Washington: Several media outlets on Tuesday cited unnamed West Jerusalem and Washington officials in their reports that the US had requested that Israel and the State of Palestine "pause" their hostilities. Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Israel for two days and delivered the American request to the two parties.
Blinken specifically requested that Israel temporarily halt all illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank as well as the demolishment of Palestinian homes there as well as in East Jerusalem. At the same time, the US desires an end to the Palestinian Authority's UN advocacy against Israel and the restoration of security cooperation with Israel after a month-long suspension.
According to reports, Washington is hoping the "pause" will last for at least a few months in order to stop the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestine from turning into a full-fledged war.
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As media reports on the impending "pause" surfaced shortly after a fresh Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, it is unclear at this time whether the US call will actually be implemented. During the overnight operation in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp close to Jericho, Israeli soldiers killed a number of people. The men who were killed, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), were "armed terrorists" who were allegedly planning a massacre. Local militants vowed to respond, and the Palestinian Authority called the operation a "crime."
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Israel has also decided to postpone its plans to demolish a building in East Jerusalem. Israel declared on Monday that the site, which is currently occupied by about 100 people but was originally scheduled to be demolished on Tuesday, will remain standing. However, the demolition order is still in effect; the Prime Minister's Office has just asked that its execution be put off.
Following a deadly Israeli military raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin last month that left ten people dead, tensions between the two sides erupted. At the time, the Palestinians who were killed were described by Israeli authorities as a "terror squad" planning an attack.
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A Palestinian man opened fire on Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in Jerusalem shortly after the raid, killing seven people. The next day, a Palestinian teenager shot and wounded two Israelis. Israel has conducted airstrikes on purported "military sites" in the Gaza Strip in addition to ground raids.