Israel kills Palestinian man in Gaza as it deepens West Bank occupation
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man on Monday in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing attacks across the enclave that violate the October ceasefire agreement.
Medical officials told Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli fire also killed three Palestinians, including a child, in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighbourhood on Sunday.
The ceasefire, agreed in October, was intended to end a two-year genocide in Gaza, during which Israeli forces killed more than 71,000 people and destroyed or damaged nearly 90 percent of the infrastructure.
However, Israel has continued to violate the agreement, launching hundreds of attacks that have killed more than 580 people.
More than 1,500 others have also been wounded.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Meanwhile, the Israeli government on Sunday approved sweeping changes to land registration and civil control in the occupied West Bank, a move Palestinians say breaches the Oslo Accords and advances de facto annexation.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the changes would “dramatically” alter West Bank policy, paving the way for expanded settlements and land seizure.
Katz said the aim was to give settlers equal "legal and civil rights", while Smotrich said the move would “normalise life in the West Bank” and vowed to “continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the policy was designed to deepen annexation of the West Bank and violated agreements signed with Israel, including the Oslo Accords, according to the Wafa news agency.
Several Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also condemned the move.
The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 and 1995 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, established limited Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, dividing the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C as a temporary framework for a future Palestinian state - a goal that has never been realised.
Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, said the Israeli decisions represent a dangerous escalation that undermines international law and adds to crimes against Palestinians.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
