Israel violates rules of engagement in southern Lebanon

A Lebanese soldier stands next to a damaged car in the southern town of Bazouriyeh, Lebanon, Jan. 20, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 23 January 2024
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Israel violates rules of engagement in southern Lebanon

  • A security source stated that “although Israel violated the rules of engagement, it is still excluding civilians in general

BEIRUT: Israel has been found to have again violated the rules of engagement. Israeli warplanes launched air strikes on an open forest area located between Roumine, Houmin Al-Fawqa, and Sarba, in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah region on Tuesday afternoon.

A resident in the targeted area told Arab News that the intensity of artillery fire was unspeakable: “The buildings and the floor shook. Everyone was terrified.”

A security source stated that “although Israel violated the rules of engagement, it is still excluding civilians in general.

The Israeli army claims that the houses it is bombing are of Hezbollah cadres or have armed militants. Nonetheless, the destruction is huge, and the economy is paralyzed all along the border region.”

Israeli aircraft launched two missiles on the targeted area. A massive explosion rocked Nabatieh and Iqlim Al-Tuffah and clouds of smoke coated the area.

Hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army were witnessed across all southern border fronts. Israel launched artillery shells targeting Hamams Hill, the outskirts of Chihine, Marwahin, Tayr Harfa, Ramyah, Jabal Blat, and the southern outskirts of Mays El Jabal.

An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a shipping container located on an agricultural land in Al-Wazzani.

Israeli warplanes raided Jumayjimah — a village located between Tyre and Bint Jbeil — for the first time since the beginning of the attacks.

UNIFIL, the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, remained in position while the administrative staff were still working from home.

Alarm sirens sounded multiple times at the UNIFIL centers during the Israeli bombardment of the area, indicating that the Israeli army expanded the geographical scope of its assaults beyond the southern Litani River, targeting southern villages that had not experienced attacks since the beginning of the conflict.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced that it had “attacked the Meron Air Control Base in Jabal Al-Jarmaq for the second time in response to the recent assassinations in Lebanon and Syria and the repeated attacks on civilians and homes in our steadfast villages with a large number of suitable missiles, achieving direct hits.”

The Israeli army spokesman confirmed the attack, saying that “damage was caused to the infrastructure of Meron Air Control Base after being hit by missiles launched from Lebanon.”

Hezbollah also announced that it had targeted “a gathering of enemy soldiers on Cobra Hill with missile weapons, achieving direct hits.”

Israeli media reported that sirens sounded in several areas in the Upper Galilee. The launch of missiles caused a power outage in many settlements in the region.

Israeli aircraft raided Blida on Monday night targeting three houses. The massive destruction in the town was revealed on Tuesday morning.

After Israel threatened to launch a war against Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health resumed emergency preparedness activities in government hospitals in the south and in Beirut, simulating crisis situations in the event of any possible attack against Lebanon.

Rafic Hariri University Hospital, located on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburb, hosted a training maneuver for the hospital staff. Competent authorities participated in the training, including the Lebanese Red Cross, the Emergency and Medical Services, the army command, the Internal Security Forces, and the municipality of Ghobeiry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.


Israeli military finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza, including Shani Louk, killed at music festival

Updated 56 min 22 sec ago
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Israeli military finds bodies of 3 hostages in Gaza, including Shani Louk, killed at music festival

  • A photo of the 22-year-old Shani’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world
  • The military identified the other two bodies found as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter

JERUSALEM: Israeli military says its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk.
A photo of the 22-year-old Shani’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern Israel.
The military identified the other two bodies found as those of a 28-year-old woman, Amit Buskila, and a56-year-old man, Itzhak Gelerenter. Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said all three were killed by Hamas at the Nova music festival, an outdoor dance party near the Gaza border, and their bodies taken into the Palestinian territory.
The military did not give immediate details on where their bodies were found.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducted around 250 others in the Oct. 7 attack. Around half of those have since been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire in November.
Israel says around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more. Israel’s campaign in Gaza since the attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.


Iran arrests 3 Europeans at ‘Satanist’ gathering along with 260 others, Tasnim says

Updated 17 May 2024
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Iran arrests 3 Europeans at ‘Satanist’ gathering along with 260 others, Tasnim says

  • Those detained comprised 146 men and 115 women and that alcohol and psychedelic drugs were seized.

DUBAI: Iranian security forces have arrested more than 260 people, including three European nationals, at a “Satanist” gathering west of the capital Tehran, the semi-official new agency Tasnim reported on Friday.
“Satanist network broken up in Tehran, arrests of three European nationals,” Tasnim wrote, adding that those detained comprised 146 men and 115 women and that alcohol — banned under Iran’s Islamic laws — and psychedelic drugs were seized.
The report did not give the nationality of the Europeans.


Spain PM will Wednesday announce date to recognize Palestinian state

Updated 17 May 2024
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Spain PM will Wednesday announce date to recognize Palestinian state

  • Sanchez said in March that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta had agreed to take the first steps toward recognition of a Palestinian state

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Friday he will on Wednesday announce the date on which Madrid will recognize a Palestinian state along with other nations.
“We are in the process of coordinating with other countries,” he said during an interview with private Spanish television station La Sexta when asked if this step would be taken on Tuesday as announced by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Sanchez said in March that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta had agreed to take the first steps toward recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.
Borrell told Spanish public radio last week that Spain, Ireland and Slovenia planned to symbolically recognize a Palestinian state on May 21, saying he had been given this date by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said Tuesday that Dublin was certain to recognize Palestinian statehood by the end of the month but the “specific date is still fluid.”
So far, 137 of the 193 UN member states have recognized a Palestinian state, according to figures provided by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
Despite the growing number of EU countries in favor of such a move, neither France nor Germany support the idea. Western powers have long argued such recognition should only happen as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.


Israel army says civilians torched Gaza-bound aid truck in West Bank

Updated 17 May 2024
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Israel army says civilians torched Gaza-bound aid truck in West Bank

  • Driver as well as Israel soldiers were injured in the attack

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Friday that “dozens of Israeli civilians” set fire the previous evening to an aid truck in the occupied West Bank headed for war-torn Gaza.
Local media reported that Israeli settlers were behind the attack, which the army said injured the driver as well as Israeli soldiers.
The incident took place near Kokhav Hashahar, an Israeli settlement in the central West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
According to the army, Israeli soldiers intervened to “separate the Israeli civilians from the attacked Israeli driver” and provided medical assistance.
The group then “responded with violence,” and three Israeli soldiers were “lightly injured,” the army said, condemning “all forms of violence against its soldiers and security forces.”
On Monday, dozens of people blocked and vandalized a convoy of aid trucks driving to the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media identified them as part of a far-right group opposed to allowing aid into Gaza.
The trucks were attacked in Israel, shortly after passing through the Tarqumiya checkpoint from the West Bank.
Images posted on social media show Israeli soldiers watching on as the attackers destroy the aid.
The latest incident comes just hours after the army said on Thursday that the Tarqumia and Beitunia checkpoints “now also function as inspection points for aid” destined for Gaza.
Jordanian authorities said “Israeli extremists” in the West Bank attacked two aid convoys sent on May 1 from Jordan and another convoy of 35 trucks sent on May 7.
Israel has been fighting their bloodiest war ever in Gaza since the Palestinian militants attacked Israel on October 7.
Despite the United Nations warning of looming famine, Israeli authorities have tightly controlled much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza over the course of more than seven months of war.
Very little aid has made it through Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, and Rafah crossing has been completely shut since Israeli troops took control of the area last week.
Israel has vowed to defeat remaining Hamas forces in the southern city of Rafah, which it says is the last bastion of the group whose October 7 attack triggered the war.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
More than 35,303 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out, according to data provided by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.


Saudi Arabia, UAE ‘the locomotives of the region’ says French trade commissioner

Updated 59 min 1 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia, UAE ‘the locomotives of the region’ says French trade commissioner

  • Vision Golfe returns for a second edition June 4-5 at the French Ministry of Economy in Paris
  • The benchmark event between France and the Gulf countries aims to promote trade and economic relations

DUBAI: After the success of its first edition, Vision Golfe returns for a second edition June 4-5 at the Ministry of Economy, Finance, Industry and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty in Paris.

The benchmark event between France and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries aims to promote trade and economic relations, building on a long-standing relationship between France and the GCC states, particularly between France and Saudi Arabia.

“Between France and the GCC countries … we have a long story of friendship. We build bridges together based on mutual comprehension, respect, mutual interest, ambition, and our political bilateral relation is absolutely at the top,” said Axel Baroux, trade and invest commissioner of Business France Middle East, in an interview with Arab News in French.

“We have a great and solid commercial and investment relationship, but I think that we can do even more,” he added.

Vision Golfe is a platform to promote business cooperation in markets with high growth potential, and an opportunity to meet key economic players: ministers, start-ups, and senior executives, among others.

“Vision Golfe is a tool, the starting point for negotiations and discussions. Discussions continue throughout the year … our trade and investment grew last year by almost 8 percent,” declared Baroux.

“If I take the figures of the GCC investment in France, we are reaching €14 billion ($15.178 billion) which is exactly €13.7 billion,” he added, while pointing out that the figure is underestimated for not considering indirect investments.

Despite the challenges facing the global economy, Gulf countries continue to offer an environment conducive to investment and talent attraction, leveraging national policies focused on economic diversification, sustainable development, and energy transition.This creates a favourable atmosphere for the establishment of companies in various sectors such as energy and new technologies, as well as sectors such as healthcare, education, retail, and tourism.

As the two largest markets in a region marked by considerable growth in trade, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are today “the locomotives of the region,” Baroux says.

This explains the rise in French companies setting up operations and participating in major projects and trade in the Gulf.

Baroux highlighted his participation in a delegation of French companies in Saudi Arabia, with over 120 companies taking part in the event organized by Business France and the MEDEF, in the presence of the director general of Business France, Laurent Saint Martin, French foreign trade advisors, and Bruno Bonnell, the secretary-general for Investment FRANCE 2030.

“We were admirably received. Agreements were signed with STC and Business France. We also visited the PIF, and had discussions with MISA,” he added.

The UAE also offers opportunities for French companies across sectors, with “more than 600 French companies on ground … Translating into direct employment, projects and a solid economic relationship,” according to Baroux.

“We have very strong, very solid bilateral economic relations between France and the GCC and it is a reason why we expect Vision Golfe to be the annual rendez-vous, the annual meeting, where all the companies from the GCC and from France can meet together in Paris,” he added.        

HIGHLIGHTS

Vision Golfe is a platform for exchanges, networking, and the signing of agreements.

It aims to present success stories of major partnerships that contribute to the strategies of Gulf countries.

The program includes an opening speach by Business France CEO Laurent Saint Martin, in the presence of ministers from France and the GCC, and a panel addressing “The Gulf at the crossroads of Asia and Europe” to kick off two days of panels and meetings.

Thematic and sector-specific discussions and round tables are on the agenda, with topics including but not limited to:

 

• Converging national strategies

• Building sustainable partnerships

• How to invest and set up a business in the Gulf

• Energy for the future: sustainable energy and resource management after COP28

• Cooperation and investment opportunities in various sectors

• France as Europe’s most attractive destination for foreign direct investment

Economic diversification, innovation, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and transport development are among the themes addressed during the second edition.

The French touch and know-how will also be in the spotlight, in the presence of a number of guests and speakers, such as Jean Yves LeDrian, chair of the French Agency for the Development of AlUla, the CEO of NIDLP Suliman Almazroua, the secretary-general of the UAE International Investors Council, Jamal Saif Al-Jarwan, with the participation of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Mohamed Bin Zayed University, and Kuwaiti and Qatari groups to state a few.

“Vision Golfe 2023 was a real success, and of course, I expect more for Vision Golfe 2024. More B2B meetings, more partnerships, even more interaction between French companies and GCC companies. We will have this year at Vision Golfe 2024 some key agreements that will be signed, during the session,” said Baroux.