Saudi Arabia leads chorus of condemnation following Israeli minister’s ‘provocative’ visit to Al-Aqsa

Saudi Arabia leads chorus of condemnation following Israeli minister’s ‘provocative’ visit to Al-Aqsa
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Visitors gather near the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City January 3, 2023. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia leads chorus of condemnation following Israeli minister’s ‘provocative’ visit to Al-Aqsa
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Visitors walk next to al-Aqsa mosque on the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City Jan. 3, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 04 January 2023

Saudi Arabia leads chorus of condemnation following Israeli minister’s ‘provocative’ visit to Al-Aqsa

Saudi Arabia leads chorus of condemnation following Israeli minister’s ‘provocative’ visit to Al-Aqsa
  • Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary

RAMALLAH: Saudi Arabia has led a chorus of condemnation following a visit on Tuesday by Israel’s far-right national security minister to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The move, by firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir, has enraged Palestinians, while the US warned of steps that may harm the status quo.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it denounced the “provocative action” by the Israeli official.

Ben-Gvir’s visit to the site, under heavy security, triggered a wave of condemnations by Arab states and organizations who saw the act as a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the location.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation described the visit “as part of Israel’s attempts to change the existing historical and legal status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The OIC added it considered the act “a provocation to the feelings of all Muslims and a flagrant violation of relevant international resolutions.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh claimed the visit was an attempt to turn the mosque complex “into a Jewish temple.”

Addressing his Cabinet, Shtayyeh called on Palestinians to “confront the raids into Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as an unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict.”

The Foreign Ministry of Egypt — which serves as a key mediator in Gaza — warned “of the negative consequences of such actions on security and stability” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the wider region.

Jordan said it condemned in the “severest of terms” the visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and “violating its sanctity.”

Its Foreign Ministry added that the visit opposed international law and “the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem.”

The UAE condemned Ben-Gvir's “storming” of Al-Aqsa, while Kuwait issued a similar statement.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to preserve his commitment to holy sites, and added: “The United States stands firmly for the preservation of the status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.

“Any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo is unacceptable.”

Ben-Gvir tweeted after his visit: “We are a government that does not surrender to the threats of Hamas.

“The Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque) is the most important place for the people of Israel.

“We preserve freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians, but the Jews also have the right to the place and to go up to it. 

“We must deal with an iron fist against anyone who threatens us.”

Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Hatem Al-Bakri said that Israeli settlers had increased incursions into Al-Aqsa during December.

Israeli Army Radio reported that the chief of the country’s security agency Shin Bet and Israel’s police chief had given the green light to Ben-Gvir’s trip.

Israel’s security services raised their state of alert following the visit after threats from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Palestinian factions called on the people of the West Bank to escalate their opposition to the Israeli army and settlers in defense of Al-Aqsa.

They also called on the Palestinian Authority to stop security coordination with the Israeli military.

Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Arab News that both Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir misled the Palestinians about the visit, which had taken place when there were no Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He told Arab News: “I believe that Hamas will not go for an armed escalation, but it may react indirectly in the coming days, either by firing a missile or shooting at the Israeli forces deployed along the border with the Gaza Strip.

“If Ben-Gvir’s visit had taken place openly, it would have been understood as a challenge to Hamas, and the situation would have been more difficult and complicated.”

A US Embassy spokesperson said Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides “has been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Actions that prevent that are unacceptable.”

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the Palestinian presidential spokesman, said Ben-Gvir’s visit was a challenge to the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the international community.

A statement from the UK said: “We are concerned by the visit to Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount by minister Ben-Gvir today.

“The UK remains committed to the status quo, and all must avoid actions which inflame tensions and undermine the cause of peace.”

Ben-Gvir’s visit came just days after he took office as national security minister, with powers over police.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest place in Islam and the most sacred site to Jews, who refer to the compound as the Temple Mount.

Under a long-standing agreement, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but are not allowed to pray there.

In recent years, a growing number of Jews, most of them Israeli nationalists, have covertly prayed at the compound.

Situated in the walled Old City of Israel-annexed East Jerusalem, the compound is administered by Jordan’s Waqf Council, with Israeli forces operating there and controlling access.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces shot dead Adam Ayad, 16, during their incursion into the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem early on Tuesday.

It brought to three the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the first three days of 2023. A comprehensive protest strike has been announced in Bethlehem.


UK minister praises Qatar as a leader in directing investments

UK minister praises Qatar as a leader in directing investments
Updated 30 May 2023

UK minister praises Qatar as a leader in directing investments

UK minister praises Qatar as a leader in directing investments
  • Badenoch praised Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in 2022 and reflected on what the region can provide to the global economy and growth

DOHA: UK Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch has praised Qatar for providing an example in directing investments and bringing about effective economic development.

In an interview with the Qatar News Agency during the country’s Economic Forum 2023, Badenoch said that her visit to Qatar was to support the negotiation process with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to sign a free trade agreement with the UK.

She explained that a deal between the two sides would aim at investment in environmentally beneficial and climate-friendly goods and services.

Badenoch said: “Exports of UK wind turbine parts currently face tariffs of up to 15 percent. An agreement with the GCC would create opportunities for other parts of the UK’s green technology industries including solar power, hydrogen power, electric vehicles and smart energy systems.”

Badenoch praised Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in 2022 and reflected on what the region can provide to the global economy and growth.

She said that the forum, which is in its third edition, had brought together global leaders in the fields of business, investment, and finance dedicated to discussing challenges, exchanging perspectives, and celebrating achievements.

She added that one of the UK’s priorities was to increase sustainable energy supplies, emphasizing the importance of continuing cooperation with Qatar on this front. 
 


Armed groups clash in Tripoli streets

Armed groups clash in Tripoli streets
Updated 30 May 2023

Armed groups clash in Tripoli streets

Armed groups clash in Tripoli streets
  • Amid political divisions, Libyan government vows to keep targeting smugglers despite criticism

TRIPOLI: Gunshots rang out in Libya’s capital following hours of fighting between two armed groups both aligned with the divided country’s UN-backed government, local medics and media reported on Tuesday.

Several residents in Tripoli were lightly wounded in the clashes which began on Sunday night and spread across several neighborhoods.

Fighters from rival militias — the Al-Raada Force and the 444 Brigade, both of which are loyal to interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah’s Tripoli-based government — clashed after a member of the 444 Brigade was arrested.

Libyan television and online media showed videos of the fighting posted online by social media users.

An elderly man “was injured in the arm by shrapnel as he fled his home in Ain Zara by car,” the Tripoli Rescue Service said on its Facebook page, also condemning damage to ambulances during the gunbattles.

On Sunday, armored vehicles and fighters were seen deploying in Jrabra Street, a busy commercial area in the capital’s east, and the central Ras Hassan residential district.

After a lull in the fighting, heavy and light weapons fire was heard, along with ambulance sirens, in the eastern suburbs of Ain Zara and Fornaj until 3 a.m. on Monday.

The University of Tripoli said on Monday it was forced to “close its doors” and suspend exams as a security measure.

The fighting was reportedly halted after the intervention of another armed group that is responsible for security, the Stabilization Support Agency.

Libya is split between Dbeibah’s UN-backed government in the west and another in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The latest Tripoli fighting comes after Dbeibah’s government carried out drone strikes since Thursday near the western city of Zawiya, claimed to be on targets connected to fuel and drug smuggling and people trafficking.

On Sunday, drone strikes killed at least two people and hospitalized the nephew of legislator Ali Bouzribah, from the rival eastern parliament, whose home had reportedly been hit in strikes three days earlier.

The eastern-based parliament on Monday denounced the strikes against Zawiya, saying it was an operation to “settle political scores rather than fight against traffickers as claimed” by the Dbeibah government.

In response, the US Embassy in Tripoli said it was monitoring the situation with “concern amid reports of weapons being used in civilian areas and the potential for further violence.”

Britain branded as “unacceptable” the use of weapons that put civilian lives at risk, and called on all those involved to de-escalate, its embassy said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Libya’s Tripoli-based government vowed on Tuesday to keep fighting smuggling networks and people traffickers after a series of drone strikes sparked claims of political score-settling.

The divided country’s UN-backed administration has carried out attacks since Tuesday against what it labeled  “gangs of fuel, narcotics and human traffickers” in and around Zawiya.

“The security operation will continue until the achievement of its objectives,” the Tripoli government said in a statement.

Armed groups have exploited the turmoil to fund their activities through fuel smuggling and the illegal trafficking of migrants.


Palestinian gunmen killed Israeli civilian in West Bank, army says

Palestinian gunmen killed Israeli civilian in West Bank, army says
Updated 30 May 2023

Palestinian gunmen killed Israeli civilian in West Bank, army says

Palestinian gunmen killed Israeli civilian in West Bank, army says
  • Meir Tamari was shot near the settlement of Hermesh

JERUSALEM: Palestinian gunmen shot and killed an Israeli man on Tuesday near the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said.

The Israeli military said the man was shot near the settlement of Hermesh, in the northern West Bank. 

Local officials identified the man as Meir Tamari, a 32-year-old resident of the settlement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences to the family and said forces were pursuing the gunmen “in order to settle accounts with them.” 

Dimiter Tzantchev, the EU  ambassador to Israel, condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly and brutal act of violence.”

The incident came a day after Jewish settlers erected a religious seminary in a nearby dismantled settlement outpost and was the latest in more than a year-long surge of violence that has wracked the West Bank. 

During that time, Israel has expanded near-nightly military raids throughout the area in response to an increase in Palestinian attacks.

The fighting has picked up since Israel’s new far-right government took office in late December. 

At least 117 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem this year, with nearly half of them members of armed militant groups. 

But stone-throwing youths and people uninvolved in violence have also been killed. The Israeli army said the number of Palestinian militants killed is much higher.

Meanwhile, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis in those areas have killed at least 21 people.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek these territories for a future state.

Some 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Most of the international community considers these settlements illegal or obstacles to peace.

The new Israeli government includes several prominent settler leaders in top positions. It has made the expansion of the settlements a top priority.

On Monday, Jewish settlers erected a religious school in a dismantled outpost in the northern West Bank after Israel’s government lifted a ban on settlements in several areas evacuated as part of Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. In March, Israel repealed the act that barred Israelis from entering the areas.


UAE launches AI-powered chatbot for government services

UAE launches AI-powered chatbot for government services
Updated 30 May 2023

UAE launches AI-powered chatbot for government services

UAE launches AI-powered chatbot for government services
  • Chatbox platform enables users to access information about government services in Arabic and English

DUBAI: The UAE has launched the U-Ask platform, a unified AI-powered chatbot for government services, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday. 

The platform, which employs generative AI technology, enables users to access information about government services in Arabic and English, such as service requirements, relevant information based on their preferences, and direct links for applications. 

Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, the minister of state for government development, said the chatbot platform was part of the UAE government’s digital efforts, which include integrating and coordinating projects and enhancing system efficiency.

Mohamed bin Taliah, the chief of government services, said that the body and the platform would serve different groups and sectors both inside and outside the country.

The platform is designed to handle a wide range of inquiries and requests, from basic information to more complex service requirements. It also provides comprehensive answers, including basic information and ways to apply for services.

It was developed in partnership with Microsoft and PwC Middle East, and can deliver personalized recommendations and suggestions based on the preferences and previous interactions of users.
 


UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70 percent of population, need aid

UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70 percent of population, need aid
Updated 30 May 2023

UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70 percent of population, need aid

UN: Staggering 15.3 million Syrians, nearly 70 percent of population, need aid
  • 2.5 million people are at risk of losing food or cash assistance from July
  • The Syrian people “are more and more reliant on humanitarian assistance as basic services and critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse"

UNITED NATIONS: For the first time in Syria’s 12-year war, people in every district are experiencing some degree of “humanitarian stress,” and a staggering 15.3 million — nearly 70 percent of the population — need humanitarian aid, the United Nations said Tuesday.
A UN appeal for $5.4 billion to help over 14 million people in Syria is less than 10 percent funded and the UN World Food Program has warned that without additional money, 2.5 million people are at risk of losing food or cash assistance from July.
The dire humanitarian situation, compounded by the February earthquake that devastated the rebel-held northwest, was spelled out to the Security Council by the UN humanitarian office’s operations director Edem Wosornu.
The Syrian people “are more and more reliant on humanitarian assistance as basic services and critical infrastructure are on the brink of collapse,” she said.
Wosornu urged generous pledges and the swift release of funds at a European Union hosted conference in Brussels on June 14-15. She said “Syrians need the support of the international community now more than at any time in the past 12 years.”
She said the need to maintain the delivery of humanitarian aid to the northwest is even more critical after the earthquake. She said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a 12-month extension of the UN mandate, which expires in July, saying the assistance is “indispensable” and “a matter of life and death for millions of people” in the region.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country is a close ally of Syria, said Moscow shares concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation. But he said cross-border aid delivery “has outlived its usefulness” and “we see no reason at all to extend it.”
Nebenzia expressed concern that while cross-border aid was flowing and funded, the appeal to help millions of others in acute need in Syria is only 9 percent funded. It’s “a very odd moral imperative,” if aid “only applies to the terrorists in Idlib and it does not apply to the country as a whole.”
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States will seek a council resolution to extend aid deliveries through the three border crossings currently operating: Bab Al-Hawa, which was the single crossing Russia would allow to remain open in January, as well as Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée, which Syria’s President Bashar Assad agreed to open after the quake, which killed over 6,000 in Syria and has displaced over 330,000. Assad has agreed to keep the two additional crossings open through Aug. 13.
The US envoy accused Assad of “cynically” trying “to seize on the outpouring of international support following the earthquakes to reclaim its place on the world stage,” stressing that “merely sitting at the same table as other regional leaders does nothing to help the people of Syria.”
“If the Assad regime wants to help the Syrian people, it should act immediately and announce that it will keep the Bab Al-Salam and Al Raée crossings open through at least August 2024, or as long as it takes,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And even if the Assad regime does the right thing, it is frankly no substitute for actions by this council, which has a responsibility to respond to the dire humanitarian needs of the Syrian people.”
Assad was welcomed back to the Arab League this month after a 12-year suspension. Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, told the Security Council that this meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia along with others in Moscow and Amman that included Syrian officials could create new momentum in long-stalled efforts to end the conflict.
He reiterated that new diplomatic activity “could act as a circuit breaker in the search for a political solution in Syria – if there is constructive Syria engagement, and indeed if key regional and international groups and players can work together.”