عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israeli Occupation Army Hints at Re-occupying Palestinian Towns

Israeli machineries, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli machineries, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank (File photo: Reuters)
TT
TT

Israeli Occupation Army Hints at Re-occupying Palestinian Towns

Israeli machineries, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli machineries, guarded by Israeli forces, bulldoze lands near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the Israeli occupied West Bank (File photo: Reuters)

Israeli occupation army might re-occupy a number of Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank if it felt that the decision to end coordination might negatively affect the security situation, according to military sources.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) suspended security coordination with Tel Aviv, in protest of the Israeli decision to annex the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea lands, in addition to imposing Israeli law on them.

Initially, Israeli officials did not take the Palestinian decision seriously and expected coordination to remain effective. However, the security services informed their leaders in Tel Aviv that coordination had been halted.

The sources said that the Authority has informed Israel that halting security coordination does not mean its forces will allow chaos in the West Bank.

Israeli army leadership in the West Bank is preparing for a situation of “organized chaos”, saying that in all cases it should be ready for a new situation that requires a new policy, which might include the deployment of occupation forces in the Palestinian cities and resumption of field intelligence activities.

The sources confirmed that since assuming his position as an Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Benny Gantz has been initiating contacts with the Palestinian officials for several objectives.

Gantz wants to ensure the new situation will not lead to escalation and clashes. He also wants to pave the way for the resumption of peaceful negotiations through understandings between two sides.

Earlier, he announced that his support to the annexation plan, given that it is coordinated with Arab neighbors, including the Palestinians.

However, the far-right parties of the Israeli government rejected Gantz’s position saying ending the security coordination is a malicious scheme by the PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who wants to draw Hamas into a confrontation with Israel in the event that the Gaza crossings were closed.

They said there are several indications of an atmosphere of hostility towards Israel among the Palestinian police and security services.

Last Wednesday, a Palestinian policeman pulled his gun at an Israeli vehicle near Nablus and a Palestinian crossing prevented an Israeli patrol from entering Hebron.

Meanwhile, a number of Palestinian gunmen of various cities of the occupied West Bank shot several celebratory gunfire in support of Abbas’s recent decisions.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Army Says Troops Capture Hezbollah Fighter, Strike Kills 2 in Lebanon

Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Israel Army Says Troops Capture Hezbollah Fighter, Strike Kills 2 in Lebanon

Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The Israeli military on Wednesday said its troops had seized a Hezbollah fighter during an encounter in southern Lebanon a day earlier and transferred him to Israel for questioning.

The fighter was captured in the Bint Jbeil area on Tuesday, where Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah combatants.

"The apprehended terrorist is a member of Hezbollah's Radwan Force ... responsible for carrying out attacks against Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians throughout the war," the military said in a statement, adding that he had been brought to Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, the latest attack despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Two young men were martyred after being targeted by an enemy drone... while they were walking in the vicinity of Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said, two days after a strike on the same town killed four civilians including a school principal.

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, despite a two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes.

Last month, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-mediated agreement aimed at paving the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

Israeli forces remain deployed in what the military describes as a security zone extending roughly 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanese territory.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that forces would remain in the occupied area "as long as necessary" to protect communities in northern Israel.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed around 4,300 people.

The Israeli military says it has lost 38 soldiers and a civilian contractor in the fighting in southern Lebanon over the same period.

Arab World

Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
TT
TT

Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)

The new secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil Fahmy, said Wednesday Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah, in what would have been his first foreign visit since taking office this month.

The regional bloc's secretariat was informed by Palestinian authorities "of the Israeli occupation authorities' rejection of a visit... to the occupied Palestinian territories" to visit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Fahmy's office said in a statement.

Arab World

RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, as the use of unmanned aircraft becomes increasingly common in the northeastern African country’s war.

A drone strike on a road west of Omdurman on the outskirts of Khartoum on Tuesday killed 10 civilians, including five women from the same family, as they drove to a wedding, the Sudan Doctors Network said Wednesday.

The medical aid group, which has been tracking violence been the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout the more than three-year war, blamed the attack on the RSF.

The vehicle immediately caught fire after the strike and all 10 people inside died, a witness told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The doctors group said the strike “was deliberate and carried out using a guided drone” and called for the international community to pressure RSF leadership to stop targeting civilians.

A separate drone strike on Tuesday hit a transport vehicle near a water facility in the province, killing two people, according to Emergency Lawyers, which tracks violence in Sudan.

The previous day, 13 civilians, including five women, were killed when a drone hit their vehicle as they headed to a wedding in al-Shaatout town, in North Kordofan province, Emergency Lawyers said.

“This attack is part of an escalating pattern of drone attacks on civilians as drones continue to fly over the northern parts of the province ... monitoring residents’ movements,” the group said in a statement.

North Kordofan has seen a surge in drone strikes amid international concerns about the RSF closing in on the strategic city of el-Obeid, which is home to the army’s 5th Infantry Division.

Drone strikes on the city have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including power facilities and neighborhoods, and targeted bridges and key supply routes, according to the UN.

The war in Sudan, which started in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the army and the RSF, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of the country into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Kordofan and Darfur have been the epicenters of the war, but heavy fighting also has broken out across the Blue Nile State.

The army said in a statement Wednesday that it had recaptured the strategic border town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile State after heavy fighting with the RSF, claiming the paramilitary withdrew from the area, leaving behind weapons and military vehicles. The Associated Press couldn't indecently verify the army's claim.