Browsing: Region
The Palestinian Authority condemned yesterday the adoption of a law by Israel’s parliament that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, calling it a “dangerous escalation”. In a post on X, the Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry said that “Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian land”, adding that: “This law once again reveals the nature of the Israeli colonial system, which seeks to legitimise extrajudicial killing under legislative cover”. The Hamas group said the Israeli parliament’s approval of the bill reflects what it described as Israel’s policy of “killing and terrorism”. The approval of the bill “reflects the bloody nature of the occupation and its policy based on killing and terrorism”, Hamas said in a statement. Earlier, Israel’s parliament passed a law yesterday making the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, fulfilling a pledge by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies, Reuters reported. The legislation has drawn international criticism of Israel, which is already under scrutiny for increasing violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The measure includes provisions requiring an execution by hanging within 90 days of sentencing, with some allowance for a delay but no right to clemency and the option of imposing a life imprisonment sentence instead of capital punishment. Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954. The only person ever executed in Israel after a civilian trial was Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust, in 1962. Military courts in the West Bank can already impose a death sentence on Palestinian convicts but have never done so. The measure was promoted by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister who has worn noose-shaped lapel pins in the run-up to the vote. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the legislation as a breach of international law and a doomed bid meant to intimidate Palestinians. “Such laws and measures will not break the will of the Palestinian people or undermine their steadfastness,” Abbas’ office said in a statement. “Nor will they deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle for freedom, independence, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.” Israel’s leading rights groups decried the law as “an act of institutionalised discrimination and racist violence against Palestinians.” The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said it filed an appeal against the law with Israel’s Supreme Court. Source link
First responders work on the rubble of a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Hanouiyeh, east of Tyre, yesterday. (AFP)…
People check damaged cars, which Palestinians say was burned by Israeli settlers, near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 30, 2026. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal Israeli airstrikes killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip yesterday, local health officials said, in the latest round of violence since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect more than five months ago. Israeli forces also killed two people in the occupied West Bank in two separate incidents, Palestinian health officials said. Medics said three people were killed and two others wounded when an Israeli plane fired a missile at a group of Palestinians near the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it had struck and killed members of a Hamas armed cell it had identified in the northern Gaza Strip to remove the threat to its troops operating in the area. Later yesterday, another Israeli airstrike killed one person and wounded six others outside a local community kitchen in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, medics said. There was no immediate Israeli comment. More than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, local health officials say, following a storming of Israel by Hamas-led fighters. Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations of a ceasefire agreed last October. The Gaza health ministry said Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire. Health officials in Gaza say at least 50 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the Iran conflict began a month ago. WEST BANK VIOLENCE In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, health officials said Israeli forces had shot and killed a 22-year-old man near the city of Hebron yesterday. They said soldiers took the body away. Palestinian security sources identified the dead man as Ramzi Awawada and accused Israeli soldiers of leaving him to bleed to death and preventing rescuers from reaching him. The Israeli military said its forces had shot and killed a Palestinian who ran towards them holding a knife. Separately, it said forces operating near the city of Tulkarm fired at a Palestinian who accelerated his vehicle toward them, posing a threat to their safety. Later, the Palestinian health ministry confirmed the driver’s death, adding that the army had taken away his body. Rights groups and medics say Israeli settlers are taking advantage of curbs on movement imposed during the Iran war to attack Palestinians in the West Bank, with military roadblocks preventing ambulances from reaching victims quickly.Settlers have killed at least five Palestinians in the West Bank since the conflict began on February 28, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Source…
Women sit at a home damaged by a strike amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 30, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News…
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced that the crew of the Kuwaiti crude oil tanker Al-Salmi successfully extinguished a fire that broke out early Tuesday following an Iranian attack that directly targeted the vessel while it was anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, outside the port of Dubai. No oil spill or marine pollution was reported in the surrounding waters.In a statement to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), KPC said the crew responded immediately and brought the fire under control before fully extinguishing it later in the day, in line with instructions from the corporation’s management and crisis response team, and in coordination with UAE authorities to assess the damage.The statement added that no injuries were reported among the 24 crew members.KPC affirmed that it continues to coordinate with the relevant authorities to assess the extent of the damage and take the necessary measures in accordance with established procedures. Source link
The United Arab Emirates has said it intercepted a fresh wave of missiles and drones launched from Iran, amid an ongoing escalation in regional tensions.A defence ministry on Tuesday said air defence systems have successfully engaged eight ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 36 drones.The statement added that since the start of Iranian attacks, the defences have intercepted a total of 433 ballistic missiles, 19 cruise missiles and 1,977 drones.The statement also confirmed casualties from the attacks. Two armed forces members were killed while on duty, along with a civilian contractor of an Arab nationality. Eight civilians of various nationalities were also reported killed, while a further 188 have sustained injuries, ranging from minor to severe.The statement concluded that the armed forces remain on high alert and ready to deal with further threats, stressing their commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining security. Source link
Jordan has said its air force had intercepted and destroyed a missile attack from Iran as regional tensions continue to intensify.In a statement on Tuesday, the Jordanian Armed Forces said the Royal Air Force has shot down four Iranian missiles targeting its territory over the past 24 hours, successfully neutralizing them before impact.Meanwhile, the Public Security Directorate said its units responded to 17 reports of falling debris and projectiles. While no casualties were reported, authorities confirmed that some material damage had occurred.Authorities reiterated warnings to the public against approaching or handling any suspicious objects or fragments, citing its potential danger. Residents were also urged to follow safety guidelines issued by official authorities. Source link
Israeli occupation authorities have continued, for the 32nd consecutive day, to close Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshipers, citing security conditions linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to Jerusalem-based sources.In a related context, alleged ‘Temple groups’ continue to incite incursions into the mosque compound during the Hebrew Passover celebrations, calling for the performance of sacrificial rituals within it and demanding that the mosque be opened from April 2 to April 9.The occupation authorities are using the prevailing situation as a pretext to tighten their control over Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid growing public and Jerusalemite calls to mobilize at surrounding checkpoints and military barriers in an attempt to break the imposed siege and reopen it to worshipers. Source link
Four people sustained minor injuries after shrapnel fell on several homes in Dubai, UAE.The Dubai Media Office said in a post on X platform that authorities are responding to an incident caused by shrapnel from a successful interception, which fell on residential houses in southern Dubai.The incident, the office added, resulted in property damage and minor injuries to four Asian nationals. Source link
Dubai authorities confirmed that emergency teams successfully dealt with the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai, the UAE.Dubai’s Government Media Office said in a statement posted on X that no oil spill or injuries were reported as a result of the incident.Earlier on Tuesday, the Office announced that the fire that broke out on the Kuwaiti oil tanker after it was targeted by an Iranian drone had been extinguished. It added that the relevant teams were continuing to assess the situation and take the necessary measures.Kuwait Petroleum Corporation had previously reported that the giant Kuwaiti crude oil tanker Al Salmi was directly targeted in a deliberate Iranian attack while in the anchorage E of Dubai Port. Source link