As war rages in Gaza, Israel’s crackdown on West Bank insurgency is killing Palestinian youths

As war rages in Gaza, Israel’s crackdown on West Bank insurgency is killing Palestinian youths
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The body of Odei, a 22-year-old Palestinian militant, is carried into a morgue at the hospital in Jenin, West Bank, on June 6, 2024. (AP)
As war rages in Gaza, Israel’s crackdown on West Bank insurgency is killing Palestinian youths
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Young Palestinians are seen approaching a militant outside a mosque in Jenin, West Bank, on June 6, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 13 September 2024
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As war rages in Gaza, Israel’s crackdown on West Bank insurgency is killing Palestinian youths

As war rages in Gaza, Israel’s crackdown on West Bank insurgency is killing Palestinian youths
  • More than 150 teens and children 17 or younger have been killed in the embattled territory since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel
  • Most died in nearly daily raids by the Israeli army that Amnesty International says have used disproportionate and unlawful force

JENIN, West Bank: As the world’s attention focuses on the deadly war in Gaza, less than 80 miles away scores of Palestinian teens have been killed, shot and arrested in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has waged a monthslong crackdown.
More than 150 teens and children 17 or younger have been killed in the embattled territory since Hamas’ brutal attack on communities in southern Israel set off the war last October. Most died in nearly daily raids by the Israeli army that Amnesty International says have used disproportionate and unlawful force.
Amjad Hamadneh lost son Mahmoud when the 15-year-old’s school dismissed students at the start of a May raid.




Amjad Hamadneh tapes a photograph to the grave of his son, Mahmoud, who was killed by an Israeli sniper on his way home from school in Jenin, West Bank, on June 5, 2024. (AP)

“He didn’t do anything. He didn’t make a single mistake,” says Amjad Hamadneh, whose son, a buzz-cut devotee of computer games, was one of two teens killed that morning by a sniper.
“If he’d been a freedom fighter or was carrying a weapon, I would not be so emotional,” says his father, an unemployed construction worker. “But he was taken just as easily as water going down your throat. He only had his books and a pencil case.”
It is clear from statements by the Israeli military, insurgents and families in the West Bank that a number of the Palestinian teens killed in recent months were members of militant groups.
Many others were killed during protests or when they or someone nearby threw rocks or homemade explosives at military vehicles. Still others appear to have been random targets. Taken together, the killings raise troubling questions about the devaluation of young lives in pursuit of security and autonomy.

The Israeli army said in a statement to The Associated Press that it has stepped up raids since Oct. 7 to apprehend militants suspected of carrying out attacks in the West Bank and that “the absolute majority of those killed during this period were armed or involved in terrorist activities at the time of the incident.”
On the June afternoon that 17-year-old Issa Jallad was killed, video from a neighbor’s security camera shows, he was on a friend’s motorbike with an Israeli armored vehicle in close pursuit. Days later, a poster outside his family’s home in Jenin showed him cradling an assault rifle and declared him a holy warrior.
But the grainy tape, reviewed by AP days after the raid, and others from nearby cameras do not explain where he fit in the conflict. The Israeli army said that its soldiers had spotted two militants handling a powerful explosive device. When the pair tried to flee, troops opened fire and “neutralized them.”
But an Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, says its review of multiple security camera videos showed Jallad and his friend posed no threat.
“We all expected to be in this situation,” said the teen’s brother, Mousa Jallad. “It could happen to any of us.”
Jenin’s refugee camp has long been notorious as a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, raided repeatedly by Israeli forces who have occupied the West Bank since seizing control in their 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.
The embattled territory was already seeing deadly clashes before the war began. But Israeli forces, which police about 3 million Palestinians while assigned to protect 500,000 Jewish settlers, has significantly stepped up raids in the months since.
Youths represent almost a quarter of the nearly 700 Palestinians slain in the West Bank since the war began, the most since the violent uprising known as the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. More than 20 Israeli civilians and soldiers have been killed in the territory since October.
A military spokesman said the Israeli army makes great efforts to avoid harming civilians during raids and “does not target civilians, period.” He said human rights groups focus on a few outlier cases.
Military operations in the West Bank are fraught because forces are pursuing militants, many in their teens, who often hide among the civilian population, said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.
“In many cases many of them are 15, 16 years old who are not wearing uniforms and might surprise you with a gun, with a knife,” he said.
Critics say the crackdown is shaped by retribution, not only military strategy.
When sirens erupted at the start of the May raid, Amjad Hamadneh says, he called Mahmoud on his cellphone and was relieved to hear that the brothers had reached their school. But then Mahmoud’s twin brother, Ahmed, called back to say that the principal had dismissed classes. As students poured into the street, the brothers were separated in the chaos.




Young Palestinian refugees walk past a damaged vehicle in the West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem on Sept. 12, 2024. (AP)

Four bullets hit Mahmoud as he fled, and another pierced his skull. He was the third student from his school killed in a raid since the war began.
A former classmate, Osama Hajjir, who had dropped out of school to work, was also killed, along with a teacher from a nearby school and a doctor from the hospital down the street.
“Now when I hear the sound of sirens I go to my room and stay there,” says Karam Miazneh, another classmate, who was shot during the raid but survived. “I’m still in fear that they will come to shoot me and kill me.”
Immediately after the May raid, a spokesman for the army said it had carried out the operation with Israeli border police and the country’s internal security agency, destroying an explosive device laboratory and other structures used by militants. But police recently declined to comment, and three weeks after the AP asked the military to answer questions about the May raid, an army spokesman said he was unable to comment until he could confer with police.
When Amjad Hamadneh heard his son had been wounded, he sped through Jenin’s twisting streets, drawing gunfire as he neared the hospital. But Mahmoud was already gone.
Nearby, Osama’s father, Muhamad, broke down as he leaned over his son’s body. Months earlier he’d snapped a photo of the smiling teen beside graffiti touting Jenin as “the factory of men,” tirelessly cranking out fighters in the resistance against Israel. Now, he pressed that same, still-smooth face between his hands.
“Oh, my son. Oh, my son,” he sobbed. “My beautiful son.”
Since Mahmoud Hamadneh was killed, his siblings ask frequently to visit his grave. His younger sister now sleeps in his bed so her surviving brother, Ahmed, will not be in the room alone.
“I feel like I cannot breathe. We used to do everything together,” Ahmed says. His father listens closely, despairing later that such grief could drive the teen into militancy. If the risk is so clear to a Palestinian father, he says, why don’t Israeli soldiers see it?
“They think that if they kill us that people will be afraid and not do anything,” he says. “But when the Israelis kill someone, 10 fighters will be created in his place.”
 


Oman launches its first satellite into space

Oman launches its first satellite into space
Updated 26 sec ago
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Oman launches its first satellite into space

Oman launches its first satellite into space
  • The OL-1 satellite, equipped with artificial intelligence technologies, was launched into space by the Chinese rocket manufacturer CAS Space

LONDON: Omani space startup Oman Lens launched the country’s first full-fledged satellite, which will enable Muscat to collect data and detailed images for urban planning, forestry monitoring, and disaster management.

The OL-1 satellite, equipped with artificial intelligence technologies, was launched into space by the Chinese rocket manufacturer CAS Space from the Gobi Desert on Monday and was registered under Oman’s name at the International Telecommunication Organization.

OL-1 is the country’s first advanced and locally developed optical satellite for artificial intelligence computing, specializing in remote sensing and earth observation capabilities, the Oman News Agency reported.

It is fully prepared to monitor Oman from space, capture high-resolution images in real time, collect detailed images of Oman’s landscapes, infrastructure and natural resources, and transmit data faster than traditional satellites.

The launch of the OL-1 satellite was the outcome of a strategic partnership between Star Vision, a Chinese aerospace company, and the Omani government-owned Mars Development and Investment Co., to serve public and private sectors in the country as part of Oman Vision 2040, which aims to diversify the economy.

Oman Lens is planning to launch a constellation of satellites over the next five years, develop new technologies for smart cities, and enhance data analysis in cooperation with its partners, ONA reported.

In November 2020, Oman pledged to launch its first satellite into space in 2024, saying that the private sector was to take the initiative to achieve this goal.


New Israel FM says Palestinian state not ‘realistic’

Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
Updated 11 November 2024
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New Israel FM says Palestinian state not ‘realistic’

Israel’s new Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a hand over ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
  • “I don’t think this position is realistic today and we must be realistic,” the newly appointed minister said
  • A Palestinian state would be “a Hamas state,” Saar added

JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Monday rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state as a “realistic” goal, after Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas reiterated his commitment to a “sovereign” country.
“I don’t think this position is realistic today and we must be realistic,” the newly appointed minister said in response to a question about the creation of a Palestinian state in exchange for a normalization of ties between Israel and Arab countries.
The normalization drive was a part of the 2020 Abraham Accords overseen by Donald Trump, and the process could resume after the president-elect returns to the White House in January.
A Palestinian state would be “a Hamas state,” Saar added of the Palestinian militant group in Gaza with which Israel has been at war for more than a year.
Abbas, in comments carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, said Sunday that “security and stability” could only be achieved with the establishment of “sovereignty and independence on the land of the Palestinian state.”
The Palestinian Authority leader was speaking ahead of the 20th anniversary Monday of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Abbas also reaffirmed his push for “peace, and we will continue to work to achieve it.”
As Saar spoke in Jerusalem, Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia for a summit addressing the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is also fighting Hamas ally Hezbollah.
A draft resolution at the summit stressed “firm support” for “national rights” for the Palestinian people, “foremost among which is their right to freedom and to an independent, sovereign state.”
The war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 43,603 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, began firing on Israel after the October 7 attack.
The regular cross-border exchanges escalated in late September when Israel intensified its air strikes and later sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.


Hezbollah says Israeli army ‘unable’ to occupy any Lebanese villages

Hezbollah says Israeli army ‘unable’ to occupy any Lebanese villages
Updated 11 November 2024
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Hezbollah says Israeli army ‘unable’ to occupy any Lebanese villages

Hezbollah says Israeli army ‘unable’ to occupy any Lebanese villages
  • Israeli troops on Sept. 30 began what military called “localized and targeted raids” against Hezbollah
  • Israel said aim is to make northern border safe for return of tens of thousands of Israelis displaced

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said on Monday that the Israeli military has been incapable of occupying even a single village in Lebanon since launching cross-border ground operations six weeks ago.
Israeli troops on September 30 began what the military called “localized and targeted raids” against Hezbollah in Lebanon’s southern border area, a week after escalating air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
“After 45 days of bloody fighting, the enemy is still unable to occupy a single Lebanese village,” Hezbollah spokesman Mohammad Afif told a news conference in south Beirut, a stronghold of the movement and a repeated target of Israeli air raids.
Hezbollah, armed and financed by Iran, had on October 23 issued a similar statement that said Israel’s army “has not been able to fully establish its control or completely occupy any village” in southern Lebanon.
Israel has said its aim is to make its northern border safe for the return of tens of thousands of Israelis displaced when Hezbollah began cross-border fire, which it described as support for Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza, more than a year ago.
On November 3, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told troops at the Lebanon border that the operation aimed to push Hezbollah back over the Litani River.
He said a second goal was to stop any attempt to rearm and the third was “to respond firmly to any action taken against us,” according to his office.
On Monday Hezbollah spokesman Afif said the group’s fighters had repulsed Israeli troops in Khiam, about six kilometers (four miles) from the border.
He added that the Israelis also failed in attempts “to penetrate on several fronts at Bint Jbeil,” about 17 kilometers southwest of Khiam.
Footage verified by AFP last week showed massive detonations in the village of Mais Al-Jabal, between Bint Jbeil and Khiam. Similar aerial scenes have been captured from several border villages since Israel sent in ground troops.
Hezbollah accuses Israel of seeking to create a “no man’s land” on the frontier.
Afif denied that Israeli strikes on Lebanon had diminished the group’s missile stock.
He asked how that could be the case “when we targeted the suburbs of Tel Aviv several days ago” and employed for the first time Fateh missiles.
The group announced on November 6 that it had begun to use Fateh-110 Iranian-made surface-to-surface guided missiles.
In a March report, the Center for Strategic and International Studies described Hezbollah as “probably the most heavily armed non-state group in the world,” with an estimated 120,000-200,000 rockets and missiles.
Asked about ceasefire prospects, Afif said that since the election of Donald Trump last week to the United States presidency, there were “contacts between Washington, Moscow, Tehran and other capitals.”
But he said, “according to my information nothing official has reached Hezbollah or the Lebanese state.”
Israeli strikes killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders but Afif said the group remains “ready for a long war.”


‘Only $1 mn’: Iraqi PM adviser suspected of bribe-taking

‘Only $1 mn’: Iraqi PM adviser suspected of bribe-taking
Updated 11 November 2024
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‘Only $1 mn’: Iraqi PM adviser suspected of bribe-taking

‘Only $1 mn’: Iraqi PM adviser suspected of bribe-taking
  • Corruption is endemic in the state institutions of oil-rich Iraq

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s anti-corruption agency on Monday announced an investigation into a prime ministerial aide over an alleged audio recording in which he referred to a bribe as being too small.
Corruption is endemic in the state institutions of oil-rich Iraq, but the top echelons of power often evade accountability.
The aide, Abdel Karim Al-Faisal, denied the accusation and has denounced on Facebook the “fabricated” audio clip.
In the recording obtained by Iraqi media, a man alleged to be Faisal criticized his interlocutor, during a phone call, for the bribe being “only $1 million.”
The Commission of Integrity anti-graft body said in a statement it was acting under a directive from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in opening “an investigation into an audio recording attributed to the head of the Commission of Advisers to the Prime Minister’s Office.”
It added that it was acting “in coordination with a criminal court judge handling anti-corruption cases.”
AFP was not able to authenticate the recording.
In the past few weeks several leaks of alleged recordings have shaken Iraq.
Last month, the chief of the tax bureau, Ali Alawi, was suspended for 60 days after an investigation opened following such a leak. An audio recording attributed to him led to accusations that he had granted tax reductions.
He was also placed in detention, a source with the Commission of Integrity told AFP, under cover of anonymity.
The former head of the integrity commission himself was fired, only to be given an advisory post at the justice ministry.
This came after judicial authorities in September had announced a probe into the integrity commission chief over alleged audio recordings attributed to him and related to suspected bribery.
It is not unknown in Iraq for public officials to try to settle scores by trading accusations.
One of the country’s biggest-ever corruption cases involved the theft of $2.5 billion in public funds from 2021 to 2022.
At the end of August, the judiciary issued arrest warrants for a businessman alleged to be the main suspect in that case, and for a former government official.


Israel’s strategic affairs minister to meet Blinken as Gaza deadline nears

Israel’s strategic affairs minister to meet Blinken as Gaza deadline nears
Updated 11 November 2024
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Israel’s strategic affairs minister to meet Blinken as Gaza deadline nears

Israel’s strategic affairs minister to meet Blinken as Gaza deadline nears
  • The meeting will come amid hopes of a truce in Israel’s war in Gaza suffering a setback with Qatar suspending its mediation role in the negotiations

WASHINGTON: Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday in Washington, the State Department said, as a deadline set by Washington to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza nears.
The meeting will take place at 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT), according to the department’s public schedule, which did not offer further details.
Hopes for a truce in Israel’s war in Gaza suffered a setback, with Qatar suspending its role as a mediator in negotiations. Israel separately said on Monday there was progress in talks about a ceasefire in its war in Lebanon.
The US government said in an Oct. 13 letter that Israel had 30 days to take specific steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault in the last 13 months has displaced nearly the entire population, caused a hunger crisis and led to allegations of genocide at the World Court, which Israel denies.
Since that letter, Blinken has urged Israel to substantially increase humanitarian aid. Earlier this month, he spoke to Dermer and discussed a diplomatic solution in Lebanon as well as ending the war in Gaza, according to the State Department.
Some analysts say Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration may no longer have enough leverage after Republican Donald Trump won the US presidential election. He is set to take office on Jan. 20.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed over 43,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israel’s separate military operations in Lebanon have killed over 3,000 and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Lebanese Hezbollah militants.