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Israeli Police Confiscate Money, Cars of Released Prisoners Karim, Maher Younes

Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
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Israeli Police Confiscate Money, Cars of Released Prisoners Karim, Maher Younes

Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)

An Israeli police unit raided the family home of the two freed prisoners, Karim and Maher Younes, and seized money worth about $150,000 and a car belonging to the family.

The police said they carried out this operation on the orders of Minister Yoav Galant, who claimed that the two prisoners received the money and the vehicle from the financial allocations transferred to them by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

A source close to Galant stated that the order came on the recommendation of the economic anti-terrorism authority in the Ministry of Defense, claiming that new financial allocations had arrived from the PA.

A Younes family source asserted that the money and the vehicles were the family's property, explaining they were allocated to the two prisoners as a gift to facilitate their lives and compensate for their long years of captivity.

He described the Israeli seizure as a "robbery" in line with the series of repressive measures implemented by Israeli authorities against Palestinian prisoners and their families.

Israeli authorities released Karim earlier this month and Maher last week after spending nearly 40 years in Israeli prisons.

Israel was angered by the warm reception the brothers received upon their release.

Israeli had authorities carried out several raids against the family's homes and interrogated several family members, including women.

On Monday, police forces raided Karim's house and detaining two of his relatives for investigation. They also confiscated banners and pictures the family had hung up for the celebrations.

The Israeli government has started enacting a law - tailored with the two prisoners in mind - that aims to deport any citizen convicted of terrorism after serving their sentence and if they had received a salary or allowances from the PA.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had declared he would not rest until Karim and Maher Younes were expelled to Syria.

Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri had submitted a request to the judicial adviser to the government to deport Younis' relatives.

Karim was elected a member of Fatah's Central Committee while he was in captivity, and given his position, he receives allocations for his political activity.

Israeli intelligence is trying to push him to leave his homeland or move to the West Bank.

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Arab World

Huge Fire after Drone Attack Hits Engine Oil Warehouse in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Huge Fire after Drone Attack Hits Engine Oil Warehouse in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows from an oil warehouse in the Kani Qirzhala area on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, following a suspected drone strike, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

A drone strike caused a massive fire at the storage facilities of an engine oil firm in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan on Wednesday, the regional government and the company said.

Iraq has been increasingly and unwillingly drawn into the war started by Israel and the US on February 28, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country.

The country's northern autonomous Kurdistan has not been spared.

The regional capital Erbil hosts a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisors attached to a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition. Both have been regularly targeted since the outbreak of war.

Erbil's governor Omed Khoshnaw said the attack had started at around 0700 am local (0400 GMT) and that four drones had targeted the facility, AFP reported.

He said a double-tap attack had occurred "while the teams were still working, the same site was attacked by another drone".

A fourth drone was "destroyed mid-air before reaching its target," he said, adding that the blaze was ongoing.

Iraqi firm Sardar Group confirmed in a statement that the facility, a warehouse located around five kilometres (three miles) from Erbil, was attacked.

It said there were no casualties.

The company said it was not involved in any way in the Middle East war and that its operations were limited to services and investment, including "the storage of lubricants for automobiles, agricultural equipment, and construction".

The strike followed a heavy night of attacks near the regional capital, with Khoshnaw saying some 20 drones had been shot down over the city.

Arab World

OIC-IPHRC Denounces Israeli Violations of Religious Freedom in Occupied Jerusalem

OIC-IPHRC Denounces Israeli Violations of Religious Freedom in Occupied Jerusalem
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OIC-IPHRC Denounces Israeli Violations of Religious Freedom in Occupied Jerusalem

OIC-IPHRC Denounces Israeli Violations of Religious Freedom in Occupied Jerusalem

The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has unequivocally condemned the continued restrictions imposed by Israel, the occupying power, on the exercise of freedom of religion in occupied Jerusalem.

These measures include the prolonged obstruction imposed on Muslims to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and also denying Christian worshippers access to their holy sites to perform obligatory religious rites.

The commission underscored that freedom of religion, including the right to manifest one’s religion in worship, observance, practice, and teaching, is a non-derogable fundamental human right under international human rights law, SPA reported.

The imposition of arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on access to places of worship constitutes a serious violation of this right, as well as of the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

Such unjustified restrictions by Israel, the occupying power, violate international human rights law and international humanitarian law and undermine the dignity of individuals and communities by denying them the ability to freely practice their religion.

Any attempt to alter the legal and historical status quo of holy sites or to restrict access constitutes a violation of international legal obligations.

The commission calls upon the international community, including relevant United Nations mechanisms and international human rights bodies, to take appropriate measures to ensure accountability, safeguard the right to freedom of religion, and guarantee unhindered and non-discriminatory access to holy sites for all worshippers.

Arab World

Indonesia Calls for Investigation into Peacekeeper Deaths in Lebanon

Wreaths as people visit to offer condolences for Praka Farizal Rhomadhon, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed following an Israeli strike on Sunday in southern Lebanon, in Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Wreaths as people visit to offer condolences for Praka Farizal Rhomadhon, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed following an Israeli strike on Sunday in southern Lebanon, in Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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Indonesia Calls for Investigation into Peacekeeper Deaths in Lebanon

Wreaths as people visit to offer condolences for Praka Farizal Rhomadhon, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed following an Israeli strike on Sunday in southern Lebanon, in Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Wreaths as people visit to offer condolences for Praka Farizal Rhomadhon, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed following an Israeli strike on Sunday in southern Lebanon, in Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Indonesia has called on the United Nations to investigate the deaths of three of its UNIFIL peacekeepers following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday as relatives at home mourned their deaths.

The ministry's UN representative, Umar Hadi, called for the inquiry in a statement during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

"We demand a direct investigation from the UN, not just Israel's excuses," he said.

Indonesia said earlier this week that ongoing Israeli military operations have ‌placed UN peacekeepers ‌in Lebanon at grave risk.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were ‌killed ⁠in two separate incidents ⁠in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend in which Lebanese journalists and medics were also killed in Israeli strikes.

PEACEKEEPER'S RELATIVES MOURN

One of the peacekeeping troops, Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, was killed in an attack on Sunday. He is survived by a wife and one child, local media reported.

In his village in the city of ⁠Yogyakarta, his uncle Sumijan, 82, attended a family ‌gathering on Wednesday to pay his respects, ‌though he said his nephew's body had not yet been returned ‌to Indonesia.

"The kid was obedient, hard-working," he told Reuters. "Before he ‌was a soldier, he was in the business of selling songbirds. He was very disciplined."

Indonesian foreign ministry's initial reaction to Farizal's death on Monday drew criticism on social media, with many users complaining that it ‌did not identify the cause of the attack, describing it as "indirect artillery fire".

UN INVESTIGATION BLAMES ROADSIDE ⁠EXPLOSION

A roadside ⁠explosion appeared to strike the convoy of two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon on Monday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Tuesday, citing the initial findings of an investigation.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its review of an incident involving UNIFIL troops on Monday concluded that Israeli troops had not placed any explosive device in the area and had deployed no troops there.

Indonesia contributes over 2,700 uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping, among the largest contributors globally, the UN said in 2024.

Indonesia has pledged to contribute troops for potential deployment in Gaza as part of the UN-mandated multinational International Stabilization Force.