Syrian Observatory: Regime Officers Destroy 2 Arms Depots Belonging to Iran-Backed Militias

Illustrative: A fireball lights up the night sky near Damascus during an attack on a target near the capital on February 13, 2020. (Screen capture: Al-Ikhbariyah Syria TV)
Illustrative: A fireball lights up the night sky near Damascus during an attack on a target near the capital on February 13, 2020. (Screen capture: Al-Ikhbariyah Syria TV)
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Syrian Observatory: Regime Officers Destroy 2 Arms Depots Belonging to Iran-Backed Militias

Illustrative: A fireball lights up the night sky near Damascus during an attack on a target near the capital on February 13, 2020. (Screen capture: Al-Ikhbariyah Syria TV)
Illustrative: A fireball lights up the night sky near Damascus during an attack on a target near the capital on February 13, 2020. (Screen capture: Al-Ikhbariyah Syria TV)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said it obtained detailed information about the violent explosions that hit the eastern countryside of Homs at dawn on Tuesday.

It said the region holds two ammunition and arms depots belonging to Iranian militias. Regime forces were tasked with protecting the warehouses.

The rights monitor said regime officers set off the explosions after they stole the entire cache at one of the depots to use for their own personal interests.

It revealed that the militias were planning on transporting the weapons and ammunition from the depots that same day. They informed the officers of their intentions, prompting them to set off the explosions to cover up their theft.

The Observatory had reported explosions in various regions in the Homs countryside.

The blasts went on for several hours, sparking panic among the population as shrapnel and rockets were set off from the depot.

Reports at the time could not determine the cause of the explosions, whether they were sabotage, a result of a foreign attack or a technical error.

Rescue and fire teams and ambulances were dispatched to the site of the explosion. No reports have emerged about whether there were any casualties.



EU Tells Israel to Reverse Move to Cut Off Palestinian Banks

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, 11 January 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, 11 January 2023. (EPA)
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EU Tells Israel to Reverse Move to Cut Off Palestinian Banks

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, 11 January 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, 11 January 2023. (EPA)

The EU on Wednesday urged Israel to undo a move by a far-right minister that threatens to paralyze Palestinian financial institutions.

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that Israel had cancelled a waiver allowing its banks to work with Palestinian ones.

"The European Union is deeply concerned by the instruction by Israel's finance minister Smotrich to cancel the waiver on cooperation with Palestinian banks, which could cut them off from the Israeli financial system, devastate an already crippled Palestinian economy, and may lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

"The EU calls on Israel to revert this decision immediately and to refrain from any action that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian authority."

The Palestinian financial and banking system is dependent on the regular renewal of the Israeli waiver.

It protects Israeli banks from potential legal action relating to transactions with their Palestinian counterparts, for instance in relation to “financing terror”.