Live Updates: Mourners bid farewell to Turkish-American activist in West Bank

Monday, September 9, 2024

1145 GMT –– Hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus paid farewell to Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was killed by Israeli forces on Friday.

The funeral procession began from Rafidia Government Hospital in Nablus, with mourners walking through several streets, chanting slogans condemning Israeli actions and praising foreign supporters, according to an Anadolu reporter.

Mourners performed the funeral prayer, led by Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas, with the participation of leaders from various Palestinian factions and a large public turnout.

The body carried on shoulders, was wrapped in the Palestinian flag, with the head covered by the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh.

Eygi’s body is expected to be transported to Türkiye.

1147 GMT –– Germany deplores Israel's killing of Turkish-American peace activist

Germany has deplored Israel’s killing of a Turkish-American peace activist in the West Bank.

"This is a terrible incident that needs to be clarified. The Israeli army and government are responsible for doing this," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Christian Wagner said at a press conference in Berlin.

1143 GMT –– India's top court refuses to issue halt order on arms supplies to Israel

India’s Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation that sought an order for the federal government to halt licenses for Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

“We cannot enter into the nation's foreign policy domain,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and two other judges.

The bench said the Indian firms, involved in arms export, may be sued for breach of contractual obligations and hence they cannot be stopped from supplying.

"Can we direct that under the UN's genocide convention you ban the export to Israel. Why this restraint. This is because it impacts the foreign policy and we do not know what the impact will be," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted the judges as saying.

The Public Interest Litigation, filed by nearly a dozen people this month, had said: "India is bound by various international laws and treaties that obligate India not to supply military weapons to States guilty of war crimes, as any export could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law."

1020 GMT –– Smotrich vows to grant 500,000 illegal settlers 'same rights of every citizens in Israel'

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that he is working to grant 500,000 illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank "the same rights of every citizen in Israel."

"I will continue to work with all my strength to allow the half million settlers who are on the front line and under fire to enjoy the same rights of every citizen in Israe l and to establish facts on the ground that will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state," Smotrich posted on X.

"My life's mission is to build the Land of Israel and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the State of Israel," he claimed.

1011 GMT –– Israeli raids worsening West Bank situation: UN

Major Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank are seriously worsening an already "calamitous" situation there that has been deepened by serious settler violence, the UN rights chief said.

Opening a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk decried soaring violence in the West Bank amid major Israeli raids.

"In the West Bank, deadly and destructive operations, some at a scale not witnessed in the last two decades, are worsening a calamitous situation there, already aggravated by serious settler violence," Turk told the council.

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0921 GMT - Pro-Palestine group shuts entrances of firm 'providing arms to Israel'

Palestine Action activists blocked all entrances to the Elbit Systems-owned Instro Precision factory at Discovery Park in Kent as part of an ongoing campaign to drive the Israeli weapons manufacturer out of Britain.

The group, which is known for direct action protests against arms production facilities, targeted the site because of its alleged involvement in the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children, since Oct. 7 of last year.

The group says it is more determined than ever to get Israel's largest weapons manufacturer out of Britain.

0801 GMT — Academic year begins in West Bank as Israel's war deprives Gaza

Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank have begun their new school year, while their peers in Gaza faced a second consecutive year without attending school amid Israel’s ongoing military onslaught.

In a statement, the Palestinian Education Ministry said a total of 2,459 government, private, and United Nations-run schools welcomed more than 806,360 students in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

According to the ministry, more than 10,000 students in Gaza have been killed and 15,000 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks, with 19,000 students having fled their areas.

0803 GMT — 4 injured in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon

At least four people were wounded in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry has said.

The attack targeted the town of Hanine, the ministry added in a statement.

The state-run National News Agency said the town came under two Israeli strikes shortly after midnight.

0756 GMT — Pro-Palestinian activists hold protests to disrupt defence expo in Australia

Pro-Palestinian and anti-war activists held protests in Melbourne, disrupting a defence expo set to open on Wednesday.

Protesters gathered in front of companies connected to weapons manufacturing across Melbourne as police were called to prevent an escalation of the events, according to 7News Melbourne.

Many police cars and units were visible in front of company buildings to prevent a violent escalation of the protests.

Protests are expected to move across the city to different areas ahead of the Land Forces Military Expo on Wednesday, with over 25,000 participants, potentially the biggest in the country in decades.

0743 GMT — Gaza hospitals face imminent shutdown due to fuel shortage

Two hospitals in northern Gaza face a potential shutdown amid a severe fuel shortage, local health officials have warned.

“The Indonesian Hospital is facing a severe fuel shortage, which threatens to completely halt medical services if Israel continues to prevent the entry of fuel, leaving patients at risk of death,” hospital director Mourwan Sultan told Anadolu.

He said the hospital’s intensive care unit has reached its maximum capacity, with the ward filled with critically ill patients, including 10 relying on ventilators.

“The operating rooms are running non-stop around the clock,” he said. “If Israel continues to block fuel deliveries, medical services could come to a complete halt, condemning these patients to death.”

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza also warned of ceasing its operations within 48 hours due to fuel shortages.

0703 GMT — Jordan again closes King Hussein Bridge Crossing

Jordan has said that it has again closed the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby) Crossing with the West Bank to both outbound and inbound travellers, as well as cargo, hours after earlier statements regarding its reopening.

In a statement from the Public Security Directorate, which operates under the Interior Ministry, authorities said: “The King Hussein Bridge has been closed to travellers and cargo on Monday until further notice.”

The directorate urged those who use the crossing to stay informed through the media regarding any updates on travel operations.

0441 GMT — At least 7 killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

At least seven people were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza, according to reports.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said the Israeli military's operations against Gaza have now entered their 339th day.

The report highlighted that several areas in Gaza were subjected to heavy airstrikes and artillery fire overnight.

An airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed three people and injured seven others.

Additionally, the bombing of the post office in Nuseirat caused numerous injuries.

In a separate attack on a house in the Al Bureij refugee camp, also in central Gaza, at least four people were killed, with many more wounded.

07:45 GMT — Israeli army attacks West Bank refugee camps

The Israeli army has raided the city of Tulkarem and the Balata refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank.

Several occupation military vehicles accompanied by two heavy bulldozers entered the city from its western side, where they began demolishing infrastructure in the Al-Alemi area, while a surveillance drone hovered at a low altitude over the city.

Israeli army also raided the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus accompanied by a military bulldozer, which led to clashes with Palestinian resistance forces.

06:41 GMT — At least 7 killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

At least seven people were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza, according to reports.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said the Israeli military's operations against Gaza have now entered their 339th day.

The report highlighted that several areas in Gaza were subjected to heavy airstrikes and artillery fire overnight.

05:34 GMT — Military focus needs to shift to Lebanon: Israel's Gantz

Former war cabinet member Benny Gantz has said Israel should shift its focus toward Hezbollah and the Lebanese border, warning that "we are late on this."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading near-daily cross-border fire, with the Lebanese group saying it is acting in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas in the ongoing war in Gaza.

"We have enough forces to deal with Gaza and we should concentrate on what is going on in the north," Gantz said, speaking in Washington at a Middle East forum where he also said Iran and its proxies were "the real issue."

04:36 GMT — Israel’s security cabinet meets to address West Bank tensions

Israel’s security cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met to discuss several key issues, especially the escalation in the occupied West Bank, the country’s official broadcasting authority has said.

The authority noted that Netanyahu opened the session, where several topics were addressed, with a focus on the intensifying situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

During the meeting, Netanyahu also touched on the frequent visits by government ministers to Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

04:04 GMT — Illegal Israeli settlers assault elderly Palestinian

Illegal Israeli settlers beat an elderly Palestinian man after abducting him for several hours and released him near the Meitar checkpoint south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Mohammad Abu Sharikh, the son of 69-year-old Hussein Abu Sharikh, told Anadolu that his father was abducted east of the town of ad-Dhahiriya in the village of Khallet al-Tayaran, where he was tending to his sheep.

“Five armed settlers accompanied by soldiers abducted my father around 6.30 p.m. (1530GMT) and took him to the Tina settlement, where he stayed for four hours and was beaten during that time,” added the son.

03:00 GMT — Jordanian behind shooting at West Bank border crossing: Interior ministry

A Jordanian driver was responsible for Sunday's shooting at the Allenby Bridge Crossing at the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan which left three Israelis dead as well as the gunman, the Jordanian Interior Ministry has said in a statement.

The statement said "the shooter is a Jordanian citizen named Maher al-Jazi from Al-Huseiniyah district of Ma'an Governorate who crossed the bridge driving a truck carrying commercial goods from Jordan to the West Bank."

“Preliminary investigation results indicate that the incident was an individual act, and investigations are ongoing to obtain all details of the incident,” added the ministry.

For our live updates from Sunday, September 8, 2024, click here.