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Israel Army Launches Operation in West Bank’s Nablus

Israeli soldiers take position during an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, 27 August 2025. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers take position during an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, 27 August 2025. (EPA)
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Israel Army Launches Operation in West Bank’s Nablus

Israeli soldiers take position during an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, 27 August 2025. (EPA)
Israeli soldiers take position during an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, 27 August 2025. (EPA)

Dozens of Israeli soldiers stormed the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday, witnesses and Palestinian officials said, with the Red Crescent reporting at least seven people wounded in the raid.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military confirmed that its forces were conducting an operation in the northern West Bank city, without specifying its purpose.

The raid began at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT), residents said, with soldiers in armored vehicles storming several neighborhoods of Nablus's old city, which has a population of around 30,000 people.

It came a day after Israeli forces carried out a relatively rare raid on Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, targeting a currency exchange in the city center and leaving dozens of Palestinians wounded, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas told AFP that Wednesday's "assault... is merely a show of force with no justification".

One witness, who declined to give his name, reported that soldiers had expelled an elderly couple from their home.

Israeli troops "are storming and searching houses and shops inside the old city, while some houses have been turned into military posts", said Ghassan Hamdan, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief organization in Nablus.

AFP footage showed Israeli forces and military vehicles deployed on the streets, with some troops taking position on a rooftop.

Daghlas said the army had informed Palestinian authorities that the raid would last until 4:00 pm.

Local sources said clashes broke out at the eastern entrance to the old city, where young people threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

The Red Crescent said its teams treated five people wounded by rubber bullets, one person hit by live bullet shrapnel and another following "physical assault".

One more person was injured in a "fall" during the raid, the medical organization added, and at least 27 others suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, in a statement carried by official news agency Wafa, slammed "the Israeli escalation in cities and refugee camps", calling a recent uptick in raids "dangerous, condemned and unacceptable".

The old city of Nablus has been the focus of several major Israeli raids, including in 2022 and 2023 during large-scale operations targeting a local grouping of armed fighters, as well as in 2002 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

In early June 2025, an Israeli military operation there resulted in two Palestinians killed.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, violence has surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank have killed at least 972 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, since the beginning of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority figures.

In the same period, at least 36 Israelis, both civilians and security forces, have been killed in attacks or during military operations in the territory, according to Israeli figures.

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Arab World

Lebanese Foreign Minister Declines Invitation to Tehran, Proposes Meeting in Neutral Country

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
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Lebanese Foreign Minister Declines Invitation to Tehran, Proposes Meeting in Neutral Country

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji receives his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beirut in June 2025 (File – IRNA)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji has declined an invitation from his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to visit Tehran, proposing instead that the two meet in a mutually agreed-upon neutral country.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Raji said he was “unable to accept” the invitation at this time, citing unspecified “current circumstances.”

He stressed that his reply “does not mean rejecting dialogue,” rather “the proper atmosphere is not appropriate.”

He added that any renewed engagement with Iran must rest on clear principles, including respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, non-interference in its internal affairs, and adherence to international norms governing state-to-state relations.

Araghchi had recently invited Raji to Tehran for talks on bilateral relations.

Official Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the invitation was sent personally to the minister, not to the Lebanese state, and that Raji’s response “expresses his own position.”

Lebanon and Iran continue diplomatic engagement despite Beirut’s repeated warnings - conveyed directly to visiting Iranian officials - that Lebanon rejects any foreign meddling in its internal affairs.

Tensions between Raji and Tehran were visible during the August visit of Ali Larijani, secretary-general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Larijani said he lacked the time to meet Raji; the minister replied: “Even if I had the time, I would not have met him.”

Former Lebanese foreign minister Fares Boueiz said Raji’s latest stance is a clear diplomatic message that relations between Beirut and Tehran are “incomplete.”

When differences arise, Boueiz noted, first meetings are often held in a third country to establish a framework for resolving disputes.

Boueiz added that a foreign minister rarely deviates from the official position of the state. He argued that Raji’s move reflects the views of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and implicitly signal that Iran should halt its support for a particular Lebanese faction and stop its interference.

Lebanon has repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs. During his meeting with Larijani in August, Aoun reiterated that no group in Lebanon may carry weapons or rely on external backing.

While open to cooperation with Iran, Lebanon insists such engagement remains within the limits of sovereignty and mutual respect.

Boueiz recalled that Lebanese-Iranian diplomatic relations stabilized after 1990, when he restored protocol-based engagement in line with the Vienna Convention. During the civil war, Iranian delegations routinely entered Lebanon via Syria without coordinating with the Lebanese government and met directly with Hezbollah.

After Boueiz confronted Tehran’s ambassador in 1990, then-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati agreed to normalize diplomatic procedures, leading to formal exchanges and signed agreements.

Some Lebanese observers view Raji’s stance as evidence of diminishing Iranian influence in Lebanon, long bolstered by Tehran’s support for Hezbollah.

Boueiz, however, argues that Iran’s role is closely tied to its evolving relationship with Washington. US-Iran dynamics, including ongoing discussions over sanctions relief and frozen assets, inevitably ripple into Lebanon: “Whenever US-Iran negotiations worsen, tensions rise in Lebanon; when talks calm down, Lebanon feels the relief.”

Arab World

UN Condemns Houthi Referral of UN Staff to Court

Houthi gunmen display their strength during a gathering north of Sanaa (AFP).  
Houthi gunmen display their strength during a gathering north of Sanaa (AFP).  
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UN Condemns Houthi Referral of UN Staff to Court

Houthi gunmen display their strength during a gathering north of Sanaa (AFP).  
Houthi gunmen display their strength during a gathering north of Sanaa (AFP).  

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a referral by Yemen's Houthis of some of the dozens of UN staff they have detained to a special criminal court.

The condemnations came while officials in the Yemeni government stressed the need to strengthen military coordination to face the Iran-backed group, enhance the presence of state institutions and improve the operational environment for humanitarian organizations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Houthis have arbitrarily detained 59 Yemeni UN personnel, who have been held “incommunicado - some for years - without any due process, in violation of international law,” according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

He said, “United Nations personnel, including those who are nationals of Yemen, are immune from legal process in respect of all acts performed by them in their official capacity.”

The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that UN staff or UN operations in Yemen were involved in spying.

“We call on the de facto authorities to rescind the referral and work in good faith toward the immediate release of all detained personnel,” Dujarric said.

“The United Nations remains committed to supporting the people of Yemen and delivering principled humanitarian assistance.”

Meanwhile, the Yemeni Social Affairs Ministry welcomed the decision of UN children’s agency UNICEF to relocate its main headquarters from Sanaa to the temporary Yemeni capital, Aden.

In a statement, the ministry said the move comes in response to its repeated calls for the relocating of UN headquarters from the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa, to maintain the safety of their staff.

“The Yemeni government, represented by Social Affairs Minister, Mohammed Al-Zaouri, will provide all forms of support and facilities to enable UNICEF perform its tasks more effectively from its new headquarters.”

Strengthen Military Efforts

In Aden, member of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Abdul-Rahman al-Mahrami held a meeting Tuesday with Defense Minister Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri to discuss “the latest military conditions on various fronts, the level of combat readiness, the discipline of military units, as well as the ministry's efforts in the fields of training, rehabilitation and raising defense capabilities,” according to state-run news agency, SABA.

While Al-Daeri said Yemen’s armed forces “act in complete harmony in the face of Houthis,” al-Mahrami stressed the “need to strengthen coordination between military axes, and mobilize forces to face a common enemy (Houthis) and protect liberated areas.”

Meanwhile in Mareb, member of the Presidential Leadership Council Lieutenant General Sultan Al-Arada chaired a meeting with senior security officials, and stressed that a robust national security apparatus is crucial for the country's recovery.

“The recovery of state institutions from the Iran-backed Houthi militias is today an irreplaceable national priority,” he said.

The General also underscored the Presidential Leadership Council's commitment to supporting the armed forces and security agencies, enhancing their capabilities, and raising a culture of accountability and transparency.

 

 

 

Arab World

Trump Says He Plans to Name Gaza Board of Peace Early Next Year

US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
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Trump Says He Plans to Name Gaza Board of Peace Early Next Year

US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement about which world leaders will serve on the Gaza Board of Peace should be made early next year.

Trump told reporters during an economic event in the White House Roosevelt Room that a variety of leaders want to be on the board, which was established under a Gaza plan that set up a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas group, reported Reuters.