JERICHO, Palestinian Territories: Israelis on Sunday shot dead a Palestinian who, according to the army and medics, had rammed his car into soldiers in the occupied West Bank.
The incident near the city of Jericho comes amid mounting violence across Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
“An assailant accelerated his vehicle toward IDF (Israeli army) soldiers who were at a bus station adjacent to the Nabi Musa Junction,” the army said, before he continued and drove at other soldiers nearby.
“A police officer and a civilian who were at the scene responded with live fire toward the assailant and neutralized him,” and soldiers had also fired at the driver, an army statement said.
An army spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that the driver was killed.
An AFP journalist at the scene saw soldiers surrounding a damaged white car beside a bus stop, which was cornered off with red tape.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency response service said its medics treated five people who were moderately or lightly wounded.
Tourists frequently pass by the area en route to the ancient city of Jericho or the Dead Sea.
The attack comes a day after a Palestinian assailant killed an Israeli in the flashpoint city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, before being shot dead.
Sunday’s incident brings to 29 the number of Palestinians killed across east Jerusalem and the West Bank this month. Three Israelis have been shot dead over the same period.
Much of the violence has been centered around the northern West Bank, where Israeli forces have launched near daily raids.
Israelis kill Palestinian after alleged car ramming
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Israelis kill Palestinian after alleged car ramming
- Israeli army spokeswoman: ‘An assailant accelerated his vehicle toward IDF (Israeli army) soldiers who were at a bus station adjacent to the Nabi Musa Junction’
- The attack comes a day after a Palestinian assailant killed an Israeli in the flashpoint city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, before being shot dead
Palestinians in razed West Bank hamlet vow to stay
- Residents of Khallet Al-Dabaa and other hamlets in the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta region have for years contended with violence from Israeli settlers and repeated demolitions
KHALLET AL-DABAA, Palestinian Territories: Standing in the rubble of what used to be his home, Palestinian farmer Haitham Dababseh cleared stones to make space for a tent after Israeli army bulldozers destroyed his village in the occupied West Bank.
Residents of Khallet Al-Dabaa and other hamlets in the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta region have for years contended with violence from Israeli settlers and repeated demolitions.
But the bulldozers that descended on Khallet Al-Dabaa on Monday carried out “the biggest demolition we’ve ever had,” said Dababseh, razing to the ground the hamlet that is home to about 100 Palestinians.
Israeli forces “came here in the past; they demolished three times, four times,” the 34-year-old farmer said, but never entirely destroyed a hamlet this size in Masafer Yatta.
“I just have my clothes. Everything I have is under the rubble.”
Behind him, his 86-year-old father struggled to move the house’s former door out of the way so that they can set up their shelter.
Khallet Al-Dabaa is one of several villages featured at length in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” recounting the struggles of the Palestinian residents of the area in the West Bank’s south.
Several of the communities shown in the documentary have experienced settler attacks or army demolitions since it won an Academy Award in March.
Several years after occupying the West Bank in 1967, the Israeli army had declared Masafer Yatta a restricted firing zone.
Israeli forces regularly demolish structures that the military authorities say were built illegally in the area, where about 1,100 Palestinians live across several hamlets.
“Enforcement authorities of the Civil Administration dismantled a number of illegal structures that were built in a closed military zone in the South Hebron Hills,” the Israeli military said in a statement on the Khallet Al-Dabaa demolition.
“The enforcement actions were carried out after the completion of all required administrative procedures and in accordance with the enforcement priority framework previously presented to the Supreme Court,” it added.
Some residents, and many of their ancestors, once lived in caves in the rocky terrain to escape the area’s stifling summer heat, and built houses with stone and other materials after the Israeli firing zone designation in the 1970s.
Israeli envoy accuses UN of walking away from Gaza aid talks
- Danny Danon accuses secretary-general of ‘trying to protect a failed model’
- UN rejects proposal to close distribution system in favor of Israel-operated hubs
NEW YORK CITY: Israel’s ambassador to the UN has accused the organization of walking away from negotiations over a new Gaza aid proposal.
The remarks came after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Sunday rejected a plan to deliver all aid supplies to the enclave through Israeli-operated hubs.
Israel’s security cabinet on Monday approved plans to “conquer” almost all of Gaza in a bid to step up military pressure on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which still hold 59 Israeli hostages.
The rejected Israeli aid proposal involved the closure of the existing distribution system operated by the UN and its partners.
Speaking outside the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon said that his country’s efforts were aimed at ensuring humanitarian aid reached the right people.
“Israel has been engaged in constructive discussions to establish secure and effective aid delivery solutions that ensure food, water and medicine reach civilians, not Hamas terrorists.
“These are serious efforts aimed at solving a real problem — the constant and mass stealing of humanitarian aid by Hamas. Rather than engage with our proposals or seek constructive alternatives, the UN and the secretary-general chose to walk away,” he said.
“I must ask why. Why was there no attempt at a constructive dialogue, to hear ideas, to discuss them?”
The OCHA accused Israel of attempting to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic, as part of a military strategy.”
Jens Laerke, the office’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday: “It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponize the aid and we have warned against that for a very long time. Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it.”
Only 16 of Gaza’s 29 Palestine Red Crescent Society clinics remain partially functional and are facing severe shortages.
Laerke relayed testimonies from colleagues in Gaza who had seen people “rummaging through garbage, trying to find something edible.”
He described the humanitarian situation in the enclave as “harsh, brutal and inhuman.”
But Danon accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of protecting a failed system.
“If the goal is to exclude Hamas and deliver humanitarian assistance without political agendas, then why did the secretary-general abandon the table so quickly?
“Why is he trying to protect a failed model? I would remind the secretary-general that 59 hostages still remain in Hamas captivity. We will never leave them behind.
“Israel will continue doing what the UN should be doing: defending our people, dismantling terror and above all, fighting for the freedom of the 59 hostages held by Hamas.”
Lebanon welcomes return of Emirati tourists with pledges to ensure their safety
- Nawaf Salam announced that the security services are ready to ensure the safety and security of our Arab brothers during the summer
- Meeting was attended by the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, as well as the charge d’affaires of the UAE and Kuwait
BEIRUT: Three UAE planes arriving at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday are scheduled to carry Emirati nationals for the first time since a travel ban was imposed in 2024 due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that the security services “are ready to ensure the safety and security of our Arab brothers during the summer.”
Salam welcomed the UAE’s decision to lift the ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon.
During a meeting on Tuesday with the ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Salam expressed hope that “this will extend to other Arab countries in the coming weeks.”
The meeting was attended by the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, as well as the charge d’affaires of the UAE and Kuwait.
On the Lebanese side, the meeting was attended by the ministers of defense, interior, tourism, and public works.
Salam said he listened to the concerns of the ambassadors and assured them that “we will work to address them. I informed them of the security changes taking place at Beirut airport and its surroundings.”
President Salam’s adviser, Mounir Rabie, told Arab News: “The Gulf diplomats raised their concerns regarding the return of their nationals to Lebanon, including the need to improve and develop airport procedures, as well as security and economic concerns.”
Rabie described the atmosphere as “positive.”
He said Lebanon has proposed a plan that will include the formation of a tourism operations room to monitor all security and tourism issues.
According to Salam’s office, the diplomats were briefed on the measures taken by the Lebanese authorities at Beirut airport and its surroundings, including on the roads leading to it, to reassure these countries before they decide to lift the ban on the return of their nationals to Lebanon.
Emirati airlines resumed flights to Beirut last December, but without allowing Emirati citizens to come to Beirut.
The announcement comes after Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, after which it was announced that the ban would be lifted.
A special reception is scheduled for the UAE passengers at the airport, with Information Minister Paul Morcos participating.
Lebanese officials and the public are counting on this step to revitalize tourism and investment activity in the country, especially in light of the stifling economic crisis it is experiencing.
A ministerial source said: “Efforts are focused on sending reassuring messages domestically and abroad that Lebanon is capable of attracting its Arab brothers once again, given the climate of stability it is keen to maintain through the security and political measures being implemented.”
The lifting of the ban on the return of Emiratis was accompanied by a series of conditions and procedures they must follow, most notably “mandatory registration in the Tawajudi service before traveling to Beirut to ensure their safety and the smooth running of the travel process, whether from the UAE or any other country. This is aimed at ensuring effective communication with citizens while abroad and avoiding the suspension of travel procedures or exposure to legal accountability.”
Emirati citizens must also “fill in the required information, including their place of residence in Lebanon, emergency numbers, and reasons for the visit, with the necessity of updating this information in the event of any change.”
Morocco begins tendering process to expand Casablanca airport
- The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029
- The new terminal will serve as an international hub
RABAT: Morocco issued on Wednesday two expressions of interest to identify bidders for its plan to build a new terminal that will increase capacity at its largest airport in Casablanca by 20 million passengers.
Casablanca airport’s expansion is part of a push to double Morocco’s overall airport capacity to 78 million to meet increasing traffic in the run-up to the soccer World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029 at a cost of $1.6 billion, airports authority ONDA said in a statement.
The new terminal will serve as an international hub and will be served by a high-speed train network connecting the airport to the key cities of Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.
Morocco reported a record 17.4 million visitors last year, up 20 percent from 2023, and it expects to attract 26 million tourists in 2030.
UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza
- UN experts said Israel’s actions in Gaza 'follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct'
GENEVA: Countries are at a moral crossroads over the conflict in Gaza, UN experts warned Wednesday, urging action to halt the violence and avoid “the annihilation of the Palestinian population” in the territory.
A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and calling up tens of thousands of reservists for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution,” dozens of United Nations-appointed independent experts said in a statement, urging the world to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into.”
An Israeli official said the expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip would entail the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.
The experts, who are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said Israel’s actions in Gaza “follow alarming, documented patterns of genocidal conduct.”
While states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza
Experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council
Israel flatly rejects such charges.
The experts, including Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said that “while states debate terminology — is it or is it not genocide? — Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza.”
“No one is spared — not the children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages,” the experts said.
They highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
“Food and water have been cut off for months, inducing starvation, dehydration, and disease, which will result in more deaths becoming the daily reality for many,” the statement read.
Israel’s statements about the conflict, they said, “showcase a clear intent to wield starvation as a weapon of war.”
The experts highlighted the responsibility of other countries to end the bloodshed, saying that “the world is watching.”
Countries continuing to support Israel, especially militarily but also politically, they said, risk “complicity in genocide and other serious international crimes.”
