Dharampal Gulati

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, slammed Ben-Gvir's visit to Al-Aqsa on Tuesday, the first by an Israeli minister in nearly five years, as "a challenge to the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the international community", Xinhua news agency reported. "The Israeli authorities' attempts to change the existing historical and legal reality in Al-Aqsa by perpetuating its temporal division by dividing it spatially are rejected and doomed to failure," he said, warning that Jerusalem and its holy sites are "a red line that cannot be crossed".

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye made the remarks during a meeting with Hady Amr, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ibrahim al-Nablusi was responsible for a series of attacks on Israeli soldiers in the area, dpa news agency quoted the Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet and the military as saying in a joint statement. During the attempted arrest, explosive devices and other weapons were found. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the death of al-Nablusi and two other people.About 40 people were injured by gunshots during the operation. It is feared that the killing of al-Nablusi could lead to further confrontations.

Israel's Home Front Command said in a notice that several rockets were fired at southern Israel "minutes" after 8 p.m. local time, which is the reported time for an Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.

Islamic Jihad's southern commander, Khaled Mansour, was killed in an airstrike in the city of Rafah, dpa news agency quoted the military announcement as saying. Two other senior PIJ members were also killed, including Mansour's deputy, it said.

The Palestinian mission "is working to convince the largest number of Arab and European countries in order for this endeavour not to be obstructed by the use of any veto", Xinhua news agency quoted Mansour as saying to the official Voice of Palestine radio station.

Israel's planning and building committee will convene to discuss plans to build 2,000 settlement units southeast of Jerusalem, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Israeli media reports. Part of the plans was postponed until after Biden's visit, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, calling it "an ugly Israeli exploitation of the visit to deepen and strengthen settlements."

Ishtaye on Sunday made the remarks during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Maya Tissafi, Assistant State Secretary of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and head of the Middle East and North Africa Department, according to a statement from Ishtaye's office. "Forming an international front to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation is very important," said the Palestinian Prime Minister, who urged Switzerland to recognise the state of Palestine.

Thousands of Palestinians attended the burial on Friday, which started with a church service in east Jerusalem in the morning, reports Xinhua news agency. According to her employer Al Jazeera TV, last respects were paid in the Old City, where she was laid to rest in a nearby cemetery.

"The Israeli measures of accelerating the cycle of settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes, confiscation of land, the measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the daily raids on the West Bank towns are undermining the two-state solution," Xinhua news agency reported citing Ishtaye. He also referred to the economic and financial situations in the Palestinian territories, "which are completely linked to the Israeli measures and the Israeli control of the Palestinian resources."