the enemies are released and the maximum amount of humanitarian aid enters Gaza.

The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, is participating in the talks, as well as the heads of Israel’s foreign intelligence services (Mossad) and the internal intelligence service (Shin Bet).

Hamas is not participating in these talks, but one of the leaders of the movement, Osama Hamdan, told Agence France-Presse on Thursday night that Hamas told the mediators in Doha about the his position.

On Thursday night, Hamas confirmed that any ceasefire agreement in Gaza must include the “complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from the Strip.

A member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Hossam Badran, said in statements after the talks resumed in Doha that “any agreement will require a comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and those displaced return.”

The talks are being held on the basis of a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on May 31, which specifies three stages that include a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza, aid entry, and release. Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

Netanyahu confirmed several times that he would continue the war until Hamas was eliminated.