GENEVA: The UN chief voiced alarm Monday at rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel on Sunday said its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank. Tens of thousands of Palestinians living there have been displaced by an intensifying military operation.
“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation,” Antonio Guterres told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The military began a major raid against Palestinian militants in the West Bank’s north a month ago, just after a truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory.
The West Bank offensive has gradually expanded, spanning multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.
Also on Sunday, Israel’s military announced tank deployments in Jenin, where it was “expanding” operations.
This marks the first time tanks have operated in the West Bank since the end of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in 2005.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the start of the Gaza war that began after Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.
Guterres on Monday stressed the importance of the fragile ceasefire in place in Gaza since January 19.
“We are witnessing a precarious ceasefire. We must avoid at all costs a resumption of hostilities. The people in Gaza have already suffered too much,” he said.
“It’s time for a permanent ceasefire, the dignified release of all remaining hostages, irreversible progress toward a two-state solution, an end to the occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as an integral part.”
UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
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UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ at Israeli settler violence in West Bank
- Israel earlier announced expanded military operations in the occupied Palestinian territory
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
