No discussion on truce at Israeli cabinet meet

By Mustafa Deveci

JERUSALEM (AA) - Despite international pressure, the Israeli security cabinet meeting on Sunday did not discuss a truce in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli official told the media that the meeting did not evaluate any cease-fire options.

“The long-standing cease-fire is not currently on the agenda of the Israeli administration,” said the official on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to media.

Following Israel's attacks on Gaza on May 10, US President Joe Biden had two phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli media earlier reported that the international public opinion, especially the US is pressurizing Israel to announce a cease-fire due to civilian casualties, and Tel Aviv has started to evaluate the options of the cease-fire.

As many as 181 people, including 52 children and 31 women, have been killed and 1,225 more injured since Israel started attacks on Gaza last Monday.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as Israeli forces and settlers assaulted Palestinians.

The tensions spread from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move not recognized by the international community.