'Very disturbed' Rubio urges Israeli crackdown on extremist settler ...

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Son of WaPo journalist beaten by settlers: ‘We were told Bezos is shocked, will do everything to see justice served’

The son of Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was beaten by settlers in West Bank, says he was told that the newspaper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, has said he will take action to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

“We had an opportunity to show governance and to see justice served, but unfortunately they take it and as usual throw it in the trash,” Michael Milner tells the Kan public broadcaster, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast doubt about the attack.

“The Washington Post staff support my mother, we heard that Jeff Bezos wants to speak to her today, that he is shocked by what happened and promised he would do everything to see justice served in this case,” Milner says, highlighting the strong statements on the attack from the US government.

Levine underwent surgery on her finger, which was nearly detached from her hand in the brutal attack.

“My mother is in a hospital bed, unable to get out of bed. She broke four vertebrae in her back. She almost had a finger amputated. She is mentally shaken by what happened,” says Milner.

The assault occurred on Friday near the village of Abu Falah, north of Ramallah, where some 80 settlers, many of them masked and some of them carrying gas canisters, began throwing rocks and beating Palestinians and accompanying activists, as well as Levine.

“My mother has been taking pictures for over 40 years, mainly war zones, including Ukraine and Russia, and Afghanistan and Syria. She covered wars between Israel and Iran,” he says. “There were incidents where stones were thrown at her, she was also hit by a rubber bullet. But there was never an attack like this. I never saw her lynched. She was never robbed. This was an extraordinary event.”

1,200 arrested, 150 cops injured amid mass violence across France

France is waking to devastated streets after clashes between police and protesters, mass looting and fires erupted nationwide as marches against rising costs of living degenerated into “extreme” violence.

The widespread unrest followed weeks of student protests and comes just six months ahead of elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron.

Whole streets in Paris “have been devastated,” the city’s mayor Emmanuel Gregoire says, as groups of masked young men torched parked cars and ransacked shops.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who had condemned the “extreme intensity” of the violence, says 1,200 people have been arrested and 150 police officers hurt.

It was “a miracle the toll isn’t higher,” he says.

The violence began on the sidelines of marches in the capital and other cities over the cost of living that the interior ministry said were attended by 550,000 people.

The CGT union, which took part, said 800,000 people participated.

Police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw projectiles and aimed fireworks.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne.

Saudi-led coalition says 2 killed in helicopter crash, denies Houthi claim of downing aircraft

A reconnaissance AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki says in a statement.

The helicopter crashed in an area under the jurisdiction of the Saudi National Guard Ministry, the statement adds.

The southwestern area of Najran has been subject to attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in recent weeks as fighting between the coalition and the Yemen-based militant group escalated.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree says in a post on X that the group had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was carrying out what he described as hostile activities targeting Houthi positions along the border.

Al-Maliki comments on Saree’s post with a photo of several Apaches lined up saying: “You claim to have shot it down, but it will enter the battlefield soon.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Deaths reported in ‘serious incident’ that sparked fire at Canadian military base

Canada’s defense minister says that people were killed and injured in an incident at a military base in Alberta that caused a major fire.

“I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” Defense Minister David McGuinty says.

McGuinty does not provide casualty figures or details about what caused the incident. He says the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation and describes the situation as “very, very active and delicate.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says officers were called following reports of a fire in a training area at the base.

The Canadian Armed Forces and federal, provincial and local authorities were coordinating the emergency response, he says. The nearby community of Wainwright was providing hospital and firefighting support.

The Municipal District of Wainwright says the fire crossed the military base’s perimeter fence and was spreading rapidly in high winds. Firefighters from multiple jurisdictions were responding, and no evacuation order was in effect.

Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Edmonton, is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases, where soldiers prepare for combat operations. It is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which conducts realistic battlefield exercises, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides military training.

McGuinty says authorities are still working to determine what happened and expected to provide further information.

Vance blames immigration, problems of ‘assimilation’ for violence in France

US Vice President JD Vance blames immigration for violence during protests in France, while sharing a video showing the city hall in Limoges on fire.

“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen,” Vance writes on X, adding: “I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn.”

Report: IDF received distress calls about armed settler extremists’ threats, but only reacted hours later

An IDF operations room received reports about threats by extremist settlers and distress calls from activists in the West Bank as early as 1 p.m. on Saturday, but nothing was done with this information, and the Civil Administration and troops on the ground were only informed about the attack on diplomats and others around 3 p.m., after it was over, the Haaretz daily reports.

One activist who accompanied local Palestinians is said to have sent the army a video and an exact location, accompanied by the message: “At least seven masked settlers armed with clubs. Come quickly, very scary. They stole bags of olives from Palestinians.”

The report says the military has opened a special probe to examine the chain of events and why nothing was done in real time to prevent the violence.

17-year-old stabbed to death in Ashkelon in suspected dispute between crime figures

A 17-year-old is stabbed to death in Ashkelon, in what police estimate was a dispute between crime figures.

Another person is lightly hurt in the incident.

Both males are taken to the city’s Barzilai Medical Center, with one of them pronounced dead a short while later.

Police say they have launched an investigation into the incident.

Rubio says he is ‘very disturbed’ by scenes of settler violence in West Bank, urges Israeli crackdown

The United States wants Israel to do more to deter attacks committed by extremist settlers in the West Bank, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

“We’re very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing,” Rubio says. “We’ve asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff.”

His comments to reporters come after the widespread dissemination of video showing multiple individuals attacking Heidi Levine, an American photojournalist with the Washington Post. Levine was one of at least two people injured in the Friday incident, which took place as Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians amid clashes.

European diplomats and a French mayor were also attacked in the West Bank in a separate incident, Belgium’s foreign minister has said.

The US State Department, Rubio says, has inquired about the event that included Levine’s attack. Rubio, speaking to reporters before boarding a flight to Uzbekistan, says he expects to hear back from the US Embassy in Jerusalem by Sunday.

Israeli settler extremists in the West Bank have been involved in at least 170 attacks on Palestinians since September 27, around the start of the annual olive harvest, according to Yesh Din, a left-wing Israeli settlements monitoring group.

Saudi capital residents receive ‘aerial threat’ alert

Riyadh residents receive a mobile phone alert warning of a “hostile aerial threat,” after days of attacks from Yemen’s Houthis.

“Warning. The area is under a hostile aerial threat. Please remain calm, stay indoors or in a safe place away from windows and doors,” reads the alert, which is lifted a few minutes later.

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