Hospital: Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli army

In their statement, COGAT said that changes to further restrict the ability of Israeli Arabs to cross the border into Gaza was necessary because the “security situation in the Gaza Strip” meant that people entering might be risking their lives.

Susiya is flanked by a Jewish settlement and the ruins of a centuries-old Jewish town of the same name.

According to Palestinian media sources, Falah Abu Mariya, 53, was shot three times in the chest during a raid on his home in Beit Ummar, located eleven kilometers (6.8 miles) northwest of the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) on Thursday morning. But the Palestinians insist the land is theirs.

Susiya’s situation escalated in May, when Israel’s high court stopped a temporary injunction on demolitions.

Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli non-governmental organization working on Susiya’s legal cases, dismissed Israel’s overtures as only “vague promises”.

Ascherman says he’s lost count of the number of times Susiya has been either completely or partially demolished. Built without permits, those structures were erected to take care of their livestock and shelter the residents.

“Where [will] the children go?” He stressed that these sites “will be moved further away to more remote areas” in the south of the country.

A wildfire driven by gusting winds swept down Glacier National Park’s most popular roadway toward a small community at the park’s eastern entrance, sending visitors packing and residents scrambling to… John Kirby, the US State Department spokesperson, described the proposed demolitions as “harmful and provocative” and stated “we strongly urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from carrying out any demolitions in the village”.

Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza, now in its ninth year, has been blamed for the slow progress as well as a lack of worldwide donor support for the territory, ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas.

The UN says at least 16 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2015 and about 1 000 have been injured.

Elsewhere on Thursday, construction began on the first homes being rebuilt in the Gaza Strip since a war with Israel last summer destroyed much of the territory’s infrastructure. “How are we supposed to live on the ruins of others?” In June, representatives from all 28 EU member states arrived in the village to show their collective opposition to Israel’s plan.

“We are determined to end the division and gain back unity by implementing all the agreements reached in Doha or in Cairo”, Abbas said, adding that “these agreements say that a technocrat government has to be formed and prepare for holding the general elections within six months”.