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Libya’s Haftar Vows to Fight Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
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Libya’s Haftar Vows to Fight Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar said that the fight against Turkish aggression will not stop as a battle loomed on the horizon in Sirte amid ongoing reinforcements by the Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

In a speech at the Military College in the city of Tocra, Haftar said that international quests for a political and fair settlement shouldn’t be exploited for bringing invaders and mercenaries in addition to reinforcing the enemy’s capabilities.

Haftar further hailed friendly and brotherly states, mainly the UAE and Egypt, that support the Libyans and the armed forces against Turkish greed.

His speech came as pro-Sarraj local media reported new military reinforcements were sent to the forces of the Turkey-backed GNA in locations near Sirte.

Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly said “the UK is deeply concerned at the ongoing conflict, fueled by reckless international interventions, and the unacceptable humanitarian and human rights cost.”

“It is shocking that the World Health Organization ranked Libya first in the world, ahead of Afghanistan and Syria, in numbers of attacks on health facilities and staff from January to May 2020,” he said.

US Permanent Representative Kelly Kraft also stressed that there is no place for foreign mercenaries or proxy agents, especially forces fighting on behalf of Russia.

Kraft expressed concern about what is going on in the cities of Sirte and Jafra close to the Libyan Oil Crescent, and stressed having reports that weapons and mines are transferred to Libyan areas for control, in clear violation of Libyan sovereignty.

“It is more urgent than ever that foreign interferences in the Libyan conflict cease,” France's UN ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said.

“The risks of regional escalation and a "Syrianization" of Libya are real. Despite the relative calm and the stabilization of the front line on the Sirte-Joufra axis, the continued military reinforcement of both camps is worrying,” he added.

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Arab World

West Bank Campus a Dystopian Shelter for Palestinians Uprooted Again

A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
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West Bank Campus a Dystopian Shelter for Palestinians Uprooted Again

A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP

On deserted university grounds in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian children run outside nearly empty buildings, their playground after being driven from their homes by a major Israeli "counter-terrorism" operation.
Between a stadium and flower fields where goats now graze, the children play to escape boredom. They have no school to go to since the Israeli military ordered residents to leave the Jenin refugee camp more than two months ago, said AFP.
Mohammed Shalabi, a 53-year-old father who is among several hundred Palestinians sheltering at the university campus in Jenin city, recalled the day he heard that special Israeli forces were inside the camp.
"Everyone knows that when the army enters, it destroys the infrastructure, even the cars," said the municipal worker.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the northern West Bank since Israel launched the offensive dubbed "Iron Wall" on January 21 in the area.
Shalabi first left Jenin camp for nearby villages before authorities offered accommodation at the now vacant premises of the Arab American University, one of the leading institutions in the West Bank.
Shalabi said he has avoided "discussing all of this" with his 80-year-old father to protect his fragile health.
"But he understands, and sometimes he cries, because he lived through the Nakba, and now this..." said Shalabi, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians in the war that accompanied Israel's creation in 1948.
No return
Now forced to leave their homes in the Jenin refugee camp, residents fear a repeat of the collective trauma they inherited.
The United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, provides aid but recent Israeli legislation barring coordination with Israeli military authorities has complicated its work.
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, lacks the funds to help.
Many international organizations are already focusing much of their efforts in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory where the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023 has created a dire humanitarian crisis.
"No one is interested in what's happening here," said a social worker who often visits the displacement shelter at the university to hand out blankets, food or grocery money.
Public services like rubbish collection are rare or virtually non-existent. Many displaced residents have asked for a temporary school to be set up for the children but to no avail.
Most shops are closed, and the nearest supermarket is a 20-minute walk away.
All the while, Israeli army bulldozers operate in the Jenin camp, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
"They told us we no longer have a home, and that we won't be returning to the camp," said displaced resident Umm Majd.
Some camp residents who attempted to go back say they were turned away.
In early March, an UNRWA official spoke of growing concerns that "the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank."
'Day by day'
The new, makeshift camp has come into being on the university campus in what appears like a dystopian landscape.
The campus buildings carry names that give them an international and prestigious air, like Casa Bella and Concorde.
But many of them, not long ago busy with students, are abandoned.
Others have become home to families of the displaced who now cram into tiny studio apartments that served as campus housing.
The families cook on gas stoves and sleep on foam mattresses that have to be put away every morning to create space.
"We have 20 percent of the life we had in the camp," said Umm Majd, sharing a two-person room with three others.
Farmers bring goats to graze in fields around the campus.
Many of the students that used to fill the university halls and dorms before the Gaza war were Palestinian citizens of Israel, who generally stopped crossing into the West Bank for their studies.
Eateries in the area are either closed down or being refurbished, the sign of economic hardships across the West Bank that have worsened throughout the Gaza war.
"We live day by day. There's no outlook because of the lack of work and resources," said Ahmad Abu Jos, 30.
His baby boy Mustafa is learning to walk in the tiny apartment space, filled with the smell of detergents and cooking.
The boy's mother, Rama Abu Jos, said: "We left the camp, but not of our own free will. We hope to return home. No one likes life here."