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Israel announces new settlements in occupied West Bank despite sanctions threat

Update Israel announces new settlements in occupied West Bank despite sanctions threat
Farmers harvest wheat in a partially burnt field which was reportedly set on fire by Israeli settlers the previous days, in the Palestinian Khirbet Abu Falah village northeast of Ramallah in the occupied-West Bank, on May 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 29 May 2025

Israel announces new settlements in occupied West Bank despite sanctions threat

Israel announces new settlements in occupied West Bank despite sanctions threat
  • The 22 settlements would include new developments and the approval of outposts already built without authorization
  • European countries have threatened sanctions over settlement expansion in occupied territory

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israel’s government has approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, its finance minister said on Thursday, a move that could deepen divisions with some allies who have threatened sanctions over such moves.
Bezalal Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist advocating for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, wrote on X that the settlements would be in the northern West Bank, without specifying where.
Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying that among the new settlements, existing “outposts” would be legalized and new settlements would also be built.
A spokesperson for Defense Minister Israel Katz did not respond to a text message seeking comment on the announcement.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited rule in the West Bank, and the largely Gaza-based Islamist militant group Hamas condemned the Israeli decision.




The Israeli settlement of Psagot in the occupied West Bank, located on Tawil hill adjacent to the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh. Israel announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)


Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said it was a “dangerous escalation,” accusing Israel of continuing to drag the region into a “cycle of violence and instability.”
“This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” he told Reuters, urging US President Donald Trump’s administration to intervene.
After the announcement, B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, accused the right-wing government of advancing “Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.”
In a statement, B’Tselem also criticized the international community for “enabling Israel’s crimes.”
The decision was praised by Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish settlements and has close ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ganz said the move countered the Palestinian Authority’s bid to establish a state.
“This historic decision sends a clear message — we are here not only to stay but to establish the State of Israel here for all its residents and to strengthen its security,” he said.

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Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem, a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.
Palestinians regard the expansion of settlements as a hindrance to their aspirations to create an independent state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
There is a growing list of European countries demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, while Britain, France and Canada this month warned Israel they could impose targeted sanctions if Israel continued to broaden settlement in the West Bank.
Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal. The Israeli government deems settlements legal under its own laws, while some so-called “outposts” are illegal but often tolerated and sometimes later legalized.
Settlement activity in the West Bank has accelerated sharply since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its 20th month. Israel has also stepped up military operations against Palestinian militants in the West Bank and settler attacks on Palestinian residents have increased.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that Thursday’s decision was part of “the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people.” He urged the United States and European Union to respond to Israel’s announcement by taking action. 


Syria monitor says 8 Alawites killed by security forces

Syria monitor says 8 Alawites killed by security forces
Updated 10 sec ago

Syria monitor says 8 Alawites killed by security forces

Syria monitor says 8 Alawites killed by security forces
  • The Observatory said the personnel at the checkpoint “stopped the bus and opened fire on it, then forced the surviving passengers off and shot them as well”

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Syrian forces shot dead eight members of the Alawite minority at a checkpoint on Wednesday, a war monitor said, after reporting that five men were found dead following their detention.
Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad, the Alawite community which the deposed president hails from has been the target of many attacks, including sectarian massacres which killed more than 1,700 people in March.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that “security checkpoint personnel carried out a field execution of eight civilians, including three women, and injured five others — all Alawite” traveling in “a civilian passenger bus” in the central Hama province.
The Observatory said the personnel at the checkpoint “stopped the bus and opened fire on it, then forced the surviving passengers off and shot them as well.”
There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities.
In a separate incident, the Observatory said five Alawite men were found dead in hospital two days after being detained by security forces, alleging they had been “summarily executed.”
It said the men were going home from work in Damascus on Sunday when their bus was stopped at a checkpoint.
Neighbours were initially told the men were detained by security forces and “in good health,” said the Britain-based Observatory.
“The bodies of five members of the Alawite community were found” at Al-Mujtahid hospital in Damascus, the Observatory said, adding they had been “summarily executed” by shooting. It did not elaborate.
The bus driver was also being treated at the hospital, the monitor said. A seventh person from the bus remains missing.
The treatment of Syria’s minorities is one of the biggest challenges for the Islamist-led forces that overthrew Assad in December.
The international community has demanded that all components of Syrian society be included in the transition process.
According to witnesses and international organizations, the March massacres saw the killings of entire families, with armed men entering homes in Syria’s coast and asking residents for their religion before deciding whether to kill or spare them.
While the government blamed remnants of the former regime for instigating the clashes, the presidency formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the incidents.


Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’

Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’
Updated 48 min 53 sec ago

Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’

Activist Gaza aid boat slams Israel ‘threat’

ROME: International activists seeking to sail an aid boat to Gaza condemned Wednesday what they called Israel’s threats and “declared intent to attack” their vessel as it crosses the Mediterranean.
Israel’s military said Tuesday it was ready to “protect” the country’s seas, after the vessel — the Madleen, sailed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition — left Sicily on Sunday carrying around a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
“The navy operates day and night to protect Israel’s maritime space and borders at sea,” army spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Asked about the aid vessel, he said: “For this case as well, we are prepared.”
He added: “We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the activist coalition said it “strongly condemns Israel’s declared intent to attack Madleen,” calling it a “threat.”
“Madleen carries humanitarian aid and international human rights defenders in direct challenge to Israel’s illegal, decades-long blockade, and ongoing genocide” in Gaza, it said.
Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, launched in 2010, is an international movement supporting Palestinians, combining humanitarian aid with political protest against the blockade on Gaza.
The Madleen is a small sailboat reportedly carrying fruit juices, milk, rice, tinned food and protein bars.
In early May, the Freedom Flotilla ship Conscience was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack.
The coalition said that on Tuesday evening, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete, the Madleen “was approached and circled by a drone, followed, several hours later by two additional drones.”
It said it was later informed these were surveillance drones operated by the Greek coast guard, EU border agency Frontex or both.
Israel recently eased a more than two-month blockade on war-ravaged Gaza, but the aid community has urged it to allow in more food, faster.
 


IAEA head in Damascus to discuss nuclear power

IAEA head in Damascus to discuss nuclear power
Updated 04 June 2025

IAEA head in Damascus to discuss nuclear power

IAEA head in Damascus to discuss nuclear power
  • The IAEA has urged Syria repeatedly to cooperate fully with the agency in connection to a suspected nuclear reactor at the Deir Ezzor desert site

DAMASCUS: UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi said Wednesday his agency and Syrian authorities would begin “exploring the possibility of nuclear power,” on his first visit to Damascus since the ouster of Bashar Assad.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly been at loggerheads with Syria in the past over what it says are “unresolved issues” regarding suspected nuclear activities.
On his visit, the IAEA chief met with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani.
“Honoured to meet Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus. I recognize his courage in cooperating with full transparency to close a chapter of Syria’s past that diverted resources necessary for development,” Grossi said in a post on X.
He said the two sides “will also begin exploring the possibility of nuclear power in Syria.”
“Our cooperation is key to closing outstanding issues and focusing on the much needed help IAEA can provide Syria in health and agriculture,” he added.
The IAEA has urged Syria repeatedly to cooperate fully with the agency in connection to a suspected nuclear reactor at the Deir Ezzor desert site.
Israel in 2018 admitted carrying out a top-secret air raid in 2007 against what it said was a nuclear reactor under construction at the site in eastern Syria.
Syria had denied it was building a nuclear reactor.
Grossi visited Damascus in March last year, meeting then president Assad who was overthrown in December after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Grossi told an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in March this year that he had requested Syria’s cooperation to “fulfil our obligation to verify nuclear material and facilities” and to “address unresolved issues.”
“Clarifying these issues remains essential to Syria demonstrating its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and international peace and security,” he said at the time.


Sudan’s former premier Hamdok says recent military gains won’t end the war

Sudan’s former premier Hamdok says recent military gains won’t end the war
Updated 04 June 2025

Sudan’s former premier Hamdok says recent military gains won’t end the war

Sudan’s former premier Hamdok says recent military gains won’t end the war

MARRAKECH: Sudan’s former prime minister on Wednesday dismissed the military’s moves to form a new government as “fake,” saying its recent victories in recapturing the capital Khartoum and other territory will not end the country’s two-year civil war.

Abdalla Hamdok said no military victory, in Khartoum or elsewhere, could end the war that has killed tens of thousands and driven millions from their homes.

“Whether Khartoum is captured or not captured, it’s irrelevant,” Hamdok said on the sidelines of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s governance conference in Morocco. 

“There is no military solution to this. No side will be able to have outright victory.”

Hamdok became Sudan’s first civilian prime minister after decades of military rule in 2019, trying to lead a democratic transition. He resigned in January 2022 after a turbulent stretch in which he was ousted in a coup and briefly reinstated amid international pressure.

The following year, warring generals plunged the country into civil war. Sudan today bears the grim distinction of being home to some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left at least 24,000 dead, though many believe the true toll is far worse.

Both sides stand accused of war crimes. 

The RSF, with roots in Darfur’s notorious Janjaweed militia, has been accused of carrying out genocide. The army is accused of unleashing chemical weapons and targeting civilians where they live.

The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who have crossed into neighboring countries. Famine is setting in and cholera is sweeping through.

The military recaptured the Khartoum area from the RSF in March, as well as some surrounding territory. Army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan has framed the advances as a major turning point in the conflict.

Last month, he appointed a new prime minister, Kamil Al-Taib Idris, for the first time since the war began, tasked with forming a new government. But the fighting has continued. 

The RSF has regrouped in its stronghold in Darfur and made advances elsewhere, including in Kordofan.

Hamdok, a 69-year-old former economist who now leads a civilian coalition from exile, called the idea that the conflict was drawing down “total nonsense.” The idea that reconstruction can begin in Khartoum while fighting rages elsewhere is “absolutely ridiculous,” he said.

“Any attempt at creating a government in Sudan today is fake. It is irrelevant,” he said, arguing that lasting peace can’t be secured without addressing the root causes of the war.

Hamdok said a ceasefire and a credible process to restore democratic, civilian rule would need to confront Sudan’s deep inequalities, including uneven development, issues among different identity groups and questions about the role of religion in government.

“Trusting the soldiers to bring democracy is a false pretense,” he added.

Though rooted in longstanding divisions, the war has been supercharged by foreign powers accused of arming both sides.

Pro-democracy groups, including Hamdok’s Somoud coalition, have condemned atrocities committed by both the army and the RSF.

“What we would like to see is anybody who is supplying arms to any side to stop,” he said.


Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured

Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured
Updated 04 June 2025

Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured

Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured
  • Egypt’s foreign minister assured his Greek counterpart that the spiritual and religious value of Saint Catherine Monastery will be preserved

CAIRO: Egypt says the sovereignty of a famous monastery is assured.
Egypt’s foreign minister on Wednesday told his Greek counterpart that the spiritual and religious value of the Saint Catherine Monastery and surrounding archaeological sites will be preserved. That’s according to a statement.
The Greek Orthodox Church had been concerned after an administrative court said the state owns the land but affirmed the monks’ right to use the site.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem last week expressed concern and said “it is our sacred obligation to ensure that Christian worship continues on this holy ground, as it has done for 17 centuries.” It acknowledged Egypt’s assurances there would be no infringement.
Egypt’s presidency last week said the ruling consolidates the state’s commitment to preserve the monastery’s religious status.