Gaza and the West Bank STILL have a LOT to be Done to getting things ‘Right’ or?…Close to it?….
Hamas/Gaza….
Hamas Entreching….
U.S. Envoy Said to Be Planning to Meet With Senior Hamas Official
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. envoy for peace missions, is planning to meet with Khalil al-Hayya, the chief negotiator of Hamas, soon, according to two people familiar with Mr. Witkoff’s plans.
A meeting between Mr. Witkoff and Mr. al-Hayya would underscore that the Trump administration is interested in keeping a direct line of communication with Hamas, even though the United States has designated the group a foreign terrorist organization.
It would also illustrate that Mr. Witkoff is not deterred by Israeli and American critics who say that U.S. engagement with Hamas offers the group unwarranted legitimacy.
The exact date that Mr. Witkoff plans to meet with Mr. al-Hayya, an architect of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, is still not clear, according to the two people familiar with the American envoy’s travel plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. It was also possible that the plans would change….
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West Bank Mosque Is Burned as Israeli Settler Violence Surges
Extremist Israeli settlers burned a mosque in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to Palestinian officials, an attack that comes as U.S. and Israeli military officials are increasingly concerned over an escalation of settler violence in the territory.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, there has been a drastic surge in settler violence as well as an Israeli crackdown on Palestinian militants in the West Bank. The growing turmoil has displaced tens of thousands of West Bank Palestinians.
“These extremist groups are destroying our lives,” said Ahmad Salem, the imam of the mosque that was attacked on Thursday. “Every day, we’re feeling more scared.”
The attacks have exposed frustration within the Israeli military, with some commanders saying they need the government to authorize harsher measures to crack down on lawbreakers. This year, the right-wing government, which includes settler leaders, curbed some of the powers that law enforcement authorities had been using to detain Israeli settlers.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, issued a rare condemnation of settler violence against Palestinians this week.
The Trump administration also expressed worry about the attacks.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Wednesday that settler violence could complicate the fragile cease-fire in Gaza after a two-year war.
“There’s some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza,” he said. “We don’t expect it to.”….
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