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Israel, 'Jihad' Exchange Threats, Netanyahu Vows ‘Tough Response’

A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas gestures while searching for missing or dead militants after Israel blew up a cross-border tunnel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas gestures while searching for missing or dead militants after Israel blew up a cross-border tunnel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Israel, 'Jihad' Exchange Threats, Netanyahu Vows ‘Tough Response’

A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas gestures while searching for missing or dead militants after Israel blew up a cross-border tunnel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas gestures while searching for missing or dead militants after Israel blew up a cross-border tunnel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

For the second time in less than 12 hours, Israel threatened both the Islamic Jihad and Hamas to violently retaliate to any plans or attempts to carry out attacks in response to the bombing of the tunnel on the Gaza Strip border last month, which killed 12 militants from the two movements, including five whose bodies were taken by the Israeli army.
 
These new threats come as calm prevails in the Gaza Strip due to the role assumed by Egypt in preventing the deterioration of the situation for the sake of the success of the Palestinian reconciliation.
 
Speaking at the beginning of a Cabinet session on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to harshly respond to any attack perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist movements against Israeli areas.
 
“There are those who are still manipulating the idea of launching new attacks on Israel. We will respond harshly to anyone who tries to attack us from any front,” he stated.
 
“I mean all parties, whether factions or organizations, and we will hold (Hamas) responsible for any attack launched against us from the Gaza Strip,” he added.
 
Netanyahu’s remarks came few hours after the Israeli army’s coordinator of government activities, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, warned in a video that Islamic Jihad “will be playing with fire” if it retaliated for the destruction of the tunnel.
 
The Arabic video posted by Mordechai said: “We’re aware of the plot that Palestinian Islamic Jihad is concocting against Israel.”
 
“It is playing with fire on the backs of residents of the Gaza Strip, and at the expense of the internal Palestinian reconciliation and the entire region,” it added.
 
The Israeli army’s coordinator went on to say in his video: “Just to be clear, Israel will respond forcefully and resolutely to any Islamic Jihad reaction whatsoever — not just against Jihad, but also against Hamas.”
 
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Political Analyst Mustafa Ibrahim said that Israel was seeking to distort the Palestinian reconciliation and accuse Hamas and the Islamic Jihad of working for Iranian interests.
 
For his part, Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for Hamas, said that the recent threats have reflected the Israeli state of panic and confusion towards the reaction of the resistance to the crime of targeting the Palestinians. He added in a brief statement: “The valiant resistance will always stand ready to assume its duty to protect our people and impede the occupation equations.”

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Arab World

Somali President to Visit Türkiye After Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Somali President to Visit Türkiye After Israeli Recognition of Somaliland

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Somalia's president is to visit Türkiye on Tuesday following Israel's recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Türkiye’s presidency said.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will hold talks "on the current situation in Somalia in the fight against terrorism, measures taken by the federal Somali government towards national unity and regional developments", Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency's communications directorate, said on X.

Türkiye on Friday denounced Israel's recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it "overt interference in Somalia's domestic affairs".

Somaliland declared independence in 1991.

The region has operated autonomously since then and possesses its own currency, army and police force.

It has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabaab militants periodically mount attacks in the capital Mogadishu.

Diplomatic isolation has been the norm -- until Israel's move to recognize it as a sovereign nation, which has been criticized by the African Union, Egypt, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The European Union has insisted Somalia's sovereignty should be respected.

The recognition is the latest move by Israel that has angered Türkiye, with relations souring between the two countries in recent years.

Ankara has strongly condemned Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has opposed Türkiye’s participation in a future stabilization force in the Palestinian territory.

Arab World

Iraq's Parliament Elects Al-Halbousi as Its New Speaker

The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Iraq's Parliament Elects Al-Halbousi as Its New Speaker

The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The new speaker of parliament Haibet Al-Halbousi, center, looks on before the start of their first legislative session in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq's parliament on Monday elected a new speaker following overnight talks to break a political deadlock.

Haibet Al-Halbousi received 208 votes from the 309 legislators who attended, according to The AP news. He is a member of the Takadum, or Progress, party led by ousted speaker and relative Mohammed al-Halbousi. Twenty legislators did not attend the session.

Iraq held parliamentary elections in November but didn’t produce a bloc with a decisive majority. By convention, Iraq’s president is always Kurdish, while the more powerful prime minister is Shiite and the parliamentary speaker is Sunni.

The new speaker must address a much-debated bill that would have the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units become a formal security institution under the state. Iran-backed armed groups have growing political influence.

Al-Halbousi also must tackle Iraq’s mounting public debt of tens of billions of dollars as well as widespread corruption.

Babel Governor Adnan Feyhan was elected first deputy speaker with 177 votes, a development that might concern Washington. Feyhan is a member of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, a US-sanctioned, Iran-backed group with an armed wing led by Qais al-Khazali, also sanctioned by Washington.

Arab World

Hamas Armed Wing Refuses to Surrender Weapons, Confirms Spokesman Killed by Israel in August

FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
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Hamas Armed Wing Refuses to Surrender Weapons, Confirms Spokesman Killed by Israel in August

FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)
FILE Photo of Hamas now late spokesperson Abu Ubaida. (Screengrab from al-Qassam brigades video)

Hamas's armed wing reiterated on Monday that it would not surrender its weapons, a key issue expected to feature in talks later in the day between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

In a video statement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades also confirmed the death of their longtime spokesperson, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza on August 30. 

"Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains," said the group's new spokesman, who has adopted the nom de guerre of his predecessor, Abu Obeida. 

The statement came just hours before Trump and Netanyahu were scheduled to meet in Florida. 

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss the second phase of the Gaza truce deal, which includes ensuring that "Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized". 

Rejecting that demand, the new Abu Obeida instead called for Israel to be disarmed of its weapons. 

"We call on all concerned parties to work toward disarming the lethal weapons of the occupation, which have been and continue to be used in the extermination of our people," he said. 

In the same statement, he confirmed the death of his predecessor, and also announced the deaths of four other Hamas commanders in Israeli attacks during the war. 

"We pause in reverence before... the masked man loved by millions... the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida," he said. 

During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Gazans, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas's military wing, particularly those related to hostage-prisoner swaps. 

Born on February 11, 1985, and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. 

He later became the group's spokesman, delivering video statements in military uniform with his face consistently concealed by a red keffiyeh. 

He survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts over the years. 

Hamas officials have described him as a symbol of "resistance", known for fiery speeches that often included threats against Israel or announcements of military operations. 

"For many years, only a very small circle of Hamas officials knew his true identity," a Hamas official told AFP. 

Israel has decimated Hamas's leadership, saying it seeks to eradicate the group following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.