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Israeli Security Agency Prepares Two Plans For ‘The Day After’ Abu Mazen

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Wafa)
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Israeli Security Agency Prepares Two Plans For ‘The Day After’ Abu Mazen

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Wafa)

The Israel Security Agency, known in Hebrew as Shabak, has since 2018 been preparing two military plans for the day Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will no longer preside over Palestinian politics, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth said on Wednesday.

The first plan is code-named "Sunset", and lays out the course of action immediately following Abbas' death, including troop deployment in major West Bank areas, and coordination with the Israeli army in case of violent clashes.

The newspaper wrote that the plan outlines instructions for the rescue of Israeli settlers caught in dangerous situations, including stone-throwing, firebombing and live fire by Palestinians.

One potential scenario also raised within the framework of this plan is the Israeli army and police forces being tapped to escort Abbas' coffin.

The newspaper added that another scenario deals with the possibility of the PA president being hospitalized in Jordan and dying there, which would require a police escort through the Allenby Bridge border crossing and its safe passage to Ramallah.

The second plan, dubbed "Game of Thrones", focuses on different potential scenarios during the liminal phase between Abbas' death and the ascension of a new leader in Ramallah.

Police officials say that after the funeral procession, which is expected to be attended by many thousands of people, different militant groups and political factions may attempt to seize power in specific regions of the West Bank.

“This could lead to bloody clashes between regional clans and endanger nearby settlements,” the Shabak plan revealed.

It also said that current Israeli commanders on the ground aren't familiar with the plans and the fact that there have been no drills since 2018 is a badge of shame for the police.

“It is clear that in the event of Abbas's passing, the relevant officers will not be prepared at all,” the plan concluded.

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Violence Spikes in Syria's Opposition-Held Northwest, Killing Civilians and Striking Infrastructure

File photo: Smoke billows following reported bombardment by government forces in the Syrian northwestern town of Barah, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region. (AFP)
File photo: Smoke billows following reported bombardment by government forces in the Syrian northwestern town of Barah, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region. (AFP)
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Violence Spikes in Syria's Opposition-Held Northwest, Killing Civilians and Striking Infrastructure

File photo: Smoke billows following reported bombardment by government forces in the Syrian northwestern town of Barah, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region. (AFP)
File photo: Smoke billows following reported bombardment by government forces in the Syrian northwestern town of Barah, in the Jabal al-Zawiya region. (AFP)

A UN official said Thursday that he is “alarmed” by escalating violence in Syria’s opposition-held northwest in recent days, including airstrikes that hit near a food distribution site for displaced families and others that struck a power station and disabled water stations.
The UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, David Carden, said in a statement that 12 civilians, including children, had been killed since Monday and the increased violence has “halted critical humanitarian activities, including services provided by 10 health facilities.”
Syria’s uprising-turned-civil war, which began in 2011, has for years been a largely frozen conflict, the country effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus government of President Bashar Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.
The opposition-held northwest has remained a flashpoint. In recent weeks, rescue workers and a war monitor said that Russian forces allied with Assad have stepped up bombardment of the area.
On Wednesday alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Russian warplanes launched 28 airstrikes in the countryside around Idlib and Latakia , targeting both civilian and military areas.
Some of the Russian strikes targeted sites of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which controls much of northwest Syria. Formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, the group later changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaeda.
Both sides have engaged in drone attacks and shelling, the observatory said.
Other strikes have hit civilians. A strike on a furniture manufacturing workshop on the outskirts of the city of Idlib Wednesday killed 10 people and injured 32, many of them workers, the local civil defense, also known as the White Helmets, said in a statement.
The group said rescue workers spent seven hours in a grueling rescue operation, pulling survivors from the rubble. Eight teams worked to treat the injured and recover victims, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The escalation comes at a time when a stream of people are arriving in northwest Syria after fleeing the escalating Israeli bombardment in neighboring Lebanon. Carden said Monday that approximately 3,000 newly displaced Syrians had arrived in northwest Syria from Lebanon.