by tyler | May 3, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Israel conducted strikes on the Gaza Strip late Tuesday and militants there fired rockets toward Israel following the death of a prominent Palestinian hunger striker in an Israeli prison.
The exchange of fire came after former Islamic Jihad spokesman Khader Adnan died in Israeli custody on Tuesday following an 87-day hunger strike.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, and in response, its fighter jets struck a military post, a weapon storage, weapon manufacturing sites, and a training facility belonging to Hamas – the militant group that runs Gaza – along with a cement manufacturing site used by the group to maintain its infrastructure.
The Israeli military said 104 rockets were launched from Gaza, including 24 that were intercepted by Israel and 48 that fell in open areas. The IDF said it hit 16 targets in Gaza, saying “we attacked everything we wanted tonight.”
Sirens sounded into the early hours of Wednesday morning in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip and rockets could be heard and seen being launched from the coastal enclave, according to CNN’s team in Jerusalem and Gaza.
“The strike was carried out in response to the rocket launches from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory earlier today, this strike significantly harms the capabilities and prevents further weapon acquisition capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.
On Wednesday morning, Islamic Jihad announced that “a round of confrontations” had ended with Israel, according to the militant group’s spokesperson Tariq Selmi.
Israeli military spokesperson Richard Hecht said there was no official ceasefire with Hamas but “messages have been passed.”
Earlier, the Israeli military said that after an assessment of the situation, “and following the directives of the Home Front Command, it was decided to return to the normal routine fully.”
Adnan, 45, had been on hunger strike since his arrest on February 5 and was found dead in his cell on Tuesday, according to the Israeli Prison Service.
Adnan had been detained at least 11 times since 2004 and his repeated arrests and prolonged hunger strikes had made him a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies.
His death sparked anger in the West Bank, with protests, a general strike and other Palestinian detainees staging a hunger strike.
The IDF said the Israeli military would hold Hamas responsible for “all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip and it will face the consequences of the security.”
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said a 58-year-old Palestinian man was killed and five others injured in Gaza during the overnight hostilities.
Earlier Tuesday in the Israeli city of Sderot, three people were wounded by shrapnel, with one man suffering serious injuries, emergency services said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been in touch with Egypt, Qatar and the UN about the strikes, according to a Hamas statement early Wednesday morning.
“Haniyeh holds the occupation responsible for the consequences of continuing this brutal aggression,” the statement read.
Adnan is at least the seventh Palestinian detainee to die on hunger strike in an Israeli prison since 1970, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society told CNN.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of carrying out a “deliberate assassination… by refusing his request to release him, neglecting him medically and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition.”
Israel has not yet returned Adnan’s body to his family, his lawyer Jamil Al Khatib told CNN by phone. His family has requested that there should not be an autopsy and that the body be given to the family for burial, the lawyer added.
Adnan’s widow pleaded for non-violence in the wake of his death.
“Not a drop of blood was spilled during the prisoner’s previous hunger strikes, and today we say with the rise of the martyr and his accomplishment of what he wished for, we do not want a drop of blood to be spilled,” Randa Musa said, adding that it was too late for arms to help him.
by tyler | May 2, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan, an Islamic Jihad former spokesman who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies, died Tuesday after 87 days of hunger strike, authorities said.
Adnan, 45, had been on hunger strike since his arrest on February 5, and while in detention he refused to get medical checks, the Israeli Prison Service said in a statement announcing his death.
The news sparked widespread anger in the West Bank, and rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel. Adnan’s widow, however, called for calm in the wake of her husband’s death.
He was found dead in his cell following his almost 3-month hunger strike, the prison service added.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society also announced Adnan’s death, saying “the Israeli occupation assassinated Sheikh Khader Adnan.”
Islamic Jihad announced a posthumous promotion for him to commander, saying “Khader Adnan rose as a martyr in a crime for which the Zionist occupation bears full and direct responsibility.”
The Iranian-backed Palestinian militant group is responsible for the killings of scores of people in Israel in suicide bombings and rocket attacks.
He was detained in February on suspicion of membership in a terrorist organization, support for terrorism and incitement, Israeli authorities said. He had not been tried at the time of his death.
Following news of his death, Palestinian political parties announced a general strike in the West Bank in mourning for Adnan, with the shuttering of courts, schools, universities and shops.
Palestinian detainees in Ofer Prison, an Israeli military prison in the West Bank, began a general hunger strike to protest his death, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said.
Adnan was from Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Video from Jenin showed one of his sons protesting over his father’s death during a protest.
Adnan’s widow pleaded for non-violence in the wake of his death. “Not a drop of blood was spilled during the prisoner’s previous hunger strikes, and today we say with the rise of the martyr and his accomplishment of what he wished for, we do not want a drop of blood to be spilled,” Randa Musa said, adding that it was too late for arms to help him.
Addressing Palestinian militant factions directly, she said weapons had not freed him: “Whoever has the weapon should have used it before the sheikh died, but now we don’t need this weapon.”
She spoke before a stream of rockets shot from Gaza. At least 22 rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said. Four were intercepted by Israel’s Aerial Defense Array and 16 fell in open areas, the Israeli military added. It did not account for the other launches.
At least three people were injured by shrapnel in the Israeli city of Sderot after the rockets were fired, emergency services said.
The three were foreign workers on a building site, Magen David Adom said. One of the victims was in serious condition, and two others were in mild condition, MDA said. All three were taken to Barzilai hospital.
Israel Police identified at least five locations where rockets landed, the Israel Police spokesperson’s unit said. Three were in Sderot and two others were in nearby communities.
The reports came as the IDF instructed Israelis who live near Gaza to remain near designated shelters.
A source in the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, said earlier that security and military sites were being evacuated in anticipation of Israeli response.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of carrying out a “deliberate assassination… by refusing his request to release him, neglecting him medically and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his health condition.”
Israel has not yet returned Khader Adnan’s body to his family, his lawyer Jamil Al Khatib told CNN by phone. His family has requested that there should not be an autopsy and that the body be given to the family for burial, the lawyer said.
Adnan first gained international attention for a 66-day hunger strike that ended in February 2012, which was at the time the longest known hunger strike by a Palestinian detainee in Israeli prisons.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, he has been arrested at least 11 times since 2004 and held five hunger strikes. In 2015, he went on hunger strike for 55 days before Israeli authorities released him.
Adnan spent a total of eight years in Israeli jails, mostly under administrative detention, a controversial Israeli military procedure that allows authorities to hold detainees indefinitely on security grounds. The process also allows for detention based on secret evidence, and there is no requirement to charge the detainees or to allow them to stand trial.
His hunger strikes from jail became a rallying cry for Palestinians, who staged multiple rallies of support in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel has 4,900 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, with 1,000 of them being held in administrative detention without charge – the highest number since 2003, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.
Adnan is at least the seventh Palestinian detainee to die on hunger strike in an Israeli prison since 1970, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society told CNN. Abdel Qader Abu Al-Fahm was the first, followed by four in 1980 and one in 1992.
by tyler | Apr 20, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Dozens of people were killed in a crowd surge in Yemen’s capital on Wednesday as needy residents in the war-torn nation flocked to receive charity handouts from local merchants during the holy month of Ramadan, officials have confirmed.
Video of the tragedy in Sanaa showed a chaotic scene with dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move and shouting for help.
Those trapped formed a tangled wall of bodies with some desperately stretching out their arms for help. A couple of men who were freed could then be seen attempting to pull others out of the deadly crush. Images from the aftermath showed shoes and slippers heaped into piles as well as scarfs strewn on the floor.
“What happened tonight is a tragic and painful accident, as dozens of people were killed due to a large stampede of a number of citizens caused by a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants and without coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” the spokesman of the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior, Abdul-Khaleq al-Ajri, said in the statement.
At least 78 people were killed in the crush and dozens injured, Mutahar al-Marouni, the director of the Houthi-run Health office in Sanaa, told the Houthi-run Al-Masirah news agency.
According to Reuters, hundreds of people had crowded into a school to receive donations of about $9.
The incident came just a few days ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. During this time of the month, people start giving away Zakat al-Fitr, or the Zakat of Breaking the Fast of Ramadan, to people who are in need.
Naseh Shaker, a journalist who was at the scene, told CNN there was a “very long line of people” gathered at the entrance to the school, which was being used for distributing food and financial aid. They had begun queuing after sunset with the hopes of receiving the donation, he said.
When officials in charge of the distribution arrived and opened the door, “a lot of people rushed into the school.”
“This is a disaster to find people sacrificed their lives for just 10 dollars,” Shaker said. “People are very hungry people are very poor.”
Another eyewitness who was inside the school when the crush happened told Houthi media that more than 3,000 people had gathered to collect donations, and that they were all “standing, pushing and climbing on top of each other.”
“We tried reasoning with them, told them to go back. But there were too many people,” he said.
Police and rescue teams rushed to the scene, according to the Interior Ministry statement.
“The dead and injured people were transferred to hospitals, and two merchants in charge of the matter were arrested,” the statement added.
The head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi Al-Mashat, ordered an investigation into the incident on Thursday.
The Houthi-run General Authority for Zakat announced in a statement it would give one million Yemeni Riyal (about $4,000) to each family of the crowd surge victims.
It also said it would take care of the treatment of those injured and pay 200,000 Yemeni Riyal (about $800) to each injured person.
The stampede and its overwhelming death toll reflect the current poverty rate in Yemen, said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.
“Poverty rates have greatly increased and there are more people in need,” Nagi told CNN. “The merchant who used to help 1,000 or 2,000 people now has to help 5,000 or 10,000 people.”
And while the humanitarian situation is dire all over Yemen, it is particularly bad in Houthi-held areas, he said, noting that nearly 65% of Yemen’s population is under Houthi control.
Houthis deal with the economic problems in areas under their control “as if they are not responsible,” attributing the different crises plaguing their cities to the war, the blockade, or other foreign actors in Yemen, Nagi said.
“Assistance is not enough,” he said, “And the authorities are not concerned with society’s conditions … that is the root cause of the problem.”
A top Houthi official last week told CNN that talks with the Saudis were focused on meeting the Houthis’ humanitarian demands, such as removing the blockade on ports, opening Yemen’s airspace and paying the salaries of public sector employees.
Yemeni journalist Shaker said Wednesday’s tragedy was the result of years of economic desperation and the international community should “act now” to stop the war.
“People are no longer killed by air strikes or by shelling of warring parties. Now they are dying because they are rushing to get food,” he said.
Yemen has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nine years of war have killed thousands, destroyed the economy and left 21.6 million people – two-thirds of the country’s population – in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Tens of thousands of Yemenis are living in famine, according to the UN.
The country’s conflict began as a civil war in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis.
But it eventually became a proxy war between Iran – which has been accused of arming the Houthis – and Saudi Arabia, and the main arena for their competition for regional influence.
On Sunday, a Saudi delegation arrived in Sanaa for talks with the Houthis aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire. Last Friday, negotiations bore their biggest fruits yet with a three-day prisoner swap of nearly 900 detainees from both sides. Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam tweeted on Friday that talks had been “serious and positive.”
by tyler | Apr 17, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are not interested in spreading tyranny in the country and are willing to share power with other political factions if a permanent ceasefire with Saudi Arabia is reached, a top Houthi official has said.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, member of the Supreme Political Council and former head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said that other Yemeni factions have nothing to fear in case of a withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, promising an inclusive form of governance.
“If we were not looking for full control during the war, then we will not look for full control at any other time,” al-Houthi told CNN.
His attempts at reassurance will likely be viewed skeptically by the Houthis’ rivals, and come amid concerns from other stakeholders that a truce with Saudi Arabia will give the heavily-armed Iran-backed rebels free rein to take over the entire country.
Yemen’s conflict began as a civil war in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis. Eight years later, the coalition has been unable to dislodge the rebels, who have fired hundreds of rockets toward Saudi cities in retaliation. The war has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving thousands dead and pushing parts of the country into famine.
A Saudi delegation arrived in Sanaa on Sunday for talks with the Houthis aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire. And on Friday, negotiations bore their biggest fruits yet with the beginning of a three-day prisoner swap of nearly 900 detainees from both sides. Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam tweeted on Friday that talks had been “serious and positive.”
Saudi Arabia has begun mending ties with old foes of late, namely Iran, Syria and now Yemen’s Houthis as it redirects its focus on economic growth at home, which requires regional stability.
“Saudi Arabia currently needs stability on its southern border and to (eliminate) threats to it from Houthis and others,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, adding that it will transform its role in Yemen from a military one to one of soft power.
Al-Houthi told CNN the group is willing to share power and resources with the Yemeni people. “We do not want to tyrannize anything,” he said, adding that it is keen to speak to other Yemeni factions and work with them to achieve what is in their interests and “in the interest of the public.”
Experts have argued that a Saudi deal with the Houthis that does not address the pre-existing political problems among Yemen’s disparate groups will only end the international dimension of the war and could escalate the civil conflict.
Other factions, especially the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) that controls parts of the south, may find al-Houthi’s promises difficult to believe, experts say, as all other stakeholders in the conflict – including the United Nations – have been excluded from the current Houthi-Saudi talks.
CNN has reached out to the Saudi government for comment.
“What (al-Houthi) means by Yemen’s interests is recognizing the Houthis as the only legitimate authority to rule the country,” Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, told CNN. “What he means is that the Houthis have no intention of forcefully taking over Yemen if all other parties accept to be subordinates to the Houthis in any future arrangements.”
The STC, she said, is heavily dependent on the UAE’s support and if that ends with the withdrawal of foreign forces, they don’t have a great chance to stand up to the Houthis, “who have much more sophisticated weapons, fighting experience, training, and (Iranian) commanders helping them.”
The STC didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment but has said previously that it stands by its rejection of a Houthi-controlled Yemen. The group has demanded a split of the country into north and south.
The Houthi leader told CNN he expected Saudi Arabia to ensure the departure of all foreign forces, including the UAE, from the country.”Our real demand is the exit of all foreign forces from the Republic of Yemen,” he said. “There is no complete resolution that can be reached unless all occupying forces leave the Yemeni republic, and this includes all islands and other areas.”
The UAE is a member of the Saudi-led coalition but partially withdrew its troops from Yemen in 2019. Abu Dhabi nonetheless retains strong influence over Yemen’s south.
Al-Dawsari said Abu Dhabi and Riyadh may not see eye to eye on the future of Yemen, but the UAE has repeatedly said that it supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts in the country. On Monday, a senior UAE official told CNN that the UAE “supports current efforts by Saudi Arabia to bring a political solution to the crisis, to bring peace and a permanent end to hostilities between all the various Yemen parties.”
Mohamed Ali al-Houthi told CNN that talks with the Saudis haven’t included “political things,” insisting that Riyadh instead focus on meeting the group’s demands such as removing the blockade on ports, opening Yemen’s airspace and paying the salaries of public sector employees.
Internal matters, including demands by the STC for the south of the country to secede, will be dealt with “in the future,” he said. The STC will be given “what is rightful (to them),” he said, but not more. He did not rule out a separation of the south but stressed that any solutions to the “southern issue” must be taken without foreign influence.
Al-Houthi repeatedly stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia meeting the group’s “humanitarian demands,” referring to a compensation package that would have Riyadh pay for the rebuilding of the country and the salaries of public sector workers.
The discussions remain secretive, and it is unclear how much compensation the Houthis have demanded, but experts expect it to be substantial. The Houthis have said in the past that it is seeking compensation for 1.3 million public employees and that the war has led to a cut in salaries and other expenses of nearly 95%, according to Houthi media. But some experts are concerned that the Houthis would use the money to pay its militia members.
“Even if the Saudis agree to pay the salaries, we have no clear image of what that might look like,” Nagi said, adding that the internationally recognized government may also require payments.
Even if a Saudi-Houthi deal is reached, there’s no guarantee that other Yemeni factions will accept it, experts say.
“Based on what we see, it is clear that those who are negotiating are closer to winning,” Nagi said, “While those who are excluded from the talks are closer to losing.”
by tyler | Apr 10, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the Aqbat Jaber refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, Palestinian officials said, as violence in the region continued to simmer on Monday.
Mohammad Fayez Balhan was “killed by live occupation bullets in the head, chest and abdomen,” the ministry said, adding that two other people were injured by live ammunition and sent to a hospital in Jericho for treatment.
The Israeli military said they raided the camp to arrest a “terror suspect.”
“During the activity, violent riots were instigated in a number of locations,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. “As the soldiers left the area, suspects opened fire toward them, hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails. The soldiers responded with live fire and .22 caliber ammunition. Hits were identified.”
Tensions in Israel and the occupied West Bank have spiraled in the aftermath of recent Israeli police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Over the last week, dozens of rockets were launched from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria into Israeli territory, followed by Israeli retaliatory strikes.
On Friday, a vehicle hit a group of tourists in Tel Aviv, killing one Italian national, in what Israeli authorities described as a terror attack. Two sisters, aged 15 and 20, with dual British-Israeli citizenship were also killed Friday in a shooting attack in the West Bank. On Monday, the mother of the women, Lucy Dee, succumbed to wounds sustained during the shooting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the shooting as a “severe terrorist attack.”
“On behalf of all citizens of Israel, I convey heartfelt condolences to the Dee family on the passing of the mother of the family, Leah (Lucy), who was murdered in the severe terrorist attack in the Jordan Valley last Friday, together with her two daughters Maia and Rina,” Netanyahu said in a statement Monday.
Netanyahu on Friday instructed Israeli police “to mobilize all border police units in reserve and the IDF to mobilize additional forces in face of terrorist attacks,” according to his office. The Israeli military said it was on high alert, calling up an unspecified number of reservists amid what it described as “very volatile times.”
Also on Monday, thousands of Israeli settlers staged a march to Evyatar, an illegal settler outpost in the occupied West Bank that has been a flashpoint for Israel’s settler movement. Far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Givr, among those who have spearheaded a campaign to legalize the outpost, was among the protesters.
Evyatar sits on a hilltop, along a corridor linking Tel Aviv to the Jordan Valley, known locally as Jabal Subeih. Palestinians who say they own land in the site have been holding counter-protests.
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians close to the nearby town of Beita led to nearly hundreds of injuries, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said 216 people were injured in the clashes, including 22 people hit by rubber bullets which, they say, were fired by Israeli forces. Three people were transferred to hospital, it also said.
In a statement, the IDF said “a violent riot” had been instigated near Beita, adding that “rocks were hurled at the soldiers, lightly injuring two IDF soldiers” and “security forces at the scene responded with riot dispersal means.”
CNN has reached out to the Israeli police for comment but they did not immediately respond.
Palestinians in Beita, which is just south of Nablus, say they own the land at Evyatar.
Israeli settlers left Evyatar in 2021 after a deal with the government of then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The buildings remained as part of the government’s deal with the settlers.
“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, belongs to us,” Knesset member Ariel Kallner, of Netanyahu’s Likud party, told CNN. “I think that those who live here, the Arabs and so on, they can live here. But it’s our land.”
Under international law, both the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered occupied territory and settlements there illegal, which Israel disputes.
Nabil Abu Radina, a spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the march as an “invasion of settler militias, led by ministers from the Israeli occupation government.” Abu Radina also demanded than “immediate and quick intervention” by the US government to “stop this madness for which the entire region will pay the price.”
by tyler | Apr 10, 2023 | CNN, middleeast
Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the Aqbat Jaber refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Jericho on Monday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The boy was “killed by live occupation bullets in the head, chest and abdomen,” the ministry said, adding that two other people were injured by live ammunition and sent to a hospital in Jericho for treatment.
The Israeli military said they raided the camp to arrest a “terror suspect.”
“During the activity, violent riots were instigated in a number of locations,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. “As the soldiers left the area, suspects opened fire toward them, hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails. The soldiers responded with live fire and .22 caliber ammunition. Hits were identified.”
Violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank has spiraled in the aftermath of recent Israeli police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Over the last week, dozens of rockets were launched from Lebanon, Gaza and Syria into Israeli territory, followed by Israeli retaliatory strikes.
On Friday, a vehicle hit a group of tourists in Tel Aviv, killing one Italian national, in what Israeli authorities described as a terror attack. Two sisters, aged 16 and 20, with dual British-Israeli citizenship were killed and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday “instructed the Israel Police to mobilize all border police units in reserve and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to mobilize additional forces in face of terrorist attacks,” according to his office.
The Israeli military said it was on high alert, calling up an unspecified number of reservists amid what it described as “very volatile times.”
