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Huge Protests in West Bank Over Israeli Offensive in Gaza Israel Agrees to Pause Assault on Gaza as Cease-Fire Deal Is Pursued
(about 5 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Violence spread to the West Bank on Friday as enraged Palestinians protested Israel’s continuing military offensive in Gaza. At least five Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces, according to Palestinian medical officials and local news reports, adding to the explosive atmosphere in the region and raising the specter of further unrest. JERUSALEM — Israel agreed to halt its military offensive in Gaza for 12 hours starting Saturday morning amid intense international efforts to seal a broader cease-fire deal and a new explosion of violence in the West Bank, where at least six Palestinians were killed during clashes with Israeli forces.
The protests came on what Palestinians planned as a “day of rage” over the war in Gaza, where 18 days of combat have cost the lives of more than 800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, as well as 35 Israeli soldiers. Three civilians in Israel have also been killed in rocket and mortar fire from Gaza. Following an international outcry over a deadly strike Thursday on a school in Gaza where civilians had taken refuge, Secretary of State John Kerry and other diplomats pressed their efforts on Friday to arrange a cease-fire. The announcement by the military came early Saturday, hours after Israel’s security cabinet rejected Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposal for seven-day cease-fire in Gaza and further talks, according to a minister who attended the meeting.
Mr. Kerry said in Cairo late Friday that more work was needed to conclude an agreement, and that the “agony of events in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, all of them together, cannot be overstated.” But a senior Israel official said later that the security cabinet had “expressed its position in principle on some initial draft proposals that were not formally presented” and that Israel would continue to work with Mr. Kerry, indicating that the door was still open for a more comprehensive agreement.
Earlier in the evening, the Israeli news media and Reuters reported that the Israeli security cabinet had rejected Mr. Kerry’s proposal for a one-week humanitarian cease-fire, and had asked for modifications. It was not immediately clear whether a rejection would be final or merely an incremental step in negotiations. Mr. Kerry said that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and that Mr. Netanyahu was willing to move forward, and to consider a “down payment” of a 12-hour lull in the fighting in Gaza. On the broader proposal, Mr. Kerry said, the parties still had “some terminology” to work through. According to Israeli news media, Hamas also agreed to the initial 12-hour lull, which had been proposed by the United Nations, but American diplomats said they had no direct knowledge of Hamas’s decision.
Palestinians demonstrated in Jerusalem and across the West Bank on Friday, the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, known as Al Quds, or Jerusalem, Day. A spokesman for the Israeli police said that sporadic disturbances broke out in some East Jerusalem neighborhoods early in the afternoon, as 10,000 Muslims attended prayers in the Al Aksa Mosque compound. Hoping to head off trouble, Israeli authorities barred men under 50 from entering the compound. The military’s statement also said that its efforts to locate and destroy tunnels used by Hamas would continue. It added that Gaza civilians who had been asked to evacuate their homes should refrain from returning and that the military would respond if its forces or Israeli civilians came under fire.
Weeks of simmering tensions and outbursts of violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has increased talk among Israelis and Palestinians alike about the specter of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. But many said that such uprisings, by their nature, could not be planned or predicted. On Friday, Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, told troops they should be prepared for the possibility of a “significant broadening” of the ground operation. It was unclear if that was more a negotiating tactic as Israel jockeyed for better cease-fire terms after 18 days of fierce fighting against Hamas.
“The intifada does not start by a decision and end by a decision,” said Othman Abu Gharbiya, a member of the Fatah central committee, a decision-making body of the mainstream secular party that dominates the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Still, he said, “no doubt we are passing through a dangerous time.” Mr. Kerry flew to Paris to continue his diplomatic push and planned to meet there with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey, two countries that have been supportive of Hamas and are functioning as intermediaries. Mr. Kerry also expected to confer with several European diplomats.
Trouble erupted Thursday night during a march at the Qalandia checkpoint that separates the West Bank town of Ramallah from Jerusalem. Thousands of marchers chanted, “With our soul and blood, we will redeem Gaza,” and clashes broke out between stone-throwing youths and Israeli security forces. One Palestinian teenager was killed and scores were wounded. International alarm has been growing over the war that has claimed the lives of more than 800 Palestinians, most of them civilians, as well as 35 Israeli soldiers. Three civilians in Israel have also been killed in rocket and mortar fire from Gaza. Mr. Kerry has proposed a two-stage plan to halt the fighting — a weeklong truce, during which negotiations would start on the principal economic, political and security concerns about Gaza.
The funeral of the youth, Muhammad al-Araj, 17, drew thousands of mourners on Friday. His father, Ziad al-Araj, 41, a plasterer from the nearby Qalandia refugee camp, said that after seeing the bodies of women and children killed in Gaza on television, his son had told him that he wanted to join the fighters there. “He wrote in his phone, ‘I hope to be a martyr,’ ” Mr. Araj said. One senior Israeli official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the fragile diplomacy, said that a crucial element for Israel was whether a temporary cease-fire would allow it to continue its operations against the tunnel network, which Hamas militants have used to infiltrate Israeli territory. Military officials say that most of the tunnels have been located but that destroying them is a lengthy and complicated process.
The imam at the Qalandia camp’s mosque assailed Israel in his Friday sermon, shouting in fury, “Kill me, cut me into pieces, drown me in blood, you will never live in my land, you will never live in my sky!” Amid the cease-fire efforts, violence spread across the West Bank as enraged Palestinians protested Israel’s military assault in Gaza. The protests came on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and Palestinians called it a day of rage.
The spokesman for the Israeli police, Micky Rosenfeld, said that 40 Palestinians were arrested during clashes overnight in East Jerusalem, and 29 Israeli officers were wounded. Weeks of simmering tensions and clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have increased talk among Israelis and Palestinians alike about the specter of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. But many said that such uprisings, by their nature, could not be planned or predicted.
Two of the Palestinians who were killed on Friday were shot near Hawara, just south of Nablus, according to a medical official at Rafadiyeh Hospital in Nablus. Palestinian news reports said that at least one of them was shot by a female Israeli settler, but the Israeli authorities denied the reports. “The intifada does not start by a decision and end by a decision,” said Othman Abu Gharbiya, a member of the Fatah central committee, a decision-making body of the mainstream party that dominates the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Still, he said, “no doubt we are passing through a dangerous time.”
The Israeli military and the police said that an Israeli woman got out of her vehicle and fired warning shots in the air as about 200 Palestinians were rioting near Hawara, blocking the road and hurling rocks. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the police, said the woman was not responsible for any Palestinian fatalities. Three Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli forces in Beit Ommar, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, according to local activists, as a demonstration erupted into a violent confrontation. They identified the three as Sultan Shuqdam, Abd al-Hamid Breigheth, and Hashem Abu Maria. Mr. Maria, 45, was a staff member of Defense of Children International-Palestine, an advocacy group. Citing witnesses, the group said that clashes had erupted but that Mr. Abu Maria was not participating in the violence and was standing still when a bullet hit him.
Instead, Israeli border police officers in the area may have caused at least one of the deaths. Mr. Rosenfeld said that officers on patrol near Hawara clashed with hundreds of Palestinians who were throwing stones, firebombs and fireworks at them “at close range.” One officer fired at a Palestinian because the officer felt he was “in a life-threatening situation,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
The medical official at Rafadiyeh Hospital said the two Palestinian men killed at Hawara were Khaled Azmi Odeh, 19, who he said was shot in the abdomen, and Tayeb Saleh Odeh, 22, who he said was shot in the head.
Three more Palestinians were killed in Beit Ommar, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, according to local activists and Palestinian news reports. The activists said all three were shot with live ammunition at a demonstration. They identified the three as Sultan Shuqdam, Abd al-Hamid Breigheth, and Hashem Abu Maria. Mr. Maria, 47, was said to have worked with Defense of Children International-Palestine, an advocacy group.
Clashes between stone-throwing youths and Israeli security forces continued in Beit Ommar on Friday evening during funerals for the three men. Thousands of people were in the streets of the town, and the entrance was blocked by Israeli soldiers.Clashes between stone-throwing youths and Israeli security forces continued in Beit Ommar on Friday evening during funerals for the three men. Thousands of people were in the streets of the town, and the entrance was blocked by Israeli soldiers.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed a member of Islamic Jihad’s military wing and two of his sons early Friday with an airstrike near Rafah. A statement from Islamic Jihad, which has been fighting Israel alongside Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, said that the airstrike killed Salah Abu Hassanein, 45, and his sons, ages 15 and 12, in the entrance to their home. Mr. Hassanein was a spokesman for Islamic Jihad’s militia, the Al-Quds Brigades. Another Palestinian man, known as a Fatah activist, was fatally shot in the nearby Al-Aroub refugee camp, hospital officials said. The Israeli military said only that a man had been shot when he tried to grab a soldier’s weapon during a riot there.
The Israeli military, which has made a point of targeting Islamic Jihad and Hamas operatives, said that besides Mr. Hassanein, it had killed eight others in recent days. It announced that a 36-year-old reservist was killed Friday in combat in northern Gaza. And it said it had concluded that Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, a soldier who had been missing in Gaza since Sunday, was killed in battle. The military wing of Hamas claimed to be holding him captive, but did not offer any evidence or details of his condition. Two more Palestinians were fatally shot near Hawara, south of Nablus, according to a medical official at Rafadiyeh Hospital in Nablus. Palestinian news reports said that at least one of them was shot by a female Israeli settler but the Israeli authorities denied the reports. A police spokesman said that an Israeli woman got out of her vehicle and fired warning shots in the air as about 200 Palestinians were blocking the road and hurling rocks.
The military statement said that a special committee had considered all the religious, medical and other relevant issues and had classified Sergeant Shaul as “a soldier killed in action whose burial site is unknown.” A military spokesman refused to elaborate. Instead, Israeli border police officers in the area may have caused at least one of the deaths. Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said that officers on patrol near Hawara clashed with hundreds of Palestinians who were throwing stones, firebombs and fireworks at them “at close range.” One officer fired at a Palestinian because the officer felt he was “in a life-threatening situation,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
Sergeant Shaul was one of seven soldiers who entered the Gaza Strip early on Sunday in an armored personnel carrier that was stopped in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City and then was hit and incinerated by an antitank missile. The remains of the other six soldiers were found and recovered, but Sergeant Shaul’s were not, and it was not initially clear whether he was dead or alive. The police said minor disturbances broke out in some East Jerusalem neighborhoods early in the afternoon, as 10,000 Muslims attended prayers in the Al Aksa Mosque compound. They said the disturbances resumed in East Jerusalem after dark.
Palestinian militants in Gaza continued to fire rockets into Israel on Friday. The Israeli military said two were intercepted over Tel Aviv by the country’s Iron Dome antimissile system, but shrapnel from another damaged an apartment building in the coastal city of Ashkelon. Thousands attended the funeral of a Muhammad al-Araj, 17, who was killed on Thursday night during clashes with Israeli security forces after a mass march to the Qalandia checkpoint that separates Ramallah and Jerusalem. Muhammad’s father, Ziad al-Araj, 41, a plasterer from the nearby Qalandia refugee camp, said that after seeing the bodies of women and children killed in Gaza on television, his son had told him that he wanted to join the fighters there. “He wrote in his phone, ‘I hope to be a martyr,’ ” Mr. Araj said.
Mr. Kerry was said to be working in Cairo to build support for a two-stage cease-fire plan that would halt hostilities for seven days while broader terms were discussed, but allow Israeli troops to remain in Gaza and perhaps even continue to destroy the tunnels they have discovered leading into their territory. The imam at the Qalandia camp’s mosque assailed Israel in his Friday sermon, shouting in fury, “Kill me, cut me into pieces, drown me in blood, you will never live in my land, you will never live in my sky!”
Israeli news outlets reported that Mr. Kerry would fly to Paris on Friday and meet with his counterparts from France, Britain, Qatar and Turkey, as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief and the secretary-general of the Arab League. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, was also in Cairo. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed a member of Islamic Jihad’s military wing and two of his sons with an airstrike near Rafah. The group said that the airstrike killed Salah Abu Hassanein, 45, and his sons, ages 15 and 12, in the entrance to their home. Mr. Hassanein was a spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades.
In addition to Mr. Kerry’s cease-fire proposal, Israel’s senior government ministers reportedly were considering on Friday whether to expand the aerial bombardment of Gaza that began on July 8 and the ground operation that followed on July 17. The military said that during one of the battles in Gaza, militants emerged from a tunnel and tried to capture a wounded soldier but that its forces foiled the attempt. And it said it had concluded that Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who had been missing in Gaza since Sunday, was killed in battle. The military wing of Hamas claimed to be holding him captive, but did not offer evidence.
One senior Israeli official with knowledge of the talks said that a crucial issue for Israel was whether a temporary cease-fire would allow it to continue its operations against Hamas’s underground tunnel network, which its militants have used to infiltrate Israeli territory. Military officials said that most of the tunnels had been located but that destroying them was a lengthy and complicated process. But the official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate diplomacy, said he was not privy to the latest details being discussed by the cabinet. The military said in a statement that a special committee had considered all the religious, medical and other relevant issues and had classified Sergeant Shaul as “a soldier killed in action whose burial site is unknown.”
Yaakov Peri, a centrist minister and former head of Israel’s internal security service, said on Israel Radio before the cabinet meeting that “the conditions brought by Secretary of State Kerry are acceptable, in the main, to Israel, and they relate to the fact that we will not leave the area and we will continue with the tunnel operation.” But Mr. Peri added, “I certainly have my doubts that Hamas will agree.” Sergeant Shaul was one of seven soldiers who entered the Gaza Strip early on Sunday in an armored personnel carrier that was stopped in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City and then was incinerated by an antitank missile. The remains of the other six soldiers were recovered.
A statement by the Israeli military said 65,000 reservists had been mobilized for the Gaza operation, up from a previous estimate of 59,000. It said 843 rockets had been launched toward Israel since the ground offensive began; 658 landed in Israel and 166 were intercepted. Israeli forces targeted 45 sites in Gaza overnight, the military statement said. Palestinian militants in Gaza continued to fire rockets into Israel on Friday. The Israeli military said two were intercepted over Tel Aviv by the country’s Iron Dome antimissile system.