SOFIA: A van smuggling 12 Syrian migrants crashed into a police car near the Bulgarian capital on Tuesday after the driver fled a police checkpoint, injuring an officer and some passengers.
The EU member has seen a sharp increase in the number of migrants trying to cross its border to move farther north to the Schengen visa-free zone in western Europe.
The driver of the minibus refused to stop at a checkpoint south of Sofia and sped away. He then crashed into a police car dispatched to stop it.
A 51-year-old policeman and a 20-year-old Syrian suffered head injuries, doctors at the Saint Anne’s Hospital in Sofia said.
Three other passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries, while the driver — a Bulgarian with a prior police record who drove without a license — was also injured.
Interior ministry secretary general Petar Todorov said he would resign, demanding tougher punishments for people smugglers, many of who currently get away with mere fines.
Two officers were killed in August when a bus smuggling people rammed into their police car near the Black Sea city of Burgas when they were trying to stop it.
A Bulgarian policeman was also shot dead earlier this month while patrolling the country’s border with Turkiye.
Bulgaria, a member of the European Union but not in the Schengen zone, shares a 269-kilometer-long (167-mile-) land border with Turkiye.
Since January, Bulgaria has arrested 14,427 people for sneaking into the country, compared with a total of 8,254 last year, according to the government.
Van carrying Syrians rams into police car in Bulgaria
https://arab.news/jkk4j
Van carrying Syrians rams into police car in Bulgaria
- A 51-year-old policeman and a 20-year-old Syrian suffered head injuries, doctors at the Saint Anne's Hospital in Sofia said
- Three other passengers were hospitalised with minor injuries
Trump asks Netanyahu to change West Bank policy
- US President, his team raise settler violence, financial instability of PA, Israeli settlements’ expansion
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his top advisers asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank during their meeting according to a US official and another source, both with direct knowledge, Axios said.
Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the heart of plans for a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.
According to the US official, the White House thinks a violent escalation in the West Bank would undermine efforts to implement the Gaza peace agreement and prevent the expansion of the Abraham Accords before the end of Trump’s term.
Trump and his team expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank and asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative steps and “calm things down,” the sources said.
The president and his team raised settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the financial instability of the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli settlements expansion, the sources said.
The US message was that changing course in the West Bank is critical to repair Israel’s relations with European countries and, hopefully, expand the Abraham Accords. “Netanyahu spoke very strongly against settler violence and said he is going to take more action,” the source with knowledge said.
