TEL AVIV, Israel: Pressure built around Israel’s prison system Wednesday after fires broke out at several facilities and the government hunted for six Palestinian escapees who have been on the run since they tunneled out two days earlier.
Fires were reported at several prisons amid efforts to try to move inmates as a precautionary measure. An umbrella group representing prisoners from all Palestinian factions called on prisoners to resist being relocated to other facilities and to start fires in their cells if guards try to move them by force. The prisoners group also threatened a widespread hunger strike.
The Israel Prison Service said through a spokesperson that a fire broke out in two cells in different wings of Ramon Prison and that the blaze was brought under control. The Palestinian prisoners group reported fires in Ketziot Prison, and there were media reports of more unrest.
Recriminations reportedly rippled through Israel’s prison system, meanwhile, in the wake of the country’s largest jailbreak of its kind in decades. The six men who escaped, between 26 and 49 years old, apparently dug a tunnel out of Gilboa prison near the occupied West Bank and escaped early Monday.
The massive manhunt through Israel’s north and the occupied West Bank continued Wednesday as the new coalition government sought to maintain calm and Jews celebrated Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
The most well-known among the escapees is Zakaria Zubeidi, 46, who was a prominent leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group affiliated with Fatah, during the second intifada from 2000-2005. He was later granted amnesty along with other Fatah-affiliated militants, but was arrested again in 2019 on what Israeli authorities said were new terror suspicions.
As a child, Zubeidi had been part of a children’s theater troupe in Jenin established by Arna Mer-Khamis, an Israeli rights activist, that was the subject of a 2004 documentary.
The other five prisoners were members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, and the prisoners’ group said four were serving life sentences.
Inside the prisons, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other factions each have an organized presence and appear to be acting together in the wake of the escape.
The jailbreak poses a potential dilemma for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose security forces coordinate with Israel. His Fatah party has praised the prison escape, but he has not commented on it.
Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel as heroes of their national cause, and have celebrated the prison break. If the escapees are apprehended in the occupied West Bank, many Palestinians are likely to blame the Palestinian Authority, which is already facing a popular backlash after the death of an activist in PA custody in June.
Fires flare in Israeli prisons amid manhunt for 6 escapees
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Fires flare in Israeli prisons amid manhunt for 6 escapees
- Fires were reported at several prisons amid efforts to try to move inmates as a precautionary measure
- Recriminations reportedly rippled through Israel's prison system in the wake of the country's largest jailbreak
Doncic lifts Mavericks with go-ahead 3 with 3 seconds left to top Wolves 109-108 for 2-0 lead
- With a swish and a shout, Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are headed home with a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals on the Minnesota Timberwolves
- Doncic had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth triple-double in 42 career postseason games for the Mavericks
MINNEAPOLIS: Luka Doncic searched to find space as the clock ticked down, using a screen to draw Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert out to the top of the key and a crossover dribble to set up his step-back 3-pointer.
With a swish and a shout, Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are headed home with a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Doncic hit the winner with 3 seconds left and posted his fifth triple-double of the playoffs to lead the Mavericks to a 109-108 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday night.
“I was just trying to get to my spot and step back. I’m confident in that shot,” Doncic said.
Doncic had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his eighth triple-double in 42 career postseason games for the Mavericks, who erased an 18-point deficit that stood late in the second quarter and were still down 16 midway through the third.
“As you’ve seen with Luka, he loves that stage. He doesn’t run from it,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he was great the whole game, keeping guys together, his energy.”
Naz Reid went 7 for 9 from 3-point range for 23 points, but his last try at the buzzer rimmed in and out to send the Wolves to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday in a big hole after another off night by stars Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“First to four. Nothing’s won,” Doncic said. “You’ve just got to think about next game — not in the future, just this game.”
Kyrie Irving had 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a corner 3-pointer with 1:05 left that pulled the Mavericks within two. Then the Wolves sandwiched turnovers around a short miss by Doncic. Edwards threw the ball out of bounds off a drive with 13 seconds left, setting up Doncic’s winner.
He took the inbounds pass and dribbled to set up a screen by Dereck Lively II that triggered a switch by the Wolves, with NBA All-Defensive second team pick Jaden McDaniels dropping with Lively’s roll and Gobert staying out on the top of the key.
“I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him,” said Doncic, who flexed his arms and yelled at Gobert, who fouled him hard at one point in the first half to draw a stare from the five-time All-NBA pick.
The lead for either side was three points or less from 10:50 remaining to 1:29 until Edwards — who had 21 points but is shooting 11 for 33 in the series — sank two free throws for a 108-103 edge. That came right after Irving missed both foul shots that had the crowd howling for the promotion that awards fans a free Chick-fil-A sandwich.
Mike Conley scored 18 points and Gobert had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves, who needed Reid — the NBA Sixth Man of the Year — more than ever. His top-of-the-key swish at the end of the third quarter gave the Wolves an 86-79 cushion just after the Mavericks closed the gap hard with a 21-7 spurt — mostly while Conley rested — over a 6:36 stretch.
“We’re just beating ourselves a lot of the times, making simple, mental errors,” said Towns, who had 15 points on 4-for-16 shooting. “Our defense that’s held us together all year, sometimes it just falters in the wrong times. If you mix that in with the offense that we’re just not producing right now, it’s tough.”
Doncic, who flourished in the fourth quarter of Game 1 to finish with 33 points, has been fighting through what the Mavericks have listed on the league’s official injury report as a sprained right knee and left ankle soreness.
When he was subbed out late in the first quarter, Doncic jogged straight to the locker room before returning to the bench prior to his next shift. After running the floor for a fast-break layup late in the second quarter, Doncic was laboring and limping on the way back. He shot 5 for 14 before halftime.
The beauty of the 25-year-old Slovenian superstar’s game is that he hardly needs a full-strength spring in his step to dominate. Doncic had Minnesota’s league-leading defense looking out of sorts on so many possessions with his laser-like passing, often setting up their high-leaping centers Daniel Gafford (16 points) and Lively (14 points) with slick lobs for easy dunks.
The Mavericks shot 60.5 percent from the floor (23 for 38) in the second half.
“Luka was definitely involved in a lot of that. He makes a lot of great reads out of the pick-and-roll. We tried to show him different looks,” Edwards said. “He kept making the right reads. It’s all him. We’ve just got to figure him out. But we’ll figure it out.”
Davis Riley grabs two-shot lead at Colonial tournament
- Riley is seeking his second PGA Tour title, having teamed with Nick Hardy to win the 2023 Zurich Classic two-man team event in New Orleans
LOS ANGELES: Davis Riley made six birdies in a 6-under par 64 on Friday to take a two-shot lead in the US PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 27-year-old ranked 250th in the world was 10-under and in the lead but facing a par putt at his final hole when play was halted for more than an hour because of thunderstorms in the area.
“Luckily, it was a three-footer straight up the hill, so (there) wasn’t too much to stress about,” Riley said. “I knocked in about five three-footers before walking over there to cap off the round — hit it center cut and made it.
“It was nice to finish the day and made for a good, pretty stress-free six-under.”
Hayden Buckley returned from the delay to card the fifth of his five birdies at the sixth — his 15th hole of the day — posting a five-under par 65,
He was tied for second, two shots back on 8-under 132 alongside Pierceson Coody.
Coody had an eagle and six birdies in his 5-under 65, surging to his share of second with three straight birdies to end his round.
South Korea’s Im Sung-jae had seven birdies in his 6-under 64 to join a group sharing fourth on 134. He was joined by American Keegan Bradley and Austrian Sepp Straka, who both shot 66.
Riley is seeking his second PGA Tour title, having teamed with Nick Hardy to win the 2023 Zurich Classic two-man team event in New Orleans.
One off the lead to start the day, he teed off on 10 and rolled in birdies at 15 and 16 before launching a run of three straight birdies at the 18th.
He got up and down from bunkers for birdies at both the first and second, and rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at the sixth to reach 10-under.
Reigning Open champion Brian Harman headlined a group on 135 and former US Open champion Gary Woodland, back on tour this season after surgery for a brain lesion, was in a group on 136 after a six-under 64.
“I just put everything together,” said Woodland, who said he doesn’t have the same debilitating symptoms he had last year but is “still battling, still on medication.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was a further stroke back on 137 after a 5-under par 65 that featured five birdies — four in a row from the 18th through the third.
Scheffler was in danger of seeing his cuts made streak end at 36 after his two-over opening round.
But a week after his arrest in a traffic incident before the second round of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, Scheffler turned things around.
Scheffler, who put together a run of four wins in five events — including a second Masters title in April — is still facing multiple charges in Louisville that include felony assault of a police officer after allegedly trying to go around a traffic jam as police investigated an earlier fatal road accident.
Scheffler has called the incident “a huge misunderstanding,” with his lawyer saying he “did not do anything wrong but was simply proceeding as directed.”
12 arrested in qat smuggling attempt in Saudi Arabia
- A separate smuggling attempt of 70kg of qat was thwarted in Jazan Region
RIYADH: Saudi authorities arrested 12 Yemeni nationals for attempting to smuggle 266kg of qat through the borders of Asir region, state news agency SPA reported.
The items were seized and handed over to the relevant authority, SPA said on Friday.
A separate smuggling attempt of 70kg of qat was thwarted in Jazan region. Border authorities said the suspects were arrested and the seized items were transferred to relevant authorities for further action.
Mostly chewed by users, Qat is a mild stimulant and illegal across most of the Arab world.
The government has urged citizens and residents to report any information they have regarding drug smuggling or sales to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control. Reports can be made by calling 911 for Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, and 999 for other regions. Alternatively, information can be emailed to [email protected]. All reports are treated confidentially.
Saudi foreign minister meets French counterpart, discusses bilateral relations and situation in Gaza
Saudi foreign minister meets French counterpart, discusses bilateral relations and situation in Gaza
PARIS: Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Friday with French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne in Paris.
The two ministers discussed Saudi-French relations and ways to enhance them as well as improve coordination on various issues of mutual concern.
The two officials also discussed the current situation in Gaza and its surroundings and the need to deliver humanitarian assistance to the civilians in the enclave.
The meeting was attended by Saudi Ambassador to France Fahd bin Mayouf Al-Ruwaili, Foreign Minister’s Office Director General Abdulrahman Al-Dawood and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Advisor Dr. Manal Radwan.
Israel strikes Rafah after top UN court orders it to halt offensive
- Israel gives no indication it is preparing to change course in Rafah, insists that the court had got it wrong
- Top UN court earlier ordered Israel to halt military operations in the southern city
RAFAH: Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, on Saturday, a day after the top UN court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city as efforts get underway in Paris to seek a ceasefire in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from northern Gaza.
The Hague-based court, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed earlier this month at the start of its assault on the city.
Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course in Rafah, insisting that the court had got it wrong.
“Israel has not and will not carry out military operations in the Rafah area that create living conditions that could cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part,” National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a joint statement with Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, welcomed the ICJ ruling on Rafah but criticized its decision to exclude the rest of war-torn Gaza from the order.
Continued fighting
Hours after the ICJ ruling, Israel carried out strikes on the Gaza Strip early Saturday while clashes between the Israeli army and the armed wing of Hamas continued.
Palestinian witnesses and AFP teams reported Israeli strikes in Rafah and the central city of Deir Al-Balah.
“We hope that the court’s decision will put pressure on Israel to end this war of extermination, because there is nothing left here,” said Oum Mohammad Al-Ashqa, a Palestinian woman from Gaza City displaced to Deir Al-Balah by the war.
“But Israel is a state that considers itself above the law. Therefore, I do not believe that the shooting or the war will stop other than by force,” said Mohammed Saleh, also met by AFP in the central Gaza Strip city.
In its keenly awaited ruling, the ICJ said Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
It ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid and also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The Israeli military said the three hostages whose bodies were recovered in north Gaza on Friday — Israeli hostage Chanan Yablonka, Brazilian-Israeli Michel Nisenbaum and French-Mexican Orion Hernandez Radoux — were “murdered” during the October 7 attack and their bodies taken to Gaza.
Truce talks
The court order comes ahead of separate meetings on the Gaza conflict in Paris between the CIA chief and Israeli representatives on one side and French President Emmanuel Macron and the foreign ministers of four key Arab states on the other.
Ceasefire talks involving US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators ended shortly after Israel launched the Rafah operation, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office this week said the war cabinet had asked the Israeli delegation “to continue negotiations for the return of the hostages.”
CIA chief Bill Burns was expected to meet Israeli representatives in Paris in a bid to relaunch negotiations, a Western source close to the issue said.
Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron received the prime minister of Qatar and the Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers on Friday “to press for a ceasefire,” according to Cairo.
The French presidency said they held talks on the Gaza war and ways to set up a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The five countries discussed “the effective implementation of the two-state solution,” it added.
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken also spoke with Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz about new efforts to achieve a ceasefire and reopening of the Rafah border crossing as soon as possible, Washington said.
Aid stuck
Israeli ground troops started moving into Rafah in early May, defying global opposition.
Troops took over the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, further slowing sporadic deliveries of aid for Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
But on Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed in a call with his US counterpart Joe Biden to allow UN aid through the other entry point into southern Gaza, the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel, the White House said.
The US military has also installed a temporary jetty on the Gaza coast to receive aid by sea that a UN spokesman said had delivered 97 trucks of aid after “a rocky start” a week ago.
The security and humanitarian situation in the territory remains alarming, with a risk of famine, hospitals out of service, and around 800,000 people, according to the United Nations, having fled Rafah in the last two weeks.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the situation had reached “a moment of clarity.”
“Aid workers and UN staff must be able to carry out their jobs in safety,” he posted on social media site X late Friday.
“At a time when the people of Gaza are staring down famine... it is more critical than ever to heed the calls made over the last seven months: Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare.”
