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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

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Arab World

Wife of Iraqi Official Accused of Corruption Allegedly Burns Millions of Dollars in Clay Oven

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (AP) 
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (AP) 
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Wife of Iraqi Official Accused of Corruption Allegedly Burns Millions of Dollars in Clay Oven

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (AP) 
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. (AP) 

As the Iraqi government intensifies its anti-corruption campaign, the arrests of senior officials across several ministries have been accompanied by allegations that read almost like fiction.

Two senior officials from the Oil and Electricity Ministries have reportedly confessed to embezzling millions of US dollars and billions of Iraqi dinars, as well as participating in what authorities describe as one of the country’s largest money-laundering operations.

The officials and their alleged backers—widely known in Iraq as the “whales of corruption”—are now at the center of a widening investigation.

At the same time, social media platforms and local news outlets have been awash with stories about how illicit wealth was concealed, whether in fortified homes or on private estates.

One of the most widely circulated claims alleges that the wife and sister of former Oil Ministry official Adnan al-Jumaili burned more than $5 million and billions of Iraqi dinars in a traditional clay oven at a family farm in Salahuddin province before security forces arrived to conduct a search.

An Iraqi source told Asharq Al-Awsat that teams from the Integrity Commission, headed by Mohammed Ali al-Lami and operating under directives from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, have not officially confirmed whether large sums of money were actually destroyed or whether additional cash was found at specific homes and orchards.

According to the source, recovered funds have been deposited in the state treasury pending further investigations into whether the confessed crimes were carried out independently or on behalf of a broader network.

“The scale of these funds and the manner in which they were obtained leave no doubt that those responsible, enjoyed protection from powerful figures,” the source said. “They may have been little more than front men.”

Iraq’s judiciary has issued arrest warrants for the wife and sister of detained former Oil Ministry undersecretary Adnan Mohammed Mahmoud al-Jumaili, accusing them of burning billions of dinars and more than $5 million before security forces reached the property.

According to a statement from the Supreme Judicial Council, headed by Faiq Zaidan, investigators seized assets linked to al-Jumaili valued at roughly $10 million, in addition to real estate, gold and weapons. Al-Jumaili served as undersecretary for refining affairs at the Oil Ministry.

The statement said preliminary investigations uncovered nearly 40 properties in Baghdad, Salahuddin and Erbil, along with approximately $10 million in cash and 3 billion Iraqi dinars.

Authorities also confiscated about 1.5 kilograms of gold jewelry and large quantities of light and medium weapons. Investigations remain ongoing to identify all individuals and entities connected to the case.

From “Most Honest Employee” to Corruption Suspect

Days after al-Jumaili’s arrest, authorities detained Alaa Samir al-Jubouri, director general of the Middle Electricity Distribution Company and the recipient of Iraq’s 2023 “Most Honest Employee” award. Interior Ministry reports said he was caught in possession of tens of billions of Iraqi dinars.

Following al-Jumaili’s arrest, Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad accused him on Facebook of acting as a conduit for political-party corruption and the sale of government posts within the Oil Ministry.

Commenting on the broader anti-corruption drive, Ghaleb al-Daami, a media professor at Mustansiriyah University, said the campaign reflects an unprecedented level of coordination among the government, judiciary and Integrity Commission.

“This is the first time since 2003 that state institutions have worked together in this way,” al-Daami told Asharq Al-Awsat. “In the past, conflicts between executive and judicial authorities often undermined accountability. Today, the process appears markedly different.”

 

 

Arab World

Lebanese President Discusses Maintaining Ceasefire with US Vice President Vance

Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel, 21 June 2026. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel, 21 June 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanese President Discusses Maintaining Ceasefire with US Vice President Vance

Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel, 21 June 2026. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles maneuver on the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel, 21 June 2026. (EPA)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed efforts to maintain a ceasefire and halt Israeli ‌military escalation ‌during a ‌phone ⁠call with US ⁠Vice President JD Vance, the Lebanese presidency said ⁠on Monday.

White ‌House ‌envoy Jared ‌Kushner ‌and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin ‌Abdulrahman al-Thani also took part ⁠in ⁠the call between Aoun and Vance, the presidency said.

The talks discussed efforts needed to consolidate the ceasefire and the possibility of forming a committee dedicated to that end, it added.

Arab World

Palestinian Media Says Israel Holding Bodies of Two Teens Killed in West Bank

A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Media Says Israel Holding Bodies of Two Teens Killed in West Bank

A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of two Palestinian teenagers shot dead near a West Bank settlement, Palestinian media reported Monday, while the military said the pair were killed after throwing Molotov cocktails.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the two as Reda Sami Awad, 15, and Arafat Ismail Awad, 19.

"Israeli forces are holding their bodies," Wafa said.

According to Israel's military, soldiers opened fire late Sunday on a group of people burning tires and hurling petrol bombs towards the settlement.

Two were killed and a third was "neutralized", the military said.

It said the incident occurred during a "counter-terrorism operation" in the area.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians.

The United Nations recently warned that settler violence against Palestinians has reached record levels, with an average of six attacks daily causing casualties or damage.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,082 Palestinians since then, including both gunmen and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.

Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.