Israel’s Agriculture Minister, Israel Katz, has announced plans for further expansion of Jewish settlements in the Jordan valley by expropriating 3 200ha of land.
Katz’s proposal, which he said would be implemented “without unnecessary delays”, follows revelations that the government plans to build homes for thousands more settlers on the West Bank, further entrenching its control even while it pulls out of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli tanks and troops, backed by helicopters, entered parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in what the army said was an operation to root out Palestinian fighters who fire rudimentary rockets into Israel. At least two people were wounded in the incursion, including a 12-year-old boy, who was shot by a soldier.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, Israeli gunfire hit a 10-year- old child in a United Nations- administered school in Khan Yunis. Raghda Adnan al-Assar underwent major surgery at the European hospital in Gaza.
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Peter Hansen, accused the Israeli army of endangering the lives of children.
“The kind of live firing into refugee camps that is so indiscriminate that it makes classrooms dangerous for 10-year-old children is totally unacceptable,” he said.
The prime minister’s office on Wednesday revealed that the Cabinet is shortly to consider a new route for parts of the “security barrier” following the Israeli High Court ruling that it unnecessarily harms Palestinians. The new route is expected to run closer to the 1967 border, the green line, but still to cause hardship to Palestinians.
n Meanwhile, reports Sapa, a two-day meeting of South African and Israeli leaders to explore peace options for the Middle East concluded on Wednesday with a renewed commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
“Both delegations committed to the need for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and recognised that peace in the Middle East will contribute to global peace and stability,” the South African Department of Foreign Affairs said.
A senior South African delegation, led by President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, met leaders of Israel’s governing Likud Party in Pretoria.
The South African group also included current and former ministers and senior officials involved in the negotiations that led to the country’s transformation to democracy.
They included former foreign affairs minister Pik Botha, former constitutional development minister Roelf Meyer, former South African Defence Force general Chris Thirion, and the current Ministers of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula and Defence Mosiuoa Lekota.
The Israeli delegation was led by its Deputy Trade, Industry and Labour Minister Michael Ratzon, and included four senior members each of the Knesset and Likud central committee.
The meeting was designed to assist Israelis and Palestinians to find common ground with a view to developing a “just, lasting and comprehensive resolution to the current conflict”, the South African government said.
“The delegations shared experiences and exchanged views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as the state of bilateral relations,” Wednesday’s statement said.
“Both delegations found the exchanges, which were conducted in a cordial manner, to be useful.”
The parties agreed to continue the discussions at a convenient time.
“Finally, the meeting agreed that the respective departments of foreign affairs should further reflect on the state of bilateral discussions.”