New Riyadh crackdown nets over 400 'illegal' expats

August 22, 2014

illegal expats

Riyadh, Aug 22: Police arrested a large number of illegal expatriates in the south of the capital in an early morning raid on Thursday under the direct supervision of Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

According to one eyewitness, operations started immediately after dawn prayers.

He said that more than 400 undocumented expatriates, including women and children living in the Manfouha district south of Batha, were rounded up during operations.

The majority of those arrested are African nationals, according to the witness.

The illegals will be investigated and subject to fines and deportation depending on each case, said police sources.

The Riyadh Police Department carried out the operations in cooperation with other security forces.

The Ministry of Interior had warned illegal expatriates in the Kingdom to legalize their status by Nov. 1, 2013 or leave the country.

Riyadh police also arrested 307 illegal residents, including 13 wanted men, last month in a pre-dawn operation. The combing operations were conducted upon the instructions of Prince Turki.

According to Riyadh police, the 24-hour operation took place in Manfouha, Hai Al-Wazara (Hara) and Batha city center.

“Those arrested were booked for various offenses, such as overstaying their visas, running away from sponsors and looking for employment under the pretext of being on a ‘free visa’,” the official said.

The illegal residents were mostly concentrated on the Al-Frayan Street and Sitteen streets.

The operations, which were led by Maj. Gen. Saud Al-Hilal, cordoned off the areas before the raid to prevent suspects from escaping.

During the raids, 45 vegetable vendors who overstayed their Haj and Umrah visas were also arrested in the Hara and Batha areas.

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News Network
February 12,2025

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The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, says he has been subjected to “severe torture and mistreatment” following his arrest by Israeli forces in late December.

Abu Safiya’s family, citing his lawyer, said in a post on X on Wednesday that he endured harsh conditions in the first days of his detention in Israeli jails and was held in solitary confinement for 24 days before being transferred to Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, where he continues to face poor treatment.

According to Abu Safiya's family, he suffers from chronic high blood pressure and an enlarged heart muscle.

His family added that although Abu Safiya is currently receiving treatment, he is only given one meal per day which is "inadequate” and of very poor quality.

“Regarding his legal case, it is clean, and there are no charges against him,” his family said, adding that all accusations attributed to him have been denied due to lack of evidence and the case is clear.

His family noted that Abu Safiya’s release could be imminent in the coming stages of the prisoner exchange, as the Israeli prosecutors have not filed any charges.

Abu Safiya’s family further called on the international community to pressure Israel to provide adequate food and medicine for him and secure his immediate release.

In late December, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing patients and medical staff to leave while detaining the rest.

Dr. Abu Safiya, 51, was among those taken for questioning by the Israeli military over alleged links to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

He has already called for international intervention to secure his release and that of all detained medical personnel, stressing that healthcare workers must be protected, their rights upheld, and their immediate release ensured. 

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Agencies
February 20,2025

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement hands over the bodies of four Israeli captives, killed in the regime's strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The handover, part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Tel Aviv regime, was carried out in Khan Yunis on Thursday, with Hamas saying that the move reflects its commitment to consolidate the ceasefire for long-term peace in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

According to the movement, all four captives, a mother and her two children and an elderly journalist, were killed in the Israeli airstrikes during the 15-month genocide war that killed at least 48,284 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the small coastal territory.

"To the families of Bibas and Lifshitz: We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back," Hamas said in a statement.

"They killed with them: 17,881 Palestinian children, in their criminal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and we know that you know who is truly responsible for their departure. You were the victim of a leadership that does not care about its children."

Hamas said the Israeli army killed the captives by bombing their detention centers, and that the regime of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu bears full responsibility after repeatedly obstructing the exchange agreement. 

"The criminal Netanyahu is crying today over the bodies of his prisoners who returned to him in coffins, in a blatant attempt to evade responsibility for their killing in front of his audience."

Hamas said it did everything in its power to protect the prisoners and preserve their lives, "but the barbaric and continuous bombing by the occupation prevented them from being able to save all the prisoners".

On Saturday, Hamas said it would also release six more live captives in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners that include half of the women and children abducted by the occupying regime during the genocide.

The handover came just a day after the resistance movement announced that it is ready to release all Israeli captives in a single swap during the second phase of the Gaza truce deal.

"We emphasize that the exchange is the only way to return the prisoners alive to their families, and any attempt to bring them back by military force or return to war will only result in more losses among the prisoners," Hamas said in its Thursday statement. 

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing the first phase of the truce, which began on January 19. Since then, 19 Israeli captives have been released in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinians.

After the completion of the first phase, 58 captives will remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of the remaining captives are dead.

Prior to Al-Aqsa Flood operation in October 2023, approximately 5,200 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons. According to Palestinian officials, that number has since increased to over 10,000.

The occupying entity failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,284 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

The ceasefire is divided into three phases, each lasting 42 days. In the first phase, which is currently underway, 33 Israeli captives will be freed in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees held in the regime’s prisons.

Despite Hamas fully committing to the ceasefire deal, Israel has restricted the delivery of humanitarian aid, including shelters, and blocked the entry of heavy machinery into the besieged strip, hindering the clearance of rubble from destroyed infrastructure.

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News Network
February 11,2025

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has warned that Israel's military offensive in the West Bank has escalated forced displacement of Palestinians at an alarming level, impacting over 76,000 people in the area.

In a statement released on Monday, the agency reported that Israel's so-called “Iron Wall” military raid has resulted in the near-complete evacuation of several key refugee camps.

UNRWA expressed deep concern over the forced displacement of the communities, describing the situation as "escalating at an alarming pace" due to increasingly coercive and dangerous living conditions.

“The use of air strikes, armored bulldozers, controlled detonations, and advanced weaponry by the Israeli forces has become commonplace,” UNRWA stated, adding that these methods appear to be a spillover from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The agency reiterated that "civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times and that collective punishment is never acceptable."

Since January 21, the Israeli regime has carried out military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tammun in the northern West Bank, killing over 30 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The operation, which began in the Jenin refugee camp, has now reached its third week, marking the longest military campaign in the West Bank since the second Intifada.

UNRWA reported that the offensive has spread to the Tulkarm, Nur Shams, and Far’a refugee camps, which collectively house approximately 76,600 Palestinian refugees.

Israeli forces are reportedly intensifying their operations in the occupied West Bank, particularly in Jenin, where local sources say the occupation forces are targeting Palestinian residents and their property, leading to violent confrontations with Palestinian fighters.

Eyewitnesses have reported hearing explosions in the eastern neighborhoods of Jenin, while Israeli forces have prevented ambulances from accessing the area. Video footage has emerged showing Israeli bulldozers destroying paved roads in the region.

The grave situation has been compounded by the Israeli military's actions in surrounding towns, such as Jaba, where three individuals were detained during a Monday incursion.

The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, stated that their fighters are actively confronting Israeli forces in the nearby Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps.

UNRWA's updates indicate that the ongoing offensive has already displaced around 40,000 individuals in the West Bank, contributing to a humanitarian crisis that has left thousands without shelter or basic necessities.

Under Israel’s parliament (Knesset) law enacted on January 30, UNRWA no longer has any contact with the Israeli authorities, hindering the ability to address critical issues related to civilian suffering and the urgent need for humanitarian aid.

Since the onset of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israel has significantly increased its violence in the West Bank, killing more than 900 Palestinians in the occupied territory.

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