Israel: Several injured in Iranian strikes as US bombs Iran – DW – 06/22/2025
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2 hours ago
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Middle East: Israel approves West Bank settlement project – DW – 08/20/2025
A controversial settlement project has been approved that critics have said will divide the West Bank. Meanwhile, Israel is preparing to expand its offensive in Gaza City. Follow DW for has announced the final approval for a controversial plan allowing new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the plan last week. It calls for development in an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, known as E1. The Israeli government would build nearly 3,500 new apartments to enlarge the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, which lies next to E1. The UN has warned that the plan would divide the West Bank and make any two-state solution untenable. A statement released by Smotrich's office announcing the settlements said they were "burying the idea of a Palestinian state." The plan Smotrich presented would divide the occupied West Bank, Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the Ir Amim organization, told DW when it was introduced last week. "It breaks up the West Bank into a northern part and the southern part," he said, adding that it would make a Palestinian state "not possible." Plans for new Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been widely condemned and are considered illegal under international law, which Israel has consistently disputed. Israel's Defense Ministry has approved plans to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of a planned operation in Gaza City. The newspaper, citing military officials, reported on Monday that about 60,000 reservists would be called up in stages. The majority, numbering 40,000 to 50,000 troops, have been ordered to report for duty at the beginning of September. Another, smaller, contingent is due in November, and a third will be called up in February. About 130,000 reservists are expected to be active during the planned offensive. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Israel's military leadership has signed off on a preliminary plan to take over Gaza City, according to officials speaking off the record to Israeli and international media. The plan has been approved by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the Defense Ministry told the AFP news agency. The start date of the operation is currently unclear. However, an unnamed Israeli military official told AP news agency that the operation will be in parts of Gaza City where the Israeli military has not yet operated and where Hamas is still active. Israeli troops are currently operating in the Zeitoun and Jabaliya neighborhoods of Gaza City to prepare for the expanded operation, the official said. The official added that the plan will proceed to final approval now that the military has signed off. The preliminary approval comes weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel planned to completely take over Gaza City, with the objective of eliminating the threat of Hamas militants and recovering the remaining hostages who were abducted in the terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7. It comes after Hamas said it had accepted a new ceasefire proposal yesterday. However, Israel has not yet provided an official response to the proposal. Plans for a full takeover of the Gaza Strip had earlier met pushback from Israeli armed forces Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who dropped opposition to the framework plan last week. Humanitarian organizations are warning of mass displacement and a humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians living in Gaza's most densely populated area. The plan has also been condemned by countries like UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand. Israel's military says Gaza City is Hamas' main stronghold, and the militant group is still actively regrouping and carrying out attacks. Israel, Germany, the United States and several other countries designate Hamas a terrorist organization. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Today, we are reporting on an expanded Israeli offensive in Gaza City that has reportedly just received military officials' approval. Details are still emerging, but reports indicate that tens of thousands of reservists will be called up in September to begin the new operation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Serbia rocked by ongoing anti-government protests – DW – 08/19/2025
Serbian cities have been gripped by days of clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces, as demonstrators accuse authorities of stifling dissent. After nine months of relatively peaceful protests, Serbia's streets are beginning to resemble a state of war, with the offices of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) vandalized. Clashes between demonstrators and police with batons, tear gas, smoke bombs and flares, repeat night after night across the country. Neda Vrebac, from the citizens' assemblies in Novi Sad, has been on the streets for months. She says people are furious and that the violence on the streets is merely a reaction to the regime's violence. "We went unarmed against bayonets," Vrebac told DW. "I feel, personally, as do other citizens who regularly attend protests, very upset, insecure, and unsafe, and that is a consequence of living under fascism, with all its manifestations." Protesters on the street often do not know whether they are clashing with police or SNS paramilitaries. Videos circulate on social media showing groups of young men in masks and carrying sticks rushing at demonstrators. Media reports claim that among the SNS supporters were individuals previously convicted of attempted murder, violent behavior, and even a former football hooligan leader convicted for the 2009 murder of a French football fan. "The authorities, with the help of party criminals, have declared a street war on citizens. But there is no turning back, things have come to a head. Citizens have realized that with the mafia, there is no room for parliamentary democracy, no negotiations left except about handing over power," Radivoje Jovovic from the Free Citizens' Movement told DW. He believes the violence on the streets is a result of the government's nervousness and inability to resolve the crisis. "The authorities are the ones who refused to acknowledge the just demands of the protests. SNS didn't believe us when we said 'beware the wrath of a patient man,' and now they have committed crimes that have hastened their own end," Jovovic added. Meanwhile, the police have also started applying violence. Citizens and media have documented numerous instances of police brutality. Belgrade student Nikolina Sindjelic testified that she was "slapped and had her head slammed against the wall" by the commander of the Personal and Property Protection Unit, Marko Kricak, who also called her a "whore." "He said he would strip me and rape me in front of everyone, that everyone would watch. I was visibly angry, and he said, 'You should beg me to stop beating you,'" Nikolina Sindjelic told N1 television. While batons flashed at night, mass arrests occurred during the day. Several pro-regime media outlets published footage showing young men kneeling against a wall with their hands behind their backs, each guarded by a police officer. With these images, many were reminded of images from wartime detention camps. Neda Vrebac says she knows that at least three of them were twenty-year-olds arrested by police even though they weren't at the protests. One of them is Vukacin Kurilic, whose family she knows personally. "They are from my assembly, they support everything but are not active participants in the protests," Neda Vrebac told DW. "He was arrested on his way from a store. He was carrying some bags, and when they approached him, the kid resisted, saying he hadn't done anything. Then they searched him, found his asthma inhaler, thought it was pepper spray, and shoved him into a police van. No prior offenses." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has promised a harsh state response, but denies that a state of emergency will be imposed. "At one point, you will see the full determination of the Serbian state. We will use everything at our disposal to restore order, peace, and law in our country, and we will do it. We will oppose all external pressures, everyone who threatens us, who tells us what is allowed and what is not, and until now we have seen that they managed to bring chaos into our country. But we will win," Vucic said. At a press conference, he accused students and citizens of trying to destroy the state, comparing them to fascists and Nazis, and said it was only a matter of days before someone would be killed. He is not alone in thinking this. "I fear for human lives. The lives of us citizens, the innocent, children, activists," said Neda Vrebac. She also fears the regime might kill someone from its own ranks to escalate the violence further. "I think he is ready for anything, because there are huge amounts of money and mafia around him. And you know how the mafia operates." Retired political science professor Zoran Stojiljkovic describes the situation as a balance of powerlessness, where both sides struggle to gain the upper hand, and neither has a clear strategy. "I don't think Vucic even desires a state of emergency because he doesn't have the capacity to enforce it when people are unwilling to comply, and they clearly are not," Stojiljkovic noted. "The desirable outcome is certainly some form of dialogue, relatively fair electoral conditions, and elections within a few months, by the end of this year or the beginning of next." He emphasizes that it is crucial for students, who still have credibility, to mobilize citizens around the narrative of a political resolution. "You need to clearly tell people what they will gain when you achieve victory at elections and what you will do in the reasonable time until normal elections in a year or two so that this never happens again," Stojiljkovic added. From open repression to new waves of protests and strikes or even elections and a possible toppling of Vucic, all outcomes appear to be on the table.
DW
6 hours ago
- DW
Germany: Ex-minister charged with making false statement – DW – 08/20/2025
Andreas Scheuer has denied allegations that he lied to parliament about an ill-fated toll scheme. DW has the latest. Germany's former transport minister is in hot water after being accused of lying to parliament about ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel's failed attempts to introduce a toll on the country's Scheuer, who was federal minister of transportation and digital infrastructure from 2018 to 2021, has confirmed media reports that he has been charged with making a false statement to the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. Scheuer is a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the conservative party of current Chancellor Friedrich Merz as well as former longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel. Indeed, it was under Merkel that Scheuer served as a Cabinet member, handling the final stages of Merkel's ill-fated attempt to introduce tolls on Germany's highways. An extremely unpopular proposal both at home and abroad, Scheuer is accused of lying to the Bundestag about having signed a contract with a company to run the toll operations despite knowing that the European Court of Justice was likely to declare the scheme illegal. Scheuer has denied the charges. A from our newsroom in Bonn. Today, we will be looking at the court case against Germany's former transport minister, current Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's trip to Indonesia, and a major video game convention kicking off in Cologne. Stay tuned for our reporting and analysis as we bring you the biggest headlines from around the country.
