Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the Palestinian town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Tuesday under heavy security protection, according to local authorities.
The incursion took place “amid strict security measures and a heavy deployment of Israeli occupation forces across the area,” Jerusalem Governorate said on Facebook, alongside a video showing the extremist minister entering Silwan under heavy security escort.
Silwan, a Palestinian town in occupied East Jerusalem, has long been a flashpoint due to illegal settlement expansion, home demolitions, and frequent Israeli raids.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.
Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, in line with international resolutions that do not recognise Israel’s occupation of the city.
Meanwhile, the first “tactical vehicles” arrived at the base of the International Security Force (ISF) in the Gaza Strip, as logistical preparations continue for the deployment of a multinational force in the enclave, the Board of Peace announced on Tuesday.
“Tactical vehicles arrive at Logistics Support Area: Endurance,” it said on the US social media company X.
The announcement was accompanied by photographs documenting the arrival of the vehicles.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials and mediators on implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The Board of Peace was established in January on the initiative of US President Donald Trump as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement in Gaza.
The first Board of Peace meeting on Gaza was held on February 19 at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington under Trump’s leadership. Since then the high-profile board has done nothing to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the ethnic-cleansing through the rest of Occupied Palestine.
The initiative formed part of phase two of Trump’s 20-point plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza, backed by a UN Security Council Resolution from last November.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement included a truce and prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian factions, a permanent ceasefire, as well as a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. Israel, however, has continued to violate the agreement on a near-daily basis.
Under the second phase, Israel is expected to carry out further withdrawals from the territory, while an international stabilisation force would assume security responsibilities, including facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials.
With US support, Israel launched a genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 73 000 Palestinians and injuring over 173 000 others, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian figures. – AA