World roundup: August 28 2024

Stories from Israel-Palestine, Ukraine, Honduras, and elsewhere

PROGRAMMING NOTE: With the Labor Day weekend upon us and because I have a personal commitment tomorrow evening I’ll be putting the newsletter on pause after tonight’s roundup. We will return to our regular schedule on Tuesday. Thanks for your support!

TODAY IN HISTORY

August 28, 1189: In an effort to find himself a new capital city (having lost his previous one), titular King of Jerusalem Guy of Lusignan begins a siege of Acre. It took the armies of the Third Crusade, under Richard the Lionheart of England and Philip II of France, to finally conclude the siege and capture the city in July 1191.

August 28, 1521: Ottoman forces under Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent capture the then-Hungarian city of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár to the Hungarians) and destroy most of it. The Ottomans rebuilt the city and made it the capital of the Sanjak of Smederevo, and within a short time it became the largest Ottoman city in Europe other than Constantinople.

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

The Israeli military (IDF) undertook a major operation in the West Bank overnight that has so far killed at least 10 people who may have been identified as militants by Hamas. I say “may have” because while the Palestinian Authority has confirmed ten killed overall and Hamas has said that ten of its fighters have been killed, it’s not clear they’re working with the same casualty lists. There have likely been additional casualties but I suspect Palestinian officials are having a difficult time trying to assess the situation at present. Israeli forces carried out attacks in Jenin, Nablus, Tubas, Tulkarm, and the Farʿa refugee camp, all in the northern part of the territory.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz explained the operation in terms that sound fairly terrifying, saying that the IDF “must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps might be required.” Does that mean the Israelis are literally planning to do to the West Bank what they’ve done to Gaza? Are those “temporary evacuations” going to be a step toward ethnic cleansing and annexation?Your guesses are as good as mine. By Wednesday afternoon Israeli authorities had ordered the evacuation of the Nur Shams refugee camp outside Tulkarm, so needless to say we’re not off to a promising start. The Israelis are calling this their biggest security operation in the West Bank since the 2000-2005 Second Intifada, and not coincidentally it may be the thing that brings about a long-feared Third Intifada.

Elsewhere: