Latest news with #Palestinans
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Israelis attack soldiers in occupied West Bank
Israeli civilians assaulted security forces and vandalised military vehicles and a security installation outside an army base overnight in the occupied West Bank, the military said on Monday (June 30, 2025). According to Israeli media, settlers targeted the commander of the Binyamin Regional Brigade base in the central West Bank, calling him a "traitor". The officer was among troops attacked on Friday night as they tried to stop settlers entering a closed military zone near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik, following a settler attack that killed at least three Palestinans. Six civilians were arrested following clashes. "Dozens of Israeli civilians gathered at the entrance" of the brigade's base on Sunday evening, the military said in a statement. "The gathering became violent and some of the civilians at the scene attacked the security forces, sprayed pepper spray at them, and vandalized military vehicles," it added. "The IDF (military), police, and border guards intervened to disperse the gathering," the statement added, noting one Israeli citizen was injured in the confrontation. In another statement a few hours later, the army said that "Israeli civilians set fire to and vandalized a security site containing systems that contribute to thwarting terrorist attacks" near the base. Various coalition government leaders condemned the incident. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that "No law-abiding country can tolerate acts of violence and anarchy such as the burning of a military facility". He demanded a swift investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called a meeting of all security agencies on Monday (June 30, 2025) to discuss the incident, his office said in a statement. Praising Israeli soldiers' dedication since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, he said the government "will not allow any violent fringe group to harm them". Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the incident as "unacceptable" in a statement on X, while praising settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. "Such events are unacceptable... and those responsible must be brought to justice," he wrote. Several human rights NGOs have denounced the rise in violence committed by West Bank settlers and their perceived impunity.
Straits Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Israelis attack soldiers in occupied West Bank
Israeli army forces deploy around the religious site of Joseph's Tomb in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on June 27. PHOTO: AFP JERUSALEM - Israeli civilians assaulted security forces and vandalised military vehicles and a security installation outside an army base overnight in the occupied West Bank, the military said on June 30. According to Israeli media, settlers targeted the commander of the Binyamin Regional Brigade base in the central West Bank, calling him a 'traitor'. The officer was among troops attacked on June 27 night as they tried to stop settlers entering a closed military zone near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik, following a settler attack that killed at least three Palestinans. Six civilians were arrested following clashes. 'Dozens of Israeli civilians gathered at the entrance' of the brigade's base on June 29 evening, the military said in a statement. 'The gathering became violent and some of the civilians at the scene attacked the security forces, sprayed pepper spray at them, and vandalized military vehicles,' it added. 'The IDF (military), police, and border guards intervened to disperse the gathering,' the statement added, noting one Israeli citizen was injured in the confrontation. In another statement a few hours later, the army said that 'Israeli civilians set fire to and vandalised a security site containing systems that contribute to thwarting terrorist attacks' near the base. Various coalition government leaders condemned the incident. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that 'No law-abiding country can tolerate acts of violence and anarchy such as the burning of a military facility'. He demanded a swift investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called a meeting of all security agencies June 30 to discuss the incident, his office said in a statement. Praising Israeli soldiers' dedication since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, he said the government 'will not allow any violent fringe group to harm them'. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the incident as 'unacceptable' in a statement on X, while praising settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. 'Such events are unacceptable ... and those responsible must be brought to justice,' he wrote. Several human rights NGOs have denounced the rise in violence committed by West Bank settlers and their perceived impunity. Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The National
28-04-2025
- Business
- The National
The wheels on Labour's GB Energy have come off so quickly
IF you visit London, you will notice a number of differences from Scotland, one of which is the absence of the electricity-generating wind farms, which are a ubiquitous feature of the landscape of 21st-century Scotland. Scotland produces huge quantities of renewably generated electricity, far more than Scotland requires for its domestic consumption. The excess energy is exported to England. Yet despite being literally the powerhouse of the UK, Scots households continue to pay more for energy than equivalent households in London and the South East of England. This is due to how the British electrical energy grid is structured by the Westminster government, which maintains control of energy policy. New analysis by the energy market consultancy Cornwall Insight has found that consumers in north Wales and Merseyside will pay £120 more than households in London for their electricity over the coming year, while those in the north of Scotland will pay £96 more. The difference is caused by variation in the charges levied on bills in order to fund the upkeep of Britain's 14 regional electricity distribution networks, which are regulated by Ofgem. READ MORE: Louis Theroux: The Settlers showcases grim reality of Palestinans living in West Bank Cornwall Insight said: "In regions like north Scotland, north Wales and Mersey, network operators face higher costs due to factors such as challenging terrain, greater distances between populations, and colder weather conditions, making electricity distribution more complex and grid maintenance more expensive than in densely populated areas like London." The findings are likely to reopen the debate about zonal pricing. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband last week ruled out the introduction of zonal energy pricing if it meant that households in some regions would pay more. Those who'd pay more would be those in London and the South East of England. Households in Scotland, Wales and northern England are already paying more, but we are expected to suck it up. (Image: Danny Lawson) Bosses of the energy company Octopus Energy have long argued that with a zonal energy market in the UK, Scottish households could have the cheapest electricity in Europe due to its huge renewable energy potential. This would also be the case if Scotland were independent, and in addition, Scotland would benefit from the full market price of the energy which is currently exported to England and subsidised by Scots in their higher electricity bills. Guy Newey, chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult, said that zonal wholesale pricing would make the electricity system operate more efficiently, cutting costs. He said: "The choice for the Government is how you shield different consumers and that is a political choice.' Different international markets have done it in different ways: "Some levelling between households in different zones; some protecting industry. But the benefit of zonal is you get significant savings to play with." Lee Drummee, senior analyst at Cornwall Insight, said: 'While the debate about the potential introduction of zonal wholesale pricing continues, it's important to recognise that regional pricing is already baked into the system. In that sense, energy bills are already a postcode lottery. "Zonal pricing is just one part of the picture, the reality is that regional differences are already having a big impact." The prospect of much cheaper domestic energy bills must be a central plank in the campaign for Scottish independence. No Scot has to go far to see wind turbines gracefully rotating and generating Scottish renewable energy, but what we don't see is any practical benefit from that energy for Scottish households, even though that energy is owned by the people of Scotland. Scotland enjoyed an energy bonanza in the 1970s and 1980s with oil and gas, only for the wealth created by that natural resource to be siphoned off and used to fuel a boom in London. (Image: Alex Kuffner/The Providence Journal, Alex Kuffner/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK) Now Scotland has the immense good fortune to be enjoying a second energy bonanza, one which Westminster can't tell us is about to run out. We cannot allow Westminster to repeat the trick they pulled with oil and gas and rob Scotland of its natural wealth a second time. Gary Smith, the General Secretary of the GMB Union, one of the major financial backers of the Labour party, has slammed the Labour government over its flagship GB Energy company policy which he says has left people feeling "betrayed". Smith told the Daily Record that the Government had 'over promised' with GB Energy and that people felt 'disappointed'. He said: 'The risk is they are going to open a shiny new office with a dozen civil servants in Aberdeen on a high street full of charity shops because they are closing the city down.' He added: 'There is a disappointment and a growing sense of betrayal around Great British Energy.' Despite the Labour party making a commitment to bring down energy bills, a key feature of its manifesto commitment to voters during the Westminster general election campaign, energy bills have continued to soar since Keir Starmer took office last July, rising by almost £300 annually, the amount Labour promised to reduce them by. GB Energy has not only failed to bring down bills, but many other claims made for it by Labour in opposition have not been delivered. We were told that the company would be headquartered in Aberdeen, where it would create 1000 jobs. We have since learned that the company will not have its own dedicated office building but rather will share office space with other government departments. The company's CEO will not be based in this supposed headquarters but will continue to work from Manchester, thus posing the philosophical question: Is a headquarters still a headquarters if the head is not quartered in it? Most damningly of all, the 1000 jobs which we were promised the company would create will not materialise until the 2040s, if at all. The wheels started to come off the GB Energy bus pretty early. The policy was only introduced in the first place to give Keir Starmer a fig leaf of cover when he U-turned on his previous commitment to nationalise the energy companies. However, it soon transpired that GB Energy was not going to be an energy company in any meaningful sense of the term; it would neither own any energy infrastructure nor produce and sell any energy. Rather, GB Energy was going to be an "investment vehicle" devoted to funneling public money into private energy projects. Labour refused to agree to making a commitment to reduce energy bills a part of GB Energy's legal remit when the bill to establish the company passed through the Commons.
The National
28-04-2025
- Business
- The National
UK Government must act urgently over £200m promise for Grangemouth
In February, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK Government would invest £200m into Grangemouth and that it should bring in 'three times that' in private funding, bringing the total to £800m. The financial package from the UK Government is an attempt to ensure that high-quality jobs and economic opportunity are not lost in the area. READ MORE: Louis Theroux: The Settlers showcases grim reality of Palestinans living in West Bank However, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has urged Starmer to accelerate the progress on the Acorn Carbon Capture project at Peterhead after the UK Government announced further funding for carbon capture projects in England without mention of finance or progress for the Scottish Cluster. At the time of the announcement, the SNP accused the Labour Government of treating Scotland as an afterthought. On Tuesday, at a parliamentary debate on supporting Scottish industry, Forbes is expected to call on the UK Government to be more transparent with the funds ringfenced for Grangemouth. She is expected to say: 'I welcome the UK Government's confirmation that £200 million has been ringfenced within the National Wealth Fund to support the deployment of projects at Grangemouth. (Image: free) 'However, many of the proposals for the site outlined in Project Willow may not meet the current criteria being applied by the fund and we must not find ourselves in a position where good intentions are not translated into meaningful practice. 'I call on UK ministers to take urgent and decisive action to ensure its £200 million commitment is deployed.' Forbes is expected to add: 'There must be clarity – and that clarity must be provided with the same urgency and decisiveness that we have now seen the UK Government show in respect of Scunthorpe - that these monies will be available for Grangemouth as soon as business needs it. 'We simply cannot risk the chance of high-quality jobs and the prospect of new economic opportunities being lost forever.' The Acorn project has been placed on a 'track two' reserved list for future funding from the UK Government. Earlier this month, business leaders in the north east urged ministers to treat Acorn as an 'immediate priority'.
