Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Gunman in West Bank Clash

People inspect the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Jenin, 06 August 2023. (EPA)
People inspect the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Jenin, 06 August 2023. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Gunman in West Bank Clash

People inspect the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Jenin, 06 August 2023. (EPA)
People inspect the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces near the West Bank city of Jenin, 06 August 2023. (EPA)

Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian gunman during clashes that followed a military arrest raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Islamic Jihad armed group said. 

The Israeli military said its forces came under fire from suspects who threw explosives at soldiers in the confrontations near the flashpoint city of Jenin and that the soldiers "responded with live fire and identified a hit." 

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the death of a 17-year-old there. Islamic Jihad said he was a member of the group and gave his age as 18. 

In the Palestinian city Hebron, Israeli security forces arrested two Palestinians who they said had carried out a drive-by shooting that killed an Israeli woman on Monday while a search for another gunman who killed two Israelis in the village Huwara further north on Saturday was still going on. 

The military said it arrested a total of 32 Palestinian suspects overnight between Monday and Tuesday. 

Violence in the West Bank has worsened over the past 15 months with frequent Israeli raids, Palestinian street attacks and retribution assaults by Jewish settlers. 

Prospects of reviving US-brokered peace talks that aimed to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, remain dim almost a decade after their collapse. 

Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war and has since built dozens of settlements there that are considered illegal by most countries, a view Israel disputes, with its military in control of more than half the territory. 

The Palestinians have limited self-rule in the West Bank and remain split between a Western-backed administration and armed Hamas movement that rejects coexistence with Israel, while many in Israel's current government reject Palestinian statehood.  



Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
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Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (SANA)

Syria's new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”

The opposition Syria TV said Shibani, formerly known as Zeid al-Attar, was in charge of foreign affairs when the Al-Nusra Front transformed into the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.

Syrian media said that until 2024, he has been residing in Türkiye. Along with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, he helped form the al-Nusra Front.

Shibani assumed several pseudonyms, including Nassim, Abu Aisha, Abu Ammar al-Shami and Hussam al-Shafei.

Born in 1987, he hails from the Hasakeh countryside. He was studying translation before his family moved to Damascus where he earned a degree in English Literature from Damascus University. He earned a master's degree in political science and foreign relations in Türkiye in 2022.

Syria's de facto ruler Sharaa has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the UN's Syria envoy and senior US diplomats.

Sharaa has signaled a willingness to engage diplomatically with international envoys, saying his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development. He has said he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were glad to see groups led by the HTS topple Assad.