JERUSALEM: Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli troops near a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank Wednesday, killing an Israeli army officer, the Israeli military said. Palestinian officials said that troops killed the gunmen.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said that two Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army, without providing additional details.
The military said soldiers spotted two individuals approaching the separation barrier in the northern West Bank and that it dispatched soldiers to the area. It said the two suspects shot at troops, who returned fire.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli army was holding the bodies of the two men. It identified them as Ahmad Abed, 23, and Abd Al-Rahman Abed, 22, both from a village near the city of Jenin.
Wednesday’s violence was the latest in a long string of incidents involving deadly confrontations between soldiers and Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months, particularly around the city of Jenin, which has become a bastion for armed struggle against Israel.
Israel has been carrying out nightly arrest raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages since a spate of attacks against Israelis in the spring killed 19 people.
Israeli fire has killed scores of Palestinians during that time, making it the deadliest year in the occupied territory since 2016.
The Israeli military says the vast majority of those killed were militants or stone-throwers who endangered the soldiers. But several civilians have also been killed during Israel’s monthslong operation, including a veteran journalist and a lawyer who apparently drove unwittingly into a battle zone. Some local youths who took to the streets in response to the invasion of their neighborhoods have also been killed.
Israel says the arrest raids are meant to dismantle militant networks that have embedded themselves. The Palestinians say the operations are aimed at maintaining Israel’s 55-year military occupation of territories they want for an independent state.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians seek those territories for a future state.
Two Palestinian gunmen, Israeli army officer killed in West Bank clash
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Two Palestinian gunmen, Israeli army officer killed in West Bank clash
- The Palestinian Health Ministry said that two Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army
- Israel has been carrying out nightly arrest raids in West Bank cities, towns and villages
Libya’s eastern-based parliament passed budget for its development fund
The budget of 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.71 billion) will be spread equally over three years, lawmaker Tarek Jroushi told Reuters, adding that the funds will be overseen by the parliament.
Parliament spokesperson Abdullah Blheg earlier announced the approval of the budget in a post on X, without disclosing the budget amount.
The fund, established in February last year by the eastern-based House of Representatives, has independent financial status, according to the parliament gazette.
However it is unclear if the governor of the Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya, Naji Issa, will hand over the money for the fund. The central bank, based in Tripoli, is the only internationally recognized depository for Libyan oil revenues, the country’s vital economic income.
The eastern development fund is headed by Belgasem Haftar, a son of military commander Khalifa Haftar.
The Benghazi-based government of Osama Hamad is allied to Haftar, who controls the east and large parts of the southern region of Libya.
The north African country’s separate Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is headed by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021.
Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria
- Bahrain FM Alzayani calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of hostages and detainees, inflow of humanitarian aid to enclave
NEW YORK CITY: The UN General Assembly on Tuesday elected Bahrain to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2026.
The Gulf country was joined for the same stint by Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia.
The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. Bahrain, Colombia, the DRC, Latvia, and Liberia — who were all elected in uncontested slates — will replace Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana and Slovenia.
To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.
Bahrain received 186 votes, DRC 183 votes, Liberia 181 votes, Colombia 180 votes and Latvia 178 votes.
The General Assembly on Monday elected former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock as president of the 193-member body for its 80th session, which begins in September.
UAE’s foreign minister, Australian counterpart reaffirm friendship
- Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Penny Wong review issues 50 years on from establishing diplomatic relations
LONDON: Foreign ministers of the UAE and Australia have reaffirmed the friendship of their countries, some 50 years on from establishing diplomatic relations.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Penny Wong stressed in a phone call their mutual commitment to strengthening areas of cooperation in support of both countries’ development goals, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The parties also reviewed regional and international issues of mutual interest and expressed their commitment to continue cooperating to achieve growth.
Abu Dhabi and Canberra are celebrating 50 years since establishing diplomatic relations in March 1975.
Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque
- Hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem
- Jordanian Foreign Ministry said settler incursion would not be possible without protection, facilitation of Israeli police
LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Israeli settlers, describing the action as provocative.
On Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers entered the compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem. The ministry described the setters’ behavior as “inflammatory acts that aim to impose new temporal and spatial divisions at the mosque.”
Settlers regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah said that the settlers’ incursion “would not be possible without the protection and facilitation of the Israeli police,” demanding that the Israeli authorities “halt their irresponsible and dangerous practices.”
On Tuesday, some settlers performed Talmudic rituals in Al-Aqsa compound known as “epic prostration,” in which the worshipper bows low to the ground in a display of humility and reverence, the Petra news agency reported.
Qudah emphasized that the 144-dunam area of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims. He highlighted that the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, is the only legal authority responsible for managing and regulating Al-Aqsa’s affairs, Petra added.
Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition
- Nearly 2 million Palestinians face imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid
- Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment
LONDON: Palestinian medics are facing challenging conditions while treating patients and the injured in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave.
Health and medical staff have reported to the Wafa news agency that their appeals for community blood donations have gone largely unanswered due to widespread hunger and malnutrition, while life-saving resources are rapidly depleting in many hospitals.
Nearly 2 million Palestinians face an imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid since it resumed its military actions in March.
Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment, hindering doctors from carrying out emergency procedures necessary to save lives, Wafa added.
Operating rooms, intensive care units, and emergency departments are struggling under the pressure of a growing number of critically injured patients, and fuel is running out to generate power.
On Monday, Palestinian medical sources in Gaza revealed that 41 percent of kidney failure patients have died since October 2023 amid ongoing Israeli attacks and restrictions on humanitarian and medical aid.
Israeli forces destroyed the Noura Al-Kaabi Dialysis Center in northern Gaza over the weekend, one of the few specialized facilities providing kidney dialysis to 160 patients.
