Israel Cabinet to meet in West Bank following warnings of more violence

Israel’s wartime security Cabinet will meet late Wednesday in the West Bank offices of the military’s Central Command “due to warnings by security officials about the potential for a serious escalation in violence” in the territory, the Ynet website reported, citing a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Israeli media reported last week that the Shin Bet security agency issued such a warning, noting an increase in violence by Jewish settlers.

Deadly violence has been surging in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as Israel's military pursues Hamas militants following the group's bloody Oct 7 incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The violence threatens to open another front in the war Israel launched against Hamas after it killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel and took more than 240 people hostage.

As of Tuesday, 167 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank over the past month, mainly in clashes with Israeli troops. The toll since the beginning of the year was 371.

Some of the dead have been killed in violent anti-Israel protests, and Palestinians have said eight people were killed in attacks by settlers, who have intensified assaults and provocations since the war began.

Daily Israeli military arrest raids in the territory have intensified, with once-rare aerial attacks becoming much more common. The military said Wednesday that 1,430 wanted men have been arrested in the West Bank since Oct 7, including more than 900 from Hamas. (AP)