Israel Threatens to Strike Beirut, Southern Villages

File photo: A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon walks past a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters/Ali Hashisho)
File photo: A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon walks past a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters/Ali Hashisho)
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Israel Threatens to Strike Beirut, Southern Villages

File photo: A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon walks past a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters/Ali Hashisho)
File photo: A UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon walks past a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Reuters/Ali Hashisho)

The head of the Israeli army’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, has warned Hezbollah that it would pay a heavy price for its provocations against Israel.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Tel-Hai Academic College in northern Israel, Baram threatened to hit Iran, the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and villages in southern Lebanon, which is a Hezbollah stronghold.

His threats came after Hezbollah was accused of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that set out the ceasefire terms between Israel and Lebanon following the 2006 war.

The general said Hezbollah continues to violate UN resolutions through its actions along the border with Israel in a manner that puts the lives of Lebanese civilians in danger.

He called on Lebanon and its leaders to act and prevent the party from violating Resolution 1701.

“Despite Lebanon's immense economic challenges, Hezbollah is persisting with its efforts to procure and arm itself with precision weapons with which to hit the Israeli home front, and it continues to prepare south of the Litani River to attack communities and roads in our territory,” Baram said.

The Israeli Commander lashed out at Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the new government, in which, he said, the Shiite group is deeply embedded to protect its interests by presenting a “false impression” of reforms.

Baram said that although Aoun told the French press that Hezbollah is not involved in the decision-making process of the new Lebanese government and that he personally guarantees that the party will honor Resolution 1701, “what they say in French isn't what is happening on the ground in Arabic.”

"If we are bound to fight, we will exact a heavy price from this organization [Hezbollah] and from those who afford it protection,” he warned.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.