RAMALLAH: Settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank continued for the third day running, with Palestinian sources and human rights activists condemning the “complete silence” of Israel’s security forces and “timid” government response to the violence.
Israeli settlers went on a rampage on Monday, torching dozens of cars and homes in a Palestinian town. One Palestinian was also killed in the violence following the killing of two Israelis by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank.
On Tuesday, another motorist was shot to death in the same manner in the occupied West Bank. The victim held both US and Israeli citizenship.
So far this year, 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and civilians. In the same period, 14 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks. Since the beginning of 2023, confrontations have escalated in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.
On Monday, Hussein Al-Sheikh, chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, met with Hady Amr, US special envoy for Palestinian affairs, to discuss ways to protect Palestinians against settler and military attacks.
Al-Sheikh and Amr spoke about the brutal settler violence in Nablus, Hawara and other West Bank cities.
Amr visited Hawara on Tuesday in the aftermath of the attacks, hearing testimonies from residents. He was briefed on the damage and losses suffered by residents.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem said in a statement that Amr visited “the victims of the Hawara attack and expressed his deepest condolences, and condemned the indiscriminate, widespread and unacceptable acts of violence by settlers.”
According to the statement, Amr said that he is “very concerned about the escalation of violence in the West Bank. We want to see full accountability and prosecution through the law of those responsible for these heinous attacks, and compensation for those whose property has been lost or otherwise damaged.”
Al-Sheikh said on Twitter: “We discussed many regional and international issues, especially the brutal attacks against the Palestinian people, including killing and burning homes by the occupation and settlers, the latest of which was in Nablus, Hawara and the cities of the West Bank.”
He added that the meeting “is a continuation of a series of meetings between the Palestinian leadership and the US administration.”
Israeli authorities have yet to announce any arrest or prosecution related to the Hawara violence.
An anonymous high-ranking Palestinian official told Arab News: “What happened in Hawara is very terrible, and the ugliness of that event forced the US to use firmer and tougher language against Israel in an attempt to protect it from its madness that will bring destruction to the region.
“While the Israel army and settlers were taking turns to abuse the Palestinians, their roles became integrated during the burning of Hawara residents’ homes and vehicles.”
Palestinian political analyst Ghassan Khatib told Arab News that the Biden administration is approaching the Israeli government “with great caution.”
The shift in policy, he said, is “limited to speech and condemnations of Israel’s actions. Israel does not take verbal criticism seriously, so its effect is almost limited.”
Khatib added that the US should take punitive measures against Israel to end its destructive policies toward Palestinians.
Political analyst Majdi Halabi told Arab News: “Netanyahu’s condemnation of the Hawara arson incident came late and was timid.”
Palestinians in Israel are organizing a protest in solidarity with the victims of settler attacks.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, tightened their lockdown of Jericho city, with all primary and secondary entrances closed, and citizen movement restricted. Jericho residents said that on Monday evening, the Israeli army raided several homes in Aqabat Jabr camp, south of the city.
On Tuesday, the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality demolished a Palestinian home in Jabal Mukaber village on the outskirts of the city.
In another development, an ultra-nationalist ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tendered his resignation as a deputy minister in the new government.
Avi Maoz’s departure is the first crack in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which assumed office in late December after securing a parliamentary majority in elections the previous month.
Settler attacks continue amid ‘timid’ Israeli government response
https://arab.news/yjgqv
Settler attacks continue amid ‘timid’ Israeli government response
- One Palestinian was also killed in the violence following the killing of two Israelis by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the northern West Bank
- On Tuesday, another motorist was shot to death in the same manner in the occupied West Bank
Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters
JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem
- Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities
LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders.
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force.
The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.”
Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area.
Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family.
Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.
In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.”
Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters
- Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack
CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.
‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret
- Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
- Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017
High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.
Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.
On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.
Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.
“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul.
“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”
The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.
She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.
“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.
The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din.
After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.
Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.
US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources
- The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah
BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.
