Israeli army kills Palestinian man in West Bank as Netanyahu rejects PA role in Gaza

JERICHO/JERUSALEM: Palestinian health officials said Israeli forces shot dead a man and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority would play no role in post-war governance of Gaza.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said that young man Saeed Nael Saeed al-Sheikh was martyred by “occupation gunfire in Jericho, and three others were injured.”

The Israeli military said the soldiers opened fire after "rocks" were thrown at them.

The death of the 24-year-old Saeed was confirmed to AFP by Riad Eid, director of the Jericho Governmental Hospital.

The Israeli military alleged that soldiers carrying out an operation in the Jericho area "identified a number of terrorists who hurled rocks at the forces."

"The soldiers responded with live fire, one terrorist was eliminated, and hits were identified on the additional terrorists," a military statement claimed.

Violence has surged across the West Bank since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel.

At least 1,033 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

During the same period, 45 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the territory, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

PA won't be part of post-war Gaza governance: Netanyahu tells US

Separately, while meeting US envoy Steve Witkoff in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the PA would not be part of post-war Gaza's governance "in any way."

"The Prime Minister clarified that the Palestinian Authority will not be involved in administering the Strip in any way," Netanyahu's office said in a statement after the meeting ended.

Under US President Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan that ended a two-year war in the Palestinian territory, the PA's post-war role in Gaza was left unclear.

The technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) was formed to handle day-to-day affairs until the PA completes a reform program.

Witkoff held talks with Netanyahu on Tuesday, during a visit that followed the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt. This was the second meeting between the two in less than a fortnight.

At the meeting, Netanyahu also "reiterated the uncompromising demand for the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and the fulfilment of the war objectives prior to the reconstruction of the Strip," according to his office.

Israel has demanded that neither Hamas nor the PA should be involved in the governance of post-war Gaza.

On Monday, Netanyahu's office lamented that the logo of the NCAG contains a symbol of the PA, suggesting a link between the two.

"Israel will not accept the use of a Palestinian Authority symbol; the Palestinian Authority will have no part in the administration of Gaza," his office said in a statement.

The NCAG replied in a post on X on Tuesday, saying it "has been testing a range of visual concepts" and that logo designs may evolve, and added that its focus "is humanitarian relief, civilian administration, recovery, and a livable future for Gaza."

"That's the conversation that matters," it said.