BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities denounced Wednesday renewed Turkish military operations and “incursions” into northern Iraq, urging Ankara to solve security issues diplomatically.
The Turkish army has been mainly conducting strikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a “terrorist” group by Ankara and several Western allies, in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
On Wednesday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani chaired a meeting of the National Security Council during which officials discussed “the issue of interventions and violations by Turkish forces in the shared border areas,” General Yehia Rasool, military spokesman for the PM, said in a statement.
The council said it rejects “Turkish military incursions” in Iraqi territories and urged Ankara to “diplomatically engage with the Iraqi government for any security-related matters.”
A delegation led by the National Security Adviser will travel to the Kurdistan Region to “assess the general situation and develop a unified stance on this matter,” the statement added.
The PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, has a presence in northern Iraq, as does Turkiye, which has operated from several dozen military bases there against the Kurdish group.
Turkiye’s military operations, which sometimes take place deep inside Iraqi territory, have frequently strained bilateral ties.
In recent weeks, Iraqi local media have reported an increase in Turkish strikes, sparking several fires in border areas. Some reports mentioned Turkish forces establishing new positions.
Turkish forces “have advanced 15 kilometers into Iraqi Kurdistan territory,” said the Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT), an NGO registered in the United States, that monitors Turkish operations in northern Iraq.
In an interview earlier this week, Turkiye’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler said his country is “determined” to clear the border area with Iraq and neighboring Syria of “terrorists.”
In March, following a visit by senior Turkish officials to Iraq, Baghdad quietly listed the PKK as a “banned organization” — though Ankara demands that the Iraqi government do more in the fight against the militant group.
During a visit to Iraq in April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of “expectations” of Iraq regarding the fight against the PKK, and Sudani mentioned “bilateral security coordination” that would meet the needs of both countries.
However, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi ruled out in March “joint military operations” between Baghdad and Ankara.
Iraq condemns Turkish military ‘incursions’ into north
https://arab.news/2jcnp
Iraq condemns Turkish military ‘incursions’ into north
- Turkiye’s military operations, which sometimes take place deep inside Iraqi territory, have frequently strained bilateral ties
British lawyer urges UK to stop arming Israel
- Philippe Sands spoke following ICJ ruling that UN member states should not aid any aspect of occupation of Palestinian territories
- New UK govt overseeing review of Israel’s ‘compliance with international law’
LONDON: The UK should stop arming Israel after the International Court of Justice said member states should not “render aid or assistance” for the occupation of Palestinian territories, a British lawyer representing Palestine at the ICJ has said.
Philippe Sands KC said the ICJ advisory opinion will cause issues for the UK, which has failed to halt arms exports since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed around 40,000 Palestinians.
“The most immediate issue is the obligation in the advisory opinion on the states, which includes the United Kingdom, not to aid or assist in the maintenance of the current situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including (East) Jerusalem,” Sands told The Guardian.
“That legal obligation precludes sales of military material which could be used directly or indirectly to assist Israel in maintaining its unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Sands, a professor at University College London and a visiting professor at Harvard, said the ruling is not binding but it is likely that a vote will follow at the UN General Assembly on whether to adopt the position, and until then it will be “recognised as an authoritative statement of the law and one that the UN and its specialised agencies will follow as law.”
He added: “How does the UK vote on that? Will it vote against, or will it abstain? If the government is true to its word on respecting international law, given the nature and detail of the ICJ advisory opinion, you would expect them, at the very least, not to vote against.
“This could well be an early issue in relations with the United States, which will almost certainly vote against, despite the fact that the US judge was part of the large majority.”
He said it will also affect imports from Israeli settlements to the UK, adding: “Anything that is produced in the occupied territories, such as food, or that is sold there over the internet, is in principle subject to the international prohibition, if it can be said to aid or assist in the maintenance of the unlawful occupation.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the new Labour government is holding a “comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law,” with arms exports expected to be a focus of the review.
Labour also pledged in its recent election manifesto to recognize a Palestinian state, but has set no timeline on when that would happen.
In its advisory opinion, the ICJ cited “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including its right to an independent and sovereign state.”
Sands said: “Ultimately, the recognition of a state is a political matter, not a legal obligation, so there is a discretionary element.
“Nevertheless, the ICJ judges have clearly stated that self-determination means that the Palestinian people ‘have the right to an independent and sovereign state.’
“About 150 states (out of nearly 200) have recognised Palestine as a state, the UK is part of a small and diminishing group that refuses to do so.”
On July 19, the previous UK Conservative government responded to the ICJ’s opinion by saying it was “considering it carefully before responding.”
In 2023, it submitted a 43-page legal opinion opposing the ICJ’s investigation into the Israeli occupation.
Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, arrests crew
- The Guards’ naval forces captured it near the Arash oil field
- It is the second such seizure in less than a week
TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a Togo-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf and arrested its nine-person crew over alleged fuel smuggling, the military force said Monday on its Sepahnews website.
“On Friday morning, an oil tanker named Pearl G, carrying the flag of the African country of Togo... was seized by judicial order,” said the Guards’ statement.
The vessel is “owned by an Iraqi resident of Dubai, United Arab Emirates,” and it was carrying 700,000 liters of fuel, the statement added.
The Guards’ naval forces captured it near the Arash oil field “while loading smuggled fuel from Iranian barges,” it said.
“This oil tanker along with its nine crew members who are of Indian nationality have been transferred to Imam Khomeini harbor and are under surveillance.”
It is the second such seizure in less than a week.
On July 22, the Guards seized another Togo-flagged oil tanker and arrested its 12 crew members, also over alleged fuel smuggling.
The fate of both the vessel and the crew remains unclear.
Iranian naval forces regularly announce the detention of vessels transporting fuel in the Gulf.
In late January, Iran seized a vessel carrying two million liters of allegedly smuggled fuel.
In May, Iran released seven crew members from a Portuguese-flagged container ship, seized on April 13, after accusing them of links to its arch-foe Israel.
Fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest globally, increasing the profitability of smuggling operations.
Berlin calls on Iran and others to prevent Middle East escalation
- The strike over the weekend has raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, where tensions have intensified due to Israel’s war in Gaza
BERLIN: The German government has called on all parties to the Middle East conflict, in particular Iran, to prevent an escalation after a rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and teenagers last week, a spokesperson said on Monday.
Berlin “assumes with certainty” that the deadly attack on a football field in the Golan Heights was conducted by Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said during a regular press conference.
Recent actions by the Yemen-based Houthi militia, also backed by Iran, had also contributed significantly to instability in the region in recent weeks, he added.
The strike over the weekend has raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, where tensions have intensified due to Israel’s war in Gaza, which began more than nine months ago.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has talked to several people including her Lebanese counterpart in an effort to “mitigate the situation and prevent it from escalating,” the spokesperson said.
German citizens in Lebanon, of which there are estimated to be about 1,300, are “urgently advised” to leave the country while still possible, the spokesperson said.
“We are very concerned about the situation of the Germans on the ground and are preparing what needs to be prepared,” he added.
Yemen port damage estimated at $20 mn after Israel strike: official
- Port official Nasr Al-Nusairi relayed the results of a preliminary damage assessment,
- The sum does not factor in losses incurred by the destruction of fuel storage facilities
HODEIDA: An Israeli strike on Yemen’s Houthi-held Hodeida port has caused at least $20 million in damage, adding to losses due to the destruction of fuel storage facilities, a port official has said.
The July 20 attack on Hodeida, the main harbor under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, destroyed most of the port’s oil storage capacity and triggered a massive inferno that burned for days.
Nine people were killed in the strike, according to the militia, the first attack ever claimed by Israel on Yemen which came a day after a deadly Houthi attack on Israel.
Speaking to AFP on Sunday from the harbor after operations resumed last week, port official Nasr Al-Nusairi relayed the results of a preliminary damage assessment, saying two cranes were destroyed, a small vessel was burnt and a number of buildings were torched.
“There is also damage to the docks,” said Nusairi, the vice president of the Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation which runs the Hodeida harbor.
Nusairi estimated the cost of port damage to “exceed $20 million,” noting, however, that the sum does not factor in losses incurred by the destruction of fuel storage facilities which “is the responsibility of the oil ministry.”
The port damage caused a temporary interruption of activities but operations resumed quickly, Nusairi said.
The first two container ships docked in Hodeida three days after the Israeli raid, according to Houthi officials.
The port appeared to be operational on Sunday, with container ships anchored on its docks and workers unloading containers using cranes, according to an AFP photographer who toured the area.
The Houthis have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, in a campaign they say is to signal their solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.
Israeli strike killed 2 people in southern Lebanon
- Lebanese state media said a Monday morning strike hit a motorcycle traveling close to the Lebanon-Israel border, killing two riders and injuring a child
Israeli strikes killed two people and injured three others in southern Lebanon early Monday, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said.
The report came as Israel mulls its response to a rocket attack from Lebanon over the weekend that killed 12 children and teenagers in a town in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Monday’s strikes did not appear to be Israel’s response to the deadly weekend attack but more routine fighting.
Lebanese state media said a Monday morning strike hit a motorcycle traveling close to the Lebanon-Israel border, killing two riders and injuring a child.
No more information about the dead or injured was immediately available.
Also Monday, two were injured in a separate strike in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.
Israeli military officials said only that the military had struck Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure but did not give more information.
Since Oct. 8, violence has flared across the border between Israeli troops and Hezbollah. Israel’s military says the weekend attack on Majdal Shams marked the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7, raising fears of a broader regional war.
Here’s the latest:
Officials from Egypt and Hamas say ceasefire negotiations still face hurdles
CAIRO — Officials from Egypt and Hamas said Monday that mediators negotiating a Gaza ceasefire deal were still working to iron out sticking points.
The officials, who have direct knowledge of the negotiations, said the contentious points include Israeli demands to maintain a presence in a strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi corridor, as well as along a highway separating Gaza’s south and north.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media.
They said Israel refuses to leave the area between Egypt and Gaza during the ceasefire. They said Israel has linked its forces’ departure from the border corridor to installing underground sensors and an underground wall to monitor any future efforts by Hamas to build tunnels or smuggle weapons. Officials in Israel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Israel says Hamas uses tunnels that pass under the corridor to smuggle weapons, although Egypt denies the allegation and says it destroyed many in an earlier crackdown.
Israel’s military seized control of the Philadelphi corridor in early May along with the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza when it began its invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
The Egyptian official said no agreement has been reached on the corridor and the reopening of Rafah, adding that direct negotiations between Egypt and Israel were continuing to find a compromise.
The Hamas official, meanwhile, rejected Israel’s demands, including its desire to maintain Israeli troops along the highway halving Gaza, which is meant to vet Palestinians returning to their homes in northern Gaza and weed out any militants.
The Hamas official said the group will hand its written response to Qatar and Egypt within the coming days.
Both officials said Hamas still wants “written guarantees” from mediators that negotiations will continue during the first phase of the ceasefire to establish a permanent truce.
CIA director William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani and Egypt’s head of intelligence Abbas Kamel met Sunday with Mossad chief David Barnea in Rome to discuss Israel’s latest demands.
— Samy Magdy
Israel weighs response to Hezbollah after a rocket from Lebanon kills 12 youths on a soccer field
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Middle East is bracing for a potential flare-up in violence after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teens in what the military called the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7.
Saturday’s strike raised fears of a broader regional war between Israel and Hezbollah, which in a rare move denied it was responsible.
The White House National Security Council said it was speaking with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts and working on a diplomatic solution to “end all attacks once and for all” in the border area between Israel and Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it struck a number of targets inside Lebanon overnight into Sunday, though their intensity was similar to months of cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah said it also carried out strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
