Israeli army allows settlers to carry out provocative march on April 10

Special Israeli army allows settlers to carry out provocative march on April 10
A man inspects the damage to a restaurant following an attack by Israeli settlers on the Palestinian town of Hawara in the occupied West Bank on March 28, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 30 March 2023
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Israeli army allows settlers to carry out provocative march on April 10

Israeli army allows settlers to carry out provocative march on April 10
  • Israeli Channel Seven reported that the army agreed to a request by the Nakhla settler organization to hold a massive demonstration that will start from the Za’tara checkpoint
  • The demonstration will take place in conjunction with the Jewish Passover holiday on April 10 and it will see the participation of rabbis, ministers and Knesset members

RAMALLAH: The Israeli army has allowed settlers to organize the largest demonstration in the northern West Bank in years on April 10, in which dozens of settler organizations will participate.

The Israeli Channel Seven reported that the army agreed to a request by the Nakhla settler organization to hold a massive demonstration that would start from the Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and proceed toward the Avitar settlement outpost built on Mount Sabih, where the army would provide security for the march.

The channel said that the demonstration would take place in conjunction with the Jewish Passover holiday on April 10 and that it would see the participation of rabbis, ministers and Knesset members, among others.

Dozens of Jewish organizations announced their participation in the march, including Yisrael Sheli, Ad Kan, Habitkhonisten, the Sovereign Movement, the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement, Ezra Variel, Beitar Organization, and others.

The participants will demand that the Israeli government fulfill its commitment to allow settlers to return to the Avitar outpost after the Israeli Civil Administration finishes surveying the land.

Ghassan Daglas, an official for settlement issues affiliated with the Palestinian presidency, told Arab News that the settlers were putting pressure on their government to legalize the settlement outpost that they wanted to establish on land owned by Palestinians, benefiting from the presence of extreme right-wing ministers in the government.

“We will not meet them with flowers if they return to Jabal Abu Sbeih, but rather with popular demonstrations and protests. This is the land owned by the Palestinians, and they are trying to seize it by force,” Daglas told Arab News.

Over the past month, extremist settler attacks against Palestinians and their properties have increased.

In a significant development, on Thursday, the Shin Bet security agency announced it arrested two settlers who attacked a Palestinian family on the eve of the Jewish Purim holiday in the town of Huwara while they were in a vehicle outside a retail store.

According to a Shin Bet statement, the detainees threw stones at the vehicle from a short distance, and one of them used an axe to break the vehicle’s windows and attack its passengers.

After interrogating them, the security agency filed against them charges of deliberately committing a terrorist act for racist motives.

Shin Bet accused the two of belonging to a group of violent settlers working to attack Palestinians and disrupt the activities of the Israeli army to thwart Palestinian attacks.

Daglas said these activities would only cause tensions to escalate, threatening people’s lives in the region.

Meanwhile, settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque continued on Thursday following calls by the Temple Movements.

Seventy-three settlers stormed the mosque on Thursday, under the protection of the Israeli police. Some of them performed prayers there.

The Har-El youth organization announced their plan to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque next Sunday to celebrate Aliya Day, which symbolizes the Jewish diaspora’s return to Palestine.

Har-El called on its followers to storm the mosque wearing blue shirts bearing the inscriptions of the temple and said that this would be followed by mass incursions by other groups.

These groups called on their supporters to bring sacrificial animals to slaughter them at 10:30 p.m. inside Al-Aqsa Mosque on the evening of next Wednesday.

The organizations referred to their announcement as a declaration of a “state of emergency,” calling on all their supporters to “not miss the Passover Eucharist” at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, 15 rabbis demanded that settlers be allowed to offer the Passover sacrifices in Al-Aqsa Mosque this year. They called on the Israeli government to “exploit Israel’s control over Al-Aqsa Mosque and allow sacrifices inside it.”

In the letter, they claimed that allowing sacrifices inside Al-Aqsa Mosque was “a national interest of the first order for Israel.” They demanded the achievement of this goal “despite all odds.”

Among the rabbis who signed the letter were Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who heads the so-called Temple Institute, one of the groups calling for the construction of a temple on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Rabbi Yehuda Kreuzer, the rabbi of the Mitzvah Yericho settlement, who led the settlers as they stormed the mosque.

Last year, the extremist Minister of Finance and Settlement Bezalel Smotrich expressed his sympathy for Jews trying to offer sacrifices at Al-Aqsa, posting a picture of himself inside his car carrying a goat to show his support.

Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem and the Islamic holy land, told Arab News that extremist settlers and their associations had no right to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque or to practice their Jewish religious rituals in it, “as it is a place purely for Muslims.”

He said: “Still, Israel seeks to Judaize the holy place and control Al-Aqsa, which represents a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims around the world.

“Our Palestinian people and Muslims across the world do not want Al-Aqsa Mosque to be a scene for the superstitions of Jewish extremists and the desecration of Islamic religious values,” he added, holding the Israeli government responsible for the raids and their dangerous repercussions.

“We cannot submit to the diktats of settlement associations. Settlers feel supported by extremist ministers in the government, so they are escalating their threats against Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.


Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties

Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties
Updated 28 September 2023
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Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties

Emirati and Malaysian trade ministers discuss boosting economic ties
  • Officials reviewed status of negotiations for a UAE-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
  • UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest commercial partner in the Middle East

LONDON: Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the Emirati minister of state for foreign trade, and Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the Malaysian minister of investment, trade and industry, discussed ways boost trade and investment ties between their countries. Their meeting took place during a visit to the UAE by a delegation of senior trade officials from Malaysia.

During the talks, Al-Zeyoudi praised the existing strong relations between the nations and reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to expanding the opportunities available to the business communities in both, the Emirates News Agency reported on Thursday.

They also reviewed the status of negotiations to develop a UAE-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The meeting was the second between the ministers since discussions about the agreement began during a visit by Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed, to Kuala Lumpur in May.

Their first meeting took place in Jakarta during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business and Investment Summit in early September, and the talks reflect the UAE’s desire to strengthen its ties with Malaysia and the wider ASEAN bloc, officials said.

“Malaysia is a valued partner for the UAE in an increasingly important region, one which shares our vision of leveraging global trade to accelerate growth and diversify the economy,” Al-Zeyoudi said.

“Malaysia’s support for open, rules-based trade, transparent dispute-resolution mechanisms and a greater voice for the developing world in trade policy will help deliver a conference of lasting impact,” he added.

Tengku Zafrul said: “We are keen to bolster our ties with the UAE, a nation that continues to gain importance as a strategic trading partner for Malaysia.

“Situated at the crossroads between East and West, the UAE offers immense opportunities for our exporters and their efforts to expand into global markets.”

The ministers commended recent growth in non-oil bilateral trade, which reached a total value of more than $2.226 billion during the first half of 2023. They also expressed the aim of increasing foreign direct investment.

The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest commercial partner in the Middle East, accounting for 32 percent of its total trade with Arab countries.


 

 

 


US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan

US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan
Updated 28 September 2023
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US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan

US imposes fresh round of sanctions over instability in Sudan
  • Sanctions target former Sudanese official and two companies, including one based in Russia

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a former Sudanese official and two companies, including one based in Russia, that it accused of exacerbating instability in Sudan as fighting has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians.
The action is the latest round of sanctions imposed by Washington after war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising.
“Today’s action holds accountable those who have undercut efforts to find a peaceful, democratic solution in Sudan,” the Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.
“We will continue to target actors perpetuating this conflict for personal gain.”
The Treasury said it targeted Ali Karti, the foreign minister under Bashir, and became leader of the Sudanese Islamic Movement after Bashir was toppled in 2019.
He is a prominent figure among loyalists and veterans of Bashir’s rule who have maneuvered to protect their interests and regained some leverage after a 2021 coup by the army and the RSF.
Also hit with sanctions was GSK Advance Company, a Sudan-based company the Treasury said has been used as a procurement channel for the RSF.
GSK worked with Russia-based military supply company Aviatrade, also targeted on Thursday, to arrange the procurement of parts and supplies, as well as training, for drones previously purchased by the RSF, the Treasury said.


Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change

Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change
Updated 28 September 2023
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Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change

Syrian beekeepers battle both war and climate change
  • Rankus was once renowned for its honey, but was hard hit by fighting between government forces and rebels
  • Damiriya can barely afford to tend to his hives, donated by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to help Syrian beekeepers

RANKUS, Syria: Syrian beekeeper Ibrahim Damiriya struggles to produce honey from his hives on parched land near the capital Damascus after years of war, economic collapse and worsening climate change impacts.
“The war bled us dry. We could barely keep our beekeeping business afloat, and then the insane weather made things worse,” the 62-year-old in a beekeeping suit told AFP as he examined meagre honey stocks inside the hives.
Before Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011, Damiriya owned 110 hives in Rankus, a village near Damascus that was once filled with apple orchards.
But now a combination of fighting, severe drought and a gruelling economic crisis have left him with a mere 40 hives in semi-arid lands, decimating his honey yield.
Rankus was once renowned for its honey, but was hard hit by fighting between government forces and rebels that caused widespread destruction, pushing many residents to flee.
Damiriya can barely afford to tend to his hives, donated by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to help Syrian beekeepers.
“If we keep suffering from climate change and rising prices, I might have to abandon my profession,” Damiriya said with a sigh.
Since 2011, Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and caused an acute economic crisis, exacerbated by severe Western sanctions.
Recent years have also battered Syria with heatwaves, low rainfall and more forest fires.
A 2019 United Nations report found that fighting had practically wiped out hives, with bombs contaminating the environment and pesticide misuse and a proliferation of parasites speeding up their decline.
Syria used to be home to 635,000 hives before the war, but their numbers had dwindled to about 150,000 at the height of the conflict in 2016, said Iyad Daaboul, the Damascus-based president of the Arab Beekeepers Union.
Today that number has risen back up to 400,000, he said. However, the hives yield only 1,500 tons of honey per year — half of the country’s pre-war production.
Unusually cold springs and drought have had an adverse effect on the flowers that bees feed on.
“Extreme weather conditions have greatly affected bees, especially during spring — the most important time in their life cycle,” said Daaboul.
The number of beekeepers has nearly halved from 32,000 before the war to around 18,000 today, he said.
Another threat to the bees is the forest fires which have become more common as temperatures rise.
Fires “have destroyed more than 1,000 hives on Syria’s coastal mountains and stripped bees of large foraging areas,” Daaboul said.
Rising temperatures and desertification have taken a toll on Syria’s greenery, destroying many of the plants on whose flowers the bees feed and squeezing the once-thriving agriculture sector.
Damascus ICRC spokesperson Suhair Zakkout told AFP that “Syria’s agricultural production has fallen by approximately 50 percent over the last 10 years” because of war and climate change.
Despite being one of the countries most badly affected by global warming, Syria has lacked the funds it needs to tackle environmental issues, Zakkout said.
Climate change has devastated farmer Ziad Rankusi’s apple orchards, which have also been greatly thinned by illegal logging as people struggle to keep warm during the winter amid recurrent fuel shortages.
Rankusi, who is in his 50s, used to tend more than 1,000 trees on his land, but just 400 survive, and they are drying out in the heat.
“For about five years, we have had unprecedented droughts and desertification, and this year the spring was unusually cold. The fruit perished,” said the farmer.
“When trees and flowers disappear, bees can no longer feed. They either migrate or die.”


World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11

World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11
Updated 28 September 2023
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World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11

World Court to hear Syria torture claims on Oct. 10-11
  • The hearing at the Peace Palace will mark the first time an international court has looked at alleged abuses committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict

AMSTERDAM: The World Court will hear on Oct. 10 and 11 a request by the Netherlands and Canada that it orders Syria to cease all acts of torture and arbitrary detention, as part of a case alleging the country has breached a UN anti-torture treaty.
The hearing at the Peace Palace, the court’s seat in The Hague, will mark the first time an international court has looked at alleged abuses committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict.
Syria’s government and President Bashar Assad have rejected accusations of torture and extrajudicial killings in a war that the United Nations has said claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.


Iraq’s prime minister visits wedding fire victims as 2 more people die from their injuries

Iraq’s prime minister visits wedding fire victims as 2 more people die from their injuries
Updated 28 September 2023
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Iraq’s prime minister visits wedding fire victims as 2 more people die from their injuries

Iraq’s prime minister visits wedding fire victims as 2 more people die from their injuries
  • Around 250 panicked guests surged for the exits on Tuesday night in the Haitham Royal Wedding Hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya near Mosul
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister on Thursday visited injured patients and the families of victims in northern Iraq days after a deadly wedding fire killed around 100 people, as two more people died from their injuries.
Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani arrived in Nineveh province early Thursday with a delegation of ministers and security officials, state television reported. He met with the wounded and family members of victims at Hamdaniyah Hospital and Al-Jumhoori Hospital.
He later visited the Syriac Catholic Mar Behnam Monastery to express his condolences to victims.
A health official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, told The Associated Press that two critically burned victims — a 30-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child — died from their injuries.
Around 250 panicked guests surged for the exits on Tuesday night in the Haitham Royal Wedding Hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya near Mosul after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.
Authorities said around 100 people died in the incident, and the death toll is expected to rise with at least 100 other people still injured, many of them critically burned.
The venue’s owners have been accused of violating safety protocols.
The Mosul Municipality on Wednesday called for the closure of hotels, restaurants, and other venues that don’t have safety approvals or have ignored warnings.
Funeral processions continued Thursday at the Saint Behnam Syriac Catholic Church. A video circulating on Iraqi media and social media showed the bride and groom among the crowd mourning.
The Interior Ministry said highly flammable building materials contributed to the disaster and accused the owners of violating safety and security protocols. The tragedy was the latest to hit Iraq’s Christian minority, which has dwindled to a fraction of its former size over the past decade.
A security official told the AP that one of the venue’s owners and 13 workers and employees are currently under investigation. The official said that negligence caused the incident and that the government is preparing to compensate survivors and the families of victims. He speak on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
A government spokesperson said the authorities will conduct strict inspections of hotels, schools, restaurants and event venues to make sure they are complying with safety standards.
One owner of the venue, Chonny Suleiman Naboo, told The Associated Press that an electrical fault caused the fire and denied that they had neglected safety procedures.