Iran Sends Oil Shipment to Syria


Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
TT

Iran Sends Oil Shipment to Syria


Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Iran has reportedly sent an oil shipment to Syria where regime-held areas are suffering from a fuel crisis that has caused power outages and paralyzed public institutions.

Syria's Minister of Electricity Ghassan al-Zamil attributed the increase in electricity rationing to the shortage in power carriers whether gas or fuel.

Zamil noted that some projects will reenergize the electrical grid.

Regime-held areas have been recently witnessing shortages in oil derivatives.

A million barrels of Iranian crude oil is approaching the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, TankerTrackers reported on its Twitter account.

"It is part of a larger flotilla of tankers bound for Baniyas, Syria. We have visually identified all of them. The first one shall arrive in about three days’ time, all depending on congestion,” it added.

Further, local sources revealed that a clash erupted between the Iranian-affiliate Baqir Brigade and Al-Qaterji Group that is committed to protecting the oil carriers moving from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) regions to regime-run areas.

According to the Eye of the Euphrates‎, the Baqir Brigade prepared a military column in Aleppo of 300 members and 72 vehicles. The militias headed towards Kafr Ubayd and Tal Aran in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

Al-Qaterji Group was kicked out of the area, knowing that the militia evacuated its bases and enrolled with the 93th Brigade in Ain Issa in the northern countryside of Raqqa.



Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
TT

Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)

Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.

The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, amongst others, the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention set up in the wake of the Holocaust.

"Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid" and "is using Dutch weapons to wage war", said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.

"Dutch weapons are killing children, every day, in Palestine, including my family," said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal advisor to Al Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit, AFP reported.

Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza it began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Opening the case at the court in The Hague, judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: "It is important to underline that the gravity of the situation in Gaza is not contested by the Dutch State, nor is the status of the West Bank."

"Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the State, if the State can be expected to do more, or act differently than it is currently acting," she added.

She acknowledged this was a "sensitive case", saying: "It's a whole legal debate."

The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.

Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.

"It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export licence to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army's activities in Gaza or the West Bank," said Veldhuis.