Three Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire in West Bank — Palestinian health ministry

GAZA: Three Palestinians, including a teenager, were killed by Israeli gunfire in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
A 20-year-old died of his wounds after being shot in the abdomen by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, the health ministry said in a statement.
A 25-year-old was killed in the city of Tulkarm and a 16-year-old was killed in the town of Deir Ammar, Ramallah, the ministry added.

Egyptian project helps housewives become business leaders

CAIRO: The Egyptian project Women-Friendly Cities is helping many housewives become entrepreneurs, enabling them to financially support their families alongside their husbands.

Sponsored by the UN, the project was launched in the governorate of Damietta, north of Cairo, two years ago.

Jameela Sayed, one of the beneficiaries of the project, said: “I suffered from long periods of idleness and was looking for a way to utilize my time. There was no place for me and my children to go out and learn something new, so I decided to use my talent and produce handmade works.

Israel reopens Gaza aid crossing as US pushes for restraint

GAZA STRIP: Israel reopened an aid crossing into Gaza on Friday as staunch ally the United States urged more restraint in its all-out offensive against Hamas.

Israeli army opens a probe after security videos show troops killing 2 Palestinians at close range

JERUSALEM: Israel on Friday said it was opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men — one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed — during a military raid in a West Bank refugee camp.
The B’Tselem human rights group accused the army of carrying out a pair of “illegal executions.”

Why Benjamin Netanyahu’s political fate is tightly entwined with the war in Gaza

LONDON: Hopes for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are contingent upon a change of leadership at the top of the Knesset, as it seems incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convinced peace is not an option.

That, at least, is the view of several experts, who believe Netanyahu’s obsession with seeing the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians as something that can only be managed, not brought to an end, has impeded all other alternatives.