Palestinian couple brace for East Jerusalem eviction

After decades of legal wrangling, they are set to be evicted from their home in the Muslim Quarter to make way for Jewish settlers. (AFP)
After decades of legal wrangling, they are set to be evicted from their home in the Muslim Quarter to make way for Jewish settlers. (AFP)
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Updated 10 June 2023
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Palestinian couple brace for East Jerusalem eviction

Palestinian couple brace for East Jerusalem eviction
  • Israeli forces kill Palestinian in occupied West Bank

JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH: In the walled Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Nora and Mustafa Sub Laban are counting down the last days before a court decision that has hovered over them since 1978 is carried out.
After decades of legal wrangling, they are set to be evicted from their home in the Muslim Quarter to make way for Jewish settlers.
“These days, I’m like a prisoner waiting to be put to death. I don’t sleep like other people,” Nora Sub Laban said.
The East Jerusalem residents have been embroiled in a 45-year legal battle with authorities and Israeli settlers.
The settlers are part of an organization called Atara Leyoshna and are represented by Eli Attal, according to both the Sub Laban family and Ir Amim, an anti-settlement watchdog. Attal refused to comment about the case.
The Israeli plaintiffs claim that Jews lived in the building before the division of the holy city into Israeli and Jordanian sectors following the proclamation of the Jewish state in 1948.
They invoke an Israeli law from the 1970s that allows Jews to reclaim property owned by Jews before 1948, even if they are not related.
The Sub Labans say they were designated “protected tenants” by Jordan in the 1950s, before Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and proceeded to annex it in a move regarded as illegal by the UN.
The family showed a Jordanian rental contract dating back to 1953, as well as Israeli court rulings recognizing their status as “protected tenants.”
Yet the courts said that the couple do not currently live permanently in the building, so their “protected tenants” status no longer applies and the eviction can go ahead.
Nora said the judgment refers to a period when she was not living in the apartment daily because of a hospitalization. “Legally speaking, within the Israeli system, nothing more can be done,” said Rafat Sub Laban, the couple’s son and an employee of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
  Meanwhile, Israeli forces on Friday killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry and the army said, with the latter adding that a soldier was lightly wounded.
Mehdi Bayadsa, 29, was killed by “bullets from the occupation (Israel) near the Rantis military checkpoint, west of Ramallah,” the ministry said in a statement.
The military in a statement said it had “neutralized” a Palestinian who had arrived near the crossing point between the West Bank and Israel in a stolen vehicle.
“While IDF (Israeli army) soldiers inspected his vehicle, the suspect attacked an IDF soldier and attempted to steal his weapon,” the army said, adding a “lightly injured” soldier was taken to hospital.
“Following the confrontation, another soldier in the area shot live fire toward the suspect and neutralized him,” the army said, adding that it was “investigating the incident.”
Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.

 


UN experts tell Palestinian Authority to improve over torture safeguards

UN experts tell Palestinian Authority to improve over torture safeguards
Updated 11 sec ago
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UN experts tell Palestinian Authority to improve over torture safeguards

UN experts tell Palestinian Authority to improve over torture safeguards
  • Experts concerned over implementation of torture prevention measures during detention, establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism

LONDON: The Palestinian Authority must improve fundamental legal safeguards against torture and ill-treatment, UN human rights experts have said.

A statement was issued on Monday by members of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture following a visit to Palestine from Sept. 10-21.

The delegation visited 18 detention facilities across the West Bank, including prisons, police stations, facilities of the security forces, a psychiatric hospital and a military detention center.

It noted the government’s recent efforts, pointing to positive amendments to the penal code, but remains concerned over the implementation of torture prevention measures during detention and the establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism.

Members of the group met high-level officials, including the prime minister and the minister of interior, who coordinates the National Team for Monitoring the State’s Commitments.

They also met the Independent Commission for Human Rights, coordinating with its Gaza branch.

The group also spoke to bodies working on legislation relating to the NPM, and Daniel Fink, the leader of the delegation, expressed hope that the visit would encourage its formation.

He said: “In particular, we look forward to seeing an independent body that can carry out its mandate in accordance with the state’s legal international obligations, including unannounced visits to any places of deprivation of liberty.”

Palestine has been a party to the Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol since 2014 and 2017, respectively.

States that ratify the protocol give the SPT the right to visit detention facilities and investigate the treatment of those detained there.

Fink noted that the group received full cooperation from the Palestinian Authority to visit sites in the West Bank.

However, he added: “We regret that, despite all efforts, we were unable to visit detention facilities in Gaza.”

The SPT is made up of 25 independent and impartial experts from around the world who monitor compliance with the Optional Protocol.

The delegation is expected to submit a confidential report to the Palestinian Authority in the coming months.
 


Family seeks body of Morocco jet skier killed in Algeria

Family seeks body of Morocco jet skier killed in Algeria
Updated 32 min 36 sec ago
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Family seeks body of Morocco jet skier killed in Algeria

Family seeks body of Morocco jet skier killed in Algeria
  • “We have zero information on the body of our son,” Mechouar’s father Mostafa told AFP on Tuesday
  • “We want the process to be accelerated so we can grieve”

CASABLANCA, Morocco: The family of a Moroccan jet skier killed at sea by gunfire blamed on Algeria decried on Tuesday the sluggish repatriation of the body, one month after his death.
Abdelali Mechouar, a Moroccan who resides in France, and his French-Moroccan cousin Bilal Kissi were killed on August 29 allegedly by Algerian coast guards while they were lost on jet skis, according to a survivor.
Kissi’s corpse was found on the Moroccan side of the border.
“We have zero information on the body of our son,” Mechouar’s father Mostafa told AFP on Tuesday. “We want the process to be accelerated so we can grieve.”
The incident comes at a time of increased tensions between the neighboring North African countries which have no diplomatic ties.
Hakim Chergui, the Mechouar family’s French lawyer, said they “have arrived at a blockage,” in which the “military prosecutor’s office has not been responding for a week,” he said, wondering about the “slowness.”
An investigation has been opened by the prosecutor’s office in Oujda, in eastern Morocco near the border with Algeria, and another in France.
Algeria’s defense ministry on September 3 said its security forces had opened fire on the jet skiers “after issuing an audible warning and ordering them to stop several times,” adding that “the suspects refused to comply and fled.”
The defense ministry said that after several warning rounds, “shots were fired, forcing one of the jet skis to stop, and the other two fled.”
In a letter to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, seen on Tuesday by AFP, the Mechouar family asked Tebboune to intervene for the restitution of Mechouar’s body as soon as possible.
Mechouar and Kissi were accompanied by Smail Snabe, a French-Moroccan who was wounded and detained in Algeria, according to Kissi’s brother, Mohamed, who was with the group before being rescued by the Moroccan navy.
They all left from the tourist beach of Saidia near the Algerian border, before getting lost at sea and running out of fuel, he said.
Rabat has made no official statement.
Algiers cut off diplomatic relations with Rabat in August 2021, accusing Morocco of “hostile acts” — a decision Rabat called “completely unjustified.”
The dispute over the Western Sahara territory has exacerbated tensions.


Emirati and Chinese ministers discuss cooperation in development of human resources

Emirati and Chinese ministers discuss cooperation in development of human resources
Updated 50 min 55 sec ago
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Emirati and Chinese ministers discuss cooperation in development of human resources

Emirati and Chinese ministers discuss cooperation in development of human resources
  • Officials presented respective plans for developing priority business sectors, reviewed UAE labor market legislation

LONDON: Abdulrahman Al-Awar, the UAE’s minister of human resources and Emiratization, and a delegation from China led by his vice-ministerial counterpart, Li Zhong, discussed opportunities for cooperation between their countries in areas related to labor, the development of human resources, and skills enhancement.

During the meeting in Dubai, both sides presented their respective plans for developing business sectors they have identified as priorities, the Emirates News Agency reported on Tuesday. They also reviewed labor market legislation in the UAE, and the mechanisms in place to streamline corporate operations and provide social protections for workers across the country.

They reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening collaboration by pledging to hold further meetings to discuss future developments.

A number of Emirati officials were also present at the meeting, including Khalil Ibrahim Al-Khoori, undersecretary for human resources affairs, Mohammed Saqer Alnuaimi, assistant undersecretary of the support services affairs sector, Shayma Al-Awadhi, assistant undersecretary for communication and international relations, and Ayyoob Abdulla Al-Marzooqi, acting assistant undersecretary for policy and strategy affairs. Li Xuhang, the consul general of China in Dubai, also took part.
 


Jordan downs two drones carrying drugs from Syria — army

Jordan downs two drones carrying drugs from Syria — army
Updated 26 September 2023
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Jordan downs two drones carrying drugs from Syria — army

Jordan downs two drones carrying drugs from Syria — army
  • The drones had crossed into its territory and their hauls of crystal methamphetamine were seized
  • Jordanian officials say the increasing use of drones carrying drugs, weapons and explosives is adding a new dimension to a cross-border billion-dollar drug war

AMMAN: The Jordanian army said on Tuesday it downed two drones carrying drugs from Syria in the latest incident raising concerns over increased smuggling across the border.
The army statement said the drones had crossed into its territory and their hauls of crystal methamphetamine were seized. It warned it would act forcefully to prevent any attempt to destabilize the country’s security.
Jordanian officials say the increasing use of drones carrying drugs, weapons and explosives is adding a new dimension to a cross-border billion-dollar drug war the US ally has blamed on Iranian-backed militias that hold sway in southern Syria.
Syria is accused by Arab governments and the West of producing the highly addictive and lucrative amphetamine captagon and other drugs and organizing its smuggling into the Gulf, with Jordan a main transit route.
President Bashar Assad’s government denies allegations of Syria’s involvement in drug-making and smuggling, as well as any complicity by Iranian-backed militias protected by units within the Syrian army and security forces.
Iran says the allegations are part of a Western plot against the country.
Jordanian officials say talks with senior Syrian officials to curb Iranian-run smuggling networks have reached a dead-end due to the inability of Damascus to impose order over its southern region where a state of lawlessness prevails.


Syria slams US ‘terrorist war’ in UN address

Syria slams US ‘terrorist war’ in UN address
Updated 26 September 2023
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Syria slams US ‘terrorist war’ in UN address

Syria slams US ‘terrorist war’ in UN address
  • Washington spent ‘billions of dollars’ to ‘demolish and destroy’ Syrian achievements, says vice FM
  • Damascus will push for independent Palestine, return of Golan ‘no matter how long it takes’

NEW YORK: The US launching a “terrorist war” in Syria has led to “creative American chaos” and destabilization in the Middle East, Syria’s vice foreign minister told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Bassam Sabbagh, who previously served as Syria’s permanent representative to the UN, condemned the policies of successive US administrations “to serve geopolitical and selfish interests” and “work to create and exaggerate problems to ignite tensions and then conflicts.”

The world is facing myriad challenges, he said, listing “devastating conflicts,” the “continued occupation of some peoples,” “sharp rises in poverty and hunger” and “economic blockade policies.”

Confronting these challenges requires global cooperation among all UN member states and the building of a “new multipolar world order that achieves a new balance,” he added.

Sabbagh accused the US of misinterpreting the UN Charter to “justify attacks committed against the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other countries.”

This led to Washington spending “billions of dollars” to “demolish and destroy development achievements (in Syria) made over decades,” he said.

The emergence of terrorist groups, including Daesh and Al-Nusra Front, can also be blamed on “creative American chaos,” Sabbagh added.

“The basic principle affirmed by the UN Charter is respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of member states,” he said.

“Therefore, any acquisition of the lands of others by force is an occupation, and any illegal military presence on the territory of any sovereign state is a clear violation of this charter.”

He named Israel, the US and Turkiye as the chief exponents of territory violation, saying the activities of the former in Palestine are “consistent with the destructive role” played by the latter two in Syria.

Damascus “spares no effort” in “standing alongside the brotherly Palestinian people,” Sabbagh said, defining the issue as “the central Arab cause.”

He condemned Israel’s occupation of “Arab lands in Palestine and the Syrian Golan” since 1967, demanding that it end “immediately and unconditionally.”

As part of its occupation, Israel is committing the “most heinous forms of grave and systematic violations” of the UN Charter, Sabbagh said.

Israel’s actions this year have pushed the region to “unprecedented levels of tension and instability,” he added, naming a litany of policies targeting Palestinians as well as Syrians in the Golan Heights.

“This is evident in it (Israel) committing more massacres, the escalation of its military aggression, and its repeated missile bombing of Syrian cities, ports and civil airports, which endangered civilian lives and the safety of civil aviation, and hampered United Nations humanitarian operations,” he said.

“This is in addition to its continuation of policies of settlement, Judaization, sieges, arbitrary arrest, forced displacement and racial discrimination in the occupied Arab territories.”

Sabbagh also denounced the “continued support for such practices and silence about them” by some countries that “declare themselves protectors of international humanitarian law.”

He repeated Syria’s support for an independent Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders and the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, “no matter how long it takes.”

He accused the US of causing $115 billion in losses to Syria’s oil sector since 2011. This “systematic and exposed American plunder of the Syrian people’s national wealth” also included gas and wheat, and has led to deprivation and human suffering in an “unprecedented manner,” Sabbagh said.

He urged the UN to meet its obligation in holding the US accountable for the “looted money,” demanding its return to Syria.

As well as siphoning wealth, Sabbagh accused both the US and Turkiye of “infiltrating” Syrian territory and launching an illegal military presence as part of a “flagrant interference” in his country’s internal affairs.

Syria is seeking an end to the “unilateral coercive measures” of the US and its European allies, including sanctions on the “public health, banking and energy sectors.”

These “illegal, immoral and inhumane” measures have only “exacerbated the suffering of Syrians wherever they are, given that their impact includes third countries,” Sabbagh said.

The devastating earthquakes in Syria this year added “a new burden and suffering” for its people, he added, saying Damascus has tried to open all aid tracks for the arrival of humanitarian relief.

“Syria was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world. It was achieving food self-sufficiency and providing all the basic necessities of life for its people in a way that was rarely seen in the region,” Sabbagh said.

“However, the terrorist war launched against it since 2011 changed this situation and caused a significant humanitarian crisis.”

He thanked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for launching a flash funding appeal in the wake of the earthquakes, but called on international donors to fulfill their funding pledges in order to improve the humanitarian situation.

Sabbagh declared Syria’s readiness to “welcome the return of every Syrian refugee who left their home, village or city” since 2011, including citizens “who were forced by terrorist organizations to seek refuge.

“I call on Western countries that ask refugees not to return to their homeland to stop these inhumane practices.”

He hailed the achievements of the Arab League Summit in Jeddah in May, which “restored to the collective Arab position its shine, and to Arab joint action its momentum.

“The Arab countries affirmed their support for Syria in preserving its sovereignty … and overcoming the difficult circumstances it’s going through.”

Sabbagh also expressed Syria’s “support and solidarity” with Libya and Morocco in the wake of the recent natural disasters in the two North African countries.

He ended his address by calling for the UNGA to be used as a platform for “dialogue and public diplomacy,” not for “leveling false accusations and launching hostile campaigns.”

Working to translate the UNGA slogan of “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity” into “real and serious action” will ensure no one is left behind, Sabbagh said.