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Palestinian Forces Prevent Israeli Patrol From Entering Al-Khalil

Palestinian Forces Prevent Israeli Patrol From Entering Al-Khalil
    Ramallah, Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat
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Palestinian Forces Prevent Israeli Patrol From Entering Al-Khalil

Palestinian Forces Prevent Israeli Patrol From Entering Al-Khalil

Palestinian and Israeli forces clashed on Friday in the first dispute between the two sides since the cessation of security coordination between them, sources said.

On Thursday, an Israeli patrol tried to enter the city center of Al-Khalil (known as Hebron), when Palestinian forces blocked their passage, preventing them from accessing the city.

The Israelis sent for an additional force but were met with a stringent Palestinian position.

Minutes later, and after consulting its leadership, the patrol decided to withdraw in order to avoid an escalation.

Observers considered the incident as the first sign of tension after the interruption of security coordination – one of the measures adopted by the Palestinian leadership to face Israeli plans to annex areas in the West Bank.

While Israeli authorities tried to reduce the significance of the incident, Fatah movement, which broadcast a video of the dispute, said that the situation on the ground would change in the wake of the cessation of the security coordination.

Palestinian sources stressed that its decision to halt coordination would not mean that the security in the West Bank would no longer be under control.

“The Palestinian leadership, instead, will focus on enforcing the rule of law in favor of the Palestinian state,” the sources emphasized.

In Israel, the former commander of the Israeli forces, General Gadi Shamni, warned of the consequences of stopping coordination.

In an interview with the Israeli army radio on Friday, he said that “cooperation with the Palestinian Authority is essential to thwart terrorism, and without it, there is a risk of escalation of armed operations and clashes.”

Meanwhile in Washington, a group of 18 Democratic senators addressed a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, warning against the consequences of unilateral annexation of West Bank lands.

The senators expressed “grave concern” over the Israeli government’s agreement “to consider unilateral annexation of Palestinian territory as early as this July.”

They stated that such move would hinder a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.