Palestinian militants ‘ready to die’ as prospect of all-out war increases after West Bank clashes
The alleyways that run inside the Balata refugee camp are narrow, claustrophobic and full of uncollected rubbish.
Posters celebrating dead militants are stuck to the walls. Children are everywhere – more than half the population of the camp is under 25.
We were escorted to meet fighters from Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, one of the largest and oldest militant groups in the West Bank.
They are a proscribed terror group by Israel, the EU and US, but not the UK.
Out front, I turned a corner and they were there – dressed all in black, M16 assault rifles in hand and balaclavas covering their faces.
They are young men, heavily armed and say they are ready to die defending their land.
We made our introductions and then moved down another alleyway – an Israeli military lookout post was on the hill above us; snipers watch every move in the camp below.
“We’re seeing an escalation by the [Israeli] occupation forces across camps in the West Bank, especially in Jenin and Balata,” one of the militants tells me.
“Most of the operations are carried out by the Israeli special forces. Yesterday, two of our men were killed in clashes when they entered inside the camp.”
The fighters are relaxed. This is their stronghold.
CCTV cameras seem to be everywhere, they joke it’s like Paris or London; the militia has its own reconnaissance unit that watches for undercover Israeli special forces entering the camp.
Violent clashes have been more frequent in recent months – 2022 was the deadliest year since 2005 and already 2023, only a few weeks old, is more deadly still.
After nine Palestinians, mostly militants, were killed in an Israeli counter-terror raid on Thursday, the prospect of another all-out war is closer.
One of those killed was a 61-year old woman, Magda Obaid, caught in the crossfire.
The IDF says it’s investigating her death, but the list of unexplained civilian fatalities is growing.
“I think because of the policies of the right-wing Israeli government there will be an escalation in the West Bank,” the militant from Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades predicts.
Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus, says people have ‘no hope’
A poster of dead militants hangs above a fruit and veg stall
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Talk of a new uprising, a third intifada, which has been so often threatened in recent years, is emerging again.
“I think that there is an intifada coming,” Ibrahim Ramadan, governor of Nablus tells me.
“Why? There is not any hope among my people. The Palestinian people need hope, small hope for their freedom.”
The deputy mayor of Nablus, Dr Husam Shakhshiris, is more sanguine but equally blunt in his assessment of the current situation.
“It [Nablus] is occupied by the state of Israel. The Israeli army is entering the city everyday,” he says.
“We have two military camps on top [of the surrounding hills], we have seven settlements surrounding Nablus city connected by bus routes, and it’s easy for the Israelis to close the city and prevent the movement in and out of the city.”
As we walk around the city together, Dr Husam is clearly popular. Residents stop to greet him.
Unlike the militants we met, he has the wisdom of age and is thoughtful and considered in his words, but no less damning of Israel.
“How bad is it?” I ask him.
Nablus’s deputy mayor says the current situation is the worst he’s ever seen
“This is bad. I see all the time in the past that there was hope to have a peace solution, to have a two-state solution implemented, especially after Oslo,” says Dr Husam.
“Now we don’t see this hope, we don’t see a peaceful solution and we are stuck in these contours created by the policies of the state of Israel. They don’t see or recognise our national right of self-determination.
“It is the worst situation in my life.”
Violence in Israel and the West Bank goes in cycles.
Right now, any prospect of peace talks, or even a two-state solution, feels a long way off.
Neither side is in the mood to talk or to compromise, and so for many Palestinians fighting seems like the only route to more freedoms.
World
Police in Germany arrest suspected Hamas member who ‘acquired Glock pistols to attack Jewish institutions’
Police in Germany have arrested a suspected Hamas member who allegedly obtained guns and ammunition to attack Jewish targets.
Lebanese-born Borhan El-K was picked up on the motorway after crossing into Germany from the Czech Republic on Tuesday night.
In a statement, the German federal prosecutor’s office alleged in August he had procured an automatic rifle, eight Glock pistols and more than 600 pieces of ammunition in Germany.
It’s claimed the weapons were then handed to Wael FM, another suspected member of the Palestinian armed group Hamas, in Berlin.
Wael FM was arrested with the items on 1 October along with two other men named as Adeb Al G and Ahmad I.
Police officer – file image. Pic: iStock
The men, whose full names have not been released due to German privacy laws, were charged with preparing a serious act of violence endangering the German state and being members of a foreign terrorist organisation.
Authorities believe that the group had been gathering supplies since the summer.
“The weapons were intended for use by Hamas in assassination attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany,” the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement at the time.
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A source suggested that the first three men were detained when they met for the weapons handover.
The arrests came a day before Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Hamas – which is considered a terrorist organisation by the EU – previously denied any connection to the men and said the allegations against it were “baseless”.
Another alleged member of the group, Mohammed A, was arrested on 3 November in London at the request of German police.
He’s accused of taking five handguns and ammunition from Abed Al G and transporting them to Vienna where they were stored.
This morning Danish Police searched premises linked to Borhan El-K and another suspect in and around Copenhagen following Mr El-K’s arrest on Tuesday.
He was due to appear before a judge today.
In February, four suspected Hamas members went on trial in Berlin accused of plotting attacks on Jewish sites in Europe.
Hackers working for the Chinese military and government have been probing Australia’s key infrastructure and telecoms network, warns spy chief.
Mike Burgess, director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, warned Australians could have their water and electricity supplies cut off as well as extensive banking trouble if hackers managed to cause widespread telecoms disruption.
“Foreign governments have elite teams investigating these possibilities right now,” Mr Burgess insisted.
However, China‘s foreign ministry accused Burgess’s statement of spreading false narratives.
Pic: Reuters
The warning demonstrates the difficulty faced by Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese in trying to keep China close economically while trying to mitigate security concerns.
Burgess said espionage was estimated to have cost the country A$12.5bn (£6.2bn) last year, including billions in trade secrets and intellectual property.
In particular, he highlighted the activities of the Chinese hacking groups Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon.
He highlighted how Salt Typhoon had previously penetrated US telecoms systems intending to disrupt operations and pre-position for potential sabotage.
Burgess also warned that Australian companies could be crippled as trade competitors or that elections could be affected.
Chinese officials made complaints to the Australian government and private sector about ASIO whenever he spoke
publicly about China, Burgess said during a speech last week. “It won’t stop my resolve,” he said.
Not the first time alarms have been raised
Concerns were raised in Canberra in February after Chinese warships conducted live-fire drills with minimal warning in the Tasman Sea.
Australian authorities only heard about the drills when a commercial pilot for Virgin Australia notified Airservices Australia.
Chinese frigate Hengyang, one of three vessels involved in the circumnavigation of Australia. Pic: Australian Defense Force /AP
The drills resulted in 49 flights having to change their path.
It was a sombre occasion when the Princess Royal paid tribute to those who gave their lives defending freedom thousands of miles from home.
Under grey skies, Anne joined British and Singaporean veterans in a minute’s silence at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore.
She then took a poppy wreath in her hands and laid it at the memorial before taking two steps back.
Princess Anne lays a wreath during Service of Remembrance at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
Nearly 4,500 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War, who died defending Singapore and Malaya from Japan, are laid to rest in the cemetery.
Among them is Midshipman James Bremridge, a relative of Anne’s husband Sir Timothy Laurence.
Mr Bremridge, who died aged 18, served aboard HMS Repulse, which was sunk by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea in December 1941.
Sir Timothy laid a wreath on his grave.
Sir Timothy Laurence, husband of Princess Anne, lays a wreath on the grave of a relative at Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
During the visit, Anne met staff from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which she heads, and was greeted by its vice chair Peter Hudson.
Commander Tim Curnock of the British Royal Navy read an extract from For the Fallen, before the assembled veterans said “we will remember them” in unison.
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Along with the princess, the presidents of the Singapore Armed Veterans’ League and veterans’ charity Sandbag were also invited to lay wreaths at the memorial.
The piper, who played to mark the occasion, stood at the top of the cemetery overlooking the rows of headstones and saluted after Anne spoke to him.
Princess Anne visits Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Pic: PA
The two-day visit to Singapore marks 60 years of diplomatic relations with the UK.
The Princess Royal also visited the National Orchid Garden, where a flower was named after her in a short ceremony.
The purple bloom, now called Dendrobium Anne, was “very special” she said.
The Princess Royal with the ‘Dendrobium Anne’ orchid during a visit to the National Orchid Garden in Singapore. Pic: PA
The princess was also shown around the VIP garden, where orchid hybrids named after various heads of state are kept.
She paused to admire one called Dendrobium Elizabeth after her late mother.
Six members of the royal family have had orchids named after them in the garden, including the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2012.
Anne also visited HMS Spey, which has been deployed to the Indo-Pacific region since 2021.
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