Latest news with #Ramallah-based
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Zionists loot gold and foreign exchange shops in West Bank
NABLUS: Mourners carry the body of 32-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud Al-Kharraz, who was killed in a Zionist army raid, during his funeral in the occupied West Bank on May 27, 2025. - AFP RAMALLAH: Zionist forces raided foreign exchange stores in several West Bank cities including Ramallah and Nablus on Tuesday, accusing their parent company of 'connections with terrorist organizations', according to an army closure notice. '(Zionist) forces are taking action against Al-Khaleej Exchange Company due to its connections with terrorist organizations', 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. Two army vehicles escorted one of the store's employees away from the premises. In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Zionist 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 Zionist 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 (Zionist) government', the group said in a statement, adding that the targeted companies were 'operating within the law'. — AFP
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Israeli forces raid foreign exchange shops in occupied West Bank; one dead
Israeli forces have raided money exchanges across the occupied West Bank, using live fire and tear gas as they stormed the city of Nablus, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding more than 30. Exchange shops in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron Arrabeh, el-Bireh, Bethlehem, Jenin and Tubas were attacked on Tuesday, residents said. In the northern city of Nablus, Israeli soldiers raided a foreign exchange belonging to the Al-Khaleej company and a gold store, according to local media reports. They also fired smoke bombs in the centre of Jenin, and streets were closed in Tubas and Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health said one man was killed and eight injured by live ammunition during a raid in Nablus. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it treated 20 people for tear gas inhalation and three injured by rubber bullets. The raids on foreign exchanges came as Israel continued its intensified military campaign in Gaza, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians since the war began on October 7, 2023, as tens of thousands of people starve in the besieged Army Radio on Tuesday said Israel conducted the raids on foreign exchanges on suspicions that the shops supported 'terrorism'. The radio station also said the operation resulted in the confiscation of large amounts of money designated for 'terrorism infrastructure' in the West Bank. 'Israeli forces are taking action against Al-Khaleej Exchange Company due to its connections with terrorist organisations,' a leaflet left by Israeli forces at the company's Ramallah location read. Al Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut said Israeli authorities have not released an official statement yet but an official talked to the Israeli media about the raids. 'This official said earlier that Israel 'believes' – not that it has any evidence or proof – but 'believes' that these cash exchange places are funnelling money to what they call terror organisations,' said Salhut, who was reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Israel has banned Al Jazeera from reporting from Israel and the West Bank. 'The people who own these shops say they were not given any sort of proof by the Israeli military,' she added. Salhut said it was the fourth time such raids have taken place since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. 'The first time was in December of 2023 when five different cash exchange places were raided by the Israeli military and they seized nearly $3m,' she said. 'It happened again in August 2024 and again in September of that same year.' Hamas denounced the Israeli raids, saying they 'constitute a new chapter in the occupation's open war against the Palestinian people, their lives, their economy, and all the foundations of their steadfastness and perseverance on their land'. '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] occupation government,' the Palestinian group said in a statement, adding that the targeted companies were 'operating within the law'. Hamas urged the Palestinian Authority to take measures against the Israeli attacks. Separately, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement said the raids are 'part of the open war against our people, targeting their very existence and cause'. The group also urged the Palestinian Authority to 'defend' Palestinians from such attacks and 'halt its policy of security coordination' with Israel.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Israeli forces raid foreign exchange stores across West Bank
IANS image 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.
Yemen Online
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Leaders at Arab League summit push for Gaza ceasefire, pledge reconstruction money
Leaders at an Arab League summit on Saturday demanded increased pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, and reiterated the 22-nation body's rejection of US President Donald Trump's plan to take over the enclave, oust its residents, and rebuild it as a coastal resort. Iraq pledged $20 million to help rebuild the Strip at the event. Speaking at the Baghdad summit, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and surrender its arms to the Ramallah-based PA, which the terror group ousted from the Strip in 2007. Meanwhile, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi urged Trump to 'apply all necessary efforts' to reach a truce. He also said Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the US, was 'exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire,' adding that these had led to the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity on Monday. Toughening up his rhetoric against the war, Sissi described Israel's actions as 'systematic crimes' aimed at 'obliterating and annihilating' the Palestinians and 'ending their existence in the Gaza Strip.' He also said Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza 'once the aggression stops.' The summit comes straight after a Gulf tour by Trump, whose plan for Gaza sparked outrage and prompted Arab leaders to come up with an alternative plan to rebuild the territory at a March summit in Cairo. UN chief Antonio Guterres told the Baghdad summit that 'we reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza.' The UN secretary-general also said he was 'alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more,' adding that 'nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,' and called for a 'permanent ceasefire, now.' The IDF said Friday that it had launched 'extensive strikes' as part of the 'initial stages' of a fresh offensive dubbed 'Gideon's Chariots,' more than 19 months after the Gaza war was sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 53,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the war so far. The tolls cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Sanchez, who has sharply criticized Israel's conduct in the Strip, said his government planned a UN resolution demanding an International Court of Justice ruling on Israel's war methods. The 'unacceptable number' of war victims in Gaza violates the 'principle of humanity,' he said. Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told the summit that his country backs the creation of an 'Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts' after crises in the region. 'This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,' he said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza. Al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region, in which Baghdad will pay $20 million for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the Baghdad meeting would endorse previous Arab League decisions on Gaza's reconstruction, countering Trump's proposal. During his visit to the region this week, Trump reiterated that he wanted the United States to 'take' Gaza and turn it into a 'freedom zone.' Syria's al-Sharaa skips summit after Iraqi objections Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normality after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders viewed the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability. Baghdad last hosted an Arab League summit in 2012, during the early stages of the civil war in neighboring Syria, which in December entered a new chapter with the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. In Riyadh, Trump met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a onetime jihadist whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad. Al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned in Iraq for years after the US-led invasion of 2003 on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda, missed the Baghdad summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit. A short statement released by his office did not give a reason for why he did not attend, but an invitation by the Iraqi government last month triggered sharp political divisions in Iraq, as several Iraqi Shiite militias had fought against al-Qaeda alongside Assad's forces, making Sharaa a particularly sensitive figure for them. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani represented Damascus instead.
Egypt Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Israel hits Gaza hospital as strikes resume following hostage release
CNN — Israel struck a hospital in Gaza early Tuesday, a day after briefly pausing military activity for the release of Israeli-American Edan Alexander by Hamas. The Israeli military resumed strikes in Gaza about an hour after Alexander left the territory, hitting the Al Daraj neighborhood in northern Gaza on Monday evening, before striking the Nasser medical complex in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to hospital officials. The IDF strike targeted the surgical ward on the hospital's third floor, which is now 'completely out of service,' killing two patients and wounding medical staff, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said. The target of the strike was Hassan Eslaiah, a prominent Gaza photojournalist who Israel accuses of being a terrorist. He was being treated at the hospital after being wounded in an earlier targeted Israeli airstrike in April. The IDF has accused Eslaiah of taking part in the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and of belonging to Hamas' Khan Younis Brigade, although it has not provided evidence to support those claims. In a statement following Tuesday's strike, it described him as working 'under the guise of a journalist' and said that it had eliminated him and other 'significant Hamas terrorits' in a 'precise strike.' Eslaiah crossed into Israel on October 7, 2023, documenting the attacks in photographs that were published by multiple major news organizations. He had previously said he had no forewarning of the attacks and rushed to the scene to document a major news event alongside other photojournalists. CNN, along with other news organizations, had periodically used material provided by Eslaiah. CNN cut ties with him in November 2023 after new allegations emerged of links to Hamas. CNN said he was not working with the network on October 7, 2023. Eslaiah said from his hospital bed in April that he faced 'false allegations' from the IDF and that he was 'not fighting or anything.' The Ramallah-based Palestinian Journalists Protection Center condemned Eslaiah's killing, demanding an international investigation into what they described as a 'heinous assassination.' The center called Eslaiah's killing the 'deliberate targeting of the voice of truth.' A person inspects Nasser Hospital on Tuesday, a part of which was damaged in the aftermath of an Israeli strike, according to hospital officials. Hatem Khaled/Reuters The Nasser hospital strike on Tuesday is the latest example of deliberate Israeli attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, for which Israel has been accused of violating international law. Hospitals are entitled to special protections during armed conflict under international humanitarian law and can only be targeted under extremely limited circumstances, such as if they are being used to actively commit 'an act harmful to the enemy,' according to the Geneva Conventions. The latest attack on Nasser hospital 'totally destroyed' two patient rooms, partially damaged three others and a nursing station, according to MAP's medical activity coordinator who is based at Nasser Hospital. 'The extension of the intensive care unit, which contains three ICU beds, was also affected – its electrical and oxygen systems were damaged in the strike – rendering the entire section non-operational,' the coordinator said in a statement provided by MAP. The strike adds to an already rapidly deteriorating situation for Gaza's medical facilities. Nasser hospital's medical director Dr. Atef Al-Hout said the hospital is rapidly running out of fuel to power its generators amid Israel's now 10-week blockade of the strip. Following the release of Alexander, the Israeli American hostage, the United States is renewing its push for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. An Israeli delegation was set to fly to Qatar on Tuesday to resume negotiations, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed those talks will continue 'under fire,' with no slowdown in Israeli strikes expected without a deal.
