Live Updates: Palestinian factions agree to set up unity government in Gaza

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

09:30 GMT –– Palestinian factions agree to set up unity government in Gaza

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has hailed an agreement by 14 Palestinian factions to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern Gaza after the war.

Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah met in Beijing this week in a renewed bid for reconciliation.

As the meeting wrapped up, China's top diplomat said the groups had committed to "reconciliation".

09:16 GMT –– Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army killed three Palestinians, including a woman, during raids across the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Sa'ir town, southern occupied West Bank, and a woman was killed in the northern city of Tulkarem.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted local sources as saying that the Israeli army raided the town of Sa'ir and opened fire on Palestinians, killing two Palestinians.

08:33 GMT –– Israel's Netanyahu says deal could be nearing for hostages in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their loved ones' release could be nearing, his office said.

"The conditions are undoubtedly ripening. This is a good sign," Netanyahu told the families in Washington.

08:19 GMT –– Intra-Palestinian meeting 'step towards national unity': Hamas

A senior Hamas leader said the intra-Palestinian talks in the Chinese capital, Beijing, were an important step towards Palestinian national unity.

"The Beijing declaration is an additional positive step on the way to achieve a Palestinian national unity," said Husam Badran, a member of Hamas's political bureau and head of its national relations office, in a statement on the group's website.

Badran noted that during the Beijing meetings, it was agreed to form a national unity government that would supervise Gaza reconstruction and prepare the conditions for holding elections.

07:25 GMT –– US Senator Merkley declines to attend Israeli premier's speech to Congress

US Senator Jeff Merkley said that he will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress on July 24.

"I will not attend Netanyahu's speech," Merkley said on X.

Netanyahu arrived Monday in Washington, DC to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday and to seek to anchor bipartisan support for Israel.

"Following Hamas' horrific attack, Netanyahu's war strategy killed 12,000 women and children, inflicted widespread starvation, and prioritized his political survival over the release of hostages. He should not have a platform before Congress," Merkley said.

06:30 GMT –– Israeli government quietly sends millions to unauthorised West Bank settler outposts

The Israeli government has budgeted millions of dollars to protect small, unauthorised Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, underwriting tiny outposts meant to grow into full-fledged settlements, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.

Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel's pro-settler government has quietly poured money into the unauthorised outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognised settlements. Some of those outposts have been linked to settler violence against Palestinians and are sanctioned by the US.

Palestinians and the international community say all settlements are illegal or illegitimate and undermine hopes for a two-state solution.

06:20 GMT –– Jordan condemns Israel's designation of UNRWA as a 'terrorist organisation'

Jordan condemned a decision Monday by Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to classify the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organisation, considering it a violation of international law and Israel's obligations as the occupying power.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli move is an "attempt to kill the agency, assassinate it politically and target its symbolism, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation under the international law."

The Knesset early Monday passed three bills to shut down UNRWA and deem it as a "terrorist" organisation. The bills will require two more readings to become effective.

05:45 GMT –– US VP Harris to meet Netanyahu this week at White House

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week at the White House during his US visit, an aide to Harris said.

Harris' meeting with Netanyahu is separate from the Israeli PM's expected meeting with Democratic US President Joe Biden who stepped aside as candidate for the 2024 elections and endorsed Harris, her aide said. Biden is recovering from Covid-19.

Politico reported that Netanyahu also requested an in-person meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump but the former president has yet to agree.

05:23 GMT –– Gaza health ministry says dozens killed, after Israel evacuation order

The health ministry in Gaza said that an Israeli operation in Khan Younis killed 70 people and wounded more than 200, after the military warned it would "forcefully operate" in the area.

The military warning affected the eastern Khan Younis sector of the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in southern Gaza and sent thousands of Palestinians fleeing.

Israel's military said it would act to curb rocket fire in the area. Khan Younis had already seen heavy fighting earlier this year.

05:00 GMT — Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrate against Netanyahu in US

Pro-Palestine protesters have gathered outside the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, where Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is staying before he addresses the US Congress on Wednesday.

Protesters carried placards that read: "Arrest Netanyahu" and "A war criminal stays here," referring to hawkish PM Netanyahu responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians.

Another massive protest is also planned on Wednesday when Netanyahu addresses the Congress amid the ongoing carnage in besieged Gaza.

04:22 GMT — Biden vows to 'keep working for end to war in Gaza'

US President Joe Biden vowed to continue working to end the war in besieged Gaza during his final months in office after he bowed out of his reelection bid.

"I'll be working very closely with the Israelis and with the Palestinians to try to work out how we can get the Gaza war to end, and Middle East peace, and get all those hostages home," Biden said in a public call into his campaign headquarters, which has transitioned to supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.

03:21 GMT — Palestinian groups agree to achieve 'comprehensive national unity' under PLO

In a rare show of unity, 14 Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, agreed in the Chinese capital of Beijing to achieve "a comprehensive national unity" under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

The announcement was made in a joint statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Beijing following China's invitation to intra-Palestinian talks.

The statement said the Palestinian groups "agreed on achieving a comprehensive national unity that includes all Palestinian factions within the frame of PLO, and on the commitment to the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the UN resolutions and ensuring the right of return as based in resolution 194."

For our live updates from Sunday, July 22, 2024, click here.