Two Israeli settlers have been killed in a shooting operation within the occupied West Bank as Israeli and Palestinian representatives were holding talks in Jordan’s Al-Aqaba resort.
The incident occurred in the center of the West Bank town of Huwara, south of Nablus, where a Palestinian youth reportedly opened fire on a car, leading to the death of two settlers, according to reports from the Palestinian Information center on Sunday.
No resistance group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Israeli military says it is pursuing the gunman who has left the scene.
Senior officials from the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority (PA) held a meeting in the Jordanian resort city of Aqaba for an Israeli-Palestinian security summit organized by the White House after the Israeli military’s fatal raid in Nablus.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two resistance movements based in Gaza, have praised the shooting, stating that it is a natural reaction to Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
The most recent of these was the deadly raid in Nablus, which killed two Palestinian resistance fighters.
Islamic Jihad said that this operation was carried out in line with their promise of revenge for the blood of those fighters and sends a message to the security meeting in Aqaba that the resistance will continue to confront the occupying regime and Israeli settlers as long as aggression against Palestinians persists.
Hamas has slammed the Palestinian Authority’s participation in talks with the Zionist entity.
The meeting is “a blatant attempt to cover up ongoing [Israeli] occupation crimes, and a green light for it to carry out violations against our people and land and holy sites,” Hamas said in a statement.
An Israeli minister called on its government to withdraw its delegation to Aqaba talks following the shooting in the occupied West Bank. “The terror attack in Huwara requires an immediate return of the Israeli delegation from the Aqaba summit,” tweets National Missions Minister Orit Strock, but her call met no response.
Israeli Violence
As usual, Israeli settlers began to do what they know most. Settlers assaulted Palestinians and set fire to a number of homes in the West Bank town of Huwara.
One Palestinian was hurt after being stabbed and three homes were set alight.
Citing eyewitnesses and the Huwara municipality, dozens of settlers in the area were involved in the attack.
🚨 #Israeli settlers are now attacking Palestinian shops, cars, homes & pedestrians in Huwara.
At gunpoint, IDF soldiers are threatening any Palestinians who dare defend themselves against the mob!
The settlers sat fire to 2 homes & are planning an imminent pogrom tonight. pic.twitter.com/avpsNmugXh
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) February 26, 2023
Aqaba Summit with Obstacles
At Aqaba, a senior Israeli official said the summit concluded with an accord to establish a ‘joint security committee.’ The committee’s mandate is to assess the viability of rekindling Israeli-Palestinian ‘security’ cooperation, according to Israeli media. Moreover, the parties have agreed to convene another meeting, facilitated by Egypt, before Ramadan, which is less than a month away.
This next gathering aims to review “advancements in the ‘security’ domain.”
Israeli officials at the summit reaffirmed their position on legalizing nine settlement outposts in the West Bank and constructing 9,500 housing units.
The meeting was attended by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the so-called National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, as well as PA intelligence chief Majed Faraj. US National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, as well as Jordanian and Egyptian security officials, were also there.
Jordan’s King Abdullah told the US official that further efforts are needed to bring calm to the region amid an uptick in ‘violence’.
Abdullah “highlighted the need to step up efforts toward calm and de-escalation in the Palestinian Territories” to the White House coordinator, according to a statement from the Jordanian government.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
