Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain on Mt Hermon 'Until Another Arrangement is Found'

17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
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Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain on Mt Hermon 'Until Another Arrangement is Found'

17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa
17 December 2024, Israel, Mount Hermon: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) visits an observation point on the summit of Mount Hermon. Photo: Ma'yan Toaf/GPO/dpa

Israel will remain on the strategic Mount Hermon site on the Syrian border until another arrangement is found, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Israeli troops occupied Mount Hermon when they moved into a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government this month.

Officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel's borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn and Defense Minister Israel Katz last week ordered troops to prepare to remain on Mount Hermon over the winter.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu went to the site for an operational briefing with military commanders and security officials.

"We are holding this assessment in order to decide on the deployment of the IDF in this important place until another arrangement is found that ensures Israel's security," he said in a statement issued by his office late on Tuesday, referring to the Israeli army.

Israel's move into the buffer zone created following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war has been criticized as a violation of international agreements by a number of countries and the United Nations, which have called for the troops to be withdrawn.



Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisia Detains Prominent Lawyer Souab

Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Members of the honor guard stand at attention during a flag-raising in place of Kasba in Tunis, Tunisia, June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisian police on Monday detained Ahmed Souab, a prominent lawyer and fierce critic of the country's president, lawyers told Reuters, raising human rights groups' concerns that a crackdown on dissent will go ahead.

Souab is among the lawyers acting for opposition leaders who received lengthy prison sentences on Saturday on conspiracy charges.

Souab strongly criticized the judge and the trial on Friday, calling it a farce and saying the judiciary had been completely destroyed.

"It seems he was detained because of his critical comments on the trial on Friday," said Samir Dilou, one of Souab's lawyers. Two others lawyers confirmed the detention.

Political parties rejected the rulings, saying they were retaliatory after a trial aimed at cementing President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.

Rights groups say Saied has had full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in 2022.

"The mass conviction of dissidents...is a disturbing indication of the authorities' willingness to go ahead with its crackdown on peaceful dissent," the human rights group Amnesty International said.

Those convicted included prominent leaders of the Islamist Ennahda party, the main opposition party to Saied.

Ennahda Vice President, Noureddine Bhiri received a 43-year prison sentence, while the court sentenced two senior party officials, Said Ferjani and Sahbi Atig, to ​​13 years each.

The largest sentence was 66 years for businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khyam Turki received a 48-year sentence.