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UN Denounces Israeli Settler Stabbing of a Palestinian

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Ali Harb, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler during a confrontation, during his funeral in Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Ali Harb, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler during a confrontation, during his funeral in Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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UN Denounces Israeli Settler Stabbing of a Palestinian

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Ali Harb, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler during a confrontation, during his funeral in Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Ali Harb, who was stabbed to death by an Israeli settler during a confrontation, during his funeral in Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 22, 2022. (Reuters)

The United Nations condemned an Israeli settler’s stabbing of a Palestinian in the West Bank on Tuesday as Tel Aviv imposed a media blackout on the investigation.

“Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, condemned the fatal stabbing yesterday of a Palestinian man, Ali Harb, reportedly by an Israeli settler near Salfit in the occupied West Bank,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at a press conference at the UN’S headquarters in New York.

“He sent his deepest condolences to his family. Mr. Wennesland added that perpetrators of violence must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice,” Haq added.

Witnesses said Harb, was stabbed while Palestinians tried to remove a group of settlers off their land.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Harb, 28, was stabbed in the heart by a settler. An Israeli police spokesperson originally said it was unclear who had killed Harb and that the incident was under investigation.

Hundreds of Palestinians marched in Harb's funeral in the Palestinian town of Iskaka near Salfit in the northern West Bank on Wednesday.

Police arrested the suspect on Wednesday.

The settler, in his 40s, was held as an accomplice and not on suspicion of carrying out the stabbing himself, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

“This was an event in which Jews were miraculously saved,” said Adi Kedar, an attorney at Honenu, a right-wing legal aid organization that often represents Jews accused of hate crimes.

Israeli officials told The Times of Israel last year that Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank was on the rise. The number of attacks rose in 2021 by nearly 50 percent, according to the Shin Bet.

Most of the cases are never solved. Since 2005, just 3 percent of police investigations into extremist violence against Palestinians have led to indictments, according to the Yesh Din rights group.

The United Kingdom voiced “deep disturbance” over Tuesday’s killing.

“Settler violence is a growing problem in the OPTs & one that the Israeli Government must do more to tackle. The perpetrator of this crime must be held to account,” UK Consulate General in Jerusalem said.

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Arab World

Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
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Lebanese President Faces Domestic, Foreign Challenges

Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Newly-elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun poses for a picture with his family at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, January 9, 2025. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

The election of a new president in Lebanon does not mean the country has come out of the economic and political crises which have gutted it for years. Yet Thursday’s vote marks the beginning of a new phase that carries many challenges for the president and the upcoming government.

It is Joseph Aoun’s responsibility now to appoint a prime minister following binding parliamentary consultations and then form the Cabinet together with the PM.

According to observers, Aoun’s term should carry a roadmap to salvage the country, and a clear plan to address crises and domestic and foreign challenges.

However, there is no magic wand to solve Lebanon’s entire crises.

Instead, Aoun needs a unified working team that should draft a clear ministerial statement that reflects the President’s inaugural speech and his pledge of a “new era” for Lebanon.

“The president's speech constitutes a detailed program for governance. However, his program needs a cabinet capable of implementing it,” former Minister Ibrahim Najjar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Najjar described the new President as an honest, clean and courageous Lebanese man.

“His election must be followed by the formation of a bold cabinet with new faces, capable of working and making achievements,” he said.

“The Lebanese people expect President Aoun to change the quota-based mentality of politicians. They hope his term will help remove old political figures, who are rooted in the Lebanese quagmire,” the former minister noted.

Former MP Fares Souaid told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun’s first task is to implement the Constitution and the National Accord document.

“In the early 1990s, the Constitution was no longer being implemented due to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In 2005, the Constitution was again ignored because of Iranian arms.”

Therefore, Soueid said, the Lebanese eagerly expect this new era to constitute a real opportunity for the implementation of both documents.

For years, Lebanon has failed to properly implement its Constitution and UN resolutions, mainly because some political parties had considered their implementation as “a target against their so-called resistance.”

“With the election of President Joseph Aoun, Lebanon has opened a blank page that could meet the aspirations of the Lebanese people, and write a new chapter in the country’s history,” Najjar said.

According to Soueid, Aoun has a task to return Lebanon to its Arab identity. “This is slowly beginning to show through the decline of Iranian influence in the region,” he said.

Also, Soueid said, the new President should mend Lebanon’s relations with the international community by implementing all UN resolutions.

Addressing Parliament and Lebanese people with an acceptance speech, Aoun on Thursday vowed that the Lebanese authorities will have the monopoly on arms and will be committed to a strong state that will extend its sovereignty over the entire territory.

“This is in line with UN resolutions, which if implemented, will bring Lebanon back to the Arab and international scene,” Soueid said.