Iraqi President Calls on Security Forces to Prevent Infiltration of ISIS Militants

Iraqi President Barham Salih in Baghdad (AFP - Getty Images)
Iraqi President Barham Salih in Baghdad (AFP - Getty Images)
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Iraqi President Calls on Security Forces to Prevent Infiltration of ISIS Militants

Iraqi President Barham Salih in Baghdad (AFP - Getty Images)
Iraqi President Barham Salih in Baghdad (AFP - Getty Images)

Iraq President Barham Salih called on the national security services to carry out their duties in combating terrorism, including stopping ISIS from infiltrating Iraqi territories.

Salih met with the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, First Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, and the two discussed security developments in the country.

Salih stressed the need to support the state’s authority and its security agencies to better enforce the law, protect citizens, and enhance the capabilities of security forces.

For his part, Yarallah briefed the President about the recent military operations against ISIS.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanimi suspended three military commanders of the Arar border guard forces for not carrying out their duties during a recent terrorist attack.

The Ministry published a video showing an ISIS attack at the Arar crossing, on the border with Saudi Arabia, during which the terrorists opened fire on the border patrol of the Fifth Brigade of the Third Regiment.

A source at the ministry explained that the terrorists took control of al-Abyad police station, and stole communications equipment and a vehicle, as well as weapons.

The Iraqi security forces are trying to secure Kirkuk and Diyala following a series of ISIS attacks during the last period.



Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways.

The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial.

Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7.

Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common.

An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked.

“All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell.