Israel Troops Kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank Raid

Workers are seen at the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Faraa refugee camp near the West Bank town of Tubas, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP)
Workers are seen at the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Faraa refugee camp near the West Bank town of Tubas, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Israel Troops Kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank Raid

Workers are seen at the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Faraa refugee camp near the West Bank town of Tubas, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP)
Workers are seen at the site where three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Faraa refugee camp near the West Bank town of Tubas, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP)

Israeli troops killed three Palestinians in an overnight raid in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday.

The Israeli army confirmed the deaths, saying all three were Palestinian militants, including a senior commander from the "Islamic Jihad" group.

The raid was the latest in a surge of violence in the Palestinian territory since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip on October 7.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said the three men were killed "by Israeli occupation bullets" during clashes in the Faraa refugee camp near the town of Tubas in the northern West Bank.

Video footage posted on social media showed Israeli military vehicles entering Faraa under the cover of darkness.

"Dozens of young men and armed men from the camp confronted the forces before they called for more reinforcements, including bulldozers that dug the camp's streets and struck the water and sewage networks," said Assem Mansour, head of the camp's popular committee.

Only one of the three men killed was a militant, he said, adding that the other two were civilians who died "in their homes and were killed by snipers deployed in the camp".

The army said its forces had carried out counter-terrorism operations in the region of Tubas and Faraa.

During the activity, troops "eliminated Ahmed Daraghmeh, a senior commander of Islamic Jihad terrorist organization" in the area of Tubas, the army said, adding two other militants were also killed in the operation.

Daraghmeh had carried out gun and explosives attacks against Israeli soldiers in the past, it said.

One Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the operation, the army said.

The Israeli military has conducted frequent arrest raids in the West Bank.

Since the war in Gaza began, at least 403 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Palestinian militants have also carried out numerous attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in Israel and the West Bank, killing at least 15 people, according to Israeli figures.

Israel captured the West Bank -- including east Jerusalem, which it later unilaterally annexed -- in the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.

The Palestinians claim the territory along with the war-torn Gaza Strip for their future independent state.



Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Finance Minister Says Foreign Investors Welcome after US Sanctions Move

A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)
A girl holds a Syrian flag, as people celebrate after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, in Damascus, Syria May 13 , 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh made a call to global investors on Wednesday to come do business with Syria after US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington's sanctions on the country.

"Syria today is a land of opportunities, with immense potential across every sector—from agriculture to oil, tourism, infrastructure, and transportation,” Barnieh said in an interview with Reuters at the Finance Ministry in Damascus.

"We envision a central role for the private sector in the new Syrian economy. The finance ministry's role is not to spend indiscriminately or act as a regulatory enforcer over businesses, but rather to enable and support growth."

A wall outside his office still bore the discolored outline of one of the many posters of former strongman Bashar al-Assad that used to hang in Syria's public buildings before his ousting by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) last year.

Changes in Syria have been swift since Assad fled to Russia in December of last year.

HTS commander Ahmed Sharaa was appointed president, formed a government and had quick success garnering Gulf Arab support and getting most European sanctions lifted.

The stunning turn of events was capped by a meeting between Sharaa and Trump in Riyadh on Wednesday after Trump's pledge to cease US sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad-family rule, measures widely seen as the biggest external obstacles to the country's economic recovery.

Trump has not set out a timeline for removal.

"One of the most critical outcomes of lifting sanctions would be Syria's reintegration into the global financial system," Barnieh said.

"This would allow us to restore financial flows and attract investments, which are urgently needed across all sectors,” he said, adding that Syrian authorities have already seen strong interest from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and several EU countries, among others.

He noted that the government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of public financial management, including reforms to the tax system, customs, and banking -- part of a broader effort to modernize an economy long burdened by an oversized public sector.

He also struck a cautioning tone, saying that the removal of sanctions would be just the first step in a years-long recovery for a country ruined by 14 years of war.

"The lifting of sanctions is not the final chapter," he said.

"We cannot afford to become complacent. We are entering a new phase that demands real results and visible progress on the ground."