Israel Maintains Ramallah Lockdown For 6Th Day

By Qays Abu Samra





Israeli forces on Wednesday continued the lockdown of the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh for the 6th day in a row.





The Israeli army has blocked the entrances of the cities by military barricades and restricted the movement of people out of the two areas after the killing of two settlers by unidentified gunmen last week.





"The Palestinian political leadership is carrying out various international contacts to pressure Israel to stop its practices," Walid Wahdan, a spokesman for the Palestinian civil affairs authority, said.





No group has claimed responsibility for the settler killings.





Tension has been running high across the Palestinian territories in recent months since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.





Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state. -