Link seen between Russia and Libyan commander Haftar — US general
Link seen between Russia and Libyan commander Haftar — US general/node/1073421/middle-east
Link seen between Russia and Libyan commander Haftar — US general
General Khalifa Haftar, commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA), leaves after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on November 29, 2016. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo)
Link seen between Russia and Libyan commander Haftar — US general
Updated 24 March 2017
Reuters
WASHINGTON: The head of US forces in Africa told reporters on Friday there was an “undeniable” link between Russia and powerful Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, something likely to add to US concerns about Moscow’s deepening role in Libya. Earlier this month Reuters reported that Russia appeared to have deployed special forces to an air base in western Egypt near the border with Libya. Russia denied the report. When asked about the presences of Russian troops in Libya, Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, the top US military commander overseeing troops in Africa, said “there are Russians on the ground in the area,” adding that Russia’s attempts to influence Libya were concerning. (Reporting by Idrees Ali)
Israeli settlers burn tents, vehicles in West Bank village
Videos show masked men rampaging into the Palestinian village of Susiya near Hebron and burning vehicles and property
Similar attacks have become common as settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank
Updated 52 min 3 sec ago
Reuters
SUSIYA, West Bank: Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.
“They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere,” Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with reports of “deliberate burnings of Palestinian property” and had opened an investigation into the incident.
A Palestinian man inspects his burnt vehicle after it was set on fire by Israeli settlers in Susya village near Hebron. (AFP)
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.
Attacks where masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack residents have become common, as Israeli settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.
An Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a “fringe minority,” although Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.
The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.
Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At the end of 2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2 percent resulted in indictments. Israel’s far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to “bury” a Palestinian state.
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.
Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.
