West Bank

Norway has announced its intention to recognize Palestine as an independent state, revealed Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre today, confirming previous reports. Støre emphasized that this decision aligns with Israel's interests and serves to preserve the possibility of a political resolution, allowing both Israelis and Palestinians to coexist peacefully.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians during a raid Tuesday in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, where the military said it had launched a counterterrorism operation.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said nine more people had been wounded, including two who were in critical condition.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has cautioned that failing to heed the lessons from the ongoing tragedy in the Gaza Strip could lead to further conflict in the Palestinian enclave.

The German foreign ministry on Monday criticised Israel's decision to bar Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera and called for the protection of press freedom.

"A free and diverse press landscape is an important cornerstone of any liberal democracy," the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the move "sends the wrong signal".

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has urgently called upon the United States to prevent Israel from launching an assault on the border town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.

Iran and Israel appeared to step back from the brink of broader conflict as lawmakers in the United States approved new Israeli military aid on Saturday despite growing criticism of its ally's war in Gaza.

The Gaza war is speeding up Israel's "annexation" of the Palestinian economy, say analysts, who argue it has been hobbled for decades by agreements that followed the Oslo peace accords.

While the Israel-Hamas war raging since Oct. 7 has devastated swathes of Gaza, it has also hit the public finances and wider economy of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The U.N. voiced grave concern Tuesday over escalating violence in the West Bank, demanding that Israeli security forces "immediately" stop supporting settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory.

Troop reinforcements from Israel's ally the United States headed to the region on Saturday, with fears of wider war growing more than six months into Israel's assault in the Gaza Strip.

After pulling forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis one week ago, Israel's military said Saturday it was continuing to operate against militants in central Gaza.