AL-MAZRA'A ASH-SHARQIYA, West Bank (AP) — The father of an American teen killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank railed against Washington's military support for Israel, as hundreds of mourners buried the 17-year-old in the family's ancestral Palestinian village Saturday. The death of Tawfiq Ajaq on Friday drew an immediate expression of concern from the White House and a pledge from Israeli police to investigate. It was the latest fatal shooting in the West Bank, where nearly 370 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more than three months ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes any form of Palestinian sovereignty in post-war Gaza, his office said Saturday, appearing to rebuff U.S..
Netanyahu is also under heat to appease members of his right-wing ruling coalition by intensifying the war against Hamas, which governs Gaza, and must contend with calls for restraint from the United States, its closest ally.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he “will not compromise on full Israeli control” over Gaza and that “this is contrary to a Palestinian state." His statement rejects U.S. President Joe Biden’s suggestion that creative solutions could bridge wide gaps between the leaders’ views on Palestinian statehood. Meanwhile, pressures are growing on Netanyahu’s government at home. Thousands of Israelis are protesting in Tel Aviv calling for new elections. Others have demonstrated outside the prime minister’s home calling for bold actions to get more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas released. Health authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza say Israel’s offensive has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians.