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| International efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza intensify as death toll passes 800 |
The violence in Gaza has spread to the West Bank, where at least five Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured after the Palestinian Authority called for a "day of rage".
Three Palestinians were shot dead in seperate incidents in the West Bank today, one reportedly by a Jewish settler and the others by Israeli soldiers, according to The Guardian.
Anger in East Jerusalem is rising with the BBC's Jon Donnison describing talk of "the possibility of a third Palestinian intifada".
UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon has called for an urgent "humanitarian pause" to the fighting. "On this, the last Friday of Ramadan, I call for an immediate, unconditional humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza and Israel", he said. "This pause would last through the Eid al-Fitr holiday period".
Meanwhile, there are reports that John Kerry had presented both sides with a new ceasefire proposal today and is awaiting a response before he flies back to Washington tonight.
This follows yesterday's mass protest where Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) clashed with Palestinians in the volatile area around a checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem.Over 10,000 people took to the streets to protest against the bloodshed in Gaza. Protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and blocked a road with burning tyres, while IDF says it used "riot dispersal means", a term used to cover weapons such as rubber bullets and tear gas.
More than 15 women, children and United Nations staff were killed and 200 injured yesterday when a school used as a UN shelter was shelled in Gaza, the fourth time in as many days that a UN facility has been hit.
BBC correspondents say "pools of blood lay on the ground" in the courtyard of the school in Beit Hanoun and there was a "large scorch mark" where a shell appeared to have struck.
The UN has rejected IDF claims that it gave occupants time to leave before the attack. The UN says it made repeated attempts to negotiate a period of time during which people could safely leave the area but none was granted.
Lt Col Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the IDF, did not admit responsibility for the attack. "We do not target the UN. We do not target civilians," he said. "There was no target in the school. Gunmen were attacking soldiers near the facility. The school was not a target in any way".
According to the UN, more than 118,000 people are now sheltering in UN schools and people are running out of food. More than 800 Palestinians and 35 Israelis have died since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 8 July.
Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/middle-east/gaza/59461/john-kerry-pushes-for-truce-as-violence-spreads-to-west-bank#ixzz38W2BHexxAltatmush Hamoodi
Leony Li
By
Published: 2014-07-25T13:30:00-07:00
Gaza violence spreads to West Bank
By
Published: 2014-07-25T13:30:00-07:00
Gaza violence spreads to West Bank
