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DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad and Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi met Monday in Damascus and discussed war refugees and a crackdown on cross-border drug smuggling, Amman’s foreign ministry said.
Safadi’s visit comes at a time of increasing regional engagement with the Assad regime, peaking with Damascus’s return to the Arab League after years of isolation since Syria’s war began in 2011.
The meeting “focused on the issue of refugee returns and the necessary measures to facilitate the voluntary return” of Syrian refugees from Jordan, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Assad and Safadi also discussed “humanitarian, security and political” steps toward a “comprehensive solution” to Syria’s crisis, it added.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests which spiralled into a conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.
In May, the Arab League readmitted Damascus, despite no political settlement to the conflict in sight.
Arab states hope to find a solution for the millions of Syrian refugees living in neighboring countries, including 1.3 million in Jordan.
The Jordanian statement said Safadi discussed with Assad “the dangers posed by drug smuggling across the Syrian border into the kingdom, and the need for cooperation to confront it.”
During his visit, Jordan’s foreign minister also met with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad.
The two discussed a “joint committee to combat drug smuggling” that would meet in Amman “as soon as possible,” the Jordanian foreign ministry said.
Jordanian security forces have tightened border controls in recent years and occasionally announce thwarted drugs and weapons smuggling attempts from Syria.
DUBAI: As Israel conducts a massive ground offensive in a densely populated Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the assault has a strong sense of deja vu about it, at least to those who remember the raids and confrontations of 2002 that turned the Battle of Jenin into a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
Despite the passage of 21 years between the two Israeli military operations, the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has remained largely unchanged. If anything, the little hope of a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict that existed in 2002 has evaporated with the political ascendancy of the Israeli far right.
Since Monday morning Jenin has been witnessing fierce aerial bombardments and ground incursions by the Israeli military, involving elite special forces, armored personnel carriers, bulldozers, helicopters and drones. The assault began with a drone strike on an apartment in the middle of the refugee camp.
The Israeli military said the apartment was a “joint operational command center” for the Jenin Brigades, a unit consisting of militant groups whose members mainly belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. More than 10,000 Palestinians are believed to reside within less than half a kilometer of the apparent target.
Made up largely of camps initially set up in the 1950s, Jenin is home to more than 22,000 Palestinians who were expelled from their original homes in 1948 during the Nakba, or Catastrophe — the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias to create the State of Israel.
To Palestinians, the enclave embodies armed resistance against the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. To Israelis, Jenin is a hotbed of militancy which belongs to groups that run the ideological gamut from Hamas and Islamic Jihad to Fatah.
Mansour Al-Saadi, the deputy governor of Jenin, told Arab News that the Israeli army had isolated the refugee camp from the city using dirt mounds that its bulldozers piled up at all the entrances. “If the military operation continues for a longer period, the situation in Jenin camp will turn into a humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Abdullah Amawi, a Palestinian resident of a refugee camp in Lebanon, said: “I have some of my relatives in Jenin. We keep in touch through social media as I cannot call them directly. All the social posts I see are of smoke, fires and wounded residents. All I can do is pray: Pray for their lives, their safety, for a continuous roof on top of their heads and, ultimately, freedom.”
Expressing alarm about the Israeli assault, Lynn Hastings, the UN’s resident humanitarian coordinator, wrote on Twitter: “Airstrikes were used in the densely populated refugee camp. Several dead and critically wounded. Access to all injured must be ensured.”
A spokesperson for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, condemned the Israeli offensive as “a new war crime against our defenseless people,” adding: “Our Palestinian people will not kneel, will not surrender, will not raise the white flag and will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression.”
In comments on Twitter on Monday, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, said: “The bombing of cities and camps by planes and the bulldozing of houses and roads is a collective punishment and revenge that will only lead to further detonation of the situation.”
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said the airstrikes were intended to “minimize friction” for the soldiers deployed on the ground. He added the operation sought to end a “safe haven mindset” in the refugee camps that he claimed housed 19 people suspected of attacks on Israelis.
Over the past 24 hours, more Israeli airstrikes have been launched and thousands of soldiers have been stationed in Jenin to try and seize weapons. According to Palestinian Ministry of Health officials, eight Palestinians have died and 50 have been injured so far.
The Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims the offensive is “dealing a heavy blow to terrorists in Jenin.” The Israeli military has issued no statement to indicate when its operation will come to an end, while Israeli army radio has said it involves 1,000 troops and dozens of drones and could last for days.
As the gun battle raged between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters on Monday, the Jenin Brigades said in a statement: “We will fight the occupation forces until the last breath and bullet. We work together and are unified from all factions and military formations.”
The Battle of Jenin left 50 Palestinian civilians and fighters and 23 Israeli soldiers dead in April 2002.
Prior to the Israeli assault, a rocket had been launched from the Jenin area toward an Israeli community and exploded soon after it was fired, according to video footage.
Tensions had increased in the area after an Israeli military operation on June 19 in Jenin turned deadly, with five Palestinians killed in a gun battle, one of whom was a 15-year-old Palestinian girl. Dozens more were wounded, according to Palestinian health officials.
Jenin and Nablus have been the two major targets of Israel’s Operation Breakwater, which was launched more than a year ago. The operation has seen nightly Israeli raids and some of the fiercest clashes in the occupied territories since the second mass Palestinian uprising or intifada.
The ongoing Israeli offensive is the most intense since the Battle of Jenin, which left 50 Palestinian civilians and fighters and 23 Israeli soldiers dead in the space of little over a week in 2002. Thirteen of the soldiers were killed in a single ambush while trying to negotiate the refugee camp’s booby-trapped streets.
The offensive began on April 9, 2002, as Israeli forces, backed by fighter jets, invaded the camp with more than 150 armored tanks and bulldozers. The assault was launched a few days after a Palestinian suicide bombing which killed 30 people during a large gathering for the Jewish holiday of Passover.
The ensuing clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops went on for more than 10 days, razing a large section of Jenin town and leaving some 3,000 Palestinians homeless. Allegations surfaced of extrajudicial killings by the Israeli military and the final death toll is still not a settled debate.
The Israeli government at the time framed Operation Defensive Shield — the country’s largest military mobilization since 1967 — as a defensive measure and a response to suicide bombings inside Israel that collectively claimed 56 lives and left hundreds injured.
In the period between the two offensives, successive Israeli governments, instead of treating the Palestinian Authority as a security partner, have taken actions that have weakened it. Simultaneously, far-right settler groups have accumulated political power in Israel at the expense of parties that support a two-state solution.
The upshot has been growing Palestinian disillusionment with the policies of the Abbas government and the increased popularity of armed groups in Jenin and Nablus, among other cities.
The past year, which has seen more than 140 Palestinian deaths, mostly in clashes or as bystanders, has proved to be the deadliest in more than a decade. Close to 30 Israelis have lost their lives during the same period.
The military operation in Jenin has so far received broad endorsement from Israelis, with even the centrist Yair Lapid voicing his support. “This is a justified step against a terror infrastructure based on accurate and high-quality intelligence,” he said on Twitter.
BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force on the Lebanon-Israel border said Monday its commander is in contact with officials in both countries over tensions regarding two tents set up by the militant Hezbollah group last month.
Israel filed a complaint with the United Nations in June claiming that Hezbollah had set up tents several dozen meters (yards) inside of Israeli territory.
The area where the tents were erected in Chebaa Farms and the Kfar Chouba hills were captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and are part of Syria’s Golan Heights that Israel annexed in 1981. The Lebanese government says the area belongs to Lebanon.
Israeli media reported Sunday that Hezbollah evacuated one of the two tents but there has been no confirmation from the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
The head of the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro, “continues to be in direct contact with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to resolve the situation of the tents,” UNIFIL said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. The borderline demarcated after Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 is known as the blue line.
UNIFIL added: “We are looking into reports that a tent has been moved north of the Blue Line.” UNIFIL added that any unauthorized presence or activity “near the Blue Line is a concern, and has the potential to increase tension and misunderstandings.”
The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc Mohammed Raad said Saturday that the tents are in Lebanon. He added, referring to Israel: “You cannot remove two tents because there is resistance and strong men in this country.”
Israel and Hezbollah fought to a draw in a monthlong war in Lebanon in 2006. Last week, Hezbollah said it shot down an Israel drone flying over a village in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has in the past claimed downing Israeli drones, and Israel’s military also has said in the past that they have shot down Hezbollah drones.
Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
TUNIS: A man stabbed a national guard officer in La Goulette, a suburb of the capital Tunis, the interior ministry said on Monday, the second such attack targeting the police in two weeks.
Police quickly arrested the suspect, the ministry said. The national guard officer was taken to a hospital and his condition was listed as stable.
The reasons of the attack are unknown.
Last month, a policeman died after a man fatally stabbed him on duty outside the Brazilian embassy in Tunis.
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled Monday that his country is not ready to ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO, saying Stockholm had to work harder on the “homework” it needs to complete.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan also renewed his condemnation of a Qur’an-burning protest that took place in Sweden last week, describing the action as a hate crime against Muslims.
“We have made it clear that the determined fight against terrorist organizations and Islamophobia are our red line,” Erdogan said. “Everyone must accept that Turkiye’s friendship cannot be won by supporting terrorism or by making space for terrorists.”
Turkiye has delayed giving its final approval to Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations and groups that Ankara regards as security threats. These include militant Kurdish groups that have waged a deadly, decades-long insurgency in Turkiye.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkiye that has left tens of thousands dead. It is designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.
NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12 but Erdogan said Stockholm still had obligations to fulfill. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkiye and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s bid.
“Instead of wasting time with distraction tactics, we believe that keeping to the promises will be a more rational, more beneficial method,” Erdogan said. “We advise them to scrutinize themselves and do their homework better.”
He was referring to a memorandum that Sweden and Finland signed with Turkiye last year under which they agreed to address Ankara’s concerns. Fighting Islamophobia was not included in the memorandum.
Last week, Swedish police allowed a protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Qur’an-burning.
“The vile attack on our holy book, the Holy Qur’an, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, enraged us all,” Erdogan said. “This perverted disregard for the feelings of 2 billion Muslims cannot be compatible with the most basic human values, let alone freedom of thought.”
Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year after Turkiye’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.
Sweden changed its anti-terror legislation since applying for NATO membership, but Turkiye argues supporters of militant groups can freely organize demonstrations, recruit and procure financial resources in the country.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week called a meeting of senior officials from Turkiye, Sweden and Finland for July 6 to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military alliance.
GAZA CITY: The popularity of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has fallen sharply, while support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad has grown, according to an Israeli study.
The report, carried out by the Institute for National Security Studies at the Israeli Tel Aviv University, urged the Israeli government to strengthen the PA’s security services and boost its economy, describing it as being in the “Israeli interest.”
The research team comprised a retired major general and two academics from the University of Wales in the UK.
Mukhaimer Abu Sa’adaa, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said there was ambiguity in Israel’s policy toward Hamas in Gaza and the PA in the West Bank.
“The current Israeli government or its predecessor has no interest in changing the existing reality between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and keeping the division is a clear Israeli goal, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about explicitly,” he told Arab News.
The study said the lack of prospects for a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and presence of a right-wing Israeli government were the key reasons for the falling popularity of the PA under President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Despite the hopes of many, almost three decades after the establishment of the PA and after a series of failed negotiations and policy initiatives, the Israeli-Palestinian political process has reached an impasse,” it said.
The study looked at the causes of the PA’s weakness and the rise of Hamas’ popularity in light of the absence of a clear strategy from Israeli governments on dealing with the Palestinian Authority.
“It seems that the PA — under the leadership of Abu Mazen (Abbas) — is in the most severe situation since the days of the second intifada and on a path of ongoing decline that may end in its collapse,” the study said.
The PA is facing multiple challenges, the most prominent of which are the economic crisis and falling revenues, which have led to the weakening of its security grip in some parts of the West Bank.
In recent months, the authority has been able to pay government employees only partial salaries, which has caused unrest and led to teachers and doctors going on strike more than once.
Israel stepped up its military offensives in the north of the West Bank at the beginning of last year, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries. The incursions into Palestinian cities further weakened the capabilities of the Palestinian Authority.
“The legitimacy of the PA under the leadership of Abu Mazen is at a low point in Palestinian public opinion,” the study said.
It added that the PA and its security apparatus “do not control parts of the territory under their responsibility, as local organizations — alongside the known terrorist organizations — manage to expand their ranks and terrorist infrastructures for the purpose of launching terrorist attacks” against Israeli security forces and Israeli civilians in the West Bank and in Israel.
The president’s “continued resistance to terrorism and support for security cooperation is seen as irrelevant, not serving or promoting the Palestinian interest and therefore illegitimate,” it said.
A separate poll conducted last month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that 63 percent of Palestinians believe the PA is a burden on them, while 80 percent were dissatisfied with Abbas’ performance.
It found that 50 percent of Palestinians thought the PA’s dissolution would be in the best interests of the Palestinian public, while 63 percent thought its survival was in Israel’s interest.
A total of 71 percent said they supported the establishment of groups such as Lion’s Den that are not under the control of the PA, while 80 percent opposed the PA’s call for them to be disarmed.
The INSS study said that Israel and the Palestinian leadership “do not see eye to eye on the meaning of a strong PA.”
“While the Israeli emphasis is on the functioning of the PA and its adherence to a political process based on direct negotiations with Israel, the Palestinian leadership seeks a strong PA not only for the purposes of improved performance but for the purpose of tightening political and civil control under conditions of lack of legitimacy,” it said.
“Hamas’ political strength does not rest only on its ideology, nor only on the negative sentiment toward the PA. The source of Hamas’ strength is its military capabilities, its full control of the Gaza Strip thanks to its military power, and its cooperation infrastructure with Iran and Hezbollah, which allows it to advance its military buildup in the West Bank, launch and operate the terrorist infrastructures, undermine the security reality and undermine the stature of the PA.”