Clashes in Syria between government forces and Assad loyalists kill more than 200

RAMALLAH: A major Israeli offensive, which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps, increasingly appears to be aligned with the “vision of annexation” of the West Bank, said a UN official.
Israeli forces carry out regular raids targeting militants in the West Bank, which has been occupied since 1967, but the ongoing operation since late January is already the longest in two decades, with dire effects on Palestinians.
“There are growing concerns that the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank,” said Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.
“It’s an unprecedented situation, both from a humanitarian and wider political perspective,” he said.
“We talk about 40,000 people that have been forcibly displaced from their homes” in the northern West Bank, mainly from three refugee camps where the operation had begun, said Friedrich.
“These camps are now largely empty,” he said, their residents unable to return and struggling to find shelter elsewhere.
Inside the camps, the level of destruction to “electricity, sewage and water, but also private houses” was “very concerning,” Friedrich added.
The Israeli operation, which the military says targets militants in the northern West Bank, was launched shortly after a truce took hold in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.
The operation initially focused on Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps, where UNRWA operates, but has since expanded to more areas of the West Bank’s north.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said troops would remain for many months in the evacuated camps to “prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism.”
And Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who lives in one of dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, has said that Israel would be “applying sovereignty” over parts of the territory in 2025.
According to Friedrich, “the statements we hear indicate that this is a political operation. It is clearly being said that people will not be allowed to return.”
Last year, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion saying that Israel’s prolonged presence in the West Bank was unlawful.
Away from home, the displaced Palestinian residents also grapple with a worsening financial burden.
“There is an increasing demand now, especially in Jenin, for public shelter because people can’t pay these amounts for rent anymore,” said Friedrich.
“Everyone wants to go back to the camps.”
The UN official provided examples that he said pointed to plans for long-term Israeli presence inside Palestinian cities, which should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
“In Tulkarm, you have more and more reports about the army just walking around ... asking shop owners to keep the shops open, going out and issuing traffic tickets to cars, so almost as if there is no Palestinian Authority,” said Friedrich.
“It is very worrying, including for the future of the PA as such and the investments made by the international community into building Palestinian institutions.”
The Ramallah-based PA was created in the 1990s as a temporary government that would pave the way to a future sovereign state.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, but a recent law bars the agency from working with the Israeli authorities, hindering its badly needed operations.
“It’s much more complicated for us now because we can’t speak directly to the military anymore,” said Friedrich.
“But at the same time, we continue to do our work,” he said, assessing needs and coordinating “the actual emergency response on the ground.”
Israeli lawmakers had passed the legislation against UNRWA’s work over accusations that it had provided cover for Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip — claims the UN and many donor governments dispute.
The prolonged Israeli operation could have long-term consequences for residents, particularly children traumatized by the experience of displacement, Friedrich warned.
“If people can’t go back to the camp and we can’t reopen the schools... clearly, that will lead to more radicalization going forward.”
He said the situation could compound a legitimacy crisis for the PA, often criticized by militant Palestinian factions for coordinating security matters with Israel.
Displaced Palestinians “feel that they are kicked out of their homes and that nobody is supporting them,” said Friedrich.
He added that a “stronger international response” was needed, “both to provide humanitarian aid on the ground, and secondly, to ensure that the situation in the West Bank doesn’t spin out of control.”

BEIRUT: In a provocative challenge to Lebanese sovereignty, around 250 Haredi Jews — followers of a strict branch of Orthodox Judaism — entered Lebanon to visit the Al-Ibad tomb on the outskirts of the Lebanese border village of Houla under the protection of the Israeli army, which characterized the visit as a religious pilgrimage.

Al-Ibad tomb is of religious significance to Muslims, who believe it contains the remains of Sheikh Al-Ibad, who lived as a hermit in the area around 500 years ago. Jews believe the site to be the tomb of Rabbi Rav Ashi, a Babylonian rabbi who lived in the fifth century and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud.

These contradictory accounts lead to recurring disputes over the identity and ownership of the site.

Al-Ibad Hill is one of five locations still occupied by the Israeli army after its withdrawal from Lebanese border villages under the ceasefire agreement. Lebanon has demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the hills that overlook both the Lebanese border region and adjacent Israeli settlements.

Images and video footage showing the ultra-orthodox Jewish group performing religious rituals at the tomb were shared on social media.

The visit came on the anniversary of the birth and death of Prophet Moses in the Jewish calendar.

Media outlets had reported earlier on Thursday that the Israeli army was preparing to permit Jewish worshippers into the shrine after extremist religious groups had spent a week restoring it.

The controversial site has been treated by Israel as a Jewish shrine since 1972, at which time small groups began visiting it under the protection of the Israeli army.

The area was split into two sections following Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, after negotiations between the Israeli and Lebanese governments. Jewish visits to the shrine ceased with the outbreak of the July 2006 war.

Speaking to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo last Tuesday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun raised the issue of “the presence of Israeli forces on several hills within Lebanese territory and the lack of Lebanese army deployment in these areas.”

Aoun stated that the situation “hinders the achievement of stability and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, as well as the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024,” and was extended until Feb. 18.

Guterres expressed surprise at the continued presence of Israeli forces in several southern areas and said it “does not contribute to stability in the region.”

Aoun discussed developments in the south of the country with Nabih Berri, speaker of the parliament, on Friday.

According to Aoun’s media office, he briefed Berri on the outcomes of his meetings on the sidelines of the Arab summit in Cairo.

Aoun also followed up on developments in the south with Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Michel Menassa, particularly regarding the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern cities and villages.

Also on Friday, Israeli forces reportedly fired on Lebanese citizens returning to border areas, wounding three civilians near the border wall in Kafr Kila.

Lebanese Army Command issued a statement condemning ongoing Israeli violations in the south. The army said that Israeli troops continue to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty by land, sea, and air.

“The most recent violation involves operations targeting citizens in the south and Bekaa, alongside the continuous occupation of Lebanese territory and repeated breaches of the land borders,” the army stated, adding that Israel’s “ongoing aggression threatens Lebanon’s stability and negatively impacts regional stability, directly violating the ceasefire agreement.”

The army also announced that it is actively facilitating the return of residents to southern areas by clearing unexploded ordnance, removing debris, and reopening roads.

It added that the situation was being closely monitored, with necessary action being taken in coordination with the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.