On a Sunday, a 36-year-old Bedouin man from Jordan, who was operating a lorry, fatally shot three Israeli men working at the Allenby Bridge crossing, the point between Jordan and the West Bank under Israeli occupation. The attacker was subsequently killed by on-site security personnel. Reacting to this, Israel shut down two more entry points into Jordan. There has been an increase in arms smuggling attempts from Iran into the West Bank via Jordan, according to Israeli security.
The peace accord that the Hashemite kingdom had with Israel since 1994 has been tense, with several anti-Israel demonstrations during the 11-month Gaza conflict. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, expressed his concern at a cabinet meeting calling out the horrifying ideology propagated by Iran’s evil axis. He displayed his sympathy for the six hostages and three police officers from Israel who were assassinated in brutal acts of terrorism, stressing that these murderers do not differentiate between their victims.
Kamala Harris’s presidential run could be impacted by the uncertainty surrounding a final deal for the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, despite ongoing efforts from Washington to formulate a refreshed blueprint. With no decision on publicising the final draft, US administration officials are apprehensive of both sides rejecting a “take it or leave it” deal, leading to an embarrassing foreign policy setback. William Burns, CIA director, expressed his strong desire for a deal but aired his doubts about the political will of both Sinwar, the Hamas Gaza leader, and Netanyahu over the weekend. He stated that a Gaza agreement boils down to political determination.
As reported by The Washington Post during the past weekend, it appears that Hamas has thrown in eleventh-hour requirements related to the specifics of any prospective prisoner exchange. This sudden complication is described by an American official as a “poison pill”. In recent weeks, it has been emphasised by Mr Netanyahu that retaining a military outpost on the Philadelphi passageway, bridging Gaza and Egypt, is non-negotiable for Israel. However, negotiators have cautioned that such a demand could potentially thwart any agreement. This late-hour stipulation by Hamas revolves around the arrangements of the prisoner exchange.
Simultaneously, extensive protests were staged across Israel as the weekend progressed. The protestors, amounting to hundreds of thousands, were rallying for the cessation of the Gaza conflict and the safe return of the abductees. A significant portion of this group was of the view that Mr Netanyahu prioritises maintaining power over signing an agreement that could trigger the withdrawal of two extreme right-wing parties from his coalition. Organisers report that the central demonstration, taking place in Tel Aviv, amassed an estimated 400,000 individuals.
Concurrently, the Gaza conflict continues to rage in certain areas. On Sunday, following an Israeli air raid on a residence located in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, the secondary head of the Gaza civilian emergency service and four familial relations lost their lives, as per reports from Gaza health officials. The civilian emergency service has stated that during this conflict, 83 of its personnel have been eliminated by Israeli forces.
As stated by the health ministry of Gaza, managed by Hamas, close to 41,000 Palestinian lives have been claimed since the conflict erupted on the 7th of October. Israel has confirmed the demise of 1,200 individuals and the kidnapping of 253 individuals, in the unexpected Hamas assault on that day. The Israeli authorities have confirmed that upwards of 60 living abductees, and approximately 35 additional abductees while believed to have died, remain in Gaza.
Following an uninterrupted 10-day skirmish, Israeli forces retreated from the northern West Bank during the prior weekend. The Israeli military reports that in this duration, 36 militants were neutralised and an additional 46 were apprehended.