Overwhelming majority of UK public want ICC arrest warrants pursued: Poll

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv. (File/AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv. (File/AFP)
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Updated 07 August 2024
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Overwhelming majority of UK public want ICC arrest warrants pursued: Poll

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference in the Kirya military base
  • Court’s chief prosecutor issued warrants for Israeli PM, defense minister in May
  • Only 18% of Britons oppose ending arms sales to Israel

LONDON: The overwhelming majority of people in Britain believe that the UK should arrest the subjects of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, a new poll has found.

Commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding and Medical Aid for Palestinians, the survey follows a request by Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The poll, conducted on July 30-31, found that 84 percent of the UK public believe that Netanyahu and Gallant should be arrested if they enter British jurisdiction.

The new UK government has overturned previous legal opposition to Khan’s move, which CAABU in a press release described as a “welcome first step.”

The organization’s director, Chris Doyle, said: “At some point, perhaps within weeks or even days, the British government may have to enforce ICC arrest warrants relating to the atrocities over the last 10 months. This government has assured the electorate it will adhere to international law.

“This poll shows the electorate overwhelmingly wants to see that and that full accountability and justice matters to them, regardless of who is accused. The climate of impunity enjoyed by so many for so long must end.”

Fifty-eight percent of Britons support ending weapons sales to Israel, the poll found. Only 18 percent oppose the move.

Despite the previous British government’s unwillingness to support a ceasefire in Gaza, 74 percent of the public believe that the UK should back an end to the war, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and injured 91,000.

Rohan Talbot, MAP’s director of advocacy and campaigns, said: “As Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment, including of homes, healthcare and so-called ‘safe zones,’ wages on, the British public has reaffirmed widespread support for action by the UK government to bring the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza to an end.

“This includes suspending arms sales to Israel which may be used in violations of international law. Ten months in, people in Gaza cannot wait any longer — the government must act now.”

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Israel bars UN secretary-general Guterres from entering country

Israel bars UN secretary-general Guterres from entering country
Updated 28 sec ago
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Israel bars UN secretary-general Guterres from entering country

Israel bars UN secretary-general Guterres from entering country
NEW YORK CITY: Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that he was barring UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses.
Guterres on Tuesday issued a brief statement after the missile attack condemning “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” Earlier on Tuesday, Israel had sent troops into southern Lebanon.
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said Guterres’ failure to call out Iran made him persona non grata in Israel.
“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” Katz said.
“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the announcement as political and “just one one more attack, so to speak, on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” He said the UN traditionally does not recognize the concept of persona non grata as applying to UN staff.
During a Security Council meeting on Wednesday Guterres said: “As I did in relation to the Iranian attack in April — and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed — I again strongly condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.”

Firefighters battle deadly Greece wildfire for fourth day

Firefighters battle deadly Greece wildfire for fourth day
Updated 02 October 2024
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Firefighters battle deadly Greece wildfire for fourth day

Firefighters battle deadly Greece wildfire for fourth day
  • Nearly 600 firefighters with 160 fire engines and 24 aircraft were deployed in the mountains above the Gulf of Corinth
  • Three water bombers from Italy and Croatia have been sent to help

ATHENS: Hundreds of Greek firefighters battled for the fourth day Wednesday to control a wildfire in the Peloponnese region that has killed two people and burned huge swathes of forest.
Nearly 600 firefighters with 160 fire engines and 24 aircraft were deployed in the mountains above the Gulf of Corinth, where the fire broke out Sunday.
A dozen villages have been evacuated and two men who were helping firefighters became trapped and died in the flames. Three firefighters were also hurt.
Three water bombers from Italy and Croatia have been sent to help.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told an Athens radio station it was “a difficult fire” but authorities aimed “to have a full de-escalation in the disparate pockets (of fire) still burning today.”
The Athens national observatory said that according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate observatory, the fire has burned 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of forest and farmland.
A preliminary investigation suggested it may have been caused by a beekeeper smoking honey bees, officials said.
Another fire on Wednesday broke out nearby, in Kalavryta, but had been partially controlled, the fire department said. It added that more than 40 rural fires had been reported in 24 hours.


Russia rules out nuclear talks with US given its stance on NATO expansion

Russia rules out nuclear talks with US given its stance on NATO expansion
Updated 02 October 2024
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Russia rules out nuclear talks with US given its stance on NATO expansion

Russia rules out nuclear talks with US given its stance on NATO expansion
  • “We see no point in dialogue with Washington without respect for Russia’s fundamental interests,” Zakharova said

MOSCOW: Russia has dismissed the possibility of nuclear talks with the United States citing Washington’s stance on NATO expansion, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
“We see no point in dialogue with Washington without respect for Russia’s fundamental interests. First of all, this is the problem of NATO’s expansion into the post-soviet space, which poses threats to common security,” Zakharova said.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will not discuss signing a new treaty with the United States to replace an agreement limiting each side’s strategic nuclear weapons that expires in 2026 as it needs to be broadened and expanded to cover other states.


Ukraine probes allegations Russia killed 16 POWs

Ukraine probes allegations Russia killed 16 POWs
Updated 02 October 2024
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Ukraine probes allegations Russia killed 16 POWs

Ukraine probes allegations Russia killed 16 POWs
  • “This is the largest known case of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line,” Ukrainian prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said
  • The probe — into allegations of the “violation of laws and customs of war” and “premeditated murder” — was launched based on videos shared on social media

KYIV: Ukraine is probing allegations the Russian army shot dead 16 prisoners of war near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Kyiv’s prosecutor general said Tuesday.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of killing POWs since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“This is the largest known case of the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war on the front line,” Ukrainian prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said in a statement.
Kostin said the alleged incident showed that the “killing and torture of prisoners is not an accident but a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership.”
The probe — into allegations of the “violation of laws and customs of war” and “premeditated murder” — was launched based on videos shared on social media that appeared to show the execution of Ukrainian soldiers, Kostin said.
Video images captured by a drone showed captured Ukrainian troops, under Russian control, coming out from a wooded area and lining up, Ukraine’s prosecutors said.
The Russians then “deliberately opened fire with deadly force,” Kyiv said.
Those still showing “signs of life” were then “finished off at close range with automatic fire.”
AFP could not independently verify the reports.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that “measures are currently being taken to verify the published material.”
The alleged incident was reported to have taken place close to the villages of Sukhiyi Yar and Mykolayivka near Pokrovsk, a strategic hub that Russia is trying to capture.
It is the latest allegation of POWs being killed during the conflict.
In March 2023 a video showing an imprisoned Ukrainian soldier shouting “Glory to Ukraine!” moments before being executed by shooting squad, went viral.
The UN has documented “numerous violations of international humanitarian law against prisoners of war, including cases of summary execution of both Russian and Ukrainian POWs,” a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office told AFP last year.


Philippines struggles to repatriate workers as Israel invades Lebanon

Philippines struggles to repatriate workers as Israel invades Lebanon
Updated 02 October 2024
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Philippines struggles to repatriate workers as Israel invades Lebanon

Philippines struggles to repatriate workers as Israel invades Lebanon
  • Dozens of Filipinos sought shelter at the Philippine government’s Migrant Workers Office in Beirut
  • Authorities in Manila seek charter flights, sea and land routes to evacuate nationals from Lebanon

MANILA: The Philippines is trying to arrange flights for hundreds of overseas Filipino workers in Beirut, the government said Wednesday, as it struggles to bring them to safety in the wake of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

More than 11,000 Filipinos are living and working in Lebanon, which has faced a series of Israeli attacks that began in mid-September, with pagers exploding at shops and hospitals around the country, followed by relentless bombing targeting densely populated areas.

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people across Lebanon and wounded nearly 3,000, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The UN estimates that more than a million people across the country have been displaced by the strikes, with the numbers expected to rise as Israel also launched its ground invasion of Lebanon on Tuesday.

Dozens of Filipinos in Beirut have sought shelter at the Philippine government’s Migrant Workers Office. As its vicinity was bombed by Israeli forces over the weekend, they have since been sheltered in a hotel in Beit Mery, a town overlooking Beirut, as they await repatriation.

“There are presently 101 Filipino workers in our shelters ready to be repatriated,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told reporters in Manila.

“The challenge is that we do not have flights … We’re talking to some airline companies so that the chartered flights will be able to accommodate for example no less than 300 overseas Filipino workers from Beirut.”

Olalia said that while the government was facing several challenges, including securing landing rights for chartered flights, other options were also being considered in case the situation escalated.

“The DMW is also studying the possibility of other routes. Apart from the air route, we will be assessing the sea and the land route, should … the situation there worsen,” he said.

“We have men on the ground. They work around the clock. And we augmented our staff both in Lebanon (and) nearby posts to be able to provide (the) safest route to evacuate and ultimately to facilitate the repatriation of our OFWs.”

Migrante International, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers, told Arab News on Tuesday that the Philippine nationals it has been in touch with have expressed “urgent concern” for their safety.

“They are worried about the bombings and the explosions coming closer to their homes, in their communities. So, they are worried for their safety, they are worried for their life and not being able to go back home safely to their families,” Migrante International President Joanna Concepcion said.

“They feel there is nowhere safe anymore. They feel that Israel can target anywhere, anytime.”