Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that will keep in charge Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after several days of strong surge of tension in the region that included attacks in the West Bank and Tel Aviv and exchanges of fire with militias in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
“Gallant will remain in office and will continue to work for the protection of Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu said, thus reversing the decision of dismiss the ministerannounced last Sunday March 26 and postponed days later after massive protests.
The decision was communicated today by the president during a press conference in which he pointed out that Israel is facing a “terrorist assault” and warned that his Army is prepared to “act on all fronts” against all those who want to harm him.
These declarations take place in the context of an increase in tension in the region, after several days of violence triggered on Wednesday by clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshipers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
rocket launch
Since then, Palestinian or pro-Palestinian militias they have launched rockets towards Israel from the Gaza Strip, from southern Lebanon and from Syria, to which the Israeli Army responded with retaliatory bombings. Due to this escalation, an Egyptian delegation traveled to the area yesterday to meet with Israeli leaders and Palestinians in an attempt to restore calm.
As reported to EFE by Palestinian sources, the delegation held meetings with Israeli representatives in Tel Aviv and was scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Monday night to meet with the leadership of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules de facto in the enclave.
The permanent representative of Palestine to the Arab League, Diab Al Louh, stressed today that the Palestinian administration is “totally willing” to sit down and negotiate with Israel to end the growing tension.
Willing to negotiate
“We have the outstretched hand for peace and we are fully willing to sit at the table under the auspices of the International Quartet (of the Middle East) and we are not the ones who refuse to sit at the negotiating table,” Al Louh, also the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, told EFE.
The diplomat, however, did not want to comment on the state of mediation by the Egyptian delegation, which together with the United Nations are usually the ones who intercede for stop the escalation of tension between Israelis and Palestinians.
The violence in the area has also spread in recent days to the occupied West Bank, where this Friday a shooting attack by Palestinians, which caused the immediate death of two sisters, aged 15 and 20 respectively, while their mother died today from her injuries.
Dead and wounded
This Monday, in addition, a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes sparked by a military raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank.
Soon after, more than 30 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces during a protest against a massive march by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has turned particularly bloody in the past year, with a increased raids by the Israeli army in West Bank territory and an increase in attacks by Palestinians, as well as attacks by Israeli settlers.
The first months of this year have been the most violent of the conflict since 2000. Since the beginning of 2023, 96 Palestinians have died and Arab-Israelis in violent incidents with Israel and also 19 people on the Israeli side, victims of attacks.