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Druze in shock as war between Israel and Hezbollah strikes home

Citizens demonstrated against the Israeli Prime Minister during his visit to the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel annexed Golan Heights on July 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Citizens demonstrated against the Israeli Prime Minister during his visit to the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Israel annexed Golan Heights on July 29, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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Updated 30 July 2024

Druze in shock as war between Israel and Hezbollah strikes home

Druze in shock as war between Israel and Hezbollah strikes home
  • But in the Golan Heights, an area seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed by Israel in a move not generally recognized internationally, many still identify as Syrians and refuse Israeli citizenship

MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights: For many of the Druze community in the Golan Heights mourning 12 youngsters killed in a missile strike at the weekend, the carnage came as a shock despite the months of daily rocket fire and air strikes between Israel and southern Lebanon.
Even when the rockets were flying elsewhere, the community felt largely safe, said Raya Fakher Aldeen, a resident of Majdal Shams, the Druze village where children and teenagers were playing football when the missile landed on Saturday.
“It was a shock because not once in the last nine months, even when the sirens were sounding, did we feel we were being targeted,” she said.
Israel has accused the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah of carrying out the strike and on Monday, during a visit to Majdal Shams, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a “harsh response.”
Hezbollah denies killing the youngsters but said it had launched strikes on what it said were military targets in nearby areas of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
As members of an Arab minority straddling Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Golan Heights, the Druze, who practice a form of Islam, occupy a special niche in the complicated politics of the region.
Unlike most Israeli Palestinians, many Druze in Israel serve in the military and police, including during the war in Gaza, and some have reached high rank.
But in the Golan Heights, an area seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed by Israel in a move not generally recognized internationally, many still identify as Syrians and refuse Israeli citizenship.
The ambiguity of the Druze position was reflected in the resolutely non-political funeral. Thousands mourned in Majdal Shams on Sunday but there was no sign of either Israeli or Syrian flags and political talk was largely absent.
“Many Druze feel angry and do not want to be fuel in this war for any side,” said Fakher Aldeen.
The standoff between Israel and Hezbollah, which began soon after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border, but has so far stopped short of the full-scale war that many now fear.
Sultan Abu Jabal, a 62-year-old who works and lives in Majdal and who lost a granddaughter in the attack, denounced what he said was a “crazy war.”
“They are all innocent people. Why is it my problem if there are troubles between Hezbollah and Israel?“

NO ESCAPING REGIONAL POLITICS
However the politics of the region is inescapable and though the youngsters killed in the strike do not appear to have held Israeli citizenship, Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have embraced them as their own.
“A Jewish child murdered on the Gaza border on Oct. 7 and a Druze child murdered on the Golan Heights are the same. These are our children,” Gallant said during a visit to Majdal Shams.
On the other side of the dividing line, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a former Hezbollah opponent who has since reconciled with the movement, told Al Jazeera television the Israeli claim that Hezbollah fired the rocket was a fabrication.
On the Syrian side, Druze Sheikh Yousef Al-Jarbou offered prayers for the dead and accused Israel of “committing daily massacres” in a speech published by Syrian state media, accompanied by a photo showing Syrian and Druze flags behind him and a photo of President Bashar Assad, a Hezbollah ally.
“The incident is being exploited by all sides,” said Lubna Al Bassit, an anti-Assad activist in Sweida, the Druze capital of Syria, who reflects the views of Druze who blame Iran and Hezbollah.
“There’s rivalry. Who is the real voice of the Druze community — is it the Israeli Druze who are integrated in Israel and serve in the army, or is it the Lebanese who have been taking a stance against Israel, specifically Jumblatt who is a historic leader of the Druze,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
As Lebanon braces for Israeli strikes that are expected to be much heavier than those seen so far in the war, the Druze of Majdal Shams are left to wait.
“We hope this war will end and this massacre will be the last one in this devastating war,” said Sheikh Salim Abu Jabal. “We call for peace. We don’t attack anyone and we don’t accept being attacked by anyone.”


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role
Updated 5 sec ago

Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role
  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem
Updated 56 min 38 sec ago

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem
  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youthand families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters
Updated 14 November 2024

Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters
  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret
Updated 14 November 2024

‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret
  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources
Updated 14 November 2024

US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources
  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.