Amid Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian PM says Netanyahu wants to annex West Bank | Here's what's happening
Al Jazeera on Friday. As the world focuses on the violence unleashed in Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza, Shtayyeh's comments shed light on what he described as a "very dangerous situation" in the West Bank. His statement came amid the ongoing war between the Palestinian military group Hamas and Israel.
Follow Israel Hamas LIVE Updates here But why does the West Bank hold importance amid the Israel-Hamas war? History has it that both Hamas (which governs Gaza) and the Palestinian Authority (which rules West Bank) - want an independent Palestinian state. However, according to Reuters, Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarized so as not to threaten Israel. Now, in the interview, Shtayyeh emphasised that Netanyahu's strategy is to "annex the West Bank" and "kill every possibility of a future Palestinian state".
Since Hamas’ deadly mass incursion into southern Israel, Israeli forces have held the West Bank under a tight grip, closing crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks, the Associated Press reported earlier. “Hamas militants are also present in the West Bank but largely operate underground because of Israel’s tight grip on the territory," the report added. Violence has risen sharply in the West Bank since the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
"The situation in the West Bank is a very dangerous situation...the reality is very tough," the Palestinian Prime Minister said earlier. Death toll: As the violence in Gaza and Israel rages on, the situation in West Bank also remains grim. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids since the war's start three weeks ago, news agency
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