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Authorities in the blockaded Gaza Strip held training exercises on Thursday to prepare for potential crises, according to resistance movement Hamas, which has governed the coastal enclave since 2007.
Hamas spokesman Mahmoud al-Farra told Anadolu Agency that the drills were being overseen by Gaza’s interior, education, health and social affairs ministries.
The exercises, al-Farra said, were aimed at enhancing local authorities’ preparedness for unexpected emergencies, including attacks by Israeli forces.
Along with preparing hospitals for sudden influxes of injured people, Thursday’s drills also involved simulated bomb threats.
The Israeli army rounded up 17 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out late Wednesday and early Thursday across the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli public radio.The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the broadcaster stated without explaining the nature of said activities.The army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the Israeli-occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.According to Palestinian figures, as many as 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including scores of women and hundreds of minors.New Egypt ambassador to Israel to assume post next weekIsrael delegation in Chad to discuss strengthening tiesIsrael approves plan for new West Bank settlement units
Israeli army rounds up 17 Palestinians in W. Bank raids
Khaled Mahmoud Azmi next week will deliver his credentials to the Israeli Foreign Ministry as Cairo’s new envoy to the self-proclaimed Jewish state, according to Israeli sources. Israel’s official broadcasting corporation said Thursday that Azmi -- who replaces outgoing ambassador Hazem Khairat -- would present his credentials to the ministry on Sunday before presenting them to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.Azmi is set to become Egypt’s seventh ambassador to Israel since the two countries established formal relations after signing the Camp David peace treaty in 1979.On Tuesday, Israel appointed Amira Oron as its ambassador to Cairo, the first woman to hold the position.Oron will replace David Govrin, who has held the post since 2016.With the signing of the 1979 peace treaty, Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel.In 1980, Israel opened its embassy in Cairo. One month later, Egypt opened its embassy in Tel Aviv.In 1982, Israel completed the final phase of its withdrawal from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which it had occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.Israel delegation in Chad to discuss strengthening ties
New Egypt ambassador to Israel to assume post next week
A senior delegation of Israeli officials traveled to Chad this week to discuss the possibility of renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries, Israeli media reported Thursday.Chad cut relations with Israel almost 40 years ago following the latter’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.In September of last year, Dore Gold, then director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, visited the North African country for talks with Chadian officials.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently expressed his government's hope of bolstering ties with African states with a view to offsetting their longstanding support for the Palestinians at UN institutions.Israel approves plan for new West Bank settlement units
Israel delegation in Chad to discuss strengthening ties
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has approved plans to build new Jewish-only settlement units in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil)."We will continue strengthening the [Jewish] community in Hebron through actions," Lieberman tweeted on Thursday.“Following the recent approval of 31 housing units and kindergartens in the Hezekiah neighborhood [of Hebron], we are now planning to build another building and wholesale market,” he added.Last week, the Israeli government approved construction of 31 new settler homes in Hebron -- the first such move since 2002.Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit had approved the legal opinion supporting the project.“The plan will include markets on the ground floor, with apartments built over them,” the newspaper reported.The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, for its part, has condemned the plan, saying in a Thursday statement that Israel was “moving swiftly to implement its expansionist plans in the West Bank”.It went on to urge the international community to act "seriously" with a view to forcing Israel to respect and implement relevant UN resolutions.Following the 1993 Oslo Accords, Hebron was the only West Bank city in which Israeli troops remained until 1997.In that year, they withdrew from 80 percent of Hebron as part of an agreement that reserved 20 percent of the historically Arab city for Jewish settlers.Under the same agreement, settlers were to be provided with basic services by the Palestinian-run Hebron municipality.Hebron is home to roughly 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and about 500 Jewish settlers, the latter of whom live in several Jewish-only enclaves heavily guarded by Israeli troops.Israeli warplane strikes position in central Gaza StripPLO suspension of Israel recognition symbolic: AnalystsIsrael arrests six Palestinians in West BankPalestinians in East Jerusalem boycott Israeli polls
Israel approves plan for new West Bank settlement units