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Palestinian Security Shred Files in Fear of Israeli Incursion

A man holding a Palestinian flag stages a sit-in against US President Donald Trump's controversial Middle East peace plan. (AFP)
A man holding a Palestinian flag stages a sit-in against US President Donald Trump's controversial Middle East peace plan. (AFP)
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Palestinian Security Shred Files in Fear of Israeli Incursion

A man holding a Palestinian flag stages a sit-in against US President Donald Trump's controversial Middle East peace plan. (AFP)
A man holding a Palestinian flag stages a sit-in against US President Donald Trump's controversial Middle East peace plan. (AFP)

Palestinian security services have been destroying secret files, fearing Israeli raids on their offices as the country weighs annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, sources in such organs say.

"We have been ordered to destroy confidential documents in our possession and we have obeyed this order," a Palestinian security source told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying that the instructions came from "high up".

During the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada, which erupted in the early 2000s and included waves of suicide bombings, Israeli security forces repeatedly stormed Palestinian security services' offices and removed confidential documents.

Several Palestinian security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the services are concerned that this could happen again if Israel moves ahead with annexation.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, unveiled in late January, envisions Israel annexing its settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.

More than 450,000 Israelis live in settlements deemed illegal under international law, alongside 2.7 million Palestinians in the wider West Bank.

Washington's proposals provide for the creation of a Palestinian state, but on reduced territory and without Palestinians' core demand of a capital in east Jerusalem. The plan has been rejected in its entirety by the Palestinians.

One Palestinian security source, who did not describe the nature of the documents, said the security services began destroying them a month ago, around the time Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said he was ending security coordination with Israel.

Two other security sources said some documents were destroyed after they were scanned and transferred to USB drives, which were then put in "secret places".

According to the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority controls all Palestinian cities in the West Bank, but the Israeli military can enter them to make arrests, in coordination with local authorities.

But in May, Abbas declared that he no longer felt bound by the treaties, saying that Israel's annexation plans showed that it was no longer honoring the agreements.

Analysts said the end of security cooperation could inflame unrest in the West Bank.

'Hot summer'

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh recently warned of a "hot summer" if Israel goes ahead with its annexation plan.

Palestinian authorities accused Israel Tuesday of an incursion into Ramallah, the West Bank seat of the Palestinian Authority, for the first time since the end of security cooperation.

Israeli forces "searched three houses inside Ramallah, but did not make any arrests," Ghassan Nimr, spokesman for the Palestinian interior ministry, told AFP.

According to a security source, a 20-year-old Palestinian man was arrested in the Al-Amari refugee camp, which borders Ramallah.

The source reported clashes between stone-throwing youths and Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas, but said nobody was wounded.

Questioned by AFP, the Israeli army confirmed having made an arrest in Al-Amari, but denied entering the city of Ramallah itself.

The Palestinians have so far staged two Intifadas against Israeli rule, the first in 1987.

A recent poll showed that a majority of Israelis fear a third uprising if annexation goes ahead.

Shtayyeh said the Palestinian Authority, led by President Abbas, wanted to avoid widespread disruption.

But, "the anger is there, the dissatisfaction is there, the frustration is there," he said.

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Arab World

Lebanese Army Support Hinges on Disarmament Plan North of Litani

Two Lebanese army soldiers at a military border post with Israel in the village of Alma El Chaab in southern Lebanon (Archive - AP)
Two Lebanese army soldiers at a military border post with Israel in the village of Alma El Chaab in southern Lebanon (Archive - AP)
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Lebanese Army Support Hinges on Disarmament Plan North of Litani

Two Lebanese army soldiers at a military border post with Israel in the village of Alma El Chaab in southern Lebanon (Archive - AP)
Two Lebanese army soldiers at a military border post with Israel in the village of Alma El Chaab in southern Lebanon (Archive - AP)

The Qatari capital is set to host a preparatory meeting on Sunday ahead of an international conference in Paris aimed at supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces.

The Doha meeting will bring together the five sponsoring countries - France, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt - along with other states and international and regional organizations.

Its purpose is to understand LAF’s needs, while developing financial and military support mechanisms to ensure the success of the main conference, scheduled for March 5 in Paris. French officials expect around 50 countries and 10 organizations to take part.

Given the central role of the LAF, its responsibilities and its contribution to upholding Lebanese sovereignty, both the Doha meeting and the Paris conference are expected to provide it with substantial political backing.

According to French sources, the one-day conference will be co-hoted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Expectations from the Doha Meeting

Paris is playing a key role in organizing both meetings. Preparations were among the main issues discussed during the two-day visit to Beirut last weekend of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

His visit coincided with the Lebanese army leadership’s preparations for the second phase of an operation to disarm Hezbollah. This phase covers the area stretching from the Litani River to the Awali River, north of the southern port city of Sidon.

Paris identifies two main challenges. The first is the need to continue the disarmament process launched by the army in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The second is enabling conference participants to accurately assess the army’s needs, allowing international partners to coordinate their support through a dedicated mechanism.

France has deliberately avoided setting a specific figure for the assistance expected to be announced at the conference, stressing that support will be multi-dimensional and not limited to financial aid.

It will also include military capabilities, logistical support and training. Paris estimates the LAF’s annual needs at more than $1 billion, but notes that these cannot be met through foreign assistance alone and that part must be covered by the Lebanese state budget.

Army Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal reported receiving assurances during talks in Washington that the United States remains committed to supporting the LAF.

Paris and the other four sponsors are counting on the Doha meeting to allow the army command to present a detailed assessment of its needs.

Borders, Syria and the Economy

Paris has also expressed satisfaction with the results of Barrot’s talks in Beirut regarding Lebanon’s relations with its neighbors, particularly Syria. French officials believe that an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners held in Lebanon back to Syria could have a positive impact on the demarcation of the land border between the two countries.

France has offered its assistance, saying it holds mandate-era maps.

The prisoner transfer deal could also impact the return of Syrian refugees, an issue of strategic importance for Lebanon.

At the same time, Paris is fully aware of the challenges Lebanon faces with Israel, whether due to near-daily military operations or Israel’s refusal to withdraw from five positions it occupies inside Lebanese territory.

France nevertheless welcomes the indirect talks held within the framework of the ceasefire mechanism committee and supports maintaining it, even though its impact on the ground has so far been limited.

Barrot's talks also focused on financial and economic issues, notably the so-called financial gap law approved by the cabinet and sent to parliament for discussion.

France has called for its approval before the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, arguing that such a step would send a positive signal about the seriousness of Lebanese authorities in addressing the country’s economic crisis.

Paris believes parliamentary approval would have a direct impact on prospects for a conference to support the Lebanese economy, which France has reaffirmed its readiness to host.

Arab World

Grundberg Warns Against Reversal of Gains in Yemen, Broader Conflict 

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg addresses the Security Council. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen/ Abdel Rahman Alzorgan)
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg addresses the Security Council. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen/ Abdel Rahman Alzorgan)
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Grundberg Warns Against Reversal of Gains in Yemen, Broader Conflict 

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg addresses the Security Council. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen/ Abdel Rahman Alzorgan)
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg addresses the Security Council. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen/ Abdel Rahman Alzorgan)

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg noted on Thursday a relative improvement in conditions in areas held by the legitimate government, warning, however, that “without a wider negotiated political settlement to the conflict, gains will continue to remain vulnerable to reversal.”

In a briefing before the UN Security Council, he said 73 UN colleagues are being held in Houthi jails. “Many have been held incommunicado, with serious concerns about their conditions and wellbeing,” he added.

He called on the Houthis “to unconditionally and immediately release detained staff and rescind all court referrals,” urging regional and international actors to use their influence to push for the same outcomes.

Elsewhere, he said that “there are early positive signs in government areas, including improvements in the provision of electricity and payment of public sector salaries. However, continued tensions, recent security incidents and demonstrations, where in some cases violence and loss of life have been reported, underscore the fragility of the situation.”

“Improvements in service delivery can be reversed if security deteriorates, if economic reforms stall, or if institutions are pulled in competing directions,” he warned.

“The new cabinet under Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani’s leadership can protect recent gains by anchoring them in strengthened institutions and economic reforms. That will require an enabling environment that shields the cabinet and the Central Bank from politicization and rebuilds confidence,” continued Grundberg.

Political process

He revealed that in recent weeks, he has been engaging with the Yemeni parties, regional actors and members of the international community to explore pathways to restart an inclusive political process. His office has also been consulting with diverse Yemenis on this question, including with governors to gain more nuanced insights into local concerns and how to address them at the national level.

Grunberg said: “Across these discussions, three reflections on the way forward are clear: First, we must be honest about what more than a decade of war has done to Yemen. The conflict has become more complex. Lines of contestation have multiplied and local dynamics have grown alongside national ones.”

“While regional tensions have increasingly fueled the conflict and been fueled by it, our common objective has remained steady and firm: Yemen needs an inclusive political process under UN auspices to reach a negotiated political settlement that can sustainably end the conflict,” he urged.

“But getting there requires that the parties adopt a forward-looking approach. We need to build on what still works, revise what are outdated assumptions, and be pragmatic in designing a political process for today’s reality.”

“Second, Yemen’s conflict is a set of interlocking files. Treating political, economic and security issues in isolation can only produce partial results that will not hold,” said the envoy. “Restarting a political process will therefore require that the parties engage across these tracks in tandem, without making engagement in one track contingent on progress in another.”

“And third, a credible process must deliver for Yemenis on two time horizons. It should enable near-term agreements that reduce suffering and demonstrate progress, including economic de-escalation measures. At the same time, it must create space for Yemenis to negotiate the longer-term issues essential to ending the conflict, including the future shape of the state, security arrangements and principles of governance,” Grundberg added.

On the issue of detainees, the envoy said the file “is a clear example of what can be achieved when the parties choose to engage in dialogue.”

“Right now, the parties are in Amman, negotiating face-to-face under UN auspices, to work through the complex task of finalizing names of detainees so a release operation can materialize, building on the agreed outcome of their meeting in Muscat in December,” he told the council.

He encouraged the parties to sustain this engagement, finalize the remaining elements “without delay, and move swiftly to implementation”. He thanked Jordan for hosting these negotiations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross for its “indispensable” role.

Broader conflict

Grundberg also noted regional tension and hoped for de-escalation.

“Whatever the regional trajectory, Yemen must not be pulled back into broader confrontation. The question of peace and war is, fundamentally, a national one. It cannot be outsourced, nor can it be appropriated by a single actor,” he said.

“No single Yemeni actor has the right to unilaterally drag the country into a regional conflict. The responsibility borne by all Yemeni actors and decision makers is first and foremost to the Yemeni people – to their security, to their livelihoods and to their future,” he added.

“Upholding Yemen’s national interest and the aspirations of all its people must remain the guiding principles at all times including in moments of heightened tension. Restraint, in this context, is an obligation,” he urged.

Arab World

ISIS Suspects Transferred from Syria to Iraq are Interrogated in a Baghdad Prison

Iraqi security forces lead suspected ISIS militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi security forces lead suspected ISIS militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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ISIS Suspects Transferred from Syria to Iraq are Interrogated in a Baghdad Prison

Iraqi security forces lead suspected ISIS militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi security forces lead suspected ISIS militants for questioning, after they were transferred from Syria to Iraq, at Al-Karkh Central Prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Inside a heavily guarded detention facility in Baghdad, men from scores of different countries and nationalities were brought one after another into interrogation rooms and questioned by Iraqi officers.

The prisoners are suspected members of the militant ISIS goup recently transferred from Syria to Iraq at the request of Baghdad — a move welcomed by the US-led coalition that had for years fought against ISIS.

Over a period of several weeks, the US military escorted more than 5,000 ISIS detainees from 60 different nationalities from prisons in northeastern Syria run by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, to Baghdad.

The transfers have helped calm fears that the fighting in Syria would allow the ISIS prisoners to flee from detention camps there and join militant sleeper cells that even to this day are able to stage attacks in both Iraq and Syria.

On Thursday, The Associated Press was given rare access to the sprawling detention facility in western Baghdad — now known as Al-Karkh Central Prison but more widely known as Camp Cooper after the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein — where the men are being interrogated.

Laying the groundwork for trials Iraq is looking to put on trial some of the thousands of the ISIS detainees who were held for years in Syria without charges or access to the judicial system.

Iraqi Judge Ali Hussein Jafat, who is heading the committee interrogating ISIS detainees brought from Syria, says it's not easy because of the sheer numbers of prisoners involved.

It's "complicated and not easy at all,” he said, adding that the detainees are from 14 Arab and 46 other countries.

Many of the detainees have respiratory diseases, so a medical center was set up to treat them, he said.

To make room for the newcomers from Syria, thousands of prisoners long held at Al-Karkh were transferred to other prisons in Iraq.

The interrogations are usually a staggered affair — the men were brought in batches, handcuffed, in yellow or brown uniforms and wearing medical face masks and taken into a long corridor with rooms on both side.

One by one they are then taken into interrogation rooms, where they sit on a chair as an officer takes down their information. From behind a small window, the AP could observe the questioning but not discern the questions or the detainees' answers. It wasn't clear if the prisoners were under duress.

Some of the prisoners are taken to the medical center for a checkup.

How the transfer came about

The forces of Syria's new government that in December 2024 ousted strongman Bashar Assad launched an offensive in January, capturing wide swaths of territory from the Kurdish-led SDF.

A ceasefire was later reached, ending the fight and the SDF withdrew as part of the agreement.

At the time, the United States announced that many of the nearly 9,000 detainees held in more than a dozen Syrian detention centers will be transferred to Iraq.

So far, 5,383 ISIS suspects have been brought to Iraq. The last batch is expected to arrive on Sunday, Jafat said.

A dark past

When ISIS declared a caliphate — a self-proclaimed territory under a traditional form of their extremist rule — in large parts of Syria and Iraq that the militant group seized in 2014, it attracted extremists from around the world.

From the caliphate, the extremists plotted attacks around the world that left hundreds dead from Europe to Arab countries and Asia.

The group also carried out brutalities in Syria and Iraq, including the enslavement of thousands of Yazidi women and girls who were taken when the militants overran northern Iraq. Strict rules were implemented, with ISIS beheading its opponents, thieves having their hands amputated while women accused of adultery were stoned to death.

Over the years, an international campaign by a US-led coalition defeated ISIS in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.

“Some of them are extremely dangerous,” Jafat said about the detainees.

He added that he has so far seen detainees from Australia, Canada, Türkiye, Germany, Britain and the former Soviet Union.

Many of the countries don't want the militants who are their nationals back and Jafat said it is too early to say whether the detainees could be extradited or repatriated to their countries of origin.

Those who committed crimes in Iraq will stand trials in Iraq and the proceedings will be open to the public, he added.