Israel PM: ‘Aggressive measures' for West Bank city

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said his government had taken unprecedented “aggressive measures” in the West Bank city of Hebron following the killing of two Israelis in Palestinian attacks this week.

"This includes cordoning off the entire Hebron district, revoking work permits from Bani Naim, the village six terrorists have come from; a massive reinforcement of our units, two brigades with emphasis on securing the roads," Netanyahu said at a weekly meeting of his security cabinet.

Hebron is home to around 700,000 Palestinians.

Two Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks in Hebron this week, including a 13-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed in the Kiryat Arba settlement. The suspected Palestinian attacker was shot dead following the attack in the girl’s bedroom.

Following the attacks, the Israeli government decided to reduce the monthly tax transfers it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli authorities also approved the construction of 42 new housing units in Kiryat Arba settlement.

The attacks followed a period of relative calm after six months of violence from October in which more than 200 Palestinians and around 30 Israelis or foreign nationals were killed.

Netanyahu said the Cabinet would be considering new measures to "strengthen" Kiryat Arba and other Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Under international law, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are occupied territories and all Jewish settlement building on the land is illegal.

About 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for the establishment of a future state.