Mandelblit Okays Illegal West Bank Outpost

 Settlers praying at the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank in June 2021. (AP)
Settlers praying at the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank in June 2021. (AP)
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Mandelblit Okays Illegal West Bank Outpost

 Settlers praying at the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank in June 2021. (AP)
Settlers praying at the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank in June 2021. (AP)

Outgoing Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit okayed a deal between the Israeli government and West Bank settlers that would authorize a settlement outpost established without official approval, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

Mandelblit signed off on the plan for the controversial Evyatar outpost in Beita village, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, during his final hours in office as he retired on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked have all recently been pushing to advance the plan, the Ynet news site reported.

Under an agreement reached in mid-2021, the settlers left the outpost peacefully and the area became a closed military zone, with the houses and roads erected remaining in place.

As part of the deal, a survey was carried out which, according to media reports, determined that part of the land was not owned by Palestinians, paving the way for the establishment of a religious school and for some settler families to return.

The return of settlers to Evyatar still requires a formal announcement that the site will be approved, as well as a grace period during which objections can be filed.

Palestinians in nearby villages say the outpost was built on their land and fear it will grow and merge with larger settlements nearby.

Before the settlers left, Palestinians held near-daily protests that led to violent clashes with Israeli forces.

Coalition members from the dovish Meretz party said the retroactive approval of the wildcat outpost was a reward for settlers who break the law, coming at a time when settler violence against Palestinians has surged.

Meretz lawmaker MK Mossi Raz said the intention of the “right-wing government” to establish the “criminal Evyatar outpost is a violation of the spirit of the coalition agreement and total surrender to settler violence.”

“It is unfortunate that there are some in the government who, instead of fighting against violence, work on behalf of those who are violent,” Raz said referring to a recent spike in violent attacks in the West Bank by extremist settlers against Palestinians, left-wing Israeli activists, and Israeli army soldiers.

The news followed a report published Tuesday by Amnesty International, in which it said that Israel has maintained “a system of oppression and domination” over the Palestinians going all the way back to its establishment in 1948, one that meets the international definition of apartheid.

According to Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settler violence, said the Israeli occupation government is trying to impose a fait accompli by legalizing the outposts.

“These plans will not pass as long as Palestinians are defending their lands,” he stressed, adding that nine Palestinians were killed during the past eight months, and about 500 were wounded by live ammunition, and thousands by rubber bullets, fractures and suffocation.

Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the occupation states defies Amnesty’s report by approving additional settlement projects.

It issued a press statement saying that Mandelblit’s decision “explains the fierce attacks launched by the occupation forces, settler militias, their organizations and terrorist elements against Beita, the neighboring villages, and the entire area south of Nablus.”



Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
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Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)

The Sudanese army carried out a surprise military operation in the early hours of Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, regaining several positions in the city’s far southwest that it had previously abandoned to advancing Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Military sources reported that calm returned to El Fasher after intense clashes on Friday between the army and RSF fighters, who attempted a major offensive to deepen their hold inside the city. In a statement, the army said its Sixth Infantry Division successfully repelled a fresh RSF attack, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment, and restored control over all frontline areas.

RSF militants had infiltrated southern neighborhoods, seizing the Central Security Reserve headquarters and the Shalla prison. According to army sources, these forces were pushed back through ground combat supported by extensive drone strikes, forcing them to retreat to their original positions. The sources confirmed there were no significant breakthroughs or territorial gains by the RSF following the operation.

In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Kamel Idris expressed “deep anger, pain, and responsibility” over the worsening humanitarian disaster in El Fasher. He condemned the “suffocating and inhumane siege imposed by the RSF militia,” describing it as “one of the most brutal cases of collective extortion and systematic starvation in recent history.”

Idris vowed that the government would not stand idly by in the face of this “atrocious” crime and pledged to use all political, diplomatic, and humanitarian means to break the siege and ensure urgent aid reaches civilians trapped in El Fasher amid widespread starvation and international silence.

He called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with international and humanitarian organizations, to act immediately to pressure the militia to open humanitarian corridors and end the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.

The prime minister highlighted the RSF’s refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2736, which demands lifting the siege on El Fasher, and their rejection of UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. He held the militia responsible for obstructing aid and accountable for the ongoing starvation and terror inflicted on civilians.

Idris warned against silence over these crimes, including the killing of civilians fleeing the siege and bombardments. He also cited the systematic destruction of hospitals by RSF suicide drone and strategic attacks, threatening the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

“What is happening in El Fasher is a major crime committed in full view and hearing of the world,” he said, urging the international community to move beyond lukewarm statements to real action and pressure on those besieging, starving, and attacking civilians.

The RSF continues to attempt to seize the city and its army base, the last stronghold of government forces across all Darfur states. Military sources said defenders repelled the assault and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers.

The RSF has maintained a tight siege on El Fasher since May 2024, blocking all roads and supply routes and preventing humanitarian aid from entering, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths from starvation and medical shortages.