https://arab.news/42ab6
TUNIS: A Tunisian court on Monday sentenced Sonia Dhamani, a prominent lawyer and critical voice of President Kais Saied, to two years, lawyer Bassam Trifi said.
Dhamani’s lawyers withdrew from the trial after the judge refused to adjourn the session, claiming Dhamani was being tried twice for the same act.
The court sentenced Dhamani for statements criticizing practices against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
LONDON: Israeli forces demolished two homes belonging to Palestinians in a town in Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, as part of an ongoing policy of settlement expansion in the area.
The two homes of 100 sq. meters each and belonging to the Abu Sharkh family, housed 12 people and were in the town of Al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron.
Israeli forces stormed Al-Tayaran neighborhood in the town before proceeding with the demolition. Akram Abu Sharkh, a resident, said that Al-Dhahiriya has been targeted by Israeli settlers, who have destroyed water and electricity networks and prevented pupils from getting to their schools.
He said that settlers conduct nightly “provocative patrols” near the town, use drones that emit loud noises and blare Jewish horns to instill fear among the residents, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces have installed a metal gate at the town’s northern entrance, one of four that separate the villages from Hebron, restricting Palestinians’ movement and their ability to tend crops and graze sheep, the Wafa added.
On the eastern side of Route 60, which divides the West Bank, Israeli settlers have continued the expansion of an illegal outpost. Activist Osama Makhamreh told Wafa that settlers established the outpost in mid-August, and that it consists of three tents pitched on Palestinian private land plots in the Huwara area, east of Yatta.
ANKARA: Turkiye is closely monitoring Cyprus’ reported procurement of an Israeli air defense system, Turkish officials said Thursday, warning that the move could destabilize a “fragile balance” on the divided island.
Turkish defense ministry officials expressed concerns over reports suggesting that an Israeli-made Barak MX integrated air defense system had been delivered to Cyprus.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Cyprus’ ongoing armament efforts would threaten peace and stability on the island and may lead to “dangerous consequences.”
The Mediterranean Island has been split along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkiye invaded in the wake of a coup that aimed to unify the island with Greece. Only Turkiye recognizes a 1983 Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third where Turkiye continues to maintain more than 35,000 troops.
The Israeli ground-based system is capable of simultaneously intercepting missiles, drones and aircraft from as far as 93 miles (150 kilometers) away. Its deployment would mark a significant upgrade to Cyprus’ defense shield, which had until recently only consisted of Soviet-era weapons, such as the BUK M1-2 missile system.
Cyprus’ defense minister, Vasilis Palmas, said in an interview with The Associated Press last year that bolstering the country’s defense capacity is critical for the island nation, which is located close to the war-torn Middle East.
Turkiye regards the deployment of the Israeli system as a security threat.
In 1997, Cyprus’ plans to deploy Russian-made S-300 air defense missiles triggered a standoff with Turkiye, which threatened military action. The tensions de-escalated after Cyprus agreed to transfer the missiles to Greece.
The defense officials said that Turkiye remains committed to safeguarding the security of the Turkish Cypriots, adding, without elaborating, that all kinds of measures were being taken to ensure their safety.
BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on the eastern city of Baalbek killed at least two people late on Wednesday night, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that the strike was carried out by “an Israeli drone.” Israel frequently launches strikes in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire that brought its most recent war with the group to a halt in November.
Baalbek, a millennia-old city and home to a set of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roman temples, sits in the Bekaa Valley, which is close to the Syrian border and has been a stronghold for Hezbollah.
Under pressure from the United States and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government is now moving to disarm Hezbollah.
The group, which previously dominated Lebanese politics and was thought to be better armed than the military, was severely weakened by the war with Israel.
According to Beirut, the Lebanese army must complete its disarmament of Hezbollah in areas near the Israeli border within three months.
The Israeli military has received a report of a shooting at the Allenby Crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, and details of the incident were under investigation, the military said on Thursday.
Israeli ambulance service said two people were seriously wounded, while Israeli media reported that two alleged assailants were killed.
The Allenby Bridge is a crucial crossing for trade between Jordan and Israel.
In September 2024, a gunman from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Crossing before being shot dead by security forces, an attack that shut the crossing for two days.
