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Iraqis Hold Anti-Israel Protests in Solidarity with Palestinians

Iraqi demonstrators wave giant Palestinian flags during a protest to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Baghdad, Iraq May 15, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi demonstrators wave giant Palestinian flags during a protest to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Baghdad, Iraq May 15, 2021. (Reuters)
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Iraqis Hold Anti-Israel Protests in Solidarity with Palestinians

Iraqi demonstrators wave giant Palestinian flags during a protest to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Baghdad, Iraq May 15, 2021. (Reuters)
Iraqi demonstrators wave giant Palestinian flags during a protest to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Baghdad, Iraq May 15, 2021. (Reuters)

Chanting crowds gathered in several Iraqi cities on Saturday, some burning Israeli and American flags, in protest against the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of demonstrators shouted anti-Israeli slogans, held signs saying "Death to Israel, death to America" and waved Palestinian flags.

The rallies, called by influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and other paramilitary leaders, were held as Israel launched more air strikes on Gaza and Palestinian militants fired rockets on Tel Aviv and other cities in the worst escalation in the region since 2014.

Sadr pledged his support to Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.

Mass public gatherings have been rare in Iraq since security forces and militia groups crushed anti-government protests last year and amid regular curfews to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The government had announced a 10-day curfew over the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday in response to rising coronavirus infections. The curfew was partially lifted the day before the anti-Israel demonstrations.

Political leaders aligned to Iran-backed militias joined the call for Iraqis to take to the streets in a rare show of unity by rival Shiite factions which are competing for power ahead of a general election slated for October.

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Palestinians Say Israeli Forces Kill 2 During Settler Attack

A broken window of a damaged Palestinian house a day after Israeli settlers attacked homes and property of Palestinian residents in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah City, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A broken window of a damaged Palestinian house a day after Israeli settlers attacked homes and property of Palestinian residents in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah City, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
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Palestinians Say Israeli Forces Kill 2 During Settler Attack

A broken window of a damaged Palestinian house a day after Israeli settlers attacked homes and property of Palestinian residents in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah City, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A broken window of a damaged Palestinian house a day after Israeli settlers attacked homes and property of Palestinian residents in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah City, 10 July 2026. (EPA)

The Palestinian health ministry said Monday that Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian men when a group of Israeli settlers attacked a village in the occupied West Bank overnight.

The military said its troops opened fire after Palestinians threw stones at them.

The Ramallah-based ministry identified the two as Odeh Abdul Rahim Odeh Farakhna, 53, and Ahmad Adel Rashid Abu Mkhou, 26.

"They were killed by (Israeli) occupation gunfire in the town of Deir Jarir," it said.

In a separate statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its teams evacuated one other person wounded during a settler attack on the town late on Sunday.

Israel's military told AFP that troops were dispatched to Deir Jarir to protect and evacuate Israeli settlers who entered the area to retrieve livestock.

"A violent confrontation developed in the area, during which terrorists hurled rocks and concrete blocks at the forces," the military said.

"The forces responded with fire in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified."

Deir Jarir mayor Eid Hamad said that the settlers had come to take livestock that was not theirs.

"Settlers, accompanied by the Israeli army and police, arrived at the outskirts of the village and raided the sheep pens of local residents who owned sheep and cattle," he said at the two men's funeral on Monday.

"They brought a truck and loaded the sheep," Hamad said, adding that "while the settlers were there, young men from the village arrived and confronted them."

"The army then intervened and began firing on the young men present, resulting in casualties," Hamad said.

Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has surged since the outbreak of the Gaza war, with rights groups and the UN reporting near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, among some three million Palestinians.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,090 Palestinians since the war in Gaza began, including both fighters and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.

Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have also been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.