Nasrallah hints at possibly opening the Golan front, says ‘resistance fighters are ready’

Nasrallah hints at possibly opening the Golan front, says ‘resistance fighters are ready’
A Supporter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group holds up a portrait of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah with Arabic words reading : “We will stay with you,” during a rally to mark Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in a southern suburb of Beirut on Apr. 5, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 05 April 2024
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Nasrallah hints at possibly opening the Golan front, says ‘resistance fighters are ready’

Nasrallah hints at possibly opening the Golan front, says ‘resistance fighters are ready’
  • Hezbollah chief says Iran response ‘inevitable’ after consulate strike
  • He said: “The Iranians are planning and taking their time. Do not rush them to respond”

BEIRUT: The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement said on Friday that Iran would inevitably retaliate after a strike — widely blamed on Israel — destroyed its consulate in Damascus this week, killing two generals.
“Be certain that Iran’s response to the targeting of its Damascus consulate is inevitable,” Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day — an annual day of pro-Palestinian rallies held by Iran and its allies.
The mood on Friday afternoon was one of anticipation as people waited for Nasrallah to appear on a giant screen at a huge event held by Hezbollah for its supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Nasrallah’s call was “not to rush the Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.”
He said: “The Iranians are planning and taking their time. Do not rush them to respond.”
Nasrallah also said the Israelis “are alert and afraid of the Iranian response, and this is part of the battle, by draining the enemy morally and materially. But everyone must prepare, arrange their affairs, and take precautions.”
Nasrallah said that the “foolishness” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in targeting the consulate in Damascus “will open a big door to resolving this battle.”
He said the “resistance fighters on the border and the front lines are ready for any reaction.”
Nasrallah said: “We only need a call if there is any reaction. If the decision is made to fire 100 missiles at the Golan, the fighters carry out the operation within a few minutes.”
He emphasized that the “Lebanon front will not stop, as it is completely linked to the Gaza front, and when it stops in Gaza, it stops in southern Lebanon.”
The Hezbollah leader said he assumed Netanyahu was extending the war to prolong his time in office.
He said: “We see that Gaza will win, and when the war stops, this in itself is a victory for the resistance and a defeat for Israel, and the issue is only a matter of time. The whole world has come to this conclusion.”
Nasrallah added: “There indeed is suffering, and there are martyrs, but the important thing is that we continue, persevere, and follow through. The opponents must reconsider their calculations.
“Iran has not and will not negotiate on regional cases with the American side, and when it wants to negotiate, Iran will be part of a public formation.”
He said that the US was “primarily responsible for all the crimes and genocide that occurred in the region.”
According to Israeli media, as Nasrallah began his speech, sirens sounded in the settlements of Kiryat Shmona, Al-Manara, and Margaliot in the Galilee.
Hezbollah announced that it targeted “a deployment of enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Al-Manara site with artillery shells and hit it directly.”
It also attacked “the Hadab Yaron site with artillery” fire and “spy equipment in the Israeli Zarit barracks with appropriate weapons.”
Israeli Channel 12 reported “the launching of three missiles from Lebanon toward the Baram area in the Western Galilee.”
After midnight on Thursday, Hezbollah claimed to have used a guided missile to strike “a military vehicle at the gate of the Israeli Metula site,” leaving its crew dead and wounded.
Also on Friday, Israeli artillery shelling and raids on Lebanese border villages and towns caused several casualties.
An attack on the town of Aita Al-Shaab resulted in the deaths of two Hezbollah members, one of them from the town and the other from Qana.
Seven people were hurt in an Israeli raid on the town of Kafr Hamam. Lebanon’s National News Agency said the injured suffered moderate to light injuries.
Israeli warplanes also launched raids in Kafr Kila — causing damage to military vehicles at a Lebanese military site — the town of Zibqin, and the city of Tayr Harfa.
The Israeli media reported damage after “a missile or drone landed in the Manot settlement in the Western Galilee.”


Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians

Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians
Updated 01 February 2025
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Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians

Egyptians protest at Rafah border crossing against Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians
  • Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment
  • Critics warned that Trump's suggestion was exactly what Israel's Zionist extremists have been trying to do, to kick out Palestinians from their homeland

CAIRO: Thousands of people demonstrated at the Rafah border crossing on Friday, an eyewitness told Reuters, in a rare state-sanctioned protest against a proposal earlier this week by US President Donald Trump for Egypt and Jordan to accept Gazan refugees.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday rejected the idea that Egypt would facilitate the displacement of Gazans and said Egyptians would take to the streets to express their disapproval.
Protesters could be heard chanting “Long Live Egypt” and waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
“We say no to any displacement of Palestine or Gaza at the expense of Egypt, on the land of Sinai,” said Sinai resident Gazy Saeed.
Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of Israeli bombardment that rendered most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
On Thursday, Trump forcefully reiterated the idea, saying “We do a lot for them, and they are going to do it,” in apparent reference to abundant US aid, including military assistance, to both Egypt and Jordan.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza — territory they hope will become part of an independent state — has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and repeatedly rejected by neighboring Arab states since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt.


Egypt’s president El-Sisi congratulates Syria’s new president Sharaa, statement says

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (REUTERS)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (REUTERS)
Updated 01 February 2025
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Egypt’s president El-Sisi congratulates Syria’s new president Sharaa, statement says

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (REUTERS)

CAIRO: Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi congratulated Syria’s new President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who was appointed on Wednesday by armed factions, and wished him success in achieving the Syrian people’s aspirations, El-Sisi said in a statement on Friday.
Sharaa, an Islamist who was once an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, has been trying to gain support from Arab and Western leaders since he led a rebel offensive that toppled former Syrian President Bashar Assad last year.
 

 

 


UN ‘alarmed’ at reported summary executions of civilians in Sudan

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk addresses a press conference in Geneva, on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk addresses a press conference in Geneva, on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
Updated 01 February 2025
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UN ‘alarmed’ at reported summary executions of civilians in Sudan

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk addresses a press conference in Geneva, on December 6, 2023. (AFP)
  • After months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum, the army last week broke an almost two-year RSF siege of its Khartoum General Command headquarters.

GENEVA: The UN rights chief said Friday that he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of summary executions of civilians in Khartoum North, allegedly by Sudanese army fighters and allied militia.
“Deliberately taking the life of a civilian or anyone not or no longer directly taking part in hostilities is a war crime,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
The war between Sudan’s army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million, according to the United Nations, and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
After months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum, the army last week broke an almost two-year RSF siege of its Khartoum General Command headquarters.
On the same day, the army reported reclaiming its Signal Corps base in Khartoum North, and expelling the RSF from the Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.
The UN rights office said it had verified the killings of at least 18 people, including one woman, in seven separate incidents “attributed to SAF-affiliated fighters and militia since the SAF regained control of the area on 25 January.”
“Many of the victims of these incidents, which took place in the vicinity the Al Jaili oil refinery, were originally from the Darfur or Kordofan regions of Sudan,” it said.
The rights office also highlighted “further disturbing allegations emanating from Khartoum North,” which it was still corroborating.
It noted a video circulated Thursday showing men in SAF uniform and members of the Al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade in Khartoum North “reading out a long list of names of alleged RSF collaborators, saying ‘Zaili’ — Arabic for ‘killed’ — after each name.”
“These reports of summary executions, following similar incidents earlier this month in Al Jazirah State, are deeply disturbing,” Turk said, adding that “such killings must not become normalized.”
He reiterated his call for “all parties to the conflict to take urgent action to protect civilians and to uphold obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”
“Independent investigations must be held into these incidents in line with relevant international standards.”
The rights office voiced fear of further attacks “amid shocking threats of violence against civilians.”
It said it had reviewed a video showing a member of the Al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade “threatening to slaughter the residents of El Hadj Yusif in East Nile,” an area of Khartoum North.
The office also denounced continued RSF attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the shelling of a camp for displaced people in El-Fasher in North Darfur that killed nine civilians on Wednesday.
And on January 24, a drone attack on a maternity hospital in El-Fasher, attributed to the RSF, left at least 67 dead and 19 injured, it said.
“Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects are abhorrent,” Turk said.
“Such attacks constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.”
 

 


Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel’s occupation

Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel’s occupation
Updated 01 February 2025
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Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel’s occupation

Released Palestinian Zakaria Zubeidi blames West for Israel’s occupation
  • Zubeidi given hero’s welcome in Ramallah after being freed as part of Gaza ceasefire
  • Former militant commander says US, UK, France have denied Palestinians their freedom

LONDON: One of the most prominent Palestinian figures freed this week by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire has blamed Western countries for the Israeli occupation.

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former militant commander in the West Bank, received a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Ramallah late on Thursday after his release by Israel.

The 49-year-old, who grew up in a refugee camp in Jenin, was jailed in 2019 after an Israeli military court convicted him of involvement in terrorism.

In an interview with Sky News, Zubeidi said he still believed in “a resistance that will lead us to freedom,” but claimed that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank had been allowed to continue by the international community.

He added: “Freedom has no price. But the world that has denied me my freedom — particularly Britain, France, and the United States — must return what they have taken from me and my children.

“They are the ones who need to reconsider their mistakes, not me.

“They are the ones who have wronged us, and they should think about rectifying the harm they have caused to me and my children.”

Such is Zubeidi’s popularity that he was greeted by the former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

“Palestinians are desperate for peace,” Shtayyeh said. “We want a genuine peace process that does really bring peace and justice for everybody.”

A long line of people at a school in Ramallah also waited to shake Zubeidi’s hand and hug him.

Zubeidi has been banned from returning to Jenin, where Israeli forces have launched military operations after switching their focus from Gaza to the West Bank.

Zubeidi has admitted a role in a bombing attack in 2002 during the Second Intifada that killed six Israeli civilians. 

During that period he was the head of the Jenin Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of the Fatah political party.

Zubeidi’s father was arrested by Israel for being a Fatah member when Zubeidi was a child. Later, as a teenager, he was shot in the leg while throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.

Zubeidi’s mother and brother were killed in 2002 during Israeli military operations in Jenin.

His mother had hosted a theater group in Jenin to promote understanding between Palestinians and Israelis, which Zubeidi attended.

He was among six prisoners who escaped in 2021 by digging a tunnel with dining plates, before being captured five days later.


UNRWA’s work continues despite ban

UNRWA’s work continues despite ban
Updated 01 February 2025
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UNRWA’s work continues despite ban

UNRWA’s work continues despite ban
  • Britain, France, Germany on Friday reiterate their concern over Israel implementing the new law

GENEVA: The UN Palestinian relief agency said its humanitarian work across the occupied territories and Gaza was still ongoing on Friday despite an Israeli ban that took effect a day before and what it described as hostility toward its staff.

An Israeli law adopted in October bans operations by UNRWA, or UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, on Israeli land — including annexed East Jerusalem — and contact with Israeli authorities from Jan. 30.
Britain, France, and Germany on Friday reiterated their concern over Israel implementing the new law, which humanitarian agencies say will have a considerable impact on devastated Gaza as staff and supplies transit to the Palestinian enclave via Israel.
“We continue to provide services,” Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a press briefing in Geneva.
“In Gaza, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of the international humanitarian response. We continue to have international personnel in Gaza and bring in trucks of basic supplies.”
She said any disruptions to its work in Gaza would put a ceasefire deal that halted the war between Israel and Hamas at risk.
“If UNRWA is not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy,” she said.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem — whose annexation by Israel is not recognized internationally — also receive education, healthcare, and other services from UNRWA.
Touma said that its Palestinian staff in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at checkpoints without attributing blame.
“They face an exceptionally hostile environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues,” she said.
“It has been a really rough ride; it has not been easy. Our staff have not been protected.”
International staff have already left after their visas expired, she added.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA and alleges its staff were involved in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired.
The ceasefire deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Before the agreement, experts warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza.
Supplies have since risen and the World Food Programme said that more than 32,000 tonnes of food had entered Gaza since the Jan. 19 deal took effect.
At the same briefing, the World Health Organization’s Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said about 12,000-14,000 patients were waiting to be evacuated from Gaza across the Rafah crossing.
Fifty are set to be moved on Saturday amid warnings that some children could die.
He added that these would be the first medical evacuations via Rafah since it was shut in May last year.
“They (evacuations) must urgently resume, and a medical corridor must open up,” he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was committed to facilitating humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, saying assistance should go through other international agencies and NGOs.
“Humanitarian aid doesn’t equal UNRWA, and those who wish to support the humanitarian aid effort in the Gaza Strip should invest their resources in organizations that are alternative to UNRWA,” he said in a statement.
“We will abide by the law, and we will continue to facilitate humanitarian aid.”