International
Israel shifts the spotlight to the West Bank with a large-scale raid and kills 9 Palestinians
After Gaza and Lebanon, today we begin, with God’s help, to change the security situation in Judea and Samaria (the biblical name for the West Bank),” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Tuesday.
Shortly before, the Army began a large-scale raid in Yenin, in the north of the occupied territory, which so far has claimed the lives of nine Palestinians and injured 35 others.
Just two days after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into force, the attention of the armed forces has been diverted to the West Bank: dozens of excavators have accessed Yenin and its refugee camp with Israeli troops, and drone attacks and shots from Army helicopters have been recorded.
In an unusual move, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly announced the start of the operation, dumbled “Iron Wall”: “We are acting systematically and decisively against the Iranian axis wherever it sends its weapons, in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria.”
Interviewed by the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, the director of the Government Hospital of Yenin, Wissam Bakr, regretted that the speed with which the morning rounding was unfolding did not correctly count the number of injured, which was constantly evolving.
Videos recorded in the city and its refugee camp show how Israeli excavators advance through the streets, razing the roads.
In one of them, an old man crosses the street carrying a bag while the shots hit near his feet. In another, a nurse who walks with another man down the street has to run away when someone opens fire on them.
In the channels of the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service, the announcements of the transfer of the shot wounds from different areas of the city to the hospitals became a constant as the afternoon progressed.
“The occupation forces (Israel) prevent our teams from reaching the wounded inside the refugee camp when we receive the reports,” the group said this morning.
Following the announcement of the offensive, the Islamist group Hamas today urged both Palestinian civilians and their militiamen to respond to the Israeli army and counterattack.
“We call on the masses of our people in the West Bank and their revolutionary youth to mobilize and intensify the clashes against the occupying Army at all points, and to work to thwart the extensive Zionist aggression against the city of Yenin,” the group said in a statement.
Hamas also accused the forces of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in the hands of the secular Fatah party, of having abandoned Yenin to allow the operation of Israeli troops instead of defending the Palestinians.
The security forces of the ANP (which governs in small parts of the West Bank) concluded on Friday a 42-day operation in Yenin that ended in the death of police, militiamen and civilians, and which from the Palestinian factions was seen as a demonstration of power of the ANP to demonstrate to Israel its ability to manage security in Gaza after the ceasefire.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one of the predominant movements in the Yenin camp, also assured that Netanyahu is trying to “save his shaken government coalition” with the operation in the West Bank, after having “failed” in Gaza.
On Saturday, when there were still hours left for the ceasefire to take effect, the Israeli Army warned that it was preparing to increase its presence in the West Bank with up to seven companies, on the occasion of the release of Palestinian prisoners contemplated by the agreement, in exchange for the hostages.
Among Netanyahu’s radical partners (such as the former Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, or the head of Finance, Smotrich) the release of Palestinian prisoners earned the agreement qualifications as “disastrous” or “dangerous”.
The support of at least one of them is essential for Netanyahu to maintain the current government coalition, so, in view of Ben Gvir’s resignation, the prime minister met with Smotrich up to five times to prevent him from leaving the Executive.
Numerous Israeli media reported that Netanyahu put on the table to increase the Israeli presence in the West Bank as a condition for Smotrich not to leave the coalition. When the Executive voted this Friday for the agreement, Smotrich voted against it, but did not leave the Government.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
Panama seizes over three tons of drugs hidden in Caribbean port container
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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