Middle East Crisis

Peace Talks
US to Use Shuttle Service to “Guard” Netanyahu

One by one, top American politicians and advisers are flying to Israel. The aim is to ensure that the ceasefire with Hamas holds, sources told the Wall Street Journal and CNN.

Recently, Trump advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Israel. On Wednesday, it was Vice President JD Vance’s turn. A few hours after Vance left Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will land.

An American diplomat CNN spoke to calls the trips “Bibisitting,” a reference to Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname Bibi. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has published a cartoon showing a baby version of Netanyahu playing with a tank and a fighter jet.

“Just a little longer, then it’s time to go to bed,” says an illustrated Steve Witkoff in the cartoon.

The fact that the US is taking an increasingly larger role in Gaza worries Gadi Eisenkot, former chief of staff of the Israeli military (IDF).

– It is very problematic. The longer the ceasefire lasts, the more foreign interference we will have. It will limit the IDF, he tells Kan.

West Bank 
Israel votes yes to annexation of the West Bank

The Israeli parliament voted yes on Wednesday to two bills that involve the annexation of the occupied West Bank, reports the Times of Israel.

One of the bills means that Israel "applies its laws and its independence" to the entire West Bank. In practice, it means annexation. The bill was submitted by the far-right settler politician Avi Maoz.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid supported the proposal because Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party opposed it. Netanyahu believes that it is the wrong time to discuss the issue as it would jeopardize the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

So does US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

- I think the president (Donald Trump) has been clear that it is not something we can support right now, he says, according to TT.

The proposals will be discussed in committees and must be voted through twice more for them to come into force. It is unlikely that Netanyahu will allow this to happen, writes the Times of Israel.

Woman seriously injured after attack by settlers

A woman is being treated for serious injuries after being attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, reports the AP. A video from the attack, which occurred on Sunday, shows the woman being chased by a group of masked men and beaten with baseball bats.

Since the olive harvest season began in early October, more than 40 attacks on Palestinians have occurred in connection with the olive harvest, writes Haaretz.

The Israeli military has urged soldiers stationed in the West Bank to protect Palestinians from settler attacks. Despite this, the military turns a blind eye when olive farmers are attacked, several witnesses tell the newspaper.

– They allow the settlers to do whatever they want. Burn our cars, steal our olives and drive us off our land, says a Palestinian activist. 

The situation in the West Bank

Israel occupied the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967 and took over control from Jordan. Since then, Israel has established and expanded settlements throughout the area, and today around 700,000 Israelis live there, including East Jerusalem. The security of the settlements is protected by a large Israeli military presence. Israel has claimed the right to control the West Bank, citing national security and cultural and religious ties to the area, which in Israel is called Judea and Samaria. The fact that Israelis can move freely in the West Bank and are subject to different laws than Palestinians has led to accusations against Israel of an apartheid system.

The UN General Assembly has described the occupation as illegal in several resolutions, which was upheld by the International Court of Justice in 2024. At the same time, the Court called on Israel to pay compensation to the Palestinian people for the suffering the occupation has caused.