11:39 PM, Yesterday
US found misconduct in five units of Israeli forces
The United States has determined that five units of the Israeli army are responsible for gross violations of the human rights of Palestinians. This concerns abuses in the occupied West Bank before the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip in October.
‘Effective’ intervention and ‘corrective’ measures have been taken in four units. The possibility of American sanctions has therefore been removed, according to the Foreign Ministry in Washington. Discussions continue between the Israeli and US governments regarding the fifth army unit, about which Israel provided additional information.
A ministry spokesperson declined to provide details about the violations committed by the units and what measures were taken. It has also not been revealed which units are involved, but it is believed that the fifth army unit is the Netzah Yehuda battalion. That battalion was founded in 1999 for ultra-Orthodox soldiers. (AP)
Read more here about the infamous Netzah Yehuda Battalion that follows its own rules with impunity.
11:38 PM, Yesterday
Welcome to the live blog of Tuesday April 30
This was the most important news of Monday April 29:
• Israel is willing to agree to a 40-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 33 Israeli civilians held hostage by Hamas. That demand is lower than the original demand, which involved forty hostages. The number has been adjusted downwards because a number of the hostages died in captivity.
• At least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Doctors in the area informed the Reuters news agency on Monday. More than a million Palestinians have fled to Rafah in the past six months, because the city had been declared safe by Israel.
• Food aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) resumes its work in Gaza. At the beginning of this month, WCK suspended work in Gaza after seven employees were killed in an Israeli drone attack on an organization’s convoy.
Read Monday’s full live blog here.
