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France Says It Is Sending Helicopter Carrier to Eastern Mediterranean

Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
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France Says It Is Sending Helicopter Carrier to Eastern Mediterranean

Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)

A French helicopter carrier will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in the next five to six days and take up position in case a decision is taken to evacuate foreign nationals from Lebanon, a French army spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Western nations have been weighing their options on how to get nationals out of Lebanon safely if a full-scale war breaks out there, with Cyprus and possibly Turkey seen as offering sanctuary to tens of thousands of people.

Israel said intense fighting had erupted with the Hezbollah movement in south Lebanon after its paratroops and commandos launched raids there, at the start of a ground incursion that followed airstrikes against Hezbollah's leadership.

France, which has about 20,000 citizens in Lebanon, sent its Dixmude helicopter carrier from the naval port of Toulon to the region on Monday, the French army spokesperson said.  

Meanwhile, a British government-chartered flight is due to leave Beirut on Wednesday to bring United Kingdom nationals out of Lebanon.

The government said UK nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under the age of 18 are eligible, and priority will be given to the most vulnerable.

Until this announcement, the government urged Britons to leave the country on commercial flights.

On Monday night, Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the situation in Lebanon as “volatile” and warned it could “deteriorate quickly.”

The UK also sent 700 troops to a base in Cyprus to prepare for a potential evacuation of the estimated 5,000 British citizens in Lebanon.

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US Sanctions Extremist West Bank Settler Group for Violence against Palestinians

An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
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US Sanctions Extremist West Bank Settler Group for Violence against Palestinians

An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Hilltop Youth, a group of extremist settlers in the Israeli -occupied West Bank who attack Palestinians and their property.

In addition, the State Department placed diplomatic sanctions on two men—Israeli settler Eitan Yardeni, for his connection to violence targeting West Bank civilians and Avichai Suissa, the leader of Hashomer Yosh, a sanctioned group that brings young volunteers to settler farms across the territory, including small farming outposts that rights groups say are the primary drivers of settler violence across the territory.

The sanctions, which expose people to asset freezes and travel and visa bans, come as violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has exploded since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, following the deadly terrorist attacks of October 7th.

Palestinians report verbal and physical harassment, restriction of movement, and face intimidation by settlers circling their properties on motorbikes, cars or horses and spying via drones.

The Treasury Department said Hilltop Youth has carried out killings and mass arson, while rights groups and Palestinians say the group is behind “price tag” attacks – attacks on Palestinian villages in retaliation for perceived efforts to hamper settlement construction.

The group may prove difficult to effectively sanction, as it is loosely organized and decentralized. In addition, Israel’s finance minister has previously vowed to intervene on sanctioned settlers’ behalf.

In the past, sanctioned settlers have told the AP that the measures have had little impact on their finances.

Hilltop Youth has already faced sanctions from the EU and UK.

The Biden administration has been criticized for imposing relatively few sanctions on Israeli extremists. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, 27 extremists and entities have been sanctioned by the US under President Joe Biden ’s February 2024 Executive Order related to maintaining West Bank stability.

The Treasury's Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said that the US “will continue to hold accountable the individuals, groups, and organizations that facilitate these hateful and destabilizing acts.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said “the actions of these individuals have contributed to creating an environment where violence and instability thrive. Their actions, collectively and individually, undermine peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”