ALBAWABA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showcased a map during a conference but what triggered anger was that the map didn't show West Bank.
Netanyahu, who is being pressured by the US to agree a hostage deal with Hamas, presented a new map that only included Israel and the Gaza Strip that was described as questionable amid the ongoing Israeli operation in the West Bank.
This comes days after the Israeli army's military operation in the northern occupied West Bank, which was launched on 28 August 2024 and described as the largest military operation in the West Bank in more than 20 years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP)
Israeli prime minister was speaking during a news conference about the importance of keeping control of the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, but the map's lack of any reference to the West Bank was worrying.
The map caused wide fuss on social media with Pro-Palestinians accusing Israel of aiming to annex the West Bank. A person said: "This is why they are flattening the Westbank right now. Trump promised them to expand this "tiny nation" and they are already starting."
Aljazeera English journalist Sanaa El Younoussi commented: "Netanyahu presenting a map of Israel that omits the occupied West Bank. This comes after FM Israel Katz called for a 'temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians' last week. Is this what he means by total victory ?"
Palestinian health authorities reported that at least 29 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the August operation by the army, with Israel claiming that people killed were members of armed factions; Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Moreover, another 121 people have been wounded in the West Bank operation.
