Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Here is a summary of today's events:
Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha were paused on Friday with negotiators set to meet again next week
A joint statement from Egypt, Qatar and the United States said the US presented on Friday a Gaza ceasefire proposal that “closes the remaining gaps” in a manner that allows for the rapid implementation of the agreement and is consistent with the principles set out by President Joe Biden on May 31.
Echoing widespread condemnation internationally and within Israel of the attack reportedly by Israeli settlers on the village of Jit on Thursday which left a Palestinian man dead and about a dozen injured, Office of the United Nations high commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the incident as “horrific”.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, in a joint statement after meeting their Israeli counterparts, said they had been told they hope they are “on the cusp of a deal” to bring the conflict to an end.
We reported more details on the order and the former humanitarian zones affected by an Israeli evacuation order. They included al-Qarara, Muwasi, al-Galaa, Hamd City, and al-Nasr. The IDF said it had asked people to evacuate by rolling out flyers, SMS messages, phone calls, Arabic broadcasts, and recorded voice messages.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called “the armed collective attack” by settlers on the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank “organised state terrorism” in a statement. Israeli leaders also condemned the attack in what is a rare move.
The U.N. special rapporteur on torture on Friday condemned what she called a “particularly gruesome” case of the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli soldiers and said the perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.
Updated
The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Friday he would propose sanctions against Israeli government “enablers” of Jewish settler violence, following a deadly attack on a village in the occupied West Bank.
“Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace,” Borrell posted on X.
“The Israeli government must stop these unacceptable actions immediately,” he wrote, vowing to “table a proposal for EU sanctions against violent settlers’ enablers, including some Israeli government’s members”.
Any such sanctions would require unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 member states, who are divided over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
We condemn settlers attacks in Jit, aimed at terrorising Palestinian civilians.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 16, 2024
Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace. 1/2
