EU diplomats visit West Bank village

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The delegation included representatives from the EU, as well as such countries as Germany, Italy, France and Spain..reports Asian Lite News

A group of diplomats from European countries paid a visit to the West Bank village Beita as conflicts and violence between local Palestinians and Israeli forces continued in the area.

“The European Union (EU) and like-minded countries visited Beita village in response to rising levels of settlers’ violence and the building of an illegal Israeli outpost on top of Mount Sabih, resulting in regular clashes and casualties,” said an official statement.

The delegation included representatives from the EU, as well as such countries as Germany, Italy, France and Spain, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement as saying.

It added that the diplomats held talks with local residents about the region’s development during the trip.

The Israeli outpost near Beita, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, has witnessed regular clashes between the Palestinians, Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers, leaving at least six Palestinians dead and hundreds of others wounded by Israeli forces’ attacks since May.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the total number of Israeli settlers’ attacks across the West Bank in 2021 has increased by 46 per cent compared to the same period in 2020.

Hezbollah fired rockets

In a major escalation, Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a rockets into Israel which resulted in retaliatory shelling on Friday.

According to media report, a flare-up along the border this week has seen Israel carry out its first air strikes on Lebanese territory in seven years and Hezbollah claim a direct rocket attack on Israeli territory for the first time since 2019.

But following Friday’s exchange Israel said it did “not wish to escalate to a full war” after the United Nations peacekeeping force in the border region, UNIFIL, warned of “a very dangerous situation,” and called on parties to “cease fire and maintain calm”, according to an AFP report.

According to Hezbollah, dozens of rockets were fired at open ground near Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms border district in response to Israeli air strikes on south Lebanon Thursday.

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