Iraq

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force Commander Visits Iraq 

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, visited Iraq this week to mark Arbaeen, which commemorates the end of the 40-day mourning period for the martyrdom of Imam Hossein. This is an important date on the Shiite calendar.

Israel and the Palestinian Territories 

Israel Arrests Hamas Militant In Jenin Who Fired West Bank Rockets 

The Israeli military arrested three members of the Hamas terror group during a raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Monday morning, marking the first overt entry of forces to the camp since a major operation was carried out in the area two months ago.

In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet security agency, and Border Police said troops entered the camp and nabbed Abdullah Hassan Mohammed Sobeh, Ward Sharim, and Mus’ab Ja’aydah. Security officials said that Israel had wanted Sobeh, a senior member of Hamas from the West Bank town of Burqin — close to Jenin — for months for his involvement in a string of attacks. Sobeh was accused of being involved in shootings, pipe bomb attacks, vehicle-borne explosive device attacks, and firing improvised rockets at West Bank settlements and Israeli towns from the Jenin area.

A group calling itself Al-Ayyash Battalion — apparently named for a notorious Hamas bombmaker killed by Israel — has claimed to have launched several rockets at settlements and towns in northern Israel in recent months, publishing footage of the mostly unsuccessful attempts.

Relatedly, A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative was arrested along with 17 other Palestinian terror suspects in an overnight raid of West Bank villages and towns on Thursday, the IDF said. The PIJ official and another suspect in the Jalazone refugee camp were arrested.  

Hamas, Hezbollah Lash Out At Bahrain As Israeli FM Concludes Visit 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrapped up a three-day visit to Bahrain on Tuesday, leaving the Persian Gulf nation with several bilateral agreements and cooperation pledges. Hamas condemned Cohen’s visit in a statement on Tuesday, pledging “its rejection of normalization with the Zionist occupation.” Hamas also mentioned the upcoming visit of Moroccan senate leader Enaam Mayara to Israel, scheduled for Thursday. “We call on our brothers in Arab states to retreat from this dangerous path that will bring them nothing but damage from a fascist, racist entity built on treachery,” said the group.  

Hamas also condemned Bahrain’s recent move to allow the opening of the Israeli embassy in Manama as “a stab in the back” of the Palestinians. Mousa Abu Marzook, the deputy head of Hamas' Political Bureau, warned that the move will endanger Bahrain’s security. “We believe that the issue will harm the future and security of Bahrain. We also believe that the brotherly Bahraini nation is against it,” he said. “The measure by the Bahraini government is tantamount to a stab in the back of the Palestinian nation.”  

Hezbollah also condemned Cohen's trip. On Tuesday, the Iran-backed group accused the Bahraini government of “worsening its political and moral decline through rushing towards normalization with the enemy after years of oppressing and terrorizing the Bahraini people.”

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