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Ben-Gvir to Forcibly Ban Prisoners' Celebration

Karim Younis celebrates his release after forty years in prison (DPA)
Karim Younis celebrates his release after forty years in prison (DPA)
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Ben-Gvir to Forcibly Ban Prisoners' Celebration

Karim Younis celebrates his release after forty years in prison (DPA)
Karim Younis celebrates his release after forty years in prison (DPA)

The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, ordered police to take strict measures against Arabs celebrating the release of prisoners.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Ben-Gvir banned any celebrations, even if this meant the use of force against their families and the gathering.

The minister ordered Police Chief Kobi Shabtai to investigate the celebrations held following the release of Palestinian prisoner Karim Younis.

Younis was released over the weekend after 40 years behind bars.

Ben-Gvir urged the police to use force and try to remove the "victory" or "support" banners and the tents that would host the festivities.

The meeting also addressed the judicial complexities regarding the removal of tents on private or public land after the Israeli police refrained from storming an area belonging to the Younis family. The Israeli prosecution warned that the matter would be illegal.

Last Sunday, Ben-Gvir asked Shabtai to open an investigation into the public ceremonies that took place after the release of Younis.

Ben Gvir's office issued a statement that his instructions to ban tents for celebrations to welcome Younis were "only partially fulfilled."

The former prisoner's family hosted a party attended by many people, including Palestinian Authority officials. The minister ordered Shabtai to find out why his instructions were not met.

"Such celebrations are incitement and explicit support of terrorism, and it does not make sense for them to happen in our country," claimed the extremist Ben-Gvir.

"Israel has no place for celebrations of terrorism, and I will do all within my authority to prevent these celebrations until we legislate for the death penalty for terrorism."

However, Younis was warmly greeted by friends and family in Ara and gave interviews with Arabic-language media on Thursday and over the weekend.

As a result, Ben-Gvir instructed the police on Sunday to remove Palestinian flags from public spaces.

The two prisoners, Maher and Karim Younes, from Ara, killed Israeli soldier Avraham Bromberg in 1980. Karim was released last week, and Maher is set to be released on Jan. 17.

Meanwhile, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he was concerned that Ben-Gvir was "bringing us closer to a third intifada."

In statements broadcast by Israeli media, Lapid believed that Ben-Gvir's actions might lead to clashes.

According to Lapid, the security establishment is concerned about such behavior. He warned that Ben-Gvir’s policies in Israel would harm the relationship with the US administration.

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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Syrian Opposition Leader Says Lebanon Truce Opened Door to Aleppo Assault

An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
An anti-regime fighter tears off a poster depicting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) and his brother Maher at the airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

Syrian opposition fighters began preparations to seize Aleppo a year ago, but the operation was delayed by war in Gaza and ultimately launched last week when a ceasefire took hold in Lebanon, the head of Syria's main opposition abroad told Reuters.

The factions were able to seize the city and parts of neighboring Idlib province so quickly in part because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed fighters were distracted by their conflict with Israel, Hadi al-Bahra said in an interview on Monday.

The Turkish military, which is allied with some of the opposition and has bases across its southern border in Syria, had heard of the armed groups' plans but made clear it would play no direct role, he added.

The assault in northwestern Syria was launched last Wednesday, the day that Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah began a truce ending more than a year of fighting.

"A year ago they started really training and mobilizing and taking it more seriously," said Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, the internationally-recognized Syrian opposition.

"But the war on Gaza ... then the war in Lebanon delayed it. They felt it wouldn't look good having the war in Lebanon at the same time they were fighting in Syria," he said in his Istanbul office, in the first public comments on the fighters’ preparations by an opposition figure.

"So the moment there was a ceasefire in Lebanon, they found that opportunity ... to start."

The opposition operation is the boldest advance and biggest challenge to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

Syrian and allied Russian forces have launched counter attacks, which Bahra said are "destabilizing" Aleppo and Idlib and pose the biggest risk to civilians, given the earlier opposition advances had sought carefully to avoid such casualties.

IRAN, RUSSIA

The opposition retaking of Aleppo also paves the way for hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced elsewhere in the country and in Türkiye to return home, Bahra said.

"Due to the Lebanese war and decrease in Hezbollah forces, (Assad's) regime has less support," he said, adding Iranian militias also have less resources while Russia is giving less air cover due to its "Ukraine problem".

Damascus, which is also backed by Iran, did not immediately comment on whether the opposition sought to avoid casualties and whether it risks destabilizing the region with air raids. Assad has vowed to crush the fighters and has launched air raids.

Iran-backed Hezbollah did not immediately comment on whether its war with Israel opened the door to Syrian opposition advances in Aleppo, where it also has personnel.

Tehran has pledged to aid the Syrian government and on Monday hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossed into Syria to help fight the factions, Syrian and Iraqi sources said.

A Turkish defense ministry official said last week that Ankara was closely monitoring the mobilization and taking precautions for its troops.

The opposition fighters are a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that has been designated a terrorist outfit by Türkiye, the US, Russia and other states.

Bahra's coalition, which does not include HTS, represents anti-Assad groups including the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army or Free Syrian Army, which took territory north of Idlib over the last week.

It holds regular diplomatic talks with the United Nations and several states.