Turkiye will continue to increase pressure on Israel, Erdogan tells Palestinian leader Abbas

Turkiye will continue to increase pressure on Israel, Erdogan tells Palestinian leader Abbas
Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara on Aug. 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 14 August 2024
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Turkiye will continue to increase pressure on Israel, Erdogan tells Palestinian leader Abbas

Turkiye will continue to increase pressure on Israel, Erdogan tells Palestinian leader Abbas
  • The two leaders discussed recent developments and the steps to be taken for a lasting ceasefire and peace in Gaza
  • Erdogan also told Abbas that all countries, especially in the Muslim world, should step up efforts to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told visiting Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday that Turkiye will continue to support the Palestinian cause and push the international community to increase pressure on Israel, his office said.
The two leaders discussed recent developments and the steps to be taken for a lasting ceasefire and peace in Gaza, Erdogan’s office said in a post on X.
Erdogan condemned Israel’s war in Gaza, the statement said, accusing some Western countries of remaining silent and continuing to support Israel.
Erdogan also told Abbas that all countries, especially in the Muslim world, should step up efforts to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Abbas is set to address an extraordinary session of Turkiye’s parliament on Thursday.
Israel’s assault on Gaza started after the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Turkiye has denounced the war and has halted all trade with Israel. It submitted a request to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide .
Turkiye’s invitation to Abbas came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress on July 25, which Ankara has condemned.
“We will show that Mr. Abbas has the right to speak in our parliament just as Netanyahu has the right to speak in the US Congress,” Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party on Wednesday before meeting Abbas.
Erdogan, who has been a staunch supporter of Hamas, said Turkiye had also planned to invite the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran.


Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says

Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says
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Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says

Turkish military destroys 20 targets of Kurdish militant group PKK, ministry says
  • The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union

ISTANBUL: Turkiye carried out air strikes in northern Iraq on Monday and destroyed 20 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding many militants had been “neutralized” in the attack.
The term “neutralized” when used in such expressions most often means “killed.”
The operations were conducted in northern Iraq’s PKK bases in Asos, Gara, Hakurk, Metina, Qandil and Zap, the statement said.
In a statement on X, the ministry said the targets included caves, shelters, bunkers, depots and facilities.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.

 


US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal
Updated 7 min 12 sec ago
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US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

US CETNCOM, Syria’s SDF capture Daesh ‘facilitator’ Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal

CAIRO: US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that it had captured Daesh “facilitator” Khaled Ahmed Al-Danal whom it said was “assessed to be aiding efforts of detained Daesh fighters” on Sept. 1, with support from Syria Democratic Forces (SDF).

 


Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission

Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission
Updated 35 min 12 sec ago
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Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission

Rescue mission for ship off Yemen ‘about to begin’: EU naval mission
  • The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with Aspides

DUBAI: A rescue mission for an oil tanker still ablaze after being attacked by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen last month, is about to begin, the European Union’s Red Sea naval mission said late Monday.
The Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion was hit by the Houthis off the coast of Hodeida on August 21 while carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil.
The Iran-backed rebels said they had booby-trapped and detonated charges on the ship.
The EU’s Aspides mission said on Monday an operation involving private companies was “about to start” to salvage the vessel.
The naval force “will provide protection to the tug boats, that will deal with the salvage operation and facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster,” it announced on X.
“Several fires continue to burn on the vessel’s main deck,” the mission added, noting that there were “no visible signs of an oil spill.”
The Sounion’s crew, made up of 23 Filipinos and two Russians, was rescued the day after the attack by a French frigate serving with Aspides.
The EU naval force was formed in February to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, two other ships were struck in attacks off the coast of Yemen on Monday.
 

 

 


Thousands line streets for funeral of American-Israeli hostage killed in Gaza

Thousands line streets for funeral of American-Israeli hostage killed in Gaza
Updated 46 min 40 sec ago
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Thousands line streets for funeral of American-Israeli hostage killed in Gaza

Thousands line streets for funeral of American-Israeli hostage killed in Gaza
  • Israel has killed more than 40,000 people according to Palestinian figures

JERUSALEM: Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Jerusalem on Monday to bid farewell to slain American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the best-known faces of those seized by Hamas-led gunmen on Oct. 7.
Goldberg-Polin’s body, along with the bodies of fellow hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino, were recovered by Israeli troops on Sunday, triggering an outpouring of grief and rage among Israelis traumatized by one of the most devastating attacks in their country’s history.
“I feel he was like a symbol of the hostages,” Amnon Sadovsky, a 70-year-old teacher told Reuters. “We need to have humanity for all people — for Jews and for Arabs.”
Goldberg-Polin, 23, who immigrated to Israel from California at the age of seven, was at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, celebrating his birthday when Hamas-led militants launched their onslaught, killing 1200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Footage shot during the rampage showed several Hamas militants surrounding the roadside bomb shelter where he was hiding, and throwing grenades through the doorway. Most of those hiding inside were killed, while Hersh lost the lower part of his left arm.
Video showed him being loaded with other hostages onto a pickup van, his injury clearly visible.
He was last seen alive in a Hamas video released in April, addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then his family, giving the first public sign that he had survived his injuries.
On Sunday, following the return of the bodies, an autopsy revealed he and the other five hostages had been shot at close range within 48 hours before Israeli forces arrived and recovered the bodies in a tunnel under Gaza.
In a picturesque Jerusalem neighborhood close to where his family lived, red and white banners bearing his image — a smiling young man with an open shirt and a small beard — dot the streets and hang from balconies, with the message “Free Hersh.”
The death of the six, after nearly 11 months in captivity, sparked a wave of protests, with around 500,000 people taking to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sunday night. The protests continued into Monday with a general strike to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the hostages home.
Talks to bring the hostages back and end the fighting in Gaza, where Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 40,000 people according to Palestinian figures, have stalled.
Hersh’s parents, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, have worked to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight since their son’s abduction, meeting officials, including US President Joe Biden.
In a tearful speech at the National Democratic Convention in Chicago last month, Hersh’s mother directed Hersh to “stay strong, stay alive.”
Adressing thousands of mourners at the funeral, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said Hersh “promoted justice and peace” and described the agony she endured for more than 330 days, not knowing of her son’s condition or if she would ever see him again.
“Okay my sweet boy, go now on your journey,” she said. “Finally you’re free.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed how sorry he was that Israel “didn’t protect Hersh on that dark day.”
“In his life and in his death, Hersh has touched all of humanity deeply,” Herzog told the crowd.
“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you,” said Jon Goldberg-Polin.
On Saturday night, just before initial reports of his death began to spread, players from Hapoel Jerusalem, the soccer club he supported, took to the field for their first match of the season wearing black shirts with Hersh’s image against a red hourglass.
“I’ve been hoping and imagining Hersh coming back,” said Nadia Levene, a friend of the family.
“The most amazing thing is Rachel and Jon and their strength and how they went all around the world to save their son,” Levene said. “They couldn’t have done more.”

 


More than 400 people executed in Iran this year: UN experts

Iran's police forces walk on a street during the revival of morality police in Tehran, Iran, July 16, 2023. (REUTERS)
Iran's police forces walk on a street during the revival of morality police in Tehran, Iran, July 16, 2023. (REUTERS)
Updated 56 min 43 sec ago
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More than 400 people executed in Iran this year: UN experts

Iran's police forces walk on a street during the revival of morality police in Tehran, Iran, July 16, 2023. (REUTERS)
  • Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International

GENEVA: UN experts voiced alarm Monday at a surge in executions in Iran last month that pushed the total in the country so far this year to over 400.
At least 81 people were put to death in Iran in August alone, significantly more than the 45 reported in July, a group of 11 independent United Nations rights experts said in a statement.
The reported number of executions since the start of 2024 rose above 400, including those of 15 women, they said.
“We are deeply concerned by this sharp rise in executions,” said the experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.
The UN experts, including the special rapporteurs on the rights situation in Iran and on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, said 41 of the executions last month had been of people convicted of drug offenses.
“Executions for drug offenses violate international standards,” they said.
The experts lamented a substantial rise in executions for drug offenses in Iran since 2021, with more than 400 drug-related executions carried out last year alone.
They also said they had received reports indicating that death penalty trials in Iran often fail to meet due-process guarantees.
They pointed to the case of Reza Rasaei, a Kurdish protester, who was executed on August 6 for the murder of an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps member at an event where he had brandished a sign reading: “Women, Life, Freedom.”
His conviction was based on a confession reportedly obtained through torture, and despite co-defendants retracting their testimonies implicating him in the murder and forensic evidence challenging his involvement, the experts said.
“Reports of serious violations of fair trial and due process rights mean that the death penalty as it is currently practiced in the Islamic Republic of Iran amounts to unlawful execution,” they said.
The experts said they were “extremely concerned that innocent individuals may have been executed” and called for a halt to executions.