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Is Israel’s Smotrich fulfilling his dream of annexing the West Bank?

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Is Israel’s Smotrich fulfilling his dream of annexing the West Bank?

About a month ago, a quiet transfer happened.

The Israeli army’s Civil Administration handed more control over the occupied West Bank to the Settlements Administration, led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in an illegal settlement himself.

Now Smotrich and his Settlements Administration control more things, like building regulations and the management of farmland, parks and forests.

Since he entered government, Smotrich has pushed openly for more Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank – illegal under international law – as steps towards annexation.

So what does this all mean?

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What’s the Settlements Administration?

It was set up back in February 2023, after lots of political wrangling between Smotrich – who is also a minister within the Ministry of Defense – and Yoav Gallant, the defence minister.

There were a lot of details, but the upshot is that the responsibility for monitoring illegal construction in the occupied West Bank came under Smotrich.

Meaning that illegal settlement or outpost construction would be ignored and eventually approved, while Palestinian construction would be subject to intense scrutiny over permits, and often demolished.

[Al Jazeera]

How did Smotrich swing that?

Smotrich and his fellow member of the extreme right, Itamar Ben-Gvir, head a coalition of hard right and ultra-Orthodox parties that have propped up the rule of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Using that far-right heft, Smotrich negotiated to essentially take control of Israeli expansion into occupied land.

So what changed this May 29?

The army’s handover on May 29 means pages of bylaws will now be enforced by the Settlements Administration, making illegal settlement expansion even easier.

Did Israel already control the occupied West Bank?

Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, as well as Gaza and East Jerusalem – the longest military occupation in modern history.

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But, even occupation has rules.

According to international law, the occupying power cannot move its citizens into occupied land. Israel’s Supreme Court confirmed this in 2005.

That did not stop Israelis from building illegal settlements on stolen land. And it did not stop Israeli settlers – supported by security forces sometimes – from attacking Palestinians to force them off even more land.

A Palestinian man sits near a damaged house and damaged cars after Israeli settlers attacked the village of al-Mughayyer, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 13, 2024
Property damaged by Israeli settlers in al-Mughayyer, on April 13, 2024 [Mohammed Torokman/Reuters]

How many Palestinians live in the West Bank?

According to the US government, three million people.

In many cases, families have lived in the same house or on the same farm for centuries.

Traditional farming is a source of pride and identity, with generations dedicating themselves to tending ancestral olive groves and fruit orchards. Some Palestinian tribes are shepherds, traditionally roaming across their lands so their flocks can graze.

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But settler attacks have focused on farmers and shepherds, who tend to live in small, peaceful communities that make easy pickings for armed settlers with the police as their backup.

This pushed many Palestinians to move to towns, working unskilled jobs like construction.

What’s going to happen to them now?

Life will likely get even harder.

On top of sweeping arrest campaigns being stepped up in the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza on October 7, the number of settler attacks to scare families off their land has exploded too.

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More than 500 Palestinians have been killed in attacks in the occupied West Bank.

Restrictions on movement have increased as Israel increased both fixed and mobile checkpoints and settlers have started setting up their own random roadblocks.

This means Palestinians have a much harder time getting to work or keeping their businesses running. Or seeing family, or going for a picnic. Anything, really.

Add to that the increased leniency Smotrich’s Administration is likely to show illegal settlement expansion and the crackdown on any Palestinian construction, the outlook is bleak.

INTERACTIVE -UN-LIST-ILLEGAL-SETTLEMENTS-DEC14-2023-1702556698
[Al Jazeera]

Is this it? Annexation?

Annexing the occupied West Bank to Israel is certainly a dream for Smotrich and his close political ally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

They see taking over managing the occupation – by essentially commandeering the Civil Administration – as a major step towards that ambition.

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

Israeli strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, rattling a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military had targeted the journalists in the town of Tayri, where they took shelter in a nearby house after an airstrike struck a vehicle in front of the car they were traveling in. About an hour and a half later, a second strike hit the house they were hiding in, according to a statement by a Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which employed the journalist who was killed.

The Lebanese Red Cross said its teams came under fire while trying to evacuate the journalists from the house, forcing them to withdraw. The rescue crews were targeted by a warning strike and machine-gun fire, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Zeinab Faraj, a photojournalist, was rescued from the house. The other journalist, Amal Khalil, who was a reporter for Al-Akhbar, remained trapped under rubble for hours before emergency medics recovered her body, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

In addition to Ms. Khalil, the two people in the car in front of her were killed in the strikes, Al-Akhbar reported.

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Amid the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon, Israel has continued strikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, citing its right to self-defense. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group, said that it had fired rockets and drones into Israel on Tuesday in response to what it said were violations of the cease-fire. Earlier on Wednesday, the Lebanese News Agency reported that an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded two others in another part of the country.

The Lebanese health ministry called the strikes in Tayri a “blatant double breach, involving both the obstruction of rescue efforts for a civilian known for her media and humanitarian work, and the direct targeting of an ambulance clearly marked with the Red Cross.”

The Israeli military denied in a statement that it had prevented rescuers from reaching the injured journalists, and said the incident was under investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said Israeli forces had spotted two vehicles emerging from a military building used by Hezbollah. The military observed the vehicles cross what the spokeswoman called the forward defense line, determining the move to be a violation of the truce agreement.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the Israeli military had struck one of the vehicles and the building some of the occupants of the second vehicle had taken shelter in.

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Ms. Khalil had covered southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah exercises strong control, since at least 2006. In a tribute to Ms. Khalil, a colleague from Al-Akhbar said she embodied the resilience of the southern Lebanese through her relentless reporting, refusing to leave the front lines of war where thousands of Lebanese had been displaced.

“As with every act of aggression, wearing a press vest did not protect those who wore it from the treachery of the Israeli enemy,” Al-Akhbar said in a statement. “Instead, it has become a danger to journalists’ lives, as part of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing anyone who seeks to expose the crimes and practices of the occupation.”

In a forceful statement on social media, Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese prime minister, accused the Israeli military of war crimes for targeting journalists and obstructing access to medical aid. He said that Lebanon would pursue action to ensure Israel is held accountable with international bodies.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that it was outraged by the attack, and that it raised serious concerns of deliberate targeting.

“The repeated strikes on the same location, the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering, and the obstruction of medical and humanitarian access constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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A former Mexican beauty queen was found shot to death in her Mexico City apartment, with investigators examining the possible involvement of her mother-in-law, according to local reports.

Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead inside an apartment in the Polanco neighborhood, one of the city’s most affluent areas, Reporte Índigo, a Mexico-based news outlet, reported. 

Authorities said the death is being investigated as a homicide, after initial findings indicated she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders were called to the scene, where paramedics confirmed she showed no signs of life.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Flores Gómez’s mother-in-law, Erika María, as well as a man described in reports as her partner or husband, may have been involved in her death.

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CALIFORNIA HIKER’S BODY FOUND NAKED IN BIG SUR BACKCOUNTRY

Carolina Flores Gómez was found shot dead in her luxury apartment April 15 in Mexico City. Her mother-in-law has been named the main suspect in the suspected homicide. (Jam Press)

The man, identified as Alejandro, accused his mother of killing Flores Gómez, Mexican news outlet Azteca Guerrero reported.

The outlet also reported that the woman’s mother-in-law was present at the scene when the gun was fired and that authorities are looking into the timeline of when the incident was reported.

WIDOW, SON OF LATE CHICAGO COMMISSIONER FOUND SHOT DEAD INSIDE HOME IN SUSPECTED HOMICIDE

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Mexican prosecutors have opened a homicide with intent case in the death of former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez.  (Jam Press)

Preliminary reports cited by Mexican news outlet Diario Puntual indicate that a security guard at the building did not hear gunshots, adding uncertainty about how the crime occurred.

Authorities in Baja California, Mexico, also responded to the case, Diario Puntual reported.

CIA PERSONNEL KILLED IN MEXICO CRASH TIED TO CARTEL OPERATION; QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER US ROLE

Former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead in her Mexico City apartment. (Jam Press)

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Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda expressed solidarity with the victim’s family and called for the case to be clarified. 

State prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez also said there is coordination with Mexico City authorities to support the investigation.

Flores Gómez previously competed in beauty pageants and was crowned Miss Teen Universe Baja California in 2017.

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The case has drawn attention in Mexico amid ongoing concerns about violence against women, with advocacy groups calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.

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The investigation into the matter is open and ongoing.

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks
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