Israel, UNRWA and Palestinian
Israeli authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested 12 Palestinians in East Jerusalem for celebrating the release of prisoners over the weekend under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. The arrests were made late Tuesday following the circulation of videos earlier in the week,
Dean Prof. Meirav Hen discusses the impact of war, student resilience, and Tel-Hai's transformation into a university to boost northern Israel's growth.
Israel demands UNRWA halt operations in Jerusalem by January 30, citing Hamas ties and security risks. The move follows Knesset legislation severing ties with the agency.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S.’s new Middle East envoy, has joined Israelis in Tel Aviv who have gathered to watch the hostage releases in what has become known as “Hostage Square,” according to images broadcast on Israeli television.
Bodner said that the Jewish National Fund-USA has a strategic vision for the long-term future of the North, citing the many educational institutions in the area as well as the organization’s employment centers. “There’s just so much opportunity,” she said.
Israel has formally banned the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory despite heavy diplomatic backlash.
The law that bans the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza went into effect on Wednesday.
Israel says UNRWA staff took part in Hamas’s bloody 7 October attacks on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory air and ground offensive inside Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to the enclave’s health ministry.
More than 14 months into the Israel-Hamas War, “and we still don’t have a plan for the North,” Mateh Asher Regional Council head Moshe Davidovich said.
Bill Deere, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), discussed with ABC News on Wednesday relief efforts in Gaza and
In the ceasefire’s first phase, Israel and Hamas have agreed that 33 Israeli hostages in Gaza will be released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.