BATTIR, Palestinian Territories: On a hillside near Palestinian landowner Olayan Olayan’s olive groves, young Israeli settlers are hammering out a new, illegal outpost in a UNESCO-protected zone.
Olayan and his neighbors have long battled attempts to settle the land in Battir, a heritage site in the Israeli-occupied West Bank famed for its ancient stone terraces.
Israeli construction in the West Bank has boomed since the war began in the Gaza Strip, even though all settlements in the territory are considered illegal under international law.
The new outpost on a Battir hilltop, also not approved by Israel, was served an eviction notice that Olayan’s cousin Ghassan Olayan said has not been enforced because of the Gaza war.
The outpost already has a flagpole, living quarters and a barn for sheep that roam a rocky hill covered by olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers.
“I plowed the land and planted it until it bore fruit trees,” said Olayan, who at 83 is older than the state of Israel itself.
“Some trees were 50 years old, or even more, and suddenly the settlers came and wanted to devour the land and take it from us,” he added, his voice shaky.
Even more concerning to the Olayans than the encroaching outpost is the adjacent, future settlement of Heletz.
Yonatan Mizrahi of settlement watchdog Peace Now said Heletz was among five settlements “deep in Palestinian territory” approved by the Israeli government on June 27.
“It is a settlement that is going to block Battir and in many ways create tension between the neighbors,” he said.
Heletz and the outpost sit inside the UNESCO protection zone for Battir, one of four listed heritage sites in the West Bank.
The UNESCO classification means the village can get technical, legal, and monetary assistance to preserve sites deemed in danger.
In Battir, children splash in the Roman-era fountain that waters the terraces where tomatoes, corn, aubergines and olive trees grow.
The 2,000-year-old dry stone walls supporting the landscape earned the village its cultural inscription in 2014. But the classification has done little to prevent seizures of the surrounding farmland.
Battir’s inhabitants have beaten in court at least three previous Israeli settlement outpost attempts.
But Ghassan Olayan fears the war since the Hamas attacks of October 7 on Israel will make the new, government-approved Heletz more likely to become reality.
According to Olayan, Heletz is intended to link Jerusalem to Gush Etzion, a cluster of settlements deeper in the West Bank.
If that is achieved, Battir and the nearby Palestinian villages would be cut off from Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank, a process they fear will fragment a future Palestinian state.
“There will be no (territorial) continuity,” said Olayan, leaving only what some observers describe as an archipelago of Palestinian sovereignty.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself, openly states that preventing Palestinian statehood is the objective.
“We will continue to develop the settlements in order to maintain Israel’s security and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he wrote on the X social media platform after the five latest settlements were approved in June.
In recent months, Israeli forces have blocked a road to Battir, nearly doubling the time it takes to reach Jerusalem just 10 kilometers (six miles) north.
When asked about the new outpost in Battir, an Israeli security official acknowledged that “an Israeli farm had been established without proper authorization.”
The official told AFP “the possibility of authorizing the farm will be weighed” as the development of Heletz gets under way.
Battir residents “raised several claims that the land belongs to them” but have “not presented documentation to support their position,” according to the official.
Olayan said documents from Ottoman times prove Battir inhabitants’ ownership of the land.
A UNESCO spokesperson said the UN cultural agency’s world heritage committee had been told about “reports of illegal constructions” and that Battir would be discussed at a session in late July.
Olayan fears that sleepy Battir, with its collective life centered around the Roman fountain’s irrigation system allotting each family a specific time slot to irrigate their crops, faces a difficult future.
“Battir is a peaceful village and the settlement will only bring trouble,” he said.
Israeli settlement threatens Palestinian UNESCO village
https://arab.news/yqvez
Israeli settlement threatens Palestinian UNESCO village
- Palestinians have long battled attempts to settle the land in Battir, a heritage site in the Israeli-occupied West Bank famed for its ancient stone terraces
- Israeli construction in the West Bank has boomed since the war began in the Gaza Strip, even though all settlements in the territory are considered illegal
What do we know about US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
- Tehran says damage limited, no radiation leaks after Trump declares Iran’s uranium-enrichment capabilities destroyed
- Assault involved 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft
DUBAI: Amid mounting speculation, the US launched air strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday.
The operation aimed to support Israel in its war against Iran — ongoing since June 13 — by crippling Tehran’s uranium enrichment capacity, according to Asharq News.
US President Donald Trump later announced that Iran’s uranium-enrichment abilities had been eliminated, warning Tehran against any “retaliatory response.” Tehran, however, described the damage as “limited” and dismissed any indications of radiation leaks.
The US strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, in an operation the top US general, General Dan Caine, said was named “Operation Midnight.”
Asharq News reported that the strikes targeted three critical nuclear facilities instrumental in Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear complex.
These sites span the entire fuel-enrichment chain — from raw uranium conversion, through enrichment, to the production of fuel and technical components for research reactors.
FASTFACTS:
• The first B-2 bomber was publicly displayed on Nov. 22, 1988, but its first flight was on July 17, 1989.
• The combat effectiveness of the B-2 was proved in the Balkans, where it was responsible for destroying 33 percent of all Serbian targets in the first eight weeks.
• In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the B-2 flew one of its longest missions to date from Whiteman to Afghanistan and back.
• The B-2 completed its first-ever combat deployment in Iraq, flying 22 sorties and releasing more than 1.5 million pounds of munitions.
Fordo facility
Location and structure: Fordo is 30 kilometers northeast of Qom, embedded within a mountain at an altitude of approximately 1,750 m, with over 80 meters of rock and volcanic shielding — making it one of Iran’s most fortified sites.
Technical role: It houses two underground halls that can hold about 3,000 IR-1 centrifuges, enriching uranium up to 60 percent — a level nearing weapons -grade.
Strategic importance: It is a primary target in any military effort to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear military capability, due to its high capacity and protection.
Natanz reactor
Location and structure: Situated near Kashan in central Iran, partially buried under about 8 meters of earth with a 220meter-thick concrete roof, naturally shielded by surrounding mountainous terrain.
Technical role: Contains primary and experimental plants with over 14,000 centrifuges (IR-1, IR-2m, IR-4, IR-6), making it Iran’s main industrial enrichment hub.
Strategic importance: Responsible for producing most of Iran’s low-enriched uranium and plays a key role in centrifuge development.
Isfahan nuclear complex
Location and structure: Located south of Isfahan on an arid plateau away from populated areas, it is neither buried nor heavily fortified.
Technical role: Includes a Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF); a research reactor fuel production plant; and a metallic fuel pelletizing plant, and three research reactors.
Strategic importance: Serves as the backbone of Iran’s nuclear research and production infrastructure, supplying both Natanz and Fordo.
The Pentagon used some of the world’s most advanced aircraft for Saturday’s strikes. The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.
The bomber represents a major milestone in the US bomber modernization program. The B-2 brings massive firepower to bear anywhere on the globe through seemingly impenetrable defenses.
According to US officials, the bombers that carried out the Iran strikes flew for nearly 37 hours non-stop from its Missouri base, refueling in mid-air multiple times before striking in the early hours of Sunday.
A B-2 bomber offers several key advantages, primarily due to its stealth capabilities and global reach.
• A range over 11,000 km without refueling, capable of global reach from distant American bases.
• Stealth abilities such as flying-wing design and radar-absorbing materials that allow it to evade air defenses.
• It can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, including the GBU‑57 bunker-buster bomb.
Initial reports quoted by Asharq News indicated that Fordo was hit with the GBU‑57, the most powerful US conventional bunker buster, designed for deeply buried targets like Fordo, which lies 90 meters underground. Fox News reported six bunker-busting bombs were dropped on Fordo, alongside approximately 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired at Natanz and Isfahan.
The GBU‑57 ‘Massive Ordnance Penetrator’ was designed by American military engineers to devastate deeply buried bunkers without radioactive fallout. It was the only nonnuclear weapon that could reach Iran’s hardest target.
• Weight: ~13,600 kg
• Length: 6.2 meters.
• Diameter: 0.8 meters.
• Explosive payload: 2,400 kg of high explosives.
• Guidance: GPS + inertial navigation.
* Penetration: Up to 60 meters of reinforced concrete or dense rock.
A Tomahawk cruise missile is a precision weapon that launches from ships, submarines and ground launchers and can strike targets precisely from a great distance, even in heavily defended airspace.
• Range: 1,250–2,500 km depending on variant.
• Speed: Subsonic (~880 km/h).
• Guidance: Inertial navigation, GPS, with some variants using terminal guidance (TERCOM, DSMAC).
• Warhead: ~450 kg conventional explosives.
• Launch platforms: Ships and submarines.
There has been a torrent of responses to the US move against Iran, Asharq News reported. President Trump declared the mission’s success, stating that the Fordo facility was “gone,” and Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment sites “completely and utterly destroyed.” Later on Sunday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were an incredible and overwhelming success that have “obliterated Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.”
For its part, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency quoted an official saying the nuclear sites had been evacuated in advance, and the damage was “not irreparable.” The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran stated there was “no risk of any radiation leak.” Iran emphasized its nuclear industry would not be halted.
Israel rejects critical EU report ahead of ministers’ meeting
- European nations have been increasingly critical of the massive civilian toll of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli communities
BRUSSELS: Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document ... and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
European nations have been increasingly critical of the massive civilian toll of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli communities.
Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid killed in airstrike
- The airstrike targeted the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought
- It said another 22 people were wounded while waiting for aid trucks
TEL AVIV: At least four Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike and 22 were wounded while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to a local hospital.
The airstrike targeted the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
It said another 22 people were wounded while waiting for aid trucks.
Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds seeking desperately needed food, killing hundreds of people in recent weeks.
The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said suspiciously approached its forces.
Separately, World Central Kitchen, the charity run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said it had resumed the distribution of hot meals in Gaza for the first time in six weeks after shutting down because of Israel’s blockade, which was loosened last month amid fears of famine.
Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said that it had recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The military identified the remains as those of Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19.
All three were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war.
Hamas is still holding 50 hostages, fewer than half of them believed to be alive.
The military did not provide any details about the recovery operation, and it was unclear if the airstrike was related to it.
“The campaign to return the hostages continues consistently and is happening alongside the campaign against Iran,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son’s remains were returned on what would have been Yonatan’s 23rd birthday.
Militants killed some 1,200 people, and abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack.
More than half the hostages have been returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals, eight have been rescued alive, and Israeli forces have recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has said that women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Hostages Families Forum, the main organization representing families of the hostages, has repeatedly called for a deal to release the remaining captives.
“Particularly against the backdrop of current military developments, we want to emphasize that bringing back the remaining 50 hostages is the key to achieving any sort of victory,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.
Even then, he has said Israel will maintain lasting control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population, plans the Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended a truce in March with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
Those talks appear to have made little progress as Israel has expanded its air and ground offensive.
Twenty killed in suicide bombing at Damascus church
- It was the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled
- Syria’s interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Daesh group
At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria’s capital Damascus on Sunday, health authorities and security sources said.
It was the first suicide bombing in Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled in December. Syria’s interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Daesh (Islamic State). He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, a ministry statement added.
A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.
Daesh has been behind several attempted attacks on churches in Syria since Assad’s fall, but this was the first to succeed, another security source told Reuters.
Syria’s state news agency cited the health ministry as saying that 52 people were also injured in the blast.
A livestream from the site by Syria’s civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from inside the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered pews and masonry.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive against Assad before taking over in January for a transitional phase, has repeatedly said he will protect minorities.
“We unequivocally condemn the abhorrent terrorist suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, Syria,” the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We demand that the Syrian transitional authorities take immediate action to hold those involved accountable and implement measures to guarantee the safety of Christian communities and all religious groups, allowing them to live without fear.”
Daesh had previously targeted religious minorities, including a major attack on Shiite pilgrims in Sayeda Zainab in 2016 — one of the most notorious bombings during Assad’s rule.
The latest assault underscores the group’s continued ability to exploit security gaps despite the collapse of its territorial control and years of counterterrorism efforts.
Pakistan, China and Russia to push for ceasefire as UN Security Council meets on Iran
- The three countries have circulated a draft resolution text and asked UNSC members to share comments by Monday
- A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, Russia or China for it to pass
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, China and Russia will present a joint resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East, the Pakistani mission to the United Nations (UN) said on Sunday, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, which condemns the attacks against “peaceful nuclear sites and facilities under the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and says that such attacks represent a threat to international peace and security, and to the entire safeguards regime of the IAEA, according to a draft seen by Arab News.
It calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue to reach an agreement acceptable to all parties that “guarantees the exclusively peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for complete lifting of all multilateral and unilateral sanctions.”
“Pakistan, China and Russia jointly have drafted a resolution and it is hoped that other countries like Algeria may also become its approvers,” Pakistan’s UN mission said.
“So far, it has been shared with the members countries for comments, which is a procedure before tabling it in the UNSC.”
The member countries will comment on the draft resolution and then a final draft will be tabled in the Security Council.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
Iran requested the UN Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the US and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
UN Secretary-General Guterres branded the US strikes on Iran as a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.”
“At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,” Guterres said in a statement.
