JENIN, Palestinian Territories: Clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the occupied West Bank on Saturday killed one man, a medical source told AFP, with Hamas identifying him as a fighter.
Fighting is usually rare between militants and Palestinian Authority (PA) security personnel, who exercise limited authority in the Israeli-occupied territory.
But for more than a week, the northern West Bank city of Jenin has seen intense violence, after the PA — which coordinates security matters with Israel — had arrested several militants.
The medical source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said one body was brought to Jenin’s Ibn Sina hospital on Saturday.
Several wounded people, both militants and PA personnel, also arrived at the hospital, said the source.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has presence in the West Bank too, identified the dead man as Yazid Jaaysa, saying he was a “resistance fighter.”
Palestinian media said Jaaysa was a member of Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is particularly active in the Jenin area.
The city and its adjacent refugee camp are a stronghold for armed factions who present themselves as a more effective resistance to the Israeli occupation in contrast to the PA.
AFPTV footage showed armed security personnel and armored vehicles patrolling in the northern West Bank city and close to the camp on Saturday as gunfire echoed around.
Tensions have been running high since the PA’s arrests of militants earlier this month.
General Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the PA’s security forces, said in a statement they had launched an operation on Saturday at 5:00 am (0300 GMT) in order to “recover Jenin camp... from the control of outlaws.”
Rajab said militants in the camp had set fire to a car in an attempt to “detonate” it.
The Islamic Jihad military wing called for Palestinians in the West Bank “to strike and declare a general mobilization and a day of rage” in a show of support for the Jenin camp militants.
Hamas, the main rival to the Fatah party that dominates the PA, condemned the security forces in a statement, accusing them of “deliberate targeting” of fighters and people wanted by Israel.
Tensions in Jenin escalated on December 5 after armed men seized two official PA vehicles on and paraded through the camp waving flags of the Islamic Jihad group.
On Thursday, the PA admitted responsibility for the killing of a 19-year-old man in Jenin three days before.
The PA has partial administrative authority in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
The clashes have added to the already soaring violence in the West Bank, with Israeli military raids and settler attacks increasing since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
West Bank man killed in clashes with Palestinian security: medic
https://arab.news/bzerr
West Bank man killed in clashes with Palestinian security: medic
- Fighting is usually rare between militants and Palestinian Authority (PA) security personnel
- For more than a week, the northern West Bank city of Jenin has seen intense violence, after the PA had arrested several militants
Lebanon PM publishes long-awaited banking law draft
- The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis.
- Depositors with a limit of $100,000, over the course of four years
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam published on Friday a long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis between banks and the state.
The draft law is a key demand from the international community, which has conditioned economic aid to Lebanon on financial reforms.
In a televised speech, Salam said “this draft law constitutes a roadmap to getting out of the crisis” that still grips Lebanon.
The draft will be discussed by the Lebanese cabinet on Monday before being sent to parliament, where it could be blocked.
The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis.
Depositors, who lost access to their funds after the crisis, will be able to retrieve their money, with a limit of $100,000, over the course of four years.
Salam said that 85 percent of depositors had less than $100,000 in their accounts.
The wealthiest depositors will see the remainder of their money compensated by asset-backed securities.
“I know that many of you are listening today with hearts full of anger, anger at a state that abandoned you,” Salam said.
“This bill may not be perfect... but it is a realistic and fair step toward restoring rights, halting the collapse.”
- ‘Banks are angry’ -
The International Monetary Fund, which closely monitored the drafting of the bill, had previously insisted on the need to “restore the viability of the banking sector consistent with international standards” and protect small depositors.
The Associations of Banks in Lebanon criticized the draft law on Monday, saying in a statement that it contains “serious shortcomings” and harms commercial banks.
“Banks are angry because the law opens the door to them sharing any part of the losses,” said Sami Zougheib, researcher at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank.
He told AFP that banks would have preferred that the state bear full responsibility.
The text provides for the recapitalization of failing banks, while the government’s debt to the Central Bank will be converted into bonds.
Salam said that the bill aims to “revive the banking sector” which had collapsed, giving free rein to a parallel economy based on cash transactions, which facilitate money laundering and illicit trade.
According to government estimates, the losses resulting from the financial crisis amounted to about $70 billion, a figure that is expected to have increased over the six years that the crisis was left unaddressed.
Since assuming power, Salam and President Joseph Aoun have pledged to implement the necessary reforms and legislation.
In April, Lebanon’s parliament adopted a bank restructuring law, as the previous legislation was believed to have allowed a flight of capital at the outbreak of the 2019 crisis.
The new bill stipulates that politically exposed persons and major shareholders who transferred significant capital outside the country from 2019 onwards — while ordinary depositors were deprived of their savings — must return them within three months or face fines.
The draft law could still be blocked by parliament even if the cabinet approves it.
“Many lawmakers are directly exposed as large depositors or bank shareholders, politically allied with bank owners, and unwilling to pass a law that either angers banks or angers depositors,” Zougheib said.
Politicians and banking officials have repeatedly obstructed the reforms required by the international community for Lebanon to receive financial support.
