Israeli forces raid foreign exchange stores across West Bank
RAMALLAH: Israeli forces raided foreign exchange stores in several West Bank cities including Ramallah and Nablus on Tuesday, accusing their parent company of "connections with terrorist organisations", according to an army closure notice.
"Israeli forces are taking action against Al-Khaleej Exchange Company due to its connections with terrorist organisations", a leaflet left at the company's Ramallah location read.
An AFP journalist present at the scene reported several army vehicles at the store's entrance while soldiers came out carrying items covered by a cloth.
T
wo army vehicles escorted one of the store's employees away from the premises.
In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli forces raided a second foreign exchange store belonging to the Al-Khaleej company, as well as a gold store, according to another AFP journalist.
Some Palestinian residents of Nablus were seen clashing with the army during the raid, throwing objects at troops.
The Ramallah-based ministry of health said one man was killed and eight other people were injured by Israeli forces' live ammunition during a raid in Nablus on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 20 people for tear gas inhalation and three others who were injured by rubber bullets.
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas condemned the raids on foreign exchange shops.
"These assaults on economic institutions, accompanied by the looting of large sums of money and the confiscation of property, are an extension of the piracy policies adopted by the (Israeli) government", the group said in a statement, adding that the targeted companies were "operating within the law".
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Israeli army did not respond to AFP requests for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
14 minutes ago
- India.com
'Plan to kill, humiliate Muslims...: Netanyahu's 'Greater Israel' plan sparks Arab outrage, Houthi leader issues chilling warning, says...
Houthi leader Abdul Malik Houthi warned of 'bad consequence' for Israel. (File) Israel-Hamas war: Amid the outpouring of anger from the Arab world over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks on 'Greater Israel', the Jewish state has now drawn the ire of one of its oldest foes, the Yemeni Houthis, who have condemned Israeli PM's statement, calling it a plan to 'kill and humiliate Muslims'. What did the Houthi leader say? In a televised address on a Houthi-run TV channel, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Ansar Allah, warned of 'bad consequences' for Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu moves forward with his contentious 'Greater Israel' plan. The Houthi leader said Netanyahu's plan, backed by the United States, was a clear attempt to ' divide and humiliate the Islamic Ummah'. 'Israel ultimate goal is to kill Muslims in the Arab world, or force them to migrate in large numbers, to establish its dominance over the Muslim Ummah. After bombing Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and other Muslim nations, Netanyahu is now openly talking about a Greater Israel, making it clear the Israel and US plan to subjugate Arab Muslims,' he alleged. Why Abdul-Malik slammed Arab world? Abdul-Malik also lashed out at the Arab world for not strongly opposing Netanyahu's comments, calling the alleged inaction of the Arab Muslim nations as 'worrying'. The Houthi leader, one of key figures in the Yemeni civil war, also condemned Israel's brutal military campaign in the Gaza Strip, accusing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of killing journalists to prevent the truth about the atrocities in Gaza from reaching the world. 'What is happening in Gaza is more horrific than any crimes committed in any other part of the world, but the world continues to watch silently as Israel massacres innocent Palestinians, including women and children.' Why 'Greater Israel' is controversial? Greater Israel is an idea popular among Israel's extreme right-wing, which proposes the contentious plan of absorbing neighboring Arab countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and a large part of Saudi Arabia, into a greater Jewish state. The idea proposes the use of military might to occupy Israel's Arab neighbors and absorbing their territory to expand the state of Israel. Meanwhile, the backlash over Benjamin Netanyahu's comments over Greater Israel comes days after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief Eyal Zamir opposed the Israeli Prime Minister's plan to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip which are not already under the control of Israel.
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
US makes major visa announcement for Gazans; Laura Loomer claimed Palestinian refugees flooding airports
US announces halting all visitors' visa from Gaza. The State Department made a major announcement of halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza for the time being, as it conducts a full and thorough review of the "process and procedures" used to issue medial-humanitarian visas in recent days. 'All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,' the department wrote in a statement posted to X. The announcement came after MAGA activist Laura Loomer ranted for a day how Palestinians have been entering the country via a humanitarian organization through various airports. Loomer questioned how so many Palestinians were getting visa from the State Department. Loomer said she obtained video footage of Palestinians who claim to be refugees from Gaza coming into the US via San Francisco and Houston. "The Palestinians traveled from Gaza to the US with the help of a group called 'Heal Palestine'. How did Palestinians get visas under the Trump administration to get into the United States? Did @StateDept approve this? How did they get out of Gaza? Is @SecRubio aware of this?" Loomer ranted. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite? Vitauthority Learn More Undo According to Heal Palestine's website, it has successfully evacuated 148 total Gazans, including 63 injured children, bringing them to the U.S. for medical care. Loomer said the administration needed to shut this before a family member of one of these Gazans turn rogue and kills Americans for Hamas. 'Deeply concerned about the incoming flights - including to Texas - allegedly filled with folks from Gaza as reported by @LauraLoomer. Inquiring,' Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote on Friday. Earlier this month, France suspended evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student allegedly shared a social media post with an image of Adolf Hitler that called for killing Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told France Info radio that the woman "must leave the country" and that she "has no place" in France. "No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn the necessary conclusions from this investigation," Barrot said in the interview.
Mint
43 minutes ago
- Mint
Lure of ‘Free Money' in Secondaries Nears a Mania
(Bloomberg) -- Demand for secondary funds focused on private markets is soaring, in part because some investors are seizing on an accounting quirk that allows them to buy assets at a discount and then revalue them at par. It's 'creating this sense that people are just picking up free money, and almost a mania,' Blue Owl Capital Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Lipschultz said on a call with analysts recently. He said his firm avoids the practice, adding there is still a 'great business to be had being a really thoughtful buyer of secondary interest when you have more sellers today than you've ever had in the past.' The secondary market allows investors to buy or sell stakes in private-asset funds, often at a discount. It's become an increasingly popular solution to the problem that many managers faced at the end of the easy-money era, when higher interest rates made some valuations more difficult to justify — and left them unable to exit investments. Credit is expected to be the fastest-growing part of secondaries for years to come, according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc., which forecasts the number of transactions in the space to grow to more than $17 billion this year from $10 billion last year. The marketplace for fund stakes is drawing more sellers than ever before, pushing up prices, which is tempting more investors to look at disposals. Investors in private credit funds looking for liquidity are now able to shift their positions into the secondary market, clearing a bottleneck in the financing chain. The deadlock started when dealmaking stalled, forcing private company owners to hold on to assets for longer. That meant direct lenders had to extend loans for longer too and wait to cash out, crimping returns for some. One benefit for some buyers is the accounting treatment which allows them to mark up the acquisitions, bolstering the value of the assets. 'It's true that secondary transactions are often completed at a discount to NAV, and yes, that can create an initial unrealized gain for the buyer,' private capital investor Hamilton Lane wrote on its website last month. 'But this isn't artificial. It represents real value and can enhance returns for the fund.' More broadly, the wider secondaries trend has proven fruitful recently. The strategy was the best performing for Blackstone Inc. in the second quarter, the alternative asset manager said in a presentation last month. The firm is considering a standalone pool of capital to buy second-hand private credit funds through its Strategic Partners unit, Bloomberg News reported last month. London-based Coller Capital Ltd. closed a deal for a $3 billion continuation fund with direct lender TPG Twin Brook Capital Partners this past week that will transfer a portfolio of loans from the US firm's previous vintages into a new fund. It's the largest such vehicle in private credit secondaries to date. Other signs of appetite for the strategy include Pantheon, a manager of more than $70 billion, raising three times its original target of $750 million for its third credit secondaries fund. Ares Management Corp., meanwhile, has so far raised more than $3.5 billion for its debut credit secondaries fund and related vehicles, Chief Executive Officer Michael Arougheti said on an earnings call last month. The secondaries group 'remains one of our strongest growth vectors for the foreseeable future,' he said. More stories like this are available on
