Israeli army continues operations in West Bank, Abbas to visit Türkiye

The Israeli army on Monday closed a Palestinian village and arrested 13 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Israeli media and Palestinian sources, reported Xinhua.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that the army declared Taybeh, a Palestinian village near Ramallah, a closed military zone over concerns about alleged potential attacks by Israeli settlers.

The order prohibits entry to people who do not reside in the village or its surrounding area, while exempting local Palestinian residents, it reported.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources told Xinhua that Israeli forces arrested 13 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank -- ten south of Bethlehem and three in the Jenin area.

The official Voice of Palestine radio station reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to arrive in Ankara on Tuesday for a two-day official visit to Türkiye.

Abbas is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and brief him on the situation in Gaza, settler attacks in the West Bank and Israeli settlement expansion, the report said.

Türkiye is one of the mediators of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, along with Egypt, Qatar and the United States.

The planned visit comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday formally rejected the U.S.-backed 15-point plan for ending the Gaza conflict, insisting that Israel will not withdraw its forces from the enclave until Hamas is fully disarmed.