Middle East updates: Baerbock criticizes West Bank violence

A Palestinian hospital director in Nablus said on Friday that a US citizen of Turkish descent had died from a "gunshot in the head" in the occupied West Bank. 

Palestinian media including WAFA reported that she was at a protest against settlement expansion in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, when Israeli troops opened fire, using live rounds.

WAFA reported that she was an activist and part of a movment called "Fazaa" that was seeking to protect farmers from settler violence in the West Bank. 

The IDF, meanwhile, said that it was investigating the incident, but had earlier only said that one person had been shot in the leg.

The US meanwhile said it was "urgently" seeking information on the 26-year-old woman's death. 

"We offer our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death will have more to say as we learn more," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Miller described the young woman's death as "tragic" but did not assign responsibility.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on the Israeli government to take "stronger and more visible action against violence committed by radical settlers" in the occupied West Bank.

Speaking during a meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, during a visit to Tel Aviv, Baerbock said Israel must abandon its "illegal" settler projects in the West Bank.

"Anyone who attacks people, drives them out of their homes or even kills them must be held accountable and severely punished," she said. "The Israeli government could regain lost international trust, in my view, by stopping the current settlement projects as a first step."

The top German diplomat also seemingly took jabs at earlier comments made by Katz, who was quoted last week as saying that Israel must smash "terrorist infrastructure" in the West Bank with the same determination it uses in Gaza.

Baerbock said she was irritated "when members of the Israeli government themselves demand the same approach in the West Bank as in Gaza."

She called on the Israeli army not to "promote new insecurity and violence" in the West Bank, while acknowledging that the actions by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank were directed "against terrorism."

Next, Baerbock is scheduled to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. A meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly not on the agenda.

Israeli troops appear to have withdrawn from the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, after a military operation that lasted more than a week and left dozens dead. 

The withdrawal was reported by the Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) and The Associated Press early Friday. 

Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the camp overnight, according to AP, which said one of its reporters inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops by dawn.

Meanwhile, a Reuters reporter said the troops left behind extensive damage to infrastructure.

It was not clear if the apparent withdrawal was a temporary measure or not. 

Israel's military said it would release a statement on the matter later in the day.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, run by militant group Hamas, accused Israel in a statement posted on social media of transferring the destruction in the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank. 

For 10 days, Israeli forces have been engaged in large-scale raids in the occupied West Bank, in their deadliest operation since the war with Hamas began in October. Local heath authorities said at least 39 Palestinians have died in the operation.

The Israeli military has said most of those killed were Hamas militants.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Germany, the US, Israel and a number of other countries. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is set to visit Israel on Friday. Currently on a tour of the Middle East, the top diplomat is scheduled to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

She will then travel to the occupied West Bank.

Baerbock began her two-day tour at Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on Thursday where she called for normalization of the country's ties with Israel. 

Diplomatic sources told DW correspondent Nina Haase that Baerbock stressed to her Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, that efforts to establish a two-state solution in Israel and the Palestinian territories should be maintained.

The German foreign minister then moved on to Jordan where she announced that Berlin plans to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by €50 million ($55 million).

She also raised Berlin's aid to Jordan by €12.7 million to €63 million for 2024.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged both Israel and Hamas to finalize an agreement for a truce in Gaza, saying that 90% of the deal has already been agreed upon, according to a US assessment.

"Based on what I have seen, 90% is agreed but there are a few critical issues that remain," Blinken said.

He said it was incumbent on both Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to fill the gaps and reach an agreement that would end the fighting and secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Sticking points include a possible Israeli presence in the Philadelphi corridor — the name given to the Gaza Strip's southern edge that borders Egypt — and how hostages and Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged, Blinken said. 

"I expect in the coming days, we will share with Israel, and they [mediators Qatar and Egypt] will share with Hamas our thoughts, the three of us, on exactly how to resolve remaining outstanding questions," Blinken added.

"As close as I believe we are to getting a cease-fire agreement, every day that goes by where it is not finalized and the parties don't say, Yes, period,' is a day in which something else happens, and there is an intervening event which simply pushes things off and runs the risk of derailing what is a pretty fragile apple cart," he said.

In an interview with US news channel Fox, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded less optimistic a deal would be reached soon and said, "It's not close." 

The Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched several attacks on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 250 more. Of the hostages, 97 remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military has said are dead.

Israel's retaliation against Hamas in Gaza has since killed over 40,800 people there, according to the local Hamas-run Health Ministry. Over 2.3 million people in Gaza — nearly the entire population — have been displaced while key infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and housing has been destroyed. 

Fighting in the occupied West Bank and along the Israel-Lebanon border has heightened fears the conflict could expand.

Israel, the United States, Germany and several other countries classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

mk/sms (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)