Israel puts Golan, Nevatim, Dimona, Eilat residents on impact standby

This picture taken on April 22, 2021 shows a view of a road sign directing towards the city of Dimona, close to the nuclear power plant in the southern Israeli Negev desert. (AFP)
This picture taken on April 22, 2021 shows a view of a road sign directing towards the city of Dimona, close to the nuclear power plant in the southern Israeli Negev desert. (AFP)
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Updated 14 April 2024
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Israel puts Golan, Nevatim, Dimona, Eilat residents on impact standby

Israel puts Golan, Nevatim, Dimona, Eilat residents on impact standby
  • Israel has a nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Dimona

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military put the northern part of the occupied Golan Heights as well as Nevatim, Dimona and Eilat on standby for possible impact from Iranian drone launches early on Sunday, instructing residents to stay close to bomb shelters.
The Golan was captured from Syria in a 1967 war. Nevatim is the site of an Israeli air base. Israel has a nuclear reactor on the outskirts of Dimona. Eilat is Israel’s southern Red Sea port, which has come under repeated attack by Yemen’s Houthis.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it sounded sirens in a kibbutz near the Lebanon border early Sunday, after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.
"Sirens sounded in Kibbutz Snir, northern Israel," the army said in a statement.

 

 


Israel minister says Hamas must leave Gaza, surrender arms

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should go for a “complete conquest” of Gaza. (File/AFP)
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should go for a “complete conquest” of Gaza. (File/AFP)
Updated 11 sec ago
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Israel minister says Hamas must leave Gaza, surrender arms

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should go for a “complete conquest” of Gaza. (File/AFP)
  • “If Hamas refuses this ultimatum, Israel will open the gates of hell,” said Smotrich, echoing an expression used by both Trump and Netanyahu

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that Hamas militants must surrender their arms and leave Gaza.
He was speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss the next phase of the truce between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.
Smotrich in a video statement said he “will demand a vote” by ministers on US President Donald Trump’s plan and that Israel must “issue a clear ultimatum to Hamas — immediately release all hostages, leave Gaza for other countries, and lay down your arms.”
“If Hamas refuses this ultimatum, Israel will open the gates of hell,” said Smotrich, echoing an expression used by both Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A strong opponent of stopping the war, he has threatened to quit Netanyahu’s ruling coalition if the war is not resumed after the end of the first stage of the ceasefire.
Trump’s plan lacked detail but has triggered widespread outrage internationally for his call to resettle Palestinians in other countries such as Egypt and Jordan under a US “takeover” of Gaza.
Smotrich said Israel should go for a “complete conquest” of the territory.
According to Israeli media, the security cabinet convened on Monday evening to discuss phase two of the fragile ceasefire which began on January 19.
More than 15 months of war destroyed or damaged more than 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings, displaced almost the entire population, and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
“It’s them or us. Either we crush Hamas, or God forbid, Hamas will crush us,” Smotrich said.
“I call on the prime minister to declare that once the war resumes after Phase One, Israel will, from the first day, seize 10 percent of Gaza’s territory, establish full sovereignty there, and immediately apply Israeli law,” he added.
“Furthermore, it must be announced that once combat resumes, all humanitarian aid will be completely halted.”
Smotrich further said that according to a plan currently in preparation “Gaza’s residents will be allowed to leave, but only in one direction — with no possibility of return.”
“The loss of territory is the only heavy price our enemies understand — the only thing that will make them realize we are serious,” Smotrich added.
Since the first phase of the truce began last month, 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.
Out of 251 people seized in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.


King Abdullah reaffirms Jordan’s stance on Palestinian cause, rejects displacement and resettlement

King Abdullah reaffirms Jordan’s stance on Palestinian cause, rejects displacement and resettlement
Updated 35 min 43 sec ago
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King Abdullah reaffirms Jordan’s stance on Palestinian cause, rejects displacement and resettlement

King Abdullah reaffirms Jordan’s stance on Palestinian cause, rejects displacement and resettlement
  • Was speaking at Royal Hashemite Court during meeting with military retirees on the occasion of Veterans Day

AMMAN: King Abdullah II on Monday reiterated Jordan’s stance on the Palestinian cause, rejecting any form of displacement, resettlement, or the establishment of an alternative homeland, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Speaking at the Royal Hashemite Court during a meeting with military retirees on the occasion of Veterans Day and accompanied by his son Crown Prince Hussein, the king reaffirmed his long-standing position.

“For 25 years, I have been saying no to displacement, no to resettlement, no to the alternative homeland,” the king said.

Despite ongoing regional challenges, the king said he remained optimistic, attributing his conviction to the support of Jordanians, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, security agencies, and retired military personnel. He also praised veterans, acknowledging their continued readiness to serve the nation.

King Abdullah reflected on his recent visit to Washington, where he emphasized Jordan’s commitment to maintaining stability and protecting national interests during a meeting with US President Donald Trump.

He stressed the importance of reconstructing Gaza without displacing its residents and called for efforts to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank.

Reaffirming Jordan’s commitment to a just and lasting peace, the king underscored that a two-state solution remained the only viable path to stability in the region.

Maj. Gen. Ismail Al-Shobaki, speaking on behalf of the military retirees, praised King Abdullah’s leadership and commitment to Jordanian interests, as well as his support for Arab allies, particularly the Palestinian people.


Israel preparing to receive bodies of four hostages on Thursday, security official says

Israel preparing to receive bodies of four hostages on Thursday, security official says
Updated 17 February 2025
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Israel preparing to receive bodies of four hostages on Thursday, security official says

Israel preparing to receive bodies of four hostages on Thursday, security official says
JERUSALEM: Israel is preparing to receive the bodies of four hostages from Gaza on Thursday and is working on bringing back six living captives on Saturday, an Israeli security official said on Monday.
If the two handovers are successful, only four hostages, all presumed dead, would remain in Gaza of the 33 due to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement reached last month to halt the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The ceasefire deal, reached with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators, has remained on track despite a series of temporary setbacks and accusations on both sides of violations to the agreement that have threatened to derail it.
Hamas has accused Israel of blocking the delivery of housing materials for the tens of thousands of Gazans forced to shelter from the winter weather among the ruins left by 15 months of Israeli bombardment.
Israel has denied the accusation but Zeev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, confirmed that a quantity of mobile homes was standing at the border.
He said Israel would use “any leverage” it had over Hamas to secure the return of the 33 hostages due to come out in the first phase of the deal, which includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
“Israel has a goal of bringing forward the release of the first phase hostages, certainly the living ones,” he told public broadcaster Kansas
So far, 19 Israeli hostages have been returned, as well as five Thais, who were handed over in an unscheduled release. Hamas has said 25 of the 33 hostages due for release in the first phase are alive.
The ceasefire deal has been overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s call for Palestinians to be moved out and for Gaza to be taken over as a waterfront development under US control.
But officials say work has begun on the second phase of the deal, which would would address the return of the remaining hostages and the Israeli withdrawal.
An Israeli team has already traveled to Cairo and the security cabinet also cleared a high-level Israeli delegation to travel to Qatar for talks on the second phase.
“We all want to proceed to phase two and release the hostages, the question is under what conditions is the war ended,” Elkin said. “This is the main issue for the negotiations of the second phase.”
The hostages were taken in the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which also killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Syria arrests 3 men suspected of links to Tadamon massacre in which hundreds were executed

Imad Mohammed Al-Mahmoud, center left, and Somer Mohammed Al-Mahmoud,(R).
Imad Mohammed Al-Mahmoud, center left, and Somer Mohammed Al-Mahmoud,(R).
Updated 17 February 2025
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Syria arrests 3 men suspected of links to Tadamon massacre in which hundreds were executed

Imad Mohammed Al-Mahmoud, center left, and Somer Mohammed Al-Mahmoud,(R).
  • Dozens of police and security trucks lined the streets of Tadamon where they carried out the arrests in the same streets that once bore witness to mass executions

TADAMON: Security forces in Syria said on Monday that they arrested three people involved in the execution of hundreds of civilians by government forces in Damascus in 2013, two years after the country’s 13-year civil war began.
Dozens of police and security trucks lined the streets of Tadamon, a Damascus suburb near the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, where they carried out the arrests in the same streets that once bore witness to mass executions.

Masked, rifle-wielding men moved through hollowed-out buildings, remnants of a war that turned the district into a front line between government forces and opposition fighters.
In 2022, a leaked video dated April 16, 2013, appeared to contain harrowing footage of the executions. The near seven-minute clip showed members of Syria’s notorious Military Intelligence Branch 227 leading a line of about 40 blindfolded prisoners, their hands tied behind their backs, into an abandoned building in Tadamon. One by one, the gunmen pushed or kicked the prisoners into a trench filled with old tires, shooting them as they fell.
One of the three men arrested was Monzer Al-Jazairi, a resident of the Zahira neighborhood and a former operative with the military security that operated before the fall of Bashar Assad in December 2024.
“We used to bring detainees arrested at checkpoints, put them under the buildings here and execute them, and then after we’re done, explode the buildings over them,” Al-Jazairi told The Associated Press. It was unclear whether Al-Jazairi, flanked by security men as he spoke, was speaking under duress or voluntarily.
“Every batch constituted around 25 (people),” he said, adding that “around one week” passed between one batch and the next. He estimated that he and his colleagues killed “around 500” people.
Damascus Security Chief Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Dabbagh corroborated the number, citing additional confessions from those arrested.
“Many of those killed used to be collected at checkpoints and security (detention) centers, brought to Tadamon neighborhood, where they were executed,” Al-Dabbagh told the AP.
The two other arrested suspects were identified as Somer Mohammed Al-Mahmoud and Imad Mohammed Al-Mahmoud.
Years after the Syrian war’s worst massacres and mass disappearances, most alleged crimes have not been investigated and remain unpunished.
Since Assad’s ouster, Syrian security forces, under the new leadership led by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, have been tracking down and arresting remnants of the former government and military across the country.
“The operation is ongoing to apprehend all those involved in violations and massacres against Syrians,” Al-Dabbagh said.


Palestinian detainee says he was tortured in Israeli detention center

Tarek Rabie Safi, a freed Palestinian prisoner, is carried as he is greeted after being released by Israel.
Tarek Rabie Safi, a freed Palestinian prisoner, is carried as he is greeted after being released by Israel.
Updated 17 February 2025
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Palestinian detainee says he was tortured in Israeli detention center

Tarek Rabie Safi, a freed Palestinian prisoner, is carried as he is greeted after being released by Israel.
  • “(There was) no (decent) food, or drinks, or (medical) treatment. My arm was broken, and they did not treat me, and they did not get me checked by a doctor”: Safi

KHAN YOUNIS: Palestinian medic and ambulance worker Tarek Rabie Safi, freed from an Israeli jail as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, said he was underfed and abused during almost a year in captivity.
Safi, a 39-year-old father of two, was released along with 368 other Palestinian detainees on Saturday, after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages from Gaza.
Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages have both complained of harsh treatment in the hands of their captors.
“I was held by the Israeli army in the Gaza ‘envelop’, which is Sde Teiman where I stayed for four months (and I was subjected to) torture of our bodies (physical torture) and hunger,” a gaunt-looking Safi said.
“(There was) no (decent) food, or drinks, or (medical) treatment. My arm was broken, and they did not treat me, and they did not get me checked by a doctor.”
The Israeli military rejected the claims in an emailed response to Reuters’ queries, saying detainees are given food and drink regularly and have access to medical care, and that if necessary, they are transferred to a medical facility with advanced capabilities.
Safi, who was detained in March last year near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said a detainee who was in the same room with him had died as a result of his treatment.
“A young man who was with me was martyred, Mussab Haniyeh, may God have mercy on him, in the same room. This young man was strong, but due to the lack of food, lack of drinks and frequent torture, he was martyred in front of our eyes,” Safi said.
After four months in the detention center, Safi was moved to other Israeli jails until his release in Khan Younis, where he was reunited with his family in emotional scenes.
The Israeli military said it is aware of incidents of detainee deaths, but cannot comment since investigations are pending.
The Palestinian Prisoner Association, which documents Israeli detentions of Palestinians, said that Israel is carrying out “systematic crimes and revenge attacks” against prisoners, most recently in the Israeli-occupied West Bank’s Ofer prison.
Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the association, said that the group had documented horrific testimonies, including severe beatings and shackling prisoners for days and weeks without food or water.
Reuters is unable to independently confirm the reports.
Human rights group Amnesty International said last year that 27 released detainees it had interviewed consistently described being subjected to torture on at least one occasion during their arrest.