13 date shops shut, 2 tons of contaminated stock seized in Jeddah

June 3, 2015

Jeddah, Jun 3: The Jeddah Municipality, university branch, inspected the Binladin date market in the university district and closed 13 shops and confiscated two tons of contaminated stock.

The move is in view of the fast approaching Holy Month of Ramadan and the rise in demand for dates, leading to violation of health safety regulations.

Hassan Ghoneim, director of the municipality’s university branch, said they toured all dates shops and a number of irregularities were found in the stores.

He said that they found many cartons and containers without data cards, and from anonymous sources, it is estimated there were 4,000 to 7,800 cartons of different sizes and weights, and 360 cartons of 1,000g dates which were expired.

Ghoneim said that they confiscated almost 11,500 food information labels which were not placed on the packets of dates to misguide the municipality as they were contrary to the rules and regulations of the municipality.

He said that during the inspection they noticed that many shops had shelves that were not clearly visible and they failed in presenting proper packaging, and many employees did not have proper authorization.

Ghoneim said the municipality withdrew a number of date samples from some stores and forwarded them to the municipality’s laboratory for analysis. He added that the shop owners need to establish the concept of corporate identity, introduce them to their duties and responsibilities and monitor their behavior.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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