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Terror Attack in West Bank Leaves 1 Dead, 11 Injured
Israeli officials work at the scene of a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen near the Maale Adumim settlement, in the West Bank February 22, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Three terrorists opened fire on Israelis sitting in traffic on Thursday morning, killing one and injuring 11 others, including a pregnant woman.
An IDF soldier who was recently released for reserve duty was one of those shot multiple times, but mustered enough strength to kill two of the terrorists, while a third was later “neutralized.”
The murdered Israeli was named as Matan Elmaliah, 26, from Ma’ale Adumim.
The attack occurred near at a checkpoint on Highway 1, the road connecting the Ma’ale Adumim settlements to Jerusalem. Police have said the three attackers were brothers Muhammad and Kathem Zawahra from Ta’amra and Ahmed Al-Wahsh from Za’atara. The man they killed was reported by Magen David Adom to be a man in his 20s.
Hanania ben Shimon was the fighter who took down the terrorists.
His father, Eric, speaking at the scene of the attack told the media “He was released a week and a half ago from Khan Younis, after serving in the Gaza Strip in the reserves for four months. When the terrorist stopped the vehicle on his left side, and started shooting, he fired the first bullet at him through the window, then he got out, rowed into contact, killed the terrorist and was wounded as well.”
A friend added “He is a hero. He is the beautiful of the Land of Israel. He returned last week from fighting in Khan Younis after three months in Gaza, got a gun license to save lives and started working as a travel security guard… When he was in Khan Younis, he told me how united the people of Israel are and how willing he is to risk himself for the country and for the citizens. Today these words take on a new meaning.”
The attack occured over an area of at least two kilometers, according to the director of the Jerusalem sector of Magen David Adom, Aviv Hovav. “[This] made it difficult for us to reach the victims,” he added. “The forces searched the scene, we passed by vehicles and began to evacuate and treat the victims. Due to the traffic jams, we had to evacuate some of the injured through the opposite land.” All of the wounded were transported to Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Hospital.
One of the injured was a pregnant women who was in need of immediate surgery. Director of the Trauma Unit at the hospital, Dr. Alon Shortz, said “She arrived conscious and her life is not in danger… Regarding the fetus, it is too early to say. The condition is normal, but it’s hard to say what the condition will be.”
The checkpoint where the attack occurred has been pointed out by local Israeli lawmakers living in the area as a “death trap” in the waiting due to its heavy congestion and the fact that both Israelis and Palestinians traverse the road.
As was the case in Thursday’s attack, cars were unable to flee due to the traffic jam, allowing the terrorists to maximize their damage.
“We are in an emergency situation,” said Ma’ale Adumim Deputy Mayor Guy Yafarah. “The joint ride with the Palestinians on Route 1 is a ticking time bomb. The Israeli government must find an immediate solution and stop the shared travel of the residents of Ma’ale Adumim and the area with Palestinian vehicles. I demand the construction of the road…immediately.”
The post Terror Attack in West Bank Leaves 1 Dead, 11 Injured first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Former Columbia University President Appointed as UK Economic Adviser
Columbia University administrators and faculty, led by President Minouche Shafik, testified before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on April 17, 2024. Photo: Jack Gruber/Reuters Connect
i24 News – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named Minouche Shafik, former president of Columbia University, as his chief economic adviser at Downing Street, a move aimed at stabilizing the country’s fragile economy and averting a potential budget crisis.
Shafik, an economist of Egyptian origin with dual British and American nationality, has held senior roles at the Bank of England, the IMF, and the World Bank.
She later led the London School of Economics and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2020.
Her tenure in the United States was more turbulent. Shafik stepped down as president of Columbia University in 2024 after just a year in office, amid fierce criticism over her handling of pro-Palestinian protests following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
US officials accused her of failing to confront antisemitism on campus, while students and faculty condemned her decision to call in police to dismantle protest encampments.
Since returning to Britain, Shafik has played an active role in policy and cultural institutions. She advised Foreign Secretary David Lammy on international aid reform, has chaired the Victoria & Albert Museum since January, and led the “Economy 2030” inquiry for the Resolution Foundation, where she argued for reforms to the UK’s system of wealth taxation.
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Israel Mulls West Bank Annexation in Response to Moves to Recognize Palestine
The Jordan Valley. Photo: Юкатан via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel is considering annexation in the West Bank as a possible response to France and other countries recognizing a Palestinian state, according to three Israeli officials and the idea will be discussed further on Sunday, another official said.
Extension of Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank – de facto annexation of land captured in the 1967 Middle East war – was on the agenda for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet meeting late on Sunday that is expected to focus on the Gaza war, a member of the small circle of ministers said.
It is unclear where precisely any such measure would be applied and when, whether only in Israeli settlements or some of them, or in specific areas of the West Bank like the Jordan Valley and whether any concrete steps, which would likely entail a lengthy legislative process, would follow discussions.
Any step toward annexation in the West Bank would likely draw widespread condemnation from the Palestinians, who seek the territory for a future state, as well as Arab and Western countries. It is unclear where US President Donald Trump stands on the matter. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar did not respond to a request for comment on whether Saar had discussed the move with his US counterpart Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington last week.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the prime minister supports annexation and if so, where.
A past pledge by Netanyahu to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley was scrapped in 2020 in favor of normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term in office.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States said on Friday it would not allow Abbas to travel to New York for the United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israeli forces pounded the suburbs of Gaza City overnight from the air and ground, destroying homes and driving more families out of the area as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was set on Sunday to discuss a plan to seize the city.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighborhoods of Gaza City, said the territory had been under Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes throughout Saturday and on Sunday, forcing families to seek shelter in the western parts of the city.
The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Friday it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a “dangerous combat zone.”
“They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave,” said Rezik Salah, a father of two, from Sheikh Radwan.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene on Sunday evening to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City, which he has described as Hamas’ last bastion.
A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants to evacuate the civilian population before moving more ground forces in.
HAMAS SPOKESPERSON TARGETED
Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israeli forces had targeted Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Abu Ubaida was killed. Two Hamas officials contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.
Gaza health authorities said 15 people, including five children, were killed in the attack on a residential building in the heart of Gaza City.
Abu Ubaida, also known as Hozayfa Al-Khalout, is a well-known figure to Palestinians and Israelis alike, close to Hamas’ top military leaders and in charge of delivering the group’s messages, often via video, for around two decades, delivering statements while wearing a red keffiyeh that concealed his face.
The US targeted him with sanctions in April 2024, accusing him of leading the “cyber influence department” of al-Qassam Brigades.
In his last statement on Friday, he warned that the planned Israeli offensive on Gaza City would endanger the hostages.
On Saturday, Red Cross head Mirjana Spoljaric said an evacuation from the city would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the enclave is equipped to absorb, with shortages of food, shelter and medical supplies.
“People who have relatives in the south left to stay with them. Others, including myself, didn’t find a space as Deir Al-Balah and Mawasi are overcrowded,” said Ghada, a mother of five from the city’s Sabra neighborhood.
Around half of the enclave’s more than 2 million people are presently in Gaza City. Several thousand were estimated to have left the city for central and southern areas of the enclave.
Israel’s military has warned its political leaders that the offensive is endangering hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Protests in Israel calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages have intensified in the past few weeks.