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.



Iraq Will Not Be Just a ‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
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Iraq Will Not Be Just a ‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)

Iraq will not act as a mere spectator in Syria where it believes groups and sects are victims of ethnic cleansing, Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday, according to a readout from his office of a phone call to Türkiye's president.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who discussed the situation in Syria with Türkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Iraq would exert all efforts to preserve the security of Iraq and Syria, according to the official readout of the call.

"What is happening in Syria today is in the interest of the Zionist entity, which deliberately bombed Syrian army sites in a way that paved the way for terrorist groups to control additional areas in Syria," the Iraqi prime minister's office quoted Sudani as saying.

Factions opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seized the city of Aleppo last week in their biggest advance in years. Iraq's Shiite-led government has close relations with Iran, which is an ally of Assad, and Iraqi militia fighters have fought on Assad's side in the war.

Two Iraqi security sources and a senior Syrian military source told Reuters on Monday that hundreds of Iraqi Shiite militia fighters had crossed the border late on Sunday to help Assad's army fight the opposition’s advance.

The head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, which includes the major Shiite militia groups aligned with Iran, said no group under its umbrella had entered Syria.

The Syrian opposition fighters have said their advance over the past week met little resistance, in part because the most powerful of Iran's allies, Lebanon's Hezbollah group, had pulled its forces out of Syria to battle Israel in Lebanon.

Israel, which has long struck what it says are Iran-aligned military targets in Syria, has stepped up such strikes over the past 14 months as it battled Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.