US Navy official says ‘uneasy deterrence’ reached with Iran
US Navy official says ‘uneasy deterrence’ reached with Iran/node/1773491/middle-east
US Navy official says ‘uneasy deterrence’ reached with Iran
A US MH-60 Seahawk helicopter flies over Revolutionary Guard patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions run high over the Iranian nuclear program. (AP)
US Navy official says ‘uneasy deterrence’ reached with Iran
Tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program
Updated 07 December 2020
AP
DUBAI: The top US Navy official in the Mideast said on Sunday America has reached an “uneasy deterrence” with Iran after months of regional attacks and seizures at sea, even as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Vice Adm. Sam Paparo, who oversees the Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, struck an academic tone in comments to the annual Manama Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He described having a “healthy respect” for both Iran’s regular navy and the naval forces of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
“We have achieved an uneasy deterrence. That uneasy deterrence is exacerbated by world events and by events along the way,” the vice admiral said. “But I have found Iranian activity at sea to be cautious and circumspect and respectful, to not risk unnecessary miscalculation or escalation at sea.”
Iran’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Iran has not directly seized or targeted a tanker in recent months, a mine recently struck an oil tanker off Saudi Arabia and a cargo ship near Yemen came under assault. Suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for being behind both attacks. The Houthis have not commented on either attack.
Paparo, a former Navy fighter pilot who most recently served as director of operations at the US military’s Central Command, offered a different stance than his immediate predecessor, Vice Adm. James Malloy. In one of his last comments to journalists in August, Malloy referred to Iran as “reckless and provocative” and always trying in dramatic naval drills to “lower the denominator until they’re sure that they can look like they’ve won something.”
HIGHLIGHT
While Iran has not directly seized or targeted a tanker in recent months, a mine recently struck an oil tanker off Saudi Arabia and a cargo ship near Yemen came under assault. Suspicion immediately fell on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels for being behind both attacks.
Malloy’s tenure saw oil tankers seized by Iran and a series of limpet mine explosions targeting tankers that the Navy blamed on Iran. Tehran denied being involved, though Revolutionary Guard members were filmed taking an unexploded mine away from one tanker.
By contrast, the several months that Paparo’s been in charge have not seen any major crises.
The US Navy routinely has tense encounters with the Revolutionary Guard, whose speed boats race alongside American warships in the Arabian Gulf and sometimes conduct live-fire drills with machine guns and missile launches in their presence.
The Guard typically patrols the shallower waters of the Arabian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s regular navy largely operates in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. While previous commanders have made a point to differentiate between the professionalism of the two, Paparo dismissed it as an “old idea” that included a lingering belief that the service was still loyal to Iran’s former shah, who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“Forty-one years into the revolution, I think we can dispense with that notion,” the vice admiral said. “I sincerely doubt there’s a difference among them.”
Paparo also said he did not believe the 5th Fleet’s mission would be affected by the Navy potentially reconstituting a 1st Fleet responsible for the Indian Ocean.
Still, Paparo’s remarks carried a clear warning, quoting former US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at one point.
“Be polite, be professional and have a plan to kill everyone in the room,” he said. “That’s how we conduct ourselves at sea.”
UN calls for $370m in new humanitarian aid for Lebanon
Following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza, Israel in September stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon
Updated 08 January 2025
AFP
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations joined the Lebanese government on Tuesday to appeal for an additional $371.4 million in humanitarian aid for people displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The extension builds on an initial aid appeal for $426 million launched in October, as all-out war flared between the two sides and sent hundreds of thousands in Lebanon fleeing their homes.
That appeal raised approximately $250 million, according to the UN.
Following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza, Israel in September stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon.
After two months of warring, in which Hezbollah’s influential chief Hassan Nasrallah and multiple other leaders were killed, a ceasefire deal was reached that went into effect in late November.
“While the cessation of hostilities offers hope, over 125,000 people remain displaced, and hundreds of thousands more face immense challenges rebuilding their lives,” Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, said in a statement Tuesday.
The additional funding “is urgently required to sustain life-saving efforts and prevent further deterioration of an already dire situation,” he added.
The appeal is primarily aimed to assist an estimated one million Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees affected by the conflict, funding a three-month period of emergency efforts through March 2025.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon began on November 27, more than 800,000 displaced people in Lebanon have been able to return home, according to UN figures.
Qatar and Turkiye dispatch two power ships to generate electricity for Syria
The vessels, which have power plants installed, are expected to increase the amount of electricity generated in the country by about 50 percent
Syria’s energy infrastructure was badly damaged during the decade-long civil war, with most areas receiving power for only two or three hours a day
Updated 08 January 2025
Arab News
LONDON: Qatar and Turkiye sent two power-generating ships to Syria on Tuesday to help address the energy crisis in the country caused by insufficient electricity supplies.
Khaled Abu Di, the director of Syria’s Public Establishment for Transmission and Distribution of Electricity, said the floating power plants are capable of generating a total of 800 megawatts a day, which would increase the amount of electricity generated in the country by about 50 percent, state news agency SANA reported.
Syria’s energy infrastructure was badly damaged during more than a decade of civil war in the country that culminated in the fall of the ruling Assad regime in December. The deterioration resulted in severe power shortages, with many areas receiving electricity for only two or three hours a day.
Abu Di said efforts are underway to secure transmission lines to deliver the electricity generated by the ships. He added that his team is also working to repair dozens of damaged conversion plants and connection lines to get the national grid up and running again.
How Israeli law permitting child detention imperils the rights of Palestinian minors
Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are permitted to imprison Palestinians under the age of 14
Rights monitors say Israel has detained some 460 children since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack triggered the Gaza war
Updated 08 January 2025
Nadia Al-Faour
DUBAI: Frightened, alone, and often injured during arrest, Palestinian children routinely find themselves vulnerable to abuses and deprived of basic rights after they are taken into Israeli custody, according to human rights monitors.
Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are now permitted to detain Palestinians under the age of 14 — a measure that rights groups claim is motivated by revenge rather than security needs.
The bill, proposed by a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and approved by 53-33 votes, allows judges to sentence minors between the ages of 12 and 14 to prison terms if convicted of terrorist murder, manslaughter, or attempted murder.
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces during a raid at the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on November 23, 2023. (AFP)
According to the law, which was passed as a temporary measure lasting for five years, convicted minors can be held in closed facilities until they turn 14, after which they can be transferred to regular prisons.
An identical law, which was passed in 2016 following a series of attacks carried out by teenagers and other minors, expired in 2020.
According to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Israel imprisoned more than 460 children between the months of October 2023 and January 2024.
INNUMBERS
460
Children imprisoned by Israel between October 2023 and January 2024, according to the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.
16
Israeli courts have long defined the term ‘Palestinian child’ as a person under the age of 16, rather than the internationally recognized age of 18.
The Israeli parliament also passed a law in November that allows for the deportation of the family members of those convicted of attacks on Israeli citizens.
Furthermore, it allows for the deportation of the family members of those who had advance knowledge and either failed to report the matter to the police or “expressed support or identification with an act of terrorism.”
Under legislation passed in November by the Knesset, Israeli authorities are now permitted to imprison Palestinians under the age of 14. (AFP file/Getty Images)
Relatives of those who published “praise, sympathy or encouragement for an act of terrorism or a terrorist organization” can also be deported.
“This is a historic and important day for all citizens of Israel,” Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, said in a statement welcoming the bill, which he said “sends a clear message the State of Israel will not allow the families of the terrorists to continue enjoying life as if nothing had happened.
“From today onwards, every father, mother, child, brother, sister or spouse who identifies with and supports their family member who harmed the citizens of Israel will be deported.”
The abuse of Palestinian children in military detention was a child protection crisis before Oct. 7, and it has only become worse, says Jason Lee, Save the Children.
Both Israel’s Justice Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office raised concerns about the legislation, which stipulates that those being expelled would be sent to Gaza or other destinations for 7-15 years for citizens or 10-20 years for legal residents.
Some opposition members of the Knesset suggested at the time that the legislation is targeted specifically at Palestinian citizens of Israel, saying the law is unlikely to apply to Jewish Israelis convicted of terrorism offenses.
Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations have branded both new laws unconstitutional.
Israeli policemen detain a Palestinian boy in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya on May 15, 2012, during protests to mark Nakba day. (AFP)
Hadeel Abu Salih, an attorney working for Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent a letter to the Israeli parliament claiming the legislation was motivated by revenge and retribution.
Abu Salih also said the legislation contradicts the principles of Israel’s Youth Law, which stresses rehabilitation over punitive measures for minors.
The Legal Center released a statement saying that “through these laws, Israel further entrenches its two-tiered legal system, with one set of laws for Jewish Israelis under criminal law and another, with inferior rights, for Palestinians under the pretext of counterterrorism.
An Israeli soldier controls a Palestinian boy during clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters following a march against Palestinian land confiscation to expand the nearby Jewish Hallamish settlement on August 28, 2015 in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah. (AFP)
“By embedding apartheid-like policies into the law, the Knesset further institutionalized systematic oppression, in contravention of both international law and basic human and constitutional rights.”
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Israeli forces have significantly increased the rate of arrests of Palestinian children, both in Gaza and the West Bank.
Between October and November 2023 alone, 254 minors were reportedly arrested by Israeli forces. Some of these detainees have since been released.
Israeli security forces scuffle with a Palestinian boy outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city during a demonstration on December 26, 2015. (AFP)
The bulk of the arrest operations appear to take place in towns, camps, and other areas with points of contact with Israeli checkpoints. Although the precise charges leveled against these minors are unknown, the most common offense is throwing stones.
In some cases, rights monitors say children under the age of 10 are taken in order to pressure their relatives to surrender themselves to Israeli authorities.
Palestinian children released from Israeli detention often describe traumatic experiences, recounting harsh measures enforced by guards and the prison administration, including allegations of physical and psychological torture during interrogation.
Nael al-Atrash, eleven-years-old, is blind folded and hand cuffed by Israeli soldiers who raided the neighborhood of Jabal al-Takruri in the West Bank town of Hebron 08 March 2006. (AFP)
Testimonies shared with Save the Children include severe beatings in the presence of their relatives, being shot at, having their legs restrained, and being blindfolded during transfers between detention centers.
Several claim that food and water were also withheld for long periods of time as a form of punishment. Some have even alleged sexual abuse. Monitors say minors are routinely denied their right to legal aid and at times the presence of a family member during their interrogations.
As a result of these abuses, minors are allegedly coerced into signing false confessions and into signing documents without understanding their content. Children are also rarely granted bail before standing trial.
The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have expressed concern about the ongoing detention of children and the alleged abuses.
Both say the behavior of Israeli prison administrations and conditions inside overcrowded facilities have become worse since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Monitors say the detention centers holding minors do not meet the minimum humanitarian standards. A large number of detained children are reportedly sharing cells and are deprived of an education, medical assistance, and personal items such as books and clothing.
Israeli courts have long defined the term “Palestinian child” as a person under the age of 16, rather than the internationally recognized age of 18 as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Israeli authorities have previously denied the maltreatment of detainees.
Responding to separate claims by the UN in March last year about the alleged mistreatment of adults captured in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces told the BBC: “The mistreatment of detainees during their time in detention or whilst under interrogation violates IDF values and contravenes IDF and is therefore absolutely prohibited.”
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for Palestine, accused the international community of failing to address the detention of Palestinian children, saying minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point.”
On World Children’s Day, marked by the UN on Nov. 20, the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs released a statement saying that around 270 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli jails.
“The occupation continues to detain no less than 270 children, who are mainly held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons, in addition to camps established by the occupation army after the Gaza war,” the commission said.
“Systematic crimes are being committed by the prison administration against the jailed children, in addition to beatings, torture, and daily abuses.”
According to Palestinian rights monitors, more than 11,700 people from the West Bank have been detained since October 2023. This does not include those from the Gaza Strip, where the number of arrests is thought to be far higher.
Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority urged the international community on World Children’s Day to pressure Israel to honor its commitments to global treaties, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It stressed the need to ensure Palestinian children are not excluded from international charters that call for special protections for children against violence and detention.
The ministry also condemned the law undertaken by the Knesset to detain children under the age of 14 years, calling it a dangerous escalation that further undermines Palestinian children’s rights.
Despite international and local human rights organizations calling for the abolition of the Knesset’s child detention laws, the Israeli government insists the law will remain in place for the next five years.
Germany pushing for EU to relax sanctions on Syria, sources say
This requires an unanimous EU decision
Germany’s foreign ministry declined to comment
Updated 08 January 2025
Reuters
BERLIN: Germany is leading European Union discussions on easing sanctions imposed on the Syrian government of toppled President Bashar Assad and aiding the country’s population, foreign ministry sources said on Tuesday.
“We are actively discussing ways to provide sanctions relief to the Syrian people in certain sectors,” one of the sources said. This requires an unanimous EU decision.
Germany’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
A lightning rebel offensive overthrew Assad on Dec. 8 and Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which led the advance, set up a caretaker government.
The US on Monday issued a six-month sanctions exemption for transactions with some government bodies to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance, address Syria’s power shortages and allow personal remittances.
The EU, United States, Britain and other governments imposed tough sanctions on Syria after Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011 spiraled into civil war.
HTS has renounced its ties with Al Qaeda but is still designated a terrorist entity by the United Nations and US
German officials first circulated thoughts on easing sanctions on Syria in documents sent to Brussels before Christmas.
The FT first reported on Tuesday that the documents outline how the EU could gradually ease restrictions on Damascus in return for progress on social issues, including safeguarding minority and women’s rights and upholding commitments to ensuring non-proliferation of weapons.
The FT, citing an unnamed source familiar with the EU discussions, added that, like Washington, the bloc could make any easing of sanctions temporary to ensure that it could be reversed if necessary.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday traveled to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU and met with HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Baerbock said during her visit that all Syrian groups including women and Kurds must be involved in the country’s transition if Damascus wants European support.
Gaza officials say children killed as Israel hits Khan Yunis
Four children were killed when a drone strike hit their tent in the Al-Mawasi area
Two people were killed when a strike hit a car in Khan Yunis
Updated 08 January 2025
AFP
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Gaza health officials said a wave of Israeli strikes hit the territory’s southern district of Khan Yunis on Tuesday evening, killing a dozen people, seven of them children.
At least five strikes targeted parts of Khan Yunis, including one in the Al-Mawasi area where thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in tents along the coast.
Four children were killed when a drone strike hit their tent in the Al-Mawasi area, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry reported.
A witness told AFP that several tents caught fire from the strike, which also wounded more than 20 people.
Five people, including three children, were killed and several wounded in a strike on a house in Khan Yunis, Gaza’s civil defense agency said.
Two people were killed when a strike hit a car in Khan Yunis, while another two were killed when an apartment was hit.
There was no immediate comment from the military about the latest strikes.
They came as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha on a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
In recent months, the Israeli military has focused its offensive on northern districts of Gaza, particularly the town of Jabalia and its adjacent refugee camp.
“We won’t stop. We will bring them (Hamas) to the point where they understand that they must return all hostages,” Israel’s army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told troops during a visit to Jabalia late on Monday.
“They see, every single day, what you are doing to them, and they understand that this is becoming unbearable,” he said, according to a statement released by the military.
During their October 7, 2023 attack, which sparked the war, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, of whom 96 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of those are dead.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 45,885 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
