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Israeli Families Move into New West Bank Settlement Near Nablus

06 May 2026, Palestinian Territories, Sa-Nur: An aerial view shows rebuilt structures at the Sa-Nur settlement south of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
06 May 2026, Palestinian Territories, Sa-Nur: An aerial view shows rebuilt structures at the Sa-Nur settlement south of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
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Israeli Families Move into New West Bank Settlement Near Nablus

06 May 2026, Palestinian Territories, Sa-Nur: An aerial view shows rebuilt structures at the Sa-Nur settlement south of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
06 May 2026, Palestinian Territories, Sa-Nur: An aerial view shows rebuilt structures at the Sa-Nur settlement south of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa

Israeli families moved into a new settlement on a mountain towering over the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the settler regional council for the area said.

"This morning, families from the Ebal founding group are transferring their equipment and moving into caravans in the new Ebal settlement, established in Samaria," the Samaria Regional Council said, using the Biblical name for the north of the West Bank.

Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, among some three million Palestinians.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

In a video shared by the council, a dozen Israeli settlers were seen carrying moving boxes and furniture into mobile-homes typical of new settlements.

A newly paved road lined with Israeli flags on the mountain was lined with around 10 mobile homes.

Mount Ebal is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank. In the valley below, residents of Nablus' Old City told AFP they could see the settlement's homes.

"Palestinian citizens used to go to Mount Ebal to stroll and breathe fresh air, but today they have cut off our air by encircling Nablus from all sides with settlements and attacks," said Ghassan Daghlas, governor of the Nablus region.

He said that a military camp and parts of a settlement on the other mountain near Nablus, Mount Gerizim, had already made Palestinian residents feel encircled.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said that 600 families were expected to live at Ebal settlement in the future.

"We are establishing here a thriving settlement that will illuminate the entire region, and this is a huge step on the way toward expanding our presence throughout the northern Samaria area," Dagan said at the site.

Since taking office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in the country's history, has approved the establishment of 102 settlements in the West Bank, according to Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now.

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Arab World

Iraq Sentences US-Sanctioned Oil Official to Prison

The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)
The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)
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Iraq Sentences US-Sanctioned Oil Official to Prison

The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)
The sun sets behind apartment buildings in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP)

Iraq sentenced a US-sanctioned oil official to seven years in prison after he was arrested as part of a government-led anti-corruption campaign, the country's anti-graft body said on Sunday.

Deputy oil minister for distribution affairs Ali al-Bahadli is among dozens of officials who were detained in June during anti-graft raids that took place in several areas, mostly in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

The Commission of Integrity said in a statement that an anti-corruption court sentenced Bahadli to seven years in prison for "illicit gains".

The ruling requires Bahadli to return to the state an amount equivalent to more than $20 million in ill-gotten gains, in addition to paying a fine of the same amount.

The United States imposed sanctions on Bahadli in May, accusing him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions.

At the time, Iraq's oil ministry denied the accusations against Bahadli, who was then arrested during the anti-graft raids.

Iraqi authorities said that the raids were part of new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's campaign to fight the corruption that has plagued Iraq for decades.

But several Iraqi officials told AFP that the raids were also part of al-Zaidi's campaign against funding for pro-Iran armed groups and the smuggling of Iranian oil.

Iraq has been under mounting pressure from the United States to curb Tehran's influence and rein in Iran-backed armed factions, which Washington designates as terrorist groups.

Al-Zaidi, who took office this year with the blessing of the United States, has pledged to ensure the armed factions that emerged after the US-led invasion hand over their weapons to the state.

In Iraq, corruption is especially rampant across public institutions, but convictions typically target mid-level officials or minor players and rarely those at the top of the power hierarchy.

Arab World

US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank

Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)
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US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank

Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli settlers look out through a metal fence, as an Israeli flag flutters nearby, on the day of their weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 29, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli settlers attacked an NBC crew in the central West Bank Saturday, as they were interviewing a Palestinian woman who said she’d been driven out of her house by settlers, the network said.

NBC’s American correspondent Matt Bradley, two other crew members and the woman they were interviewing were all treated for injuries sustained during the attack, NBC said. There were no further details on their injuries.

The assault was caught on video and shared by NBC, with footage showing masked settlers approaching the crew with sticks and beating the crew’s vehicles.

Israel’s military said it was “aware of reports of Palestinian injuries, including a Palestinian woman who sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was evacuated by the Red Crescent for medical treatment.” It did not comment on the attack on the NBC crew.

It was the latest in a growing wave of violence by West Bank settlers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare condemnation of the violence on Saturday. The Israeli leader has come under heavy US criticism for the settler attacks.

Settlers seized British activist and held him locked in shed

Israeli settlers seized a British activist from a Palestinian village in the West Bank and locked him in a shed before turning him over to police, his lawyer said Sunday.

The lawyer, Inbar Shaked Vardi, said settlers held her client, Finn Joughin, for half an hour Saturday before turning him over to Israeli police. Joughin was set to appear before a Jerusalem court later Sunday, she said.

Video showed two settlers, one armed, restraining Joughin and marching him away from the village.

It was not immediately clear what led to his capture. Settlers say he assaulted a child, accusations Vardi vehemently denied.

Settlers point to a video where the activist uses his body in an apparent attempt to block a settler boy from passing through a fence. Vardi said the video shows he was trying to protect the village.

Police said they were investigating and holding Joughin in custody on suspicion of committing an indecent act against a minor.

Arab World

Libya Rivals Agree Roadmap for Elections Within 24 Months at UN-Led Talks

People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)
People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)
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Libya Rivals Agree Roadmap for Elections Within 24 Months at UN-Led Talks

People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)
People wave Libyan flags during a demonstration in Benghazi February 7, 2014. (Reuters)

Representatives of ‌Libya's rival political parties on Sunday signed an agreement on holding long-delayed national elections within two years to resolve contentious issues over electoral laws and reform the national elections body.

The political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed following disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.

Sunday's signing ceremony was held at the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, in ‌the Libyan capital ‌Tripoli.

It followed talks in a ‌smaller ⁠format, known as ⁠the 4+4, that involved two representatives of each of Libya's four main institutions: the Government of National Unity, the High Council of State, the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army.

Walid Ellafi, state minister of political affairs and communications in the Government of National Unity, said legislative and ⁠presidential elections should be held "within a period not ‌exceeding 24 months" under a ‌single executive authority and unified national institutions.

Shibani AbuHamoud, head ‌of the army's general command, said the 4+4 would work ‌with UNSMIL "to develop a framework within one month of the signing of the agreement to follow up on all matters related to its implementation".

The agreement says that if Libya's House ‌of Representatives and High Council of State fail to approve the deal within a month, the ⁠parties ⁠will seek to adopt it nationally as a constitutional document through broad national mechanisms and secure international backing through the UN Security Council.

Libya has had little stability or security since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

It split in 2014 between warring eastern and western factions but there has been little major warfare since a 2020 ceasefire.

All Libya's major political players have repeatedly called for elections, but many Libyan people have voiced doubts that they would want a vote that could push most of them from positions of authority.