Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian in West Bank Gunbattle

Palestinians check damage at a house in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on August 17, 2023, following an Israeli military raid. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

08:40-17 August 2023 AD ـ 01 Safar 1445 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

08:40-17 August 2023 AD ـ 01 Safar 1445 AH

Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian in West Bank Gunbattle

Palestinians check damage at a house in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on August 17, 2023, following an Israeli military raid. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

Israeli forces raided a home above a bakery in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, killing one man in a gunbattle in Jenin.

The troops surrounded a building containing a bakery and a home. In a statement, the Israeli military said special forces were arresting two militant suspects when they came under fire, shot back and entered the building.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Mustafa al-Kastouni, 32. It was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with a militant group. The Hamas militant group said its fighters engaged in a gunbattle with Israeli troops in Jenin and lobbed explosives at the forces.

The military said al-Kastouni was killed after he shot at troops. It said he was linked to militant activity against Israeli forces.

Witnesses told Palestinian media that Israeli special forces surrounded the bakery and the home above it, opened fire and struck the home. Video on social media showed piles of debris scattered beneath a sign reading “Al-Nour Modern Bakery” as men rushed al-Kastouni's body away from the scene.

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Ahmed al-Sharaa receiving the director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in Damascus. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

11:05-19 December 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

11:05-19 December 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbors or to the West, denying that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

"Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way," he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the opposition alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organization. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK.

Sharaa denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan, saying the two countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He also told the BCC that he believed in education for women.

"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's northwestern province that has been held by opposition fighters since 2011.

"I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%."

Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian in West Bank Gunbattle

Israeli Troops Kill a Palestinian in West Bank Gunbattle

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Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

Sharaa Denies he Wants to Turn Syria into a Version of Afghanistan

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