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Algeria frees opposition figure after vow to quit politics

Algeria frees opposition figure after vow to quit politics
Rachid Nekkaz was released on "humanitarian grounds", the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees said on Facebook. (AFP/File)
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Updated 19 January 2023
AFP

Algeria frees opposition figure after vow to quit politics

Algeria frees opposition figure after vow to quit politics
  • Rachid Nekkaz was released on "humanitarian grounds", the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees said on Facebook
  • Algerian daily Le Soir d'Algerie reported the 51-year-old had been granted a presidential pardon
Updated 19 January 2023
AFP

ALGIERS: An Algerian businessman and activist imprisoned for urging a boycott of the country’s 2019 presidential election was released Wednesday, a rights group said, after he announced this month he would quit politics.
Rachid Nekkaz was released on “humanitarian grounds,” the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees said on Facebook.
Algerian daily Le Soir d’Algerie reported the 51-year-old had been granted a presidential pardon.
Nekkaz had unsuccessfully tried to stand as a candidate in the 2019 poll.
In a letter from prison published on his Facebook page on January 2, Nekkaz said he had written to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune the previous month to “officially” inform him of his decision to “give up politics in Algeria.”
Nekkaz said in the letter he would dedicate himself “exclusively” to writing, his family and addressing health issues.
He had previously been jailed between December 2019 and February 2021 for “incitement to violence on social media,” where he has a large following.
The French-born Nekkaz was arrested again in May 2021 and last year sentenced to five years in prison.
Despite having renounced his French citizenship, he had been ruled ineligible to run in 2019 because of a law banning candidates who had ever possessed a nationality other than Algerian.
Instead, he put forward his cousin, a mechanic by trade, who has the same name.
Tebboune, a former premier under long-time ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika, won the 2019 elections after mass protests forced his predecessor to resign.
His government has banned demonstrations by the Hirak pro-democracy movement and stepped up legal proceedings against opponents, activists, journalists and academics.

Topics: Algeirs Rachid Nekkaz politics

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King of Jordan assures Lebanon’s foreign minister of nation’s support for country and its people

King of Jordan assures Lebanon’s foreign minister of nation’s support for country and its people
Updated 10 sec ago
Arab News

King of Jordan assures Lebanon’s foreign minister of nation’s support for country and its people

King of Jordan assures Lebanon’s foreign minister of nation’s support for country and its people
  • They also discussed bilateral ties, and the plight of Syrian refugees and the burdens shouldered by the countries that host them
Updated 10 sec ago
Arab News

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II met Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib at Al-Husseiniya Palace on Wednesday.
The king assured his guest of his country’s continuing support for Lebanon and its people, as they discussed the deep-rooted bilateral ties between their nations and ways in which cooperation might be expanded across all fields, the Jordan News Agency reported.
In addition, they talked about the plight of Syrian refugees and the burdens shouldered the countries that host large numbers of them, as well as the need for the international community to step up its support for this. According to UN estimates, more than 852,000 Syrian refugees are living in Lebanon and more than 663,000 in Jordan.
Jordan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, and Jafar Hassan, director of the king’s office, were also present at the meeting.

Topics: Jordan Lebanon Syrian refugees

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GCC secretary-general condemns Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

GCC secretary-general condemns Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Updated 29 March 2023
Rashid Hassan

GCC secretary-general condemns Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque

GCC secretary-general condemns Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Updated 29 March 2023
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RIYADH: Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi has condemned in the strongest terms Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces.

Albudaiwi underlined that the Israeli aggression during Ramadan constitutes a dangerous escalation, flagrant violation of international law and relevant resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites, as well as a provocation to Muslims worldwide.

The GCC secretary-general called on the international community to immediately intervene to stop the violations and intensify efforts to push the peace process forward, stressing the GCC’s unaltered position, which places the Palestinian cause on top of its priorities and calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 border lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Saudi Arabia also condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers.

The Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, saying: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and rejection of the blatant storming carried out by Israeli settlers into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, amid the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, stressing that these practices undermine peace efforts and violate international principles and norms regarding respect for religious sanctities.

“The ministry reiterates the Kingdom’s firm stance in supporting all efforts aimed at ending the occupation and reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, that enables the Palestinian people to establish their independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital,” it added.

Topics: Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Netanyahu, Biden exchange frosty words over Israel legal overhaul

Netanyahu, Biden exchange frosty words over Israel legal overhaul
Updated 29 March 2023
AP

Netanyahu, Biden exchange frosty words over Israel legal overhaul

Netanyahu, Biden exchange frosty words over Israel legal overhaul
  • Exchange a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the US
Updated 29 March 2023
AP

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden’s suggestion that the premier “walks away” from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions.
The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the US over Netanyahu’s judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests.
Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, “I hope he walks away from it.” The president added that Netanyahu’s government “cannot continue down this road” and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around US Ambassador Thomas Nides’ suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, “No, not in the near term.”
Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and “makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
The frosty exchange came a day after Netanyahu called for a halt to his government’s contentious legislation “to avoid civil war” in the wake of two consecutive days of mass protests that drew tens of thousands of people to Israel’s streets.
“Hopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he can try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen,” Biden said to reporters as he left North Carolina to return to Washington.
Netanyahu and his religious and ultranationalist allies announced the judicial overhaul in January just days after forming their government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
The proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top economists and former security chiefs have all come out against the plan, saying it is pushing the country toward dictatorship.
The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his allies the final say in appointing the nation’s judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by his allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court’s ability to review laws.
Critics say the legislation would concentrate power in the hands of the coalition in parliament and upset the balance of checks and balances between branches of government.
Netanyahu said he was “striving to achieve via a broad consensus” in talks with opposition leaders that began Tuesday.
Yair Lapid, the opposition leader in Israel’s parliament, wrote on Twitter that Israel was the US’s closest allies for decades but “the most radical government in the country’s history ruined that in three months.”

Topics: Israel US Benjamin Netanyahu Joe Biden

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Israel parties discuss justice reforms after Netanyahu U-turn

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Updated 29 March 2023
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Israel parties discuss justice reforms after Netanyahu U-turn

Israel parties discuss justice reforms after Netanyahu U-turn
  • Skepticism remains high over the negotiations on the judicial overhaul
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bows to pressure in the face of a nationwide walkout Monday
Updated 29 March 2023
AFP

JERUSALEM: Israel’s hard-right government and opposition parties were set for a second day of talks Wednesday on controversial judiciary reforms that sparked a general strike and mass protests in the country’s most severe domestic crisis in years.
Skepticism remained high over the negotiations on the judicial overhaul, which would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges.
US President Joe Biden, one of several Israeli allies to have voiced concern, urged Netanyahu to negotiate in good faith and warned against simply plowing ahead with the reforms.
A first day of talks between the government and the two main centrist opposition parties – Yesh Atid and the National Unity Party – was hosted by President Isaac Herzog Tuesday.
“After about an hour and a half, the meeting, which took place in a positive spirit, came to an end,” the president’s office said.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday), President Isaac Herzog will continue the series of meetings,” it added.
After three months of tensions that split the nation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bowed to pressure in the face of a nationwide walkout Monday.
The strike hit airports, hospitals and more, while tens of thousands of opponents of the reforms rallied outside parliament in Jerusalem.
“Out of a will to prevent a rupture among our people, I have decided to pause the second and third readings of the bill” to allow time for dialogue, the prime minister said in a broadcast.
The decision to halt the legislative process marked a dramatic U-turn for the premier, who just a day earlier announced he was sacking his defense minister who had called for the very same step.
The move was greeted with suspicion in Israel, with the president of the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank remarking that it did not amount to a peace deal.
“Rather, it’s a cease-fire perhaps for regrouping, reorganizing, reorienting and then charging – potentially – charging ahead,” Yohanan Plesner told journalists.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid reacted warily, saying on Monday that he wanted to be sure “there is no ruse or bluff.”
A joint statement Tuesday from Lapid’s Yesh Atid and the National Unity Party of Benny Gantz, a former defense minister, said talks would stop immediately “if the law is put on the Knesset’s (parliament’s) agenda.”
The US president warned that Israel “cannot continue down this road” of deepening division.
“Hopefully the prime minister will... try to work out some genuine compromise, but that remains to be seen,” Biden told reporters during a visit to North Carolina.
In a statement, Netanyahu said he appreciated Biden’s “longstanding commitment to Israel.”
But, he added: “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
In an earlier statement, Netanyahu had said that the goal of the talks “is to reach an agreement.”
Activists, meanwhile, vowed to continue their rallies, which have persisted for weeks, sometimes drawing tens of thousands of protesters.
“We will not stop the protest until the judicial coup is completely stopped,” the Umbrella Movement of demonstrators said.
The crisis has revealed deep rifts within Netanyahu’s fledgling coalition, an alliance with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in a tweet Monday, asserted “there will be no turning back” on the judicial overhaul.
Fellow far-right cabinet member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, had pressed his supporters to rally in favor of the reforms.
Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party revealed on Monday that the decision to delay the legislation involved an agreement to expand the minister’s portfolio after he threatened to quit if the overhaul was put on hold.
Writing in the left-wing daily Haaretz, political correspondent Yossi Verter said the pause was “a victory for the protesters, but the one who really bent Netanyahu and trampled on him is Itamar Ben-Gvir.”
The affair has hit the coalition’s standing among the Israeli public, just three months after it took office.
Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party has dipped seven points, according to a poll by Israel’s Channel 12, which predicted the government would lose its majority in the 120-seat parliament if an election were held now.

Topics: Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

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Labor chiefs probe exploitation of Palestinian workers in Israel

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Updated 29 March 2023
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Labor chiefs probe exploitation of Palestinian workers in Israel

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  • More than 120 killed in past 15 months
Updated 29 March 2023
Mohammed Najib

RAMALLAH: The powerful International Labor Organization is investigating allegations of ill-treatment and exploitation of Palestinian workers in Israel.

Palestinian leaders have handed a dossier to a fact-finding committee from the organization showing that the Israeli army killed 93 Palestinian workers in Israel in 2022, and a further 31 so far this year.

The report also detailed abuse of Palestinian workers at military checkpoints and barriers, the absence of occupational health and safety standards, and illegal working hours.

The dossier was handed over by Shaher Saad, secretary-general of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.  Saad also told investigators that brokers and illegal middlemen were deducting about $34 million a month in fees taken from workers’ salaries, which prevented the implementation of a working social security system in Palestine.

About 170,000 Palestinians from the West Bank work in Israel or in illegal Israeli settlements, and 17,000 from the Gaza Strip. Each month they are required to pay about 2,500 shekels ($780) in fees for a work permit, in a system that is riddled with corruption.

A report in 2021 by the Institute for National Security Studies suggests that people illegally selling work permits had annual revenue of 1 billion shekels from about 40,000 Palestinian workers.

Meanwhile Israeli armed forces’ assaults against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have continued with increasing frequency during Ramadan, Palestinian sources told to Arab News.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army arrested 13 citizens from different parts of the West Bank. At the same time, and for the fourth consecutive day, it continued to tighten its grip on the town of Huwara, south of Nablus.

Kamal Odeh, Fatah secretary in Huwara, said that the Israeli army had deployed intensively on the main street, setting up several barriers and trying to divert citizens’ routes through secondary streets inside the town.Soldiers turned several houses along the main street in the center of Huwara into military barracks.

“The security situation around Nablus is frightening,” Amer Hamdan, a rights activist from Nablus, told Arab News.

Israeli bulldozers also demolished three agricultural facilities in the Al-Sawahra wilderness, east of Jerusalem, and a commercial facility in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit.

Maj. Gen. Abdullah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, said demolitions by Israeli authorities in Salfit served the occupation’s plans to uproot Palestinian citizens from their lands in order to build more Israeli settlements.
 

Topics: Palestine Israel

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