West Bank livestock theft symbol of tensions and settler ‘impunity’

Haitham Suleiman Zaid, a resident of the bedouin community of al-Auja in the Israel-occupied West Bank who was affected by reported sheep theft by Israeli settlers the previous week, feeds younglings in his sheepfold on March 16, 2025. (AFP)
Haitham Suleiman Zaid, a resident of the bedouin community of al-Auja in the Israel-occupied West Bank who was affected by reported sheep theft by Israeli settlers the previous week, feeds younglings in his sheepfold on March 16, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 19 March 2025
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West Bank livestock theft symbol of tensions and settler ‘impunity’

West Bank livestock theft symbol of tensions and settler ‘impunity’
  • Throughout the Gaza war, violence in the West Bank — a separate Palestinian territory — has soared, as have calls to annex it, most notably from Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

JERICHO, Palestinian Territories: A community of Palestinian Bedouins has decried a major theft of their livestock in the occupied West Bank, where the UN says violence from Israeli settlers is taking place in a climate of impunity.
On March 7, dozens of Israeli settlers, some of them armed, attacked Palestinian residents in Ras Ein al Auja while under the protection of Israeli forces, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Resident Haitham Suleiman Zayed described how around 40 vehicles arrived in the pastoral area in the Jordan Valley, accompanied by “army forces and armored Israeli vehicles.” More than 1,500 livestock were stolen, he said.




An Israeli settler herds a flock near the bedouin community of al-Auja west of Jericho in the Israel-occupied West Bank on March 16, 2025, which was attacked the previous week by Israeli settlers who reportedly stole sheep. (AFP)

“We tried to confront them by throwing stones at them to make them move away from this enclosure, but we could not do that,” Zayed, 25, told AFP, adding that Israeli forces had intervened to protect the thieves, whom he referred to as settlers.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military referred to a police statement issued the day after the incident.
The statement said police had intervened after receiving a report regarding the theft of 50 sheep from Zohar’s farm — a settler outpost run by Zohar Sabah, an Israeli targeted in November by United States sanctions against settlers involved in acts of violence.




This picture shows a view of the Bedouin community of al-Auja west of Jericho in the Israel-occupied West Bank on March 16, 2025, which was attacked the previous week by Israeli settlers who reportedly stole sheep. (AFP)

The sanctions introduced by the administration of former president Joe Biden were canceled by President Donald Trump on his return to power.

“Police and (Israeli) forces began searching for the flock and arrived at a Bedouin encampment near the Palestinian village of Auja, where they located the (settler’s) stolen flock,” the Israeli police statement said.
“The Palestinian suspect was arrested and taken for interrogation, where he admitted to the act,” it added.




A boy from the bedouin community of al-Auja looks at an empty sheepfold after sheep were reportedly stolen by Israeli settlers in an attack the previous week, west of Jericho in the Israel-occupied West Bank on March 16, 2025. (AFP)

OCHA said that according to eyewitnesses, “settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian man, stole approximately 1,400 livestock, killed 12 goats, and damaged at least three houses and several solar panels.”
The Palestinian man injured during the confrontation was “restrained by Israeli police while settlers beat him,” the UN office added.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is home to nearly three million Palestinians and around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.
“The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers,” he added.
His comments came as his office released a new report on the situation in the West Bank between October 2023 and last November.
“The line between settler and state violence (has) blurred to a vanishing point, further enabling an increase in violence and impunity,” the report said.

OCHA said that Israeli settlers in February bulldozed an area of Ras Ein al Auja to build a road connecting two settlement outposts.
“From Masafer Yatta in the south to the northern Jordan Valley in the north, there is not a single square meter safe from settler attacks,” said Zayed.
“The main goal is to displace people,” he added.
Throughout the Gaza war, violence in the West Bank — a separate Palestinian territory — has soared, as have calls to annex it, most notably from Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Since early last year, the territory has seen a string of attacks by Palestinians on Israeli targets, as well as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 911 Palestinians, including many militants, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 32 Israelis over the same period, according to official figures.
 

 


Hamas ready to release all remaining hostages for end to Gaza war, Hamas’ Gaza chief says

Updated 2 sec ago
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Hamas ready to release all remaining hostages for end to Gaza war, Hamas’ Gaza chief says

Hamas ready to release all remaining hostages for end to Gaza war, Hamas’ Gaza chief says
Al-Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team for indirect talks with Israel, said the group refused an interim truce deal”
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda”

CAIRO: Hamas’ Gaza chief said the group was ready to immediately negotiate a deal to swap all hostages for an agreed number of Palestinians jailed by Israel as part of a broader deal to end the war in the enclave.
In a televised speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team for indirect talks with Israel, said the group refused an interim truce deal.
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners (hostages). We will not be part of passing this policy,” said Hayya, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the January ceasefire agreement that halted fighting in Gaza before breaking down last month, but there has been little sign of progress with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the lack of a deal.
The latest round of talks on Monday in Cairo to restore the ceasefire and free Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said.
Hayya said that Hamas accepted a proposal by the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, to release some hostages in return for Palestinians jailed by Israel and begin talks on implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement that includes ending the war and Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Gaza.
He accused Israel of offering a counterproposal with “impossible conditions.”

Jordanian mobile bakery provides bread to Palestinians amid Gaza flour shortage

Jordanian mobile bakery provides bread to Palestinians amid Gaza flour shortage
Updated 40 sec ago
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Jordanian mobile bakery provides bread to Palestinians amid Gaza flour shortage

Jordanian mobile bakery provides bread to Palestinians amid Gaza flour shortage
  • The initiative is part of Jordan’s ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza
  • It produces about 3,500 loaves per hour and over 75,000 loaves daily

LONDON: A Jordanian mobile bakery has been left as one of the few operational bakeries in the Gaza Strip as fuel and flour run low after Israel barred aid entering Palestinian enclave in mid-March.

The Jordanian bakery was dispatched to Gaza in December to supply bread to the Palestinians amid an acute flour shortage that led to most bakeries’ shutdown.

It has teamed up with the World Central Kitchen, an international organization that provides meals to Palestinians in Gaza to alleviate the humanitarian suffering caused by ongoing Israeli military operations.

The bakery produces about 3,500 loaves per hour and over 75,000 loaves daily, crucial for reducing food insecurity in the coastal enclave, the Petra news agency reported.

The initiative is part of Jordan’s ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Gaza, whether through land or airlifts, it added.

The WCK, which saw seven of its aid workers killed by an Israeli drone strike in April 2024, affirmed its commitment to supporting the people of Gaza during this critical period.


UN envoy calls for swift political compromise to end prolonged crisis in Libya

UN envoy calls for swift political compromise to end prolonged crisis in Libya
Updated 18 min 41 sec ago
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UN envoy calls for swift political compromise to end prolonged crisis in Libya

UN envoy calls for swift political compromise to end prolonged crisis in Libya
  • In her first in-person Security Council briefing, Hanna S. Tetteh says Libyan leaders broadly agree on need for elections but remain divided on the process for them
  • On humanitarian matters, she denounces the targeting of migrants and aid workers, linking a surge in xenophobic rhetoric to increased violence, arrests and deaths

NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s top envoy for Libya, Hanna S. Tetteh, warned the Security Council on Thursday that continued political gridlock and institutional fragmentation risk plunging the country further into instability, unless urgent compromise can be achieved and a unified path to elections agreed.

Addressing council members in person for the first time since her appointment in February as the secretary-general’s special representative for Libya, Tetteh noted that although the country’s leaders broadly agree on the need for elections, deep divisions remain over whether they should be preceded by the development of a constitutional framework or proceed under existing arrangements.

“Political will for compromise is crucial to develop a consensual road map resolving Libya’s political crisis and completing the transition,” she said.

“Elections must be integrated into a comprehensive political framework promoting state-building by unifying and strengthening institutions.”

Tetteh reported that the UN Support Mission in Libya has been facilitating consultations through an advisory committee tasked with addressing electoral challenges. The committee, which held sessions in Benghazi and Tripoli, is expected to submit its report by the end of this month.

“We will assess these options and use them as a foundation for forging consensus on the next steps of the Libyan-led and owned political process,” she added.

Although a fragile 2020 ceasefire agreement continued to hold for now, Tetteh warned that military tensions continue to run high, particularly in the south of the country where clashes in Qatroun have resulted in heavy casualties. She also noted that recent armed mobilizations among western factions in Tripoli have raised fears of renewed violence.

“The situation will remain fragile until there is political will to unify security and military forces under a shared vision,” Tetteh said.

She also highlighted worsening economic conditions marked by currency depreciation, inflation and disputes over oil revenues. A recent decision by Libya’s National Oil Corporation to halt oil-

for-fuel transactions was welcomed for promoting transparency, but disagreements continue, particularly following the Central Bank’s devaluation of the national currency, the dinar.

“Several stakeholders have suggested an audit of key Libyan state institutions by a top-five international firm,” Tetteh said. “This would help address lapses in financial management and promote accountability.”

On the humanitarian front, Tetteh decried the targeting of migrants and aid workers, and linked a surge in xenophobic rhetoric to increased violence, arrests and even deaths.

“The targeting of humanitarian organizations, migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees must stop,” she said.

She also expressed concern about arbitrary detentions, with legal professionals and political opponents among those targeted. She called for the immediate release of all individuals held without due process, and for the adoption of legislation to protect women from violence.

“Women in Libya face significant challenges and violence without adequate social or legal protection,” Tetteh said as she highlighted the need for swift passage of the long-delayed Protection of Women Against Violence Law.

The voter registration process recently concluded for municipal elections in 62 cities and towns, including Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha. More than 570,000 people registered, 31 percent of them women.

Tetteh hailed this as a “crucial step for grassroots democratic governance” but noted several cases of interference and called for legal procedures to be respected.

She also pressed for resolution of political standoff within the High Council of State Presidency, warning that it undermines national governance.

“Every day, ordinary Libyans face recurring crises: economic, security and political,” Tetteh said. “The aspirations and needs of the Libyan people are held captive by protracted divisions and harmful unilateral actions.”

She concluded with a stark warning to the international community: “Inaction will be more detrimental than the cost of change.”

Tetteh urged the Security Council and the wider international community to unify behind a political plan to support democratic governance and sustainable development in Libya.


US withdrawing hundreds of troops from Syria, NYT reports

US withdrawing hundreds of troops from Syria, NYT reports
Updated 23 min 47 sec ago
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US withdrawing hundreds of troops from Syria, NYT reports

US withdrawing hundreds of troops from Syria, NYT reports
  • The military is reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000

DAMASCUS: The United States has started drawing down hundreds of troops from the northeastern part of the Syrian Arab Republic, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
The military is shuttering three of its eight small operating bases, reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000, the Times reported, citing two senior US officials.


Lebanon army chief reports 5,500 operations to seize weapons south of Litani River

Lebanon army chief reports 5,500 operations to seize weapons south of Litani River
Updated 49 min 53 sec ago
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Lebanon army chief reports 5,500 operations to seize weapons south of Litani River

Lebanon army chief reports 5,500 operations to seize weapons south of Litani River
  • Cabinet identified 2,740 Israeli offences since the ceasefire agreement went into force between Hezbollah and Israel
  • Cabinet extends UNIFIL mandate, ministers briefed on arms disposal operations

BEIRUT: Gen. Rudolph Haykal, commander of Lebanon’s Armed Forces, briefed a weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday about the security situation along the border and the ongoing implementation of the UN Security Council resolution.

In the meeting at the Presidential Palace, he reported that since last November’s ceasefire agreement, army units south of the Litani River had carried out 5,500 weapons confiscation operations — 3,000 independently and 2,500 in cooperation with UNIFIL forces.

Three days ago, a Lebanese soldier was killed and three others were injured while conducting an engineering sweep in a Hezbollah tunnel in the Wadi Al-Azziyeh area of Tyre.

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and in the presence of President Joseph Aoun, used the meeting to discuss what has been implemented south of the Litani River in line with UN Resolution 1701.

It also approved the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate in this area.

The Cabinet identified 2,740 Israeli offences since the ceasefire agreement went into force between Hezbollah and Israel.

Aoun informed the Cabinet that his meeting in Doha with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, was “excellent.”

Aoun confirmed that “Qatar is set to renew its donation to support the salaries of the Lebanese army with an amount of $60 million, along with 162 military vehicles, to enable it to carry out its national duties of maintaining stability and securing borders across all Lebanese territories.”

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said on Thursday at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting that the army commander presented a summary of the situation and heightened security measures carried out by the Lebanese army.

Morcos said that the army commander spoke of significant challenges regarding the army’s capabilities, noting that “repeated Israeli aggressions hinder the army’s deployment.”

He added: “We were briefed on how the army destroys some of the confiscated ammunition, especially since there are technical standards for carrying out this process.

“The army will continue to carry out its duties fully, but it needs support, particularly in light of the security and military challenges caused by Israel.”

Marcos quoted Salam, who emphasized “the necessity to complete judicial appointments as soon as possible,” and that “the judicial independence law will be added to the next meeting's agenda.”

Salam updated ministers on his recent meeting with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Damascus, where they discussed control of the Lebanese-Syrian border, strategies to combat smuggling, the cases of missing individuals in Syrian prisons, and a request for information regarding the Beirut Port explosion.

Salam also asked Al-Sharaa about the extradition of those responsible for the mosque bombings in Tripoli and the assassination of Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.

Industry Minister Joe Issa El-Khoury said after the Cabinet session that ministers from the Lebanese Forces party proposed establishing a timeline for the handover of illegal weapons, Lebanese and non-Lebanese, within six months.

They suggested that the process could start with the Palestinian refugee camps.

In 2006, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

The resolution called for the withdrawal of weapons from south of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese army in coordination with UNIFIL.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah reignited in October 2023.

It escalated into a ground war in September 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and about 17,000 injuries, along with the Israeli occupation of five strategic hills in the south and the displacement of 90,000 people from the border area.

According to Army Command data, the total number of Lebanese army casualties during the recent war was 43 soldiers, including 18 killed at their posts and 24 killed in their homes or en route to them.

Coinciding with the Cabinet session, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that Lebanon “is still living under continuous Israeli aggression, resulting in martyrs and injuries.”

Fadlallah said his organization has accepted the full authority of the Lebanese state through its institutions, primarily the army, in areas south of the Litani, and that Hezbollah cooperated and coordinated with the army on security measures.

He maintained that “Israel violates all commitments” while “political decisions restrict the army from fulfilling its duty to protect Lebanese citizens and territory.”

The Hezbollah MP said that “stopping aggression, liberating territory and prisoners, and reconstruction must come first” before discussing defense strategies.

He said: “Only when these issues are resolved and the state fully takes on its responsibilities — when our people are no longer harmed, our land is no longer occupied, and our homes are no longer in ruins — can we address other concerns.”

He said that Hezbollah “remains open to dialogue with those who recognize Israel as an enemy and prioritize Lebanese sovereignty over external demands.”

During the Cabinet session, Israeli reconnaissance aircraft were reported in Lebanese airspace over Beirut.

Simultaneously, military drones struck a motorcyclist near the border town of Aitaroun, killing Ali Abdulnabi Hijazi.

Israeli forces also reportedly fired upon Council for South Lebanon assessment teams surveying damage in Mays Al-Jabal, although no casualties were reported.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said that operations against Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild capabilities or establish military positions under civilian cover will continue.

He said that Hezbollah exploited civilian infrastructure for military purposes and used Lebanese residents as human shields.