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    West Bank Settlement Supporters Have Big Hopes for Trump’s Presidency

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    As Donald J. Trump nominates staunch supporters of Israel to key positions, advocacy groups are taking aim at the departing administration’s policies.The Biden administration this week imposed sanctions on more groups and individuals it accuses of having ties to Israeli settlers inciting violence in the occupied West Bank, a last-ditch show of disapproval of Israelis’ annexation of land there before U.S. policy on the issue most likely swings the other way under the next administration.When President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to the White House next year, he could easily revoke the February executive order authorizing the sanctions or, even, some pro-settlement activists hope, use the order to go after Palestinian organizations instead.Texans for Israel, a Christian Zionist group, and several other settler supporters and organizations this month renewed a challenge to President Biden’s order in federal court, arguing that it was being applied unconstitutionally, targeting Jewish settlers and violating the rights of Americans exercising freedom of religion and speech in support of them.The case highlights the growing international controversy over West Bank settlement amid the war in the Gaza Strip and the great expectations of the settler movement and its supporters of another Trump presidency.Israel seized control of the West Bank from Jordan in a war in 1967, and Israeli civilians have since settled there with both the tacit and the explicit approval of the Israeli government, living under Israeli civil law while their Palestinian neighbors are subject to Israeli military law. Expanding Israel’s hold over the West Bank is a stated goal of many ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government.The international community largely views the Israeli settlements as illegal, and Palestinians have long argued that they are a creeping annexation that turns land needed for any independent Palestinian state into an unmanageable patchwork.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Nearly 100 Aid Trucks in Gaza Convoy Are Lost to Looters, U.N. Agency Says

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      UNRWA, the agency that helps Palestinians, said its drivers were forced to unload supplies at gunpoint, in what it called one of the worst such incidents of the war.A large convoy of trucks carrying aid was “violently looted” in the Gaza Strip over the weekend and its drivers forced at gunpoint to unload supplies, the main United Nations agency that helps Palestinians said on Monday, calling it one of the worst such incidents of the war.The agency, known as UNRWA, said on Monday that the convoy of 109 trucks had been driving from the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Gaza when it was looted on Saturday. Nearly 100 of the trucks were lost, members of the convoy suffered unspecified injuries and other vehicles sustained extensive damage, the agency said.The convoy — carrying food supplies from UNRWA and the U.N. World Food Program — had been scheduled to enter Gaza on Sunday, UNRWA said, but the Israeli military instructed it to leave a day earlier “at short notice via an alternate, unfamiliar route.” The agency said that the incident highlighted the “challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza” despite months of attempts by aid agencies to help it arrive safely.The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the episode. It was not clear who was responsible for the looting. In the past, Israel has accused Hamas militants of robbing aid convoys to supply their own forces. UNRWA said that the frequent looting of humanitarian aid convoys was in part a result of the collapse of law and order in wartime Gaza, the growing desperation among Palestinians there and the policies of the Israeli authorities, who “continue to disregard their legal obligations under international law” to ensure that sufficient aid safely reached Palestinians in the territory.The humanitarian situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate in the 14th month of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas, which attacked southern Israel in October 2023.Official Israeli government figures this month showed that Israel, which controls all the crossings into Gaza, was letting significantly less food and fewer supplies into the territory than in earlier months, even as a 30-day deadline set by the Biden administration passed without a substantial improvement in conditions there. Israeli officials have denied creating obstacles to aid deliveries. They have blamed aid agencies for failing to deliver the aid that it has allowed into Gaza, and have said that raids on aid trucks by Palestinians have prevented proper distribution.Adam Rasgon More

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      Gaza War Strains Europe’s Efforts at Social Cohesion

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      Institutions meant to promote civility, from soccer to song, have come under severe stress from rising antisemitism and anti-immigrant politics.The various institutions of postwar Europe were intended to keep the peace, bring warring peoples together and build a sense of continental attachment and even loyalty. From the growth of the European Union itself to other, softer organizations, dealing with culture or sports, the hope has always been to keep national passions within safe, larger limits.But growing antisemitism, increased migration and more extremist, anti-immigrant parties have led to backlash and divisions rather than comity. The long war in Gaza has only exacerbated these conflicts and their intensity, especially among young Muslims and others who feel outraged by Israeli bombings and by the tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza, a large proportion of them women and children.Those tensions were on full display in the recent violence surrounding a soccer match between an Israeli and a Dutch team in Amsterdam, where the authorities are investigating what they call antisemitic attacks on Israeli fans, as well as incendiary actions by both sides. Amsterdam is far from the only example of the divisions in Europe over the Gaza war and of the challenges they present to European governments.The normally amusing Eurovision Song Contest, which was held this year in Malmo, Sweden, a city with a significant Muslim population, was marred by pro-Palestinian protests against Eden Golan, a contestant from Israel, which participates as a full member.The original lyrics to her song, “October Rain,” in commemoration of the 1,200 Israelis who died from the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel’s response in Gaza, were rejected by organizers for their political nature, so were altered to be less specific. Her performance was met with booing and jeering from some in the audience, but she did receive a wave of votes from online spectators, pushing her to fifth place.It was hardly the demonstration of togetherness in art and silliness that organizers have always intended.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Iran and Trump Are Front of Mind at Saudi Summit

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      Leaders from across the Arab and Muslim world were in Riyadh for a meeting officially convened to discuss the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.Leaders from across the Arab world gathered on Monday in the capital of Saudi Arabia for a summit that came at a delicate moment for the kingdom, which has signaled a rapprochement with Iran after a violent, decades-long rivalry.The meeting was officially convened to discuss the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel’s military is battling Iran-backed militant groups. It takes place amid heightened regional tensions and the prospect of a hawkish Trump administration on Iran.Saudi Arabia had been preparing to recognize Israel, but the wars in Gaza and Lebanon cooled that prospect. Now, the kingdom and its allies find themselves warming to Tehran. Last month, the foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf states met for the first time as a group with their Iranian counterpart. On Sunday, the chief of staff of Saudi Arabia’s armed forces met with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran — further signaling a thaw in relations as Iran considers a response to Israeli attacks on its territory.Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, emphasized the relationship in his opening remarks at the summit on Monday.“We call on the international community to compel Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and not to attack its territory,” he told the audience in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been locked in a long battle for regional dominance, a rivalry shaped by the competing branches of Islam each country embraces. Iran’s network of regional proxies — which includes Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — has long been a particular source of concern for Saudi Arabia.While Hamas and Hezbollah have been weakened by the Israeli military’s operations in Gaza and Lebanon, Iran still arms and supports the Houthis in Yemen — a group that has been implicated in attacks on the kingdom.“The issue that we’ve had, and that was the basis for the divergence in our relationship, was Iran’s regional behavior, which from our perspective has not contributed to stability,” the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said last week. “We are having very, very clear and honest conversations with the Iranians.”Analysts said that Saudi Arabia could also be using the summit in Riyadh as an opportunity to send a message to the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald J. Trump has said he will “stop wars” when he takes office, noted Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.“Saudi Arabia could be trying to position itself as an attractive and credible choice for the Trump administration to work with if Trump follows through with his pledge to broker a deal to end the war, especially given the fact that diplomatic efforts led by other regional mediators, notably Qatar and Egypt, have failed to bear fruit,” Mr. Alhasan said. More

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      Israeli Strike in Jabaliya Kills More Than 30 Palestinians, Gaza’s Civil Defense Says

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      The strike hit a house in the city of Jabaliya, which has repeatedly come under attack as the Israeli military presses an offensive in northern Gaza.Israel’s military struck a house in northern Gaza where displaced families were sheltering on Sunday, killing at least 34 people, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, the main emergency service in the territory.Dr. Mohammed Al Moghayer, a spokesman for the group, said that 14 children were among the dead after the strike in the city of Jabaliya on Sunday morning. People were still trapped under the rubble, he added, warning that the death toll was likely to rise.Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, reported that the house, which was “crowded with residents and displaced people” was destroyed. It said that a “large number” of wounded people were taken to the nearby Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.In response to questions about the strike on Sunday, Israel’s military said it had struck “a terrorist infrastructure site” in Jabaliya where militants who posed a threat to troops had been operating and that it had taken “numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.” The military, which said that the details of the incident were under review, did not provide evidence for its claims.Dr. Hussam Abu Safyia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya, said that his hospital was receiving “distressing calls about people trapped under the rubble” on Sunday but was unable to provide help. Kamal Adwan is one of the last semi-functional hospitals in northern Gaza, but has been damaged by Israeli attacks and a raid over the last weeks.Jabaliya has come under repeated attack as the Israeli military has stepped up an offensive in areas of northern Gaza over the past month, saying it was trying to eliminate a regrouped Hamas presence there. Israel’s military has issued widespread evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza and Israeli troops, tanks and armed drones have bombarded the area almost daily.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Israeli Raids in West Bank Kill 4, Palestinians Say

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      The raids suggested that the Israeli military was continuing to target armed fighters in the occupied territory, even as it conducts major operations in Gaza and Lebanon.The Israeli military raided Palestinian villages in the northern part of the West Bank early Tuesday, setting off clashes with militants. Four Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.It was not clear whether the dead included militants or civilians and Palestinian authorities do not differentiate in their death tolls. But the Israeli military said it had engaged in firefights during the raids that killed militants in the village of Tamoun and that its aircraft had carried out strikes there and near the city of Jenin.The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed militant group, said fighters in villages south of Jenin were firing bullets at Israeli forces and detonating explosive devices.The raids in the Israeli-occupied West Bank suggested that Israel’s military was continuing to target armed fighters in the northern West Bank even as it conducts major operations in Gaza and Lebanon and braces for the possibility of a wider conflict with Iran.Israel has been ramping up a crackdown in the occupied territory that began before the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, with authorities increasingly concerned about bolder and more sophisticated attacks by Palestinians. The raids have left a swath of destruction in the territory, churning up roads and leaving many civilians scared to leave their homes in what Israel’s military says is a search for explosive devices.Israeli military vehicles operating near Tubas, south of Jenin, in the West Bank on Tuesday.Alaa Badarneh/EPA, via ShutterstockSadeq Nazzal, 60, an owner of a nursery in Qabatiya, not far from Jenin, said he heard a powerful explosion on Tuesday morning and described a chaotic scene, with military vehicles moving along the main north-south highway and sounds of gunfire in the distance.“We’ve become used to this situation,” he said. “But every time it happens, it upends our lives. Workplaces and schools shut down.”During a funeral procession held in Tamoun, one of the Palestinians killed on Tuesday had been wrapped in an Islamic Jihad flag. Palestinian militant groups often drape their fallen members in flags bearing their emblems, but they will occasionally claim unaffiliated people as being among their ranks. More

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      Exploring the Failures in the Mideast

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      More from our inbox:Disgusted by Trump’s Lewd Comments at RallyLessons From BaseballQueen Esther’s Legacy Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesTo the Editor:Re “Biden’s Moral Failure on Israel,” by Peter Beinart (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 11):There is much about Israel’s behavior toward Arabs to be condemned, but the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, cannot be ignored. Israel had a right to retaliate, and the fact that Hamas refuses to stop fighting gives Israel the right to continue fighting.Hamas could have just stopped sending missiles toward Israel but it has not. Hamas killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7. The nightmare of Gaza was started by Hamas and can be finished by Hamas.The nightmare of the West Bank is another story, and there is much blame to be placed on Israel. Until the Israeli government is changed there will be no solution.The politics of the United States is in the middle of this problem, and there is no easy way to deal with it. I believe that if Kamala Harris wins she will be able to be more forceful with the Israelis, but unfortunately, she will have no ability to force Hamas to come to the table.President Biden has not been able to take Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, out of the picture. Only the Israelis can do that, and perhaps once our election is over, they might be able to effect a solution.Leonard ZivitzFullerton, Calif.To the Editor:I am so grateful to Peter Beinart for calling out President Biden’s failure to stand in the way of the sprawling, ethnocentric ambitions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Yahya Sinwar Is Dead, but a Palestinian State Still Seems Distant

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      A two-state solution remains the goal of the United States and the West, but many in the region say the devastation in Gaza and the lack of effective Palestinian leadership make it a remote prospect.The killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has raised hopes in the Biden administration that it could help pave the way for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.But in many ways the goal of an independent Palestinian state seems further away than ever. In Gaza, there has been death and destruction on a devastating scale. There is a lack of a clear and solid Palestinian leadership. And Israel is grappling with its own trauma over the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7.President Biden is hoping Mr. Sinwar’s death can bring about a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages, while producing a path toward negotiations on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel — the so-called two-state solution. But it is unclear who can speak for Hamas now in Gaza, or even if the group really knows where all the hostages are or how many remain alive.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to continue the war against Hamas as he prosecutes another conflict against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and also to retaliate against Iran. Since Oct. 7, he has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a two-state solution, and the stability of his coalition government is dependent on far-right ministers who oppose a Palestinian state of any kind.Yahya Sinwar, center, in Gaza City last year. Mr. Sinwar’s death is unlikely to spark moves toward Palestinian statehood, analysts say.Fatima Shbair/Associated PressAll that makes the prospect of Israel agreeing to a serious negotiation on a Palestinian state extremely unlikely, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a Gazan scholar who is a visiting professor at Northwestern University.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Fighting Rages in Gaza and Lebanon, Despite Killing of Hamas Leader

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      Peace talks were nowhere in sight and, despite Yahya Sinwar’s death, the violence seemed only to increase, as Israel struck northern Gaza and Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles.Israeli forces pounded targets in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya on Saturday, killing at least 33 people and injuring dozens of others in the bombardment, a Palestinian emergency services group said.Israel has surrounded Jabaliya for a week as it seeks to root out Hamas fighters who it says have reorganized in the area. Since Friday, approximately 20,000 Palestinians have fled the neighborhood, according to UNRWA, the main United Nations agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza, amid Israel’s bombardment. Paltel, the largest telecommunications provider in Gaza, said that internet service was completely down in northern Gaza.Fighting also escalated in Lebanon on Saturday, as the Israeli military targeted several areas outside of Beirut in airstrikes that covered the area in clouds of dust. The resurgence in attacks, after several days of relative calm, came after Hezbollah warned of “a new and escalating phase” in the conflict with Israel.In Gaza, the Gazan Health Ministry reported that Israeli forces had targeted the entrance of the laboratory at Kamal Adwan Hospital, a major facility near Jabaliya, killing one person and injuring several others. The ministry has warned of a crisis in Gaza’s hospitals, citing fuel shortages and a lack of essential medicines and medical supplies.There were also reports of an Israeli airstrike hitting a residential building in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, with Hamas officials saying dozens of people had been killed. Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, also said dozens of people were wounded and missing, according to Reuters.The Israeli military said it was examining what had happened. It also said that it disputed the death toll released by Hamas officials, saying it “did not align” with the military’s initial assessment.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More