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Islamic World News ( 18 Nov 2023, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Bahraini crown prince condemns Hamas, calls to release hostages

New Age Islam News Bureau

18 November 2023

ON SUNDAY, President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal are welcomed to the Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

(photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

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· Bahraini crown prince condemns Hamas, calls to release hostages

· There is no space for intolerance, COAS tells Ulema

· Kashmir: Six Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed by security forces in twin encounters

· Turkey's Erdogan links German support of Israel in Gaza to Holocaust guilt

· Biden raises with Qatar ‘urgent’ need for Hamas to free hostages

· Israel-Gaza war: Media group calls for ceasefire and end to violence against journalists and civilians

· Sudan announces 'immediate' end to UN mission in war-torn country

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Arab World

· Saudi FM speaks with French, Finnish counterparts on Gaza crisis

· Saudi Arabia sends ambulances to Egypt to ferry injured Palestinians from Gaza

· Eighth Saudi Relief Plane Arrives in El Arish to Help the Palestinian People in Gaza Strip

· Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

· MAWANI maps out logistics area in Jeddah Islamic Port

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Pakistan

· Governor admires humanitarian assistance for Palestinians

· Imran handed over to NAB in Al Qadir Trust case

· In Pakistan, mysterious shootings of over a dozen terrorists by ‘hostiles’

· PTI slams ‘denial of justice’ to Imran

· Pakistan’s president highlights economic impact of hosting Afghan refugees

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India

· On Hamas, Modi Government Wants to Have Its ‘Anti-Terror’ Cake and Eat It Too

· ‘If India said it was pro-Palestine it was in self-interest’: Writer and journalist Azad Essa

· Hindutva Disinformation Machine: How India is Using the Israel-Palestine War to Spur Anti-Muslim Sentiment at Home

· HC reserves order on plea seeking survey of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah premises

· Tourist stopped from offering ‘Namaz’ at Taj Mahal

· Jammu and Kashmir High Court grants bail to journalist Fahad Shah, overturns UAPA charges

· Karnataka Police register FIR over social media post praising murder of Muslim family

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Mideast

· Muslim worshippers blocked from prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque for 6th consecutive Friday

· Israel renews call for Gazans to flee key southern city

· Israel killed 12,000 Palestinians, including 5,000 children, since October 7

· Gaza cease-fire can save region from ring of fire, says Turkish President Erdogan

· Israel must stop using water as a ‘weapon of war,’ UN expert warns

· Iranian media condemn Israel's carnage in Gaza

· Fuel enters Gaza to restore phone links after two days without aid

· Hamas' military wing: Israeli enemy searching for 'mirage' at Shifa Hospital

· Aid deliveries to Gaza stopped due to fuel shortage and shutdown of communications

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North America

· Protesters in Washington, Michigan call for Gaza ceasefire

· A rabbi and an imam called a meeting of Jewish and Muslim students at Queens College

· Columbia, Cornell, others investigated for antisemitism and Islamophobia

· Elon Musk under fire for supporting Palestine

· Dear Americans Defending Bin Laden: He’d Still Want To Kill You

· Inola church hands out 480 turkeys; donated by Islamic Relief USA

· Man shot outside mosque while selling Islamic goods in Rhode Island, police say

· CAIR Urges Revocation of Israel’s Visa Waiver Program Status Over Palestinian American Travel Restrictions

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Southeast Asia

· Proposed changes to law will allow Muslims to solemnise marriages online

· ‘Anwar has never called Hamas a terrorist organisation’

· New clashes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state displace 26,000: UN

· S’pore ‘deeply regrets’ impact of Israel’s military operations on Gaza hospital; Hamas should not use premises for military purposes: MFA

· PM Anwar: US needs to be fair on Gaza conflict

· Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia call for end of Gaza fighting after Apec summit

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Africa

· MSF concern over malnourished Sudanese child refugees

· History made as Nigerian Army gets first serving professor, Lt. Col. Imam

· NEWSMuslim group names Gov Makinde ‘Aare Atayese of Yorubaland’

· Kenyan Court extends orders blocking deployment of police officers to Haiti

· Nigeria: a pro-Palestinian demonstration leaves one dead

· Neighbourhoods submerged following flash floods in the Horn of Africa

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Europe

· Pope to meet Palestinian delegation and relatives of Gaza hostages

· Apec leaders divided on Ukraine, Gaza wars, back WTO reform

· Teenager arrested in north London on suspicion of Islamist terror offences

· Putin says ‘something unexpected’ about LGBTQ

· Israel-Hamas war creating shell hunger for Ukraine – Zelensky

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South Asia

· 80,000 Expelled Refugees Treated in Torkham: Officials

· India’s steadfast aid: A beacon of hope in aftermath of the 2023 Herat earthquake

· UN chief links Taliban’s legitimacy to International commitments and comprehensive constitution

· Pakistan agrees to release Afghan traders’ assets from Karachi port

· Guterres Stresses Roadmap for Intl Reintegration of Afghanistan

· 'Robust Measures' Keep US Aid From Benefiting Islamic Emirate: Miller

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bahraini-crown-prince-hamas-hostages/d/131137

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Bahraini crown prince condemns Hamas, calls to release hostages

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

ON SUNDAY, President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal are welcomed to the Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

(photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

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The crown prince of Gulf Arab state Bahrain on Friday called for a "hostage trade" between Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Israel in order to achieve a break in hostilities that he said could lead to an end to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa also said that security would not be realized without a two-state solution, in which he described the United States as "indispensable" in achieving.

"It is a time for straight talking," he said, urging Hamas to release Israeli women and children held hostage in Gaza and for Israel in exchange to release from its prisons Palestinian women and children, who he described as non-combatants.

"The intention is to break so people can take stock, can bury their dead, people can finally start to grieve and maybe people can start to ask themselves about the intelligence failure that led to this crisis in the first place," he said

Fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar has been leading mediation efforts between the Islamist terrorist group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 240 hostages.

Sunni-ruled Bahrain established ties with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, driven in part by shared concerns over regional power Shi'ite-majority Iran. Bahrain is an important security partner of the United States, hosting the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain's parliament this month said, amid outage in the Arab world over Israel's bombardment of Gaza, that Israel's ambassador had left the country, while its own envoy had left Israel, although it remains unclear if the Israel diplomat was expelled.

Condemning both parties

Prince Salman described the situation in Gaza as "intolerable" and condemned both Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack and Israel for the "air campaign" it launched in response.

He outlined what he said were red lines in the conflict, including the forced displacement of Palestinians, "now or ever", an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza, and a military threat from Gaza towards Israel.

Prince Salman, speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue, also called for Palestinian elections, once the war ends, that would lead to a "just and lasting peace" that he described as the establishment of a Palestinian state which he said would also lead to security and stability for Israel.

"This conflict has been an ongoing, open wound in the Middle East for the past 80 years," he said

More than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on the coastal strip, according to Gaza health officials. Israeli authorities say 1,200 were killed on Oct. 7 and over 200 Israelis and foreign citizens taken hostage.

An exchange of hostages was the only way to achieve a necessary break in violence so that humanitarian aid like medicine, fuel to power medical machines, and food could be provided to the Palestinians in Gaza, Prince Salman said.

Source: jpost.com

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https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-773805

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EXPLAIN COAS. Is this Pakistan army chief talking to Pakistan ulema.

2023-11-18

ISLAMABAD: The Chief of Army staff (COAS), General Syed Asim Munir, while lauding a “Paigham-e-Pakistan” Fatwa by religious scholars to nullify misleading propaganda disseminated by extremists and terrorists, called upon Ulema-o-Mashaikh for its propagation and implementation in letter and spirit and shun internal schisms.

Leading Ulema-o-Mashaikh (Islamic scholars) of all schools of thought interacted with the COAS at the GHQ.

They, unanimously, condemned extremism, terrorism and sectarianism and pledged their continued support for untiring efforts of State and security forces for bringing tolerance, peace and stability in the country. They underscored that Islam is the religion of peace and harmony and any skewed and distorted interpretations of religion by certain entities is for their vested interests only and has nothing to do with Islamic teachings.

The COAS signified the role of Ulema in harnessing youth towards understanding of Quran and Sunnah and character building alongside other academic knowledge and technical skills.

The COAS said that there is no space for intolerance and extreme behaviour by any entity against anyone, particularly against minorities and the vulnerable segments of society.

The forum unanimously supported the government’s measures to harden the State including repatriation of illegal foreigners, implementation of One Document Regime, anti-smuggling and hoarding measures and anti-power theft drive. It also fully acknowledged Pakistan’s position and concerns on terrorism emanating from Afghan soil and urged serious actions by Afghanistan to address Pakistan’s concerns.

The forum also expressed anguish on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and atrocities being committed by Israel against hapless people of Gaza and termed them as crimes against humanity.

“Pakistan belongs to all Pakistanis without any religious, provincial, tribal, linguistic, ethnic, sectarian or any other distinction. Use of force and armed action by any militia, entity or group other than State is unacceptable”, the COAS concluded.

Source: brecorder.com

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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40273920/theres-no-space-for-intolerance-coas-tells-ulema

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Kashmir: Six Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed by security forces in twin encounters

18.11.23

Muzaffar Raina

Representational image

File picture

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Security forces on Friday said five militants from the Lashkar-e-Toiba, some of whom were involved in the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit and several other attacks, were killed in an overnight operation in Samno village of Kulgam in south Kashmir.

Another militant was also killed in an ongoing military operation at Behrot in Budhal area of Rajouri district on Friday.

Deputy inspector-general, south Kashmir, Rayees Mohammad Bhat, said a joint operation by the police, 34 Rashtriya Rifles and the army was launched in Samno village on Thursday evening following inputs about the presence of militants in some houses.

Footage from the encounter site showed heavy plumes of smoke and fire rising from some homes as security forces encircled the area. At least two houses, where militants were allegedly hiding, were razed to the ground in the fire.

A police spokesman said the joint party faced indiscriminate firing from militants when they approached a particular spot on Thursday evening. The forces retaliated but the operation was kept on hold for the night as darkness descended.

“The cordon remained intact throughout the night and with the help of reinforcements, the cordoned area was further strengthened. With the first light today, the operation was resumed, which resulted in the elimination of five terrorists,” the spokesman said.

The five slain militants were identified as Yasir Bilal Bhat, Danish Hameed Thoker, Ubaid Ahmad Padder, Sameer Farooq Sheikha and Hanzal Yaqoob Shah — residents of Shopian and Kulgam districts.

“As per police records, the killed terrorists were categorised terrorists and involved in several terror crime cases including attacks on police/ SFs (security forces) and civilian atrocities,” the police said.

The police said Sameer and Danish were involved in the killing of Sonu Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit chemist, in Chotigam village of Shopian in August last year.

The spokesman also said Danish and Hanzal were involved in the attack on non-local labourers in Gagren village of Shopian on July 13, injuring them.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/six-lashkar-e-toiba-militants-killed-by-security-forces-in-twin-encounters-in-kashmir/cid/1980748

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Turkey's Erdogan links German support of Israel in Gaza to Holocaust guilt

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Istanbul, Turkey October 28, 2023.

(photo credit: REUTERS/DILARA SENKAYA)

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday suggested that Germany supported Israel in the Gaza war out of guilt over the Holocaust and drew a contrast with Turkey, which he said was able to speak without bias.

"The Israeli-Palestinian war should not be evaluated with a psychology of indebtedness. I speak freely because we do not owe anything to Israel," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz before the two leaders held private talks.

"Those who feel indebted to Israel cannot speak freely. We did not go through the Holocaust process, we don't have such situation, because our respect for humanity is different," the Turkish president said.

Erdogan said earlier this week that Israel was a "terror state" committing war crimes in Gaza and that its campaign against Hamas included "the most treacherous attacks in human history."

Erdogan's comment in Berlin went to the heart of Germany's post-war identity, which is based on deep atonement for the Holocaust. Germany systematically killed 6 million Jews and 5 million other victims during World War Two. Modern Israel was founded in 1948 as a safe haven for Jews.

Scholz did not respond directly to Erdogan's remarks but restated Germany's commitment to Israel's right to defend itself.

"If you know Germany, you know that our solidarity with Israel is beyond all question," Scholz said. "Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time all lives are equally precious and the suffering in Gaza distresses us."

Erdogan's trip was his first visit to Germany in four years. Erdogan, whose party faces key local elections next year, could benefit from Scholz's backing for modernizing Turkey's customs union with the European Union and visa-free EU travel for Turks.

Scholz, dealing with a court ruling that blew a 60-billion-euro hole in his budget, a coalition row over the economy and rising immigration, needs Ankara's help in stemming migration to the EU.

But the talks were overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hamas fighters on Oct. 7 surged into Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 240 hostages. In retaliation, Israel invaded Gaza with a goal of eliminating Hamas, and Palestinian authorities have said more than 12,000 have died.

Germany has seen an uptick in antisemitism and Islamophobia since the conflict began and has faced criticism for making it hard to hold pro-Palestinian protests, which the government fears might be antisemitic.

Fighter planes

The two leaders sought to emphasize areas of agreement including the importance of their economic ties and support for a deal on Ukraine grain exports.

Scholz declined to respond to a question on whether he would approve the sale of the 40 Eurofighter warplanes that Turkey wants. His approval would be needed since Germany is a member of the British-French-Spanish consortium that makes them.

Erdogan said he could go elsewhere if Scholz did not agree.

"We can procure fighter jets from many other places," Erdogan said.

Berlin would also like to see Turkey give its final approval to Sweden's accession to the NATO military alliance. Though Erdogan has dropped his objections, the Turkish parliament has yet to ratify Sweden's membership.

Source: jpost.com

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https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-773831

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Biden raises with Qatar ‘urgent’ need for Hamas to free hostages

November 18, 2023

A placard reads "Bring her home" during a demonstration in support of Israel and its hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Frankfurt, Germany, November 17, 2023. (Reuters)

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SAN FRANCISCO: US President Joe Biden pressed Friday for the immediate release of hostages seized by Hamas in Israel during talks with the leader of Qatar, which has relations with the militants.

Biden, in San Francisco for an Asia-Pacific summit, in a telephone call with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani “discussed the urgent need for all hostages held by Hamas to be released without further delay,” a White House statement said.

Biden also raised Israel’s decision to let two tankers of diesel each day into the war-torn Gaza Strip, following pleas from the United States.

Biden and the emir “discussed ongoing efforts to increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza and Israel’s decision to resume fuel deliveries for life-saving aid,” the White House said.

Biden two days earlier had told reporters that he was “mildly hopeful” of reaching a deal to free the hostages, believed to include about 10 US citizens.

Fighters from Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, on October 7 infiltrated Israel and killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel’s subsequent air and ground campaign has killed 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

The militants, who are backed by Iran’s clerical state, maintain a political office in Qatar, which nonetheless is a close US partner.

Qatar has in recent years rejected moves by other Gulf Arab monarchies toward normalizing relations with Israel.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2410841/middle-east

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Israel-Gaza war: Media group calls for ceasefire and end to violence against journalists and civilians

18 Nov 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: A coalition of Malaysian media associations, clubs and unions under Save Press 4 Gaze (SP4G) are calling for an international stand against the violence faced by journalists covering the Palestine occupation.

SP4G spokesman SairienNafis said the local media are demanding for a ceasefire to end the violence against journalists and civilians.

"The coalition taking the same stand as the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to call for global journalists to condemn the targeting of their colleagues resonates deeply with us.

"We stand united in support of their brave efforts to report amidst the chaos and destruction in Gaza.

"Those who have been covering relentlessly in Palestine have been instrumental in bringing the harsh realities of the conflict to the forefront of public awareness, making them an invaluable asset to the global media landscape," he said when met at Dataran Merdeka.

SP4G held a peaceful rally at Dataran Merdeka in the city which was attended by 150 media personnel from 26 clubs, associations and unions across the country, where they held posters to call to ensure the press workers covering the atrocities by Israel were protected.

Sairien said reporting from the local media in the enclave was important as it provided a balanced reporting to the world about the ongoing violence faced by the Palestine people.

"The deliberate targeting of journalists has been a disturbing trend, evident in the Reporters Without Borders investigation into the Oct 13 Israeli strikes in South Lebanon where Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah lost his life in the attacks, while six other journalists sustained injuries.

"Such incidents further highlight the urgent need for international action to protect journalists operating in conflict zones," he said.

Sairien also holds the West accountable for any dehumanising rhetoric that may contribute to justifying the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

"Western newsrooms, which benefit significantly from the work of Gazan journalists, must take immediate steps to ensure their protection and condemn any actions that jeopardise their safety.

"The international media has a responsibility to uphold journalistic integrity, ensuring fair and accurate coverage of the ongoing conflict.

"The call for fair coverage and an end to oppression has been reiterated, and we urge our colleagues in Western media outlets to heed this call," he said.

Source: thestar.com.my

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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/11/18/israel-gaza-war-media-group-calls-for-ceasefire-and-end-to-violence-against-journalists-and-civilians

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Sudan announces 'immediate' end to UN mission in war-torn country

18 Nov 2023

UNITED NATIONS, United States, Nov 18, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Sudan has informed the UN chief of the "immediate" end of the United Nations political mission in the war-torn country, according to a letter circulated in the Security Council.

In an official letter in Arabic dated Thursday, accompanied by an English version from the Sudanese ambassador to the UN, Foreign Minister Ali Elsadig Ali informed Antonio Guterres of "the decision of the government of Sudan to terminate the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) with immediate effect."

According to the English version, UNITAMS had aimed to "assist the transitional government of Sudan after the December 2018 revolution," but the government said the mission had proven "disappointing."

However, Khartoum said it would continue to work "constructively" with the United Nations.

Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday the mission's mandate was scheduled to end on December 3.

"The Secretary-General has appointed Ian Martin to lead a strategic review of the UN Mission in Sudan to provide the Security Council with options on how to adapt the mission's mandate," he said.

Guterres was also appointing Algeria's RamtaneLamamra as his personal envoy for Sudan.

"We will continue to engage closely with all actors, including the Sudanese authorities and members of the Security Council, to clarify next steps," Dujarric said.

UNITAMS employs 245 people, including 88 in Port Sudan, as well as others outside Sudan in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, Dujarric confirmed.

In an address to the Security Council on Thursday, the UN assistant secretary general for Africa, Martha AmaAkyaaPobee, denounced the spread of the conflict to other parts of Sudan, which already has the largest number of displaced people in the world.

"Sudan is facing a convergence of a worsening humanitarian calamity and a catastrophic human rights crisis," she said.

After almost seven months of fighting between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, almost 25 million people need humanitarian aid in Sudan, UN humanitarian operations chief Martin Griffiths said Monday.

The civil war, which started on April 15, has left more than 10,000 dead, according to an estimate by the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled), a figure that is widely considered an underestimate.

Source: bssnews.net

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https://www.bssnews.net/news/158845

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Arab World

Saudi FM speaks with French, Finnish counterparts on Gaza crisis

November 17, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Friday spoke on the phone with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, Saudi Press Agency reported.

During the call, the two ministers discussed developments of the military escalation in the Gaza Strip.

They agreed upon the importance of an immediate ceasefire and the supporting of a political solution to end the crisis in accordance with the relevant international resolutions, as well as stopping the forced displacement of Palestinians.

They also reviewed relations between the two countries, ways to enhance them in all fields, and the latest regional and international developments of common interest.

Prince Faisal also spoke with his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen on Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Palestine, during which they both reiterated the importance of a ceasefire.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2410666/saudi-arabia

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Saudi Arabia sends ambulances to Egypt to ferry injured Palestinians from Gaza

November 17, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia sent three ambulances to Egypt on Friday as part of preparations to transport injured Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The ambulances are part of a fleet of 20 emergency vehicles scheduled to arrive via El-Arish International Airport, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The Kingdom has so far sent nine relief planes for the Palestinians in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia has been sending humanitarian relief supplies and emergency vehicles on the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a symbol of support for the Palestinian people, particularly those in Gaza.

The UN World Food Programme has warned that the entire population of Gaza faces food shortages and healthcare inadequacy after Israel imposed a siege on the Palestinian enclave as it continues to battle Hamas militants.

“Supplies of food and water are practically non-existent in Gaza and only a fraction of what is needed is arriving through the borders,” Cindy McCain, WFP executive director, said in a statement.

“With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation.”

Food supplies transported by trucks from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing have not reached civilians in shelters because of insufficient fuel for distribution vehicles, as Israel has allowed only limited diesel fuel deliveries for UN aid distribution trucks.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2410581/saudi-arabia

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Eighth Saudi Relief Plane Arrives in El Arish to Help the Palestinian People in Gaza Strip

17 Nov, 2023

The eighth Saudi relief plane, operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), arrived at El Arish International Airport in the Arab Republic of Egypt today, carrying three ambulances out of 20 scheduled to arrive successively, in preparation for transporting them to the affected Palestinian people inside the Gaza Strip.

This aid comes within the Saudi popular campaign to provide relief to the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which was an implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's historical role which is known to stand with the brotherly Palestinian people in the various crises they are going through.

Source: alriyadhdaily.com

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http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/23fcbf33f4d94cec99173f55937f3b64

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Arab, Islamic Action Intensifies to Implement Riyadh Summit Resolutions on Gaza

18 November 2023

The Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have been intensifying their efforts to implement the resolutions reached at their extraordinary Riyadh summit on Gaza last Saturday.

A ministerial Arab-Islamic committee is gearing up for meetings with the member states of the UN Security Council, urging for an immediate ceasefire.

The initiative is being led by Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Ambassador Hossam Zaki.

Zaki told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that “organizing meetings for the ministerial committee with the permanent members of the Security Council takes time due to the commitments and schedules of foreign officials, which somewhat hinders the implementation.”

“However, the ministerial committee, under the leadership of the Saudi presidency, is exerting every effort to secure the necessary appointments,” said Zaki, anticipating that “these meetings will take place soon.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian delegate to the Arab League, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “preparations are underway for the Arab-Islamic ministerial committee to hold meetings in influential capitals around the world with the aim of halting the Israeli aggression on Gaza.”

Moreover, an Arab diplomatic source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “there are executive steps for the implementation of the Riyadh summit resolutions that will be announced soon, once the specific arrangements are finalized.”

The source, who requested anonymity, refused to disclose the “nature of these steps,” stating only that “they will be announced gradually.”

The resolution issued by the Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh tasked the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, Palestine, and the Secretary-Generals of the Arab League and the OIC, to initiate immediate international action on behalf of all member states to formulate international steps to stop the war on Gaza.

Source: aawsat.com

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https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/4675436-arab-islamic-action-intensifies-implement-riyadh-summit-resolutions-gaza

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MAWANI maps out logistics area in Jeddah Islamic Port

November 17, 2023

Dom Magli

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has signed a land lease contract for the Saudi Sales Company to establish a logistics zone at Jeddah Islamic Port, with a total area of 54,000 square metres.

According to MAWANI, the aim of this partnership is to enhance maritime and air connectivity, which will contribute to improving the logistics services provided, in an effort to raise the Kingdom’s classification in international indicators.

The signing took place at Jeddah Islamic Port by His Excellency the Chairman of the Authority, Omar bin Talal Hariri, and the CEO of Saudi SAL Logistics, Faisal bin Saad Al-Badah, in the presence of a number of officials.

The new zone seeks to improve the Kingdom’s ranking in international metrics, invest in the Kingdom’s strategic location, connect regional and worldwide markets, and profit from the integration and interdependence of marine and air transport.

The integrated logistics zone is set to provide important logistical services, integrated ecosystems, including smart warehouses, yards for storing and delivering products, and a deposit and re-export area for sorting, regional distribution, and value-added operations.

Source: porttechnology.org

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https://www.porttechnology.org/news/mawani-maps-out-logistics-area-in-jeddah-islamic-

port/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mawani-maps-out-logistics-area-in-jeddah-islamic-port

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Pakistan

Governor admires humanitarian assistance for Palestinians

2023-11-18

LAHORE: Country Head of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) Ann Masterson said here Friday that her organization is working to provide medical aid to the wounded and shelter to the displaced people in Palestine.

During a meeting with the Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman at Governor House Lahore, Ann Masterson told the governor about humanitarian assistance to people in different parts of the world, especially in Palestine. Executive Director of an NGO, Sabiha, working for the empowerment of youth, was also present on this occasion.

Speaking on this occasion, the governor said that the sufferings of Palestinians, especially innocent children in Palestine, are heart-wrenching.

He said that service to humanity is a noble spirit and the way NCA is serving the suffering humanity in Palestine is admirable. He also appreciated Norwegian Church Aid's services for women empowerment, protection of minority rights, and poverty alleviation.

Meanwhile, the governor dispatched a truck of relief goods under the auspices of Quaid-e-Azam Trust (UK) to the flood-affected people in suburban areas of Bahawalpur Division.

Blankets and water Proof tents were included in the relief goods for the flood affectees. Chairman of Quaid-e-Azam Trust (UK) Raja Muhammad Ishtiaq, members of the trust were also present on this occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the governor said that the spirit of overseas Pakistanis to help their fellow countrymen is admirable. He said that Allah loves those people who serve humanity.

Source: brecorder.com

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https://www.brecorder.com/news/40273892/governor-admires-humanitarian-assistance-for-palestinians

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Imran handed over to NAB in Al Qadir Trust case

November 18, 2023

Mohammad Asghar | Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: An accountability court on Friday remanded former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to NAB custody for four days in Al Qadir Trust case, while also extending the pre-arrest interim bail of his wife, Bushra Bibi, in the same case, as well as the Toshakhana case, till Nov 21.

At the outset, when Judge Mohammad Bashir resumed hearing on the bail petitions of Bushra Bibi in the Federal Judicial Complex, he was told that the petitioner and her lawyer Sardar Latif Khan Khosa were both in Adiala Jail for a meeting with the ex-premier.

Since the judge was also scheduled to take up Mr Khan’s remand application in the court within the jail, he decided to conduct hearing on Bushra Bibi’s bail petition there and left for Adiala Jail.

At the hearing, NAB’s deputy prosecutor general Sardar Muzaffar Khan Abbasi submitted the application seeking 10-day physical remand of the PTI chairman. However, the judge only granted physical remand for four days.

While talking to reporters outside Adiala Jail after meeting her brother Imran Khan, Aleema Khan claimed the former premier was considering filing a lawsuit in the United States against diplomat Donald Lu, who he accused of toppling his government, if he did not get justice from courts in Pakistan.

She said he had found it appropriate to share Donald Lu’s message with public. This was not the time to repeat what was done to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, she added.

She said her brother was in good health and was satisfied with the food provided to him in the jail. She said he informed her that he had a good routine in jail and got the opportunity to exercise. He was also reciting the Holy Quran and reading books, she said, adding that she brought more books for him.

She said the Islamabad High Court had issued a stay order in the cipher case and those clauses were added in the case that could result in a death sentence or life imprisonment. “What crime has the ex-PM committed for which he was booked in such offences?” she questioned.

On the other hand, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court dismissed an application seeking restoration of Mr Khan’s pre-arrest bail plea in corruption case, observing that it became infructuous when Mr Khan is already in NAB custody.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, however, suggested the counsel for the petitioner to approach the competent court for his release on post-arrest bail.

Source: dawn.com

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In Pakistan, mysterious shootings of over a dozen terrorists by ‘hostiles’

Nov 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD :Over a dozen terrorists, all on New Delhi’s “most wanted list”, have been mysteriously killed in various parts of Pakistan in the last two years. But Pakistan, and the banned militant organisations it nurtured against its eastern neighbour, are silent about the killings. All the militant commanders killed were associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM), the separatist Khalistan movement or the Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM).

Within the first fortnight of November three senior Let/JeM terrorists have been shot dead, including a close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar and the LeT’s chief recruiter.

This string of assassinations started soon after a botched attempt on the life of LeT founder and 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Lahore in 2021. All these killings follow the same pattern: in each case, unknown armed men riding motorcycles have been involved in the targeted killings of militants accused of terrorism in India.

Pakistani officials involved in the investigations blame the “intelligence agency of a hostile country”. A hostile spy agency,an official familiar with the probes said, has established an organised network of local assassins — some of them disgruntled former law enforcement personnel — to achieve their targets. He alleged India controls this network through operatives stationed in a Gulf state, likely a veiled reference to the UAE.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities as well as the media have stayed silent. Following a press conference in 2021 by the then Pakistan interior minister, Rana Sanaullah, after the bombing outside Hafiz Saeed’s Lahore residence, Islamabad has at best ignored the mysterious assassinations of militants associated with the LeT, JeM, HuM and the Khalistan separatist movement.

Pakistan downplayed such incidents in an apparent attempt to hide the identities of those considered “most wanted terrorists” in India. According to Pakistani intelligence sources, New Delhi had over the years shared the names and whereabouts of several terrorists with Islamabad; many of these men have been gunned down by unidentified assailants.

Islamabad’s reluctance to acknowledge the killing of these militants appears to be due to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It has assured the international watchdog on terror financing and money laundering that it will take “credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustainable action” against terror groups on its soil.

None of the men killed have been identified as terrorists either by the Pakistan government or media. Maulana Raheem Ullah Tariq, a JeM leader and close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar, was the latest “jihadi” to be shot dead by unknown men in Karachi on November 13. The incident was portrayed as the killing of a local cleric.

Former LeT terrorist Akram Khan, alias Akram Ghazi, head of LeT’s recruitment cell, was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district on November 9. Pakistani media referred to him as a “muezzin”, a person who proclaims the call for daily prayers.

On November 5 Khwaja Shahid, also known as Mian Mujahid, was purportedly kidnapped and later discovered beheaded near the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Shahid, according to sources, was a prominent LeT figure and one of the masterminds of the 2018 terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan that had claimed seven lives.

Shahid Latif, a former JeM operative and allegedly the mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot attack, was shot dead by three unknown men riding a motorcycle in Sialkot, Pakistan Punjab, in October. An associate of Latif was also killed and another associate injured in that attack.

Other Key Terrorists Shot Dead By Unknown Gunmen

Sept 2023: Riaz Ahmad (alias Abu Qasim), among the masterminds of the Dhangri terror attack, was killed in a mosque in PoK.

Sept2023: Maulana Ziaur Rehman of LeT was killed inKarachi’sGulistan-e-Jauhar neighbourhood.

Sept 2023: Mufti Qaiser Farooqui of LeT killed in Sohrab Goth, Karachi

Aug 2023: Mullah Sardar Hussain Arain, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, shote dead in Nawab Shah district, Sindh.

May2023: Paramjit Singh Panjwar, a Pakistan-based leader of the Khalistan Commando Force, was killed in Johar Town, Lahore.

March 2023: Bashir Ahmad Pir (alias Imtiaz Alam) of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in Rawalpindi.

March 2023: Syed Noor, prominent “jihadist”, killed in Khyber tribal district

Feb2023: Syed Khalid Raza of al-Badr Mujahideen killed inKarachi.

March 2022: Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim (alias Zahid Akhund) of JeM, considered the deadliest of the five hijackers of Kathmandu to Delhi Flight IC-814 (1999) was killed in Karachi.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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PTI slams ‘denial of justice’ to Imran

November 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf›s (PTI) core committee Friday strongly condemned the ‘denial of justice’ to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

In its declaration, the core committee also vehemently condemned the ‘extraordinary slowing down’ of trial or closing the doors of justice through ‹reserved verdicts› to speed up the exhibition trials of false cases and deprive chairman Imran Khan of his fundamental right to justice.

“The false and hateful propaganda campaign against Imran Khan›s wife and the condemnable harassment of the family is a desperate attempt to force the chairman to compromise on principles and withdraw from his exemplary principled political struggle,” it said.

Despite the announcement of the election date, it noted, the extra-legal restrictions on peaceful political activities in the country and the increase in retaliation against PTI officials and workers are a plan to ‘kill’ democracy.

The core committee said Central Additional Secretary General Ali Nawaz Awan, Akbar Khan Tanoli, Malik Amir and all the workers ‘kidnapped for (extracting) statement’ should be immediately recovered and released.

The forum paid tributes to the courage and perseverance of the jailed senior leaders and male and female workers. It also asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to formally release the order for allotment of ‘bat’ as a symbol to PTI.

“Attempts to deprive the basic legal and democratic right to provide the ‘bat’ symbol are a serious conspiracy against the transparency of elections,” it noted.

The core committee said the state efforts to pave the way for a national criminal and a person convicted by the courts to reach power under the London Agreement by laying down the bodies of the Constitution, law and democracy is disastrous for internal stability, economic recovery and national harmony and security.

Despite the worst state repression and fascism of the PTI in the elections, it contended, the strategy of participation and determination of candidates was also discussed in the meeting.

The committee reiterated its commitment to counter the state›s attempts to oust the PTI from the elections in every possible political, legal and democratic manner. It also decided to strongly resist the state›s efforts to reduce turnout by disappointing the people with fear and excessive use of force and preventing them from participating in the election process.

The forum expressed deep regret over the seriousness of Israel›s criminal war crimes in Palestine, the role of the United Nations, especially the Muslim Ummah and the United Nations, for ceasefire and to halt humanitarian atrocities.

It called for continued full political, moral and diplomatic support to the Palestinian people and force Israel into a ceasefire and reiterated its demand for strict accountability by the International Court of Justice for committing war crimes.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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NAB team grills Imran for 2 hours in £190m NCA case

November 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD: The Combined Investigation Team of the National Accountability Bureau, Rawalpindi, continued interrogating PTI Chairman Imran Khan for a third day in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK case in the Adiala Jail.

According to sources, the three-member NAB team grilled Imran for about two hours. An accountability court has granted permission to continue investigations in the £190m NCA case till November 21.

Meanwhile, an Accountability Court approved a four-day physical remand of PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan in the 190 million pounds Al-Qadir Trust case.

The case hearing took place at the Adiala Jail, where Judge Muhammad Bashir presided over the proceedings and approved Khan’s physical remand. The NAB prosecutor informed the media that the court remanded Imran into their custody until November 21 and now they will decide the mechanism of investigation.

Earlier, the court had allowed the NAB to investigate the former prime minister for three days. The NAB had requested for physical remand of the accused to complete the investigation process.

The court had said that the NAB could interrogate the PTI chief in jail for three days. Further hearing of the request for physical remand was to be held on November 17 (Friday).

On Tuesday, the interior ministry issued a notification for conducting jail trial of Imran Khan. A day before, the NAB had delivered in jail Imran Khan’s arrest warrant issued in the case.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court would take up for hearing Imran’s bail petition in the cipher case on November 22.

The bench, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ayesha Malik, would hear the petition.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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PTI slams ‘denial of justice’ to Imran

November 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf›s (PTI) core committee Friday strongly condemned the ‘denial of justice’ to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

“Attempts to deprive the basic legal and democratic right to provide the ‘bat’ symbol are a serious conspiracy against the transparency of elections,” it noted.

Despite the worst state repression and fascism of the PTI in the elections, it contended, the strategy of participation and determination of candidates was also discussed in the meeting.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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NAB team grills Imran for 2 hours in £190m NCA case

November 18, 2023

According to sources, the three-member NAB team grilled Imran for about two hours. An accountability court has granted permission to continue investigations in the £190m NCA case till November 21.

Meanwhile, an Accountability Court approved a four-day physical remand of PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan in the 190 million pounds Al-Qadir Trust case.

Earlier, the court had allowed the NAB to investigate the former prime minister for three days. The NAB had requested for physical remand of the accused to complete the investigation process.

The court had said that the NAB could interrogate the PTI chief in jail for three days. Further hearing of the request for physical remand was to be held on November 17 (Friday).

On Tuesday, the interior ministry issued a notification for conducting jail trial of Imran Khan. A day before, the NAB had delivered in jail Imran Khan’s arrest warrant issued in the case.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court would take up for hearing Imran’s bail petition in the cipher case on November 22.

The bench, headed by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ayesha Malik, would hear the petition.

Source: thenews.com.pk

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India

On Hamas, Modi Government Wants to Have Its ‘Anti-Terror’ Cake and Eat It Too

ArkoprabhoHazra

November 17, 2023

The Indian government’s decision to abstain in the UN General Assembly vote last month on protecting civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations in Gaza (A/ES-10/L.25) has been widely criticised by commentators as well as opposition politicians. India, in its explanation of vote (EOV), said it abstained because the draft had not condemned the October 7 terror attack on Israel.

While this argument has some merit given its oft-repeated ‘no-tolerance’ policy towards terrorism, India’s own ambivalence towards Hamas suggests its position is more nuanced than the domestic debate admits.

Ironically, India abstained in 2018 when the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution condemning Hamas for “repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby putting civilians at risk”. Thus, one must question if India’s latest abstention was really about the terror attacks of October 7 not being mentioned.

In fact, this is the first time that India has labelled attacks by Hamas as ‘terror’. In the past, India at different forums has only condemned some of Hamas’s actions, whereas other countries explicitly called Hamas’s actions terrorism.

For example, in May 2021, when Hamas launched rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, India only opposed such firing and no mention of terror attacks featured in its statement to the UN Security Council at that time.

Since Hamas’s attacks have now been labelled as terror, will India be looking at designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation? At the MEA briefing on October 12, spokesperson Arindam Bagchi did not provide a concrete answer when asked about this.

A few days back, Israeli ambassador to India NaorGilon said that it is time for India to recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation and hinted at the two sides having a dialogue along these lines.

However, a similar request in 2004 by then deputy prime minister of Israel, Silvan Shalom, to designate Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist outfits was rejected by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

During Vajpayee’s prime ministership, in fact, India actually condemned Israel for assassinating two Hamas leaders.

“We are appalled by the killing in Gaza of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, yesterday in an Israeli missile strike,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in March 2004.

A few weeks later, when Israel killed his successor, Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi, India again censured Tel Aviv.

Speaking at a special meeting of the UN Security Council in April 2004, ambassador Vijay Nambiar said the “targeted killing of al-Rantisi was unjustified and unacceptable, and could not be condoned under any circumstances. Such action, following closely after the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, could only lead to a further deterioration of the situation in the region and escalation of the cycle of violence and counter-violence.”

It will be interesting to see if India, under Narendra Modi, will shift from the past or maintain continuity.

While India has designated certain transnational groups as terrorist entities – including ISIS and Al-Qaida – this was done pursuant to listings by ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the United Nations, pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 1267.

Given that Hamas isn’t a terrorist entity under the UN list, India’s designation of Hamas as terrorists would be setting a new precedent – which is something the MEA might be unwilling to do.

For now, it seems likely that India will continue with its dichotomous approach, invoking terror acts by Hamas in order to justify a diplomatic stand that is driven by political considerations but stopping short of designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation under Indian law.

So far, only terrorist groups directly impacting the subcontinent or transnational outfits recognised by the UN have been listed under section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that position does not seem to be changing.

Source: thewire.in

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‘If India said it was pro-Palestine it was in self-interest’: Writer and journalist Azad Essa

Saudamini Jain

18.11.23

In 2019, Sandeep Chakravorty, India’s consul-general to the United States at that time, said India could follow the Israeli model of building settlements in Kashmir. He was speaking in the aftermath of the Indian government’s abrogation of Article 370, stripping away the special autonomy granted to Jammu and Kashmir under the Constitution.

“I believe the security situation will improve, it will allow the refugees to go back because we already have a model in the world. It has happened in the Middle East. If the Israeli people can do it, we can also do it,” he had said, at an event organised by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri to discuss his upcoming controversial film The Kashmir Files (2022) about the displacement of Kashmiri Hindus from the valley in the 1990s.

When a video capturing Chakravorty’s comments circulated widely online, Azad Essa, a journalist based between Johannesburg and New York, had been thinking about India’s growing closeness with Israel.

Essa grew up in South Africa and travelled to India every year to visit his family in parts of Mumbai and Gujarat where his grandparents came from. He is a journalist at Middle East Eye – and has previously covered Africa for Al Jazeera English. He has also reported from Kashmir.

When he visited the Palestinian Territories a few years after first visiting Kashmir in 2004, he was startled by similarities between the two, he says. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, he began to pay attention to India’s growing closeness with Israel. “Chakravorty’s remarks kind of sealed it for me. A month later, I submitted my proposal,” Essa says.

The resulting book, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel, has been widely written about in the international press. There are surprisingly few accessible books on the subject but for “those familiar with the partnership may not find much that is especially novel,” a review in Foreign Policy points out, adding, “It covers much of what is already known about the evolution of the relationship.”

The review also criticises the book for making “especially flawed” assertions about India. The Hindu Frontline found faults with the book’s “over-reliance on its own ideological conclusions and the omission of the other possible factors that shape the behaviour of nation-states. The book overlooks India’s self-interest and the role of realism in its foreign policy choices.”

What Hostile Homelands does well is setting the historical context of this relationship. Scroll spoke to Essa about his book:

Your book Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel shows that from the beginning, the relations between the two countries were deeper than India let on. You write about Mahatma Gandhi’s position on Israel-Palestine being inconsistent – that he said that the Jews could settle in Palestine “only by the goodwill of the Arabs,” but also that “if the Arabs have a claim to Palestine, the Jews have a prior claim. And that Rabindranath Tagore was “an enthusiastic proponent of Zionism.” Were you surprised by your research?

I was very surprised by the extent to which there was contestation on India’s approach to Palestine within the country. The Non-Aligned Movement, of which India was a founder and major leader, rejected Israel at Bandung [in 1955]. But when you read some of the earlier sources discussing what happened, you find that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was open to Israel joining, even though India barely had recognised Israel [as a state] a couple of years earlier [in 1950]. It was only until the Indonesians and the Arab countries refused to have Israel that India accepted.

I was also surprised by the duplicity of someone like Nehru when it came to the 1962 India-China war. He told [David] Ben-Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, to send India weapons, but asked him to put them on ships without the Israeli flag. That’s really crazy to me.

Just over a decade earlier, when India decided to recognise Israel, there were a bunch of letters between Delhi and its ambassadors in the Middle East focused on India’s interest in recognising Israel. But there was no discussion about what it would mean for the Palestinians, which was what India said publicly was the reason for not recognising Israel. And so, if India said it was pro-Palestine over the next several decades, you best believe it was also in their self-interest to do so. They wanted oil from the Arab world and knew they had to be seen as pro-Palestine if they wanted to be a leader of the third world.

So, there was a difference in the public and private face regarding the decision. It was very, very methodical and very, very deliberate – that was also surprising to me.

You seem critical of India’s strategic choices. I thought the main thrust of your book was to show a lack of morality in India’s foreign policy. What made you write this book?

I wouldn’t say this is a look at India in an exceptional light. This project was about trying to understand how a country that positions itself using a moral compass and is perceived as having exceptional moral values and moral foreign policy as presented by like people like Nehru and Gandhi. (And Gandhi, to a large extent, is one of India’s biggest exports – this idea of a non-violent freedom fighter.)

And then it has a policy that’s very outwardly pro-Palestine for a long. In 1975, India called Zionism racism and became the first non-Arab country to recognise the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation]. These are big steps. How does a country that positioned itself in that way change to become a strategic partner of a nation it had morally condemned? This project was to try and figure that out.

And what did you find out? How did the India-Israel relationship evolve to its present closeness?

India has had, for the longest time, even under the Nehruvian period, this ambition to be self-reliant. When Israel helped India in 1962, even though India lost that war against China, it saw Israel as a country it could rely on. And there were not many countries in the world that it could rely on, especially for military hardware. But Israel was quite happy to extend itself militarily in the hope that it would improve diplomatic ties in the future.

In the 1980s, India saw Israel as a way to enter the global economy and become close to the US. They could see that the Soviet Union was collapsing and they looked for options. Interestingly, Rajiv Gandhi played a substantial role in building these ties. He was greatly influenced by Subramanium Swamy in this regard.

I don’t think enough attention has been given to Swamy’s role in nurturing and promoting India-Israel ties. He had been pushing for it since the early 1980s. It’s not surprising that the rise of Hindutva, neo-liberalism, and India-Israel ties took place at the same time.

But, in the 1990s and the 2000s, a huge alignment took place and that had to do with India wanting to build its own military-industrial complex, wanting to be a powerful force and also buying into this War on Terror discourse so much so that between 2000 and 2010, it bought like $10 billion worth of arms from Israel.

But the Indian government still had a commitment that started several decades earlier. It wanted to be (and still wants to be) a leader of the Global South. And to be the leader of the Global South, your credentials were predicated on your stance on Palestine to a large extent, and India didn’t want to tamper with that. And [India did not want to be seen by] the developing world as well as the Arab world or the Muslim world as such, as being too provocative in being close to Israel publicly.

But what changes with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that Modi looks at Israel and sees a country that’s proud of its military might and proud about its Jewish ethnic identity. Whereas, according to Hindu nationalists, India has been hesitant to assert its Hinduness and its strength and in Israel, they see a model to replicate.

But Modi too is not as risk-taking as we think he is. What he does is that before he builds his relationships, he goes and checks up with the Arab world. He goes to several Arab countries and checks up with them first and gets their tacit approval and then he goes to Tel Aviv and makes this grand entry [becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, in 2017]. I think that’s really important because it also shows the careful deliberation behind Indian foreign policy.

So is that where the book started?

[Growing up,] I travelled to India every other year or so and spent a lot of time in Bombay and parts of Gujarat with our family there. My understanding of India however changed when I was introduced to the story of Kashmir as a graduate student. And it surprised me that a country that spoke of itself as anti-colonial and was such an important player in the anti-apartheid movement, could be holding an entire population hostage in Kashmir. And so I was invariably drawn to find out more because at first I couldn’t believe it.

I also observed how a “new” India was beginning to take shape during my short stint as an exchange student at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2004. I also returned to JNU as a visiting research scholar to conduct economic research. When I travelled to Palestine some years later, I immediately saw similarities between the occupations as well as in the resilience of both peoples.

India has changed even more dramatically as it became a bigger economic power and a more assertive global player. And as someone who understands how the stories of Gandhi’s “non-violence” and Nehru’s “internationalism” and “Indian values” have been used for years (and continue to be used) as a way to disguise and justify their actions and convince the world that India is a “force of good”, I have felt a certain responsibility to speak and write honestly about it.

When Modi came to power, the mask fell off and India totally embraced Israel. And it made complete sense. So, I went back to try and understand how the Indian independence movement and then the Indian state actually felt about Palestine and Israel. And that’s how the book came about.

I guess there’s one last point: in 2019, India’s now-former consul-general in New York [Sandeep Chakravorty] said that India could follow Israel to build settlements. And that kind of sealed it for me. A month later I submitted my proposal.

One of the most significant stories on the subject is how Israel entered India’s public consciousness. Why did you decide not to write about it?

There are some gaps in the book and one of them is this. Another one is culture, because I think they’re linked.

That was marked as a chapter but the book was becoming too long. I had to cut 12,000 words already. The second reason was that for that chapter, I needed more fieldwork. But I will say that the culture thing is a major topic. I also think that a lot of what you are talking about, a lot of it is forced and exaggerated.

Part of that chapter was supposed to be talking about how Israelis have been travelling to India for several decades – somewhere I think in Himachal there’s a Little Israel. So that’s what I mean by fieldwork, I needed to see that stuff. Although in Kashmir, I have seen things like this in Ladakh, restaurants with Hebrew menus and all kinds of things. But I needed to get to the ground.

This mass sort of approval has not been explored on a public consciousness level. But I do suspect that it’s been forced. There’s some kind of troll army that’s pushing it and the mainstream corporate media is very much on board. Also, Israel has made a deliberate effort to encourage television and media, so this points to me that this is very much a state-driven project to create that impression.

I don’t know the extent to which the ordinary Indian on the street cares that much. And so that’s why I couldn’t write about it. It was only going to be based primarily on social media.

The book hasn’t been published in India. You said you suspect it has to do with the section on Kashmir and Palestine.

Every English-language Indian publisher has basically turned down partnering with Pluto on the book. I can’t speak for all of them, but the general consensus is that they didn’t want to touch it because they felt that they were going to be in trouble. And it was mostly on Kashmir. Although a Tamil publisher has bought the rights to translate and publish.

Source: scroll.in

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Hindutva Disinformation Machine: How India is Using the Israel-Palestine War to Spur Anti-Muslim Sentiment at Home

17th November 2023

Amidst the flood of unverified and misleading claims on the Israel-Palestine war, India has emerged as an unlikely leading source of disinformation. Hindu nationalists in general, and supporters and members of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in particular, are among the top online profiles spreading fake viral videos and deliberate false information fanning Islamophobia. The party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the forefront of an information war on social media actively working to co-opt anti-Palestine and pro-Israel narratives for domestic audiences. This rhetoric has also had offline consequences, with right-wing groups putting up posters declaring support for Israel and BJP members organising rallies for Israel. Some Hindutva supporters have even volunteered to enlist with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Modi, the first Indian premier to visit Tel Aviv, was among the first non-western leaders to come out in support of Israel and “strongly and unequivocally” condemn the Hamas attack on 7 October. Shortly after, the BJP shared a 3-minute clip on its official X account equating India and Israel as victims of Islamist terrorism. The video, which garnered around 4 million views, is laden with graphic images of terror attacks during the Congress Party rule in India. It blamed the opposition party for supporting terrorism and valorised the BJP’s strike on Pakistan to eliminate what it sees as state-sponsored terrorism.

Since then, there has been a surge in posts from pro-BJP accounts, pages and private WhatsApp groups perpetuating dangerous anti-Muslim rhetoric, expressing unconditional solidarity with Israeli strikes, and mocking Palestinian victims. Hashtags such as #IndiaStandsWithIsrael, #HindusWithIsrael, #Israel_under_attack, #IsraeliLivesMatter, #IsraelFightsTerror, #IsraelFightsBack, #HamasTerrorists, #HamasWarCrimes are commonly used to increase the virality of these posts. According to the fact-checking platform Logically, nearly 20% of the 1 million posts with hashtags #IsraelUnderAttack and #IStandWithIsrael came from India.

The viral misinformation included a fake account posing as an Al Jazeera journalist who claimed to have witnessed Hamas firing missiles on the Al Ahli hospital, as well as videos from a repurposed film set claiming that Palestinians are staging their injuries by putting on makeup and using dolls to depict dead children in Gaza (Figs. 1-3). Numerous posts contain recycled content, including outdated and irrelevant videos, photos, and manufactured claims, all of which have been discredited by fact-checkers who have provided additional context in the community notes on X. Yet, these posts continue to be widely shared and circulated on Indian social media, racking up millions of views. It is also clear that such tweets from some verified accounts that meet Twitter’s monetisation standards are shared for higher engagement to benefit from X’s new monetisation policy. To address this, Twitter has stopped payouts for content that has been fact-checked by community notes.

Damaging narratives are being based on disinformation and assertions that link the assault on Israel with crimes against Hindus, thereby inciting hatred toward the broader Indian Muslim community and cultivating an atmosphere of fear throughout the country.

Setting up Polarising Narratives

The strong show of support for Israel by the Hindu right wing is peculiar, given that the founders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the main Hindu nationalist organisation and ideological forefather of the BJP — were known to have a profound admiration for Hitler and took inspiration from Nazi Germany. The current generation of right-wing supporters holds Israel in high regard, likening it to a formidable force that valiantly defends its small state from aggressive Palestinian factions using significant military strength and its influential stance in global affairs. They applaud Israel’s forceful responses to Hamas, while the broader global community reacts with shock at the continuous onslaught of Gaza and ever-increasing civilian casualties.

Right-wingers, however, draw many similarities between Israel and India and, by extension, between Hindus and Jews. The ongoing war has given a fresh impetus to this view that both India and Israel are victims of Islamist terrorism and are united in the fight against it. Indian accounts are lapping up daily developments in the war to set up anti-Muslim narratives such as Palestine supporters are terror apologists; the Congress Party supports terrorism; the Islamic world wants to destroy India and Israel; Jews and Hindus are the most persecuted peoples and share the same DNA (Figs. 4-5).

These narratives, laced with hateful undertones, reinforce animosity against the Muslim community in India and serve as a fresh reminder to the Hindu majority that Muslims are the real enemy. They also reiterate the argument that the opposition Congress Party are terror apologists and the BJP is the only party that can save Hindus from existential threat. By highlighting the victimisation of Jews, Israel and its harsh military response to Palestinians, the online discourse seems to insinuate that the Indian government is, by comparison, more restrained, suggesting that it does not respond as harshly to Muslims labelled as ‘anti-national’. This type of messaging ultimately contributes to the normalisation of routine violence and persecution against Muslims, while also reinforcing the notion that despite the communal tensions, Muslims in India fare much better than Palestinians.

Kashmiri Jihad and the Exile of Hindu Pandits

A common thread that emerged in the posts on X and Facebook in early October as Israel escalated its attack on Gaza, linked Hamas’s brutality against Israelis to the atrocities meted out to Kashmiri Pandits from the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley in the 1990s. The BJP and its supporters have selectively and continually played the Kashmiri Pandit card to further anti-Muslim rhetoric and gain sympathy among Hindu voters.

In a tweet on 20 October, BJP leader Kapil Mishra stated that the atrocities committed by Hamas are “exactly what happened with Kashmiri Pandits in [the] 90s” and to millions during the Mughal era. Several other users on X shared gruesome photos of Pandit victims and questioned the silence of Indian Muslims who are now supporting Palestinians when the atrocities were taking place in Kashmir. In a similar tone, a YouTube video shared by digital creator RJ Raunac labels liberals as hypocrites for supporting Palestinians: “If these people were really backing the Palestinians because Jews evicted them from their homeland then they should have been the first to support the plight of Kashmiri Hindus,” he says in the clip, viewed over 1.89 million times.

Likewise, on Telegram, channels led by proponents of the Hindu right wing circulated posts claiming that jihadists subjected Israelis to torture and rape just like they did to Kashmiri Pandit women. They note that Indians should remain indifferent to Palestine, since it has consistently backed its Islamic ally, Pakistan, on the Kashmir issue rather than the oppressed Hindu minority of Kashmir. They argue that those who did not witness the atrocities in Kashmir now have a chance to see a similar scenario unfolding in Israel.

Islamists are Coming for Hindus

Drawing inspiration from the rhetoric on Kashmir, other messages within pro-BJP and right-wing groups on WhatsApp and Telegram advocated for the destruction of Gaza and proposed the adoption of a similar approach in Kashmir to eradicate terrorism. They labelled Indian liberals and Muslims who support Palestine as terrorist sympathisers, urging the government to apprehend them and implement strict anti-terrorism legislation.

A narrative widely circulated online posits that after Israel and the Jews, India and Hindus will be the subsequent targets of jihadist violence. The propagation of this story hinges on two images that have been repurposed to reflect the current context, aimed at those expressing sympathy for Palestine. The initial image is from a 2022 video featuring Palestinian Islamic cleric Nidhal Siam at the al-Aqsa Mosque, where he purportedly incites violence against “filthy Hindus”. This clip has been taken out of context and disseminated across various social media channels to portray Palestinians and their advocates as hostile towards Hindus. A notable Israeli user, Liza Rosen, re-shared the video to her 24,000 followers, tweeting, “First they attack Jews, then they will come for the Hindus” (Fig. 6). After urging Hindus to retweet her post, the clip gained further traction as other accounts echoed her sentiment.

The second piece of contentious content is a manufactured meme with Pakistani Islamic preacher Khalid Mehmood Abbasi, falsely showing him threatening to replicate in Kashmir what Hamas has done in Israel. This meme has been broadly circulated to convey the message that Indians must prepare to fight against Muslims. Both the old video and the doctored meme are being utilised to serve as a call to action for Hindus to brace for purported imminent Islamist assaults and to cast Muslims in the role of aggressors rather than victims.

Hindutva Nationalists Band Together with Far-Right Israeli Influencers

As Hindu nationalists have exploited international events to spread hatred against Muslims at home, there has been an overt reciprocation and acknowledgement of pro-Israel influencers around the world. The official account of the state of Israel and its envoy to India have personally thanked Indian usersfor showing unrelenting solidarity with Israel.

The ongoing war is perhaps the first major international crisis in which Indian and Israeli propaganda has fed into each other. Radical Hindutva supporters are amplifying disinformation from prevalent pro-Israel accounts like American columnist Ben Shapiro and far-right activist Amy Mek, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former aide, Hananya Naftali and his wife, journalist India Naftali. Similarly, pro-Israel accounts with large followings in the West are endorsing Indian right-wing handles sharing false information and cherry-picking incidents in India to spread Islamophobic sentiments.

Amy Mek, for instance, highlighted three recent events in India, varnishing them with disinformation and anti-Muslim propaganda. Her tweet falsely exposing Sharia patrols harassing Hindu women in a Kerala bus has been viewed 1.2 million times and reshared over 12,000 times, despite fact-checkers debunking the claim. The other two tweets using the dog whistle “AllahuAkhbar India” castigate Indian Muslims for rallying in support of Palestinians (Fig. 8). Naftali, referring to Palestine supporters as terrorists, also praised the police for detaining young students participating in a pro-Palestine demonstration in New Delhi.

Domestic Ramifications for Muslims

A blast on 29 October at a Jehovah’s Witness convention in Kerala which killed two and injured 45 devotees was quickly framed as a Hamas-inspired attack on the Jewish community (even though the targeted community is Christian). Prior to the prayer meeting, former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal had given a virtual speech at one of the largest Palestine solidarity rallies held in India by left-wing organisations. Top-ranking BJP ministers and right-wingers communalised the incident and called on voters to get rid of the Communist government, which they alleged was encouraging Islamist terrorism and extremism. These tweets continue to remain active on X, even as investigations found a Christian man – an ex-Jehovah’s Witness himself – to be the alleged perpetrator.

The BJP National President J P Nadda insinuated that the blast took place in lawless Kerala with the blessings of the state government. Whereas, IT minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar linked the blast to the state government’s (Muslim) minority appeasement politics which allowed Hamas terrorists to “spread hate & call for Jihad” in Kerala. National secretary and spokesman Anil Antony used the blast to appeal to people to vote for BJP using the hashtag #standupagainstterrorism, as it is the “only party in the state that can give the great people of Kerala safety.”

The conflict in Gaza has been co-opted by Hindu nationalists to stoke anti-Muslim sentiments within India, using manipulated media and charged rhetoric to draw parallels that suggest a looming threat from the Muslim community. The repurposing of content to equate local and international events has not only intensified existing communal divisions but has also raised serious concerns about the unchecked spread of hate speech on social media platforms. Platforms should strengthen their monitoring systems to identify and address misinformation and hate speech, particularly those that fuel Islamophobia and communal tensions. During such fast-moving crises, collaborating with civil society groups tracking the conflict locally can also help platforms better understand the nuances of the situation.

Source: research.org

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HC reserves order on plea seeking survey of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah premises

November 17, 2023

Prayagraj : The Allahabad High Court on Thursday reserved its order on an application seeking the appointment of a court-monitored advocate commissioner to survey the Shahi Eidgah premises, adjoining the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

The application was moved by the Hindu side in the pending suit that seeks the removal of Shahi Eidgah, claiming it was built on a Hindu temple.

After hearing both parties, Justice Mayank Kumar Jain reserved the order.

The application in suit number one, titled Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman Vs Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Board, was moved on behalf of plaintiffs, including the deity, for appointment of the court-monitored commissioner to inspect the “disputed” property.

“There is a pillar having a lotus-shaped top which is a classic characteristic of Hindu temples and the image of Sheshnaag (Hindu mythological serpent),” advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, the counsel for the plaintiffs, contended before the court.

The application further requested that a commission be appointed with specific directions to submit its report after conducting a survey within some stipulated time period.

The Muslim side opposed the application, with the Sunni Central Board contending that no order was required to be passed at this stage as their objection regarding the maintainability of the suit was pending. — IANS

Source: muslimmirror.com

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Tourist stopped from offering ‘namaz’ at Taj Mahal

November 17, 2023

Agra : A tourist hailing from West Bengal was restrained from performing ‘namaz’ in the garden of the Taj Mahal, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Saturday when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on duty observed the tourist laying out his prayer mat, which prompted intervention to prevent the religious ritual.

Senior conservation assistant for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Prince Vajpayee, said, “A video surfaced on Thursday and upon verification, it was confirmed that a tourist from West Bengal had unfurled his prayer mat in the Taj Mahal garden, preparing for ‘namaz’.

The Central Industrial Security Force personnel promptly intervened in the matter.

“The tourist was escorted to the control room, where he expressed ignorance about the prohibition on offering ‘namaz’ at the Taj Mahal. Subsequently, he submitted a written apology and was allowed to proceed with his visit. Prince Vajpayee clarified that the actual prayer was not performed, and the tourist complied with the regulations upon being informed. — IANS

Source: muslimmirror.com

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Jammu and Kashmir High Court grants bail to journalist Fahad Shah, overturns UAPA charges

November 18, 2023

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday granted bail to 35-year-old Fahad Shah, the editor of the news portal The Kashmir Walla. The court took the decision to quash charges including “abetting terrorism,” “waging war against the country,” and “promoting enmity” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Shah had been held in custody for a staggering 21 months under the Public Safety Act (PSA) after facing charges under the UAPA relating to the reporting and articles published by his portal since 2011.

A member of Fahad Shah’s legal team stated, “The court granted Mr. Shah bail. We expect his release soon.”

The court notably quashed charges under Section 18 (abetting the commission of a terrorist act), Section 121 (waging war), and Section 153-B (promoting enmity between different groups) of the UAPA. However, he will continue to face trial under Section 13 (inciting unlawful activity) of the UAPA and Sections 35 and 39 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), pertaining to receiving funds in violation of the law.

This development comes seven months after the J&K High Court had previously quashed Shah’s detention under the PSA, asserting that “the apprehension of an adverse impact on public order is a mere surmise of the detaining authority.”

Shah’s arrest dates back to February 2022, triggered by a report on his portal about an encounter in Pulwama. The police accused him of “uploading anti-national content, including photographs, videos, and posts with criminal intention to create fear among the public.”

While Shah has managed to secure bail in three cases, the PSA allows preventive detention for up to two years. His arrest had drawn widespread condemnation from journalists’ bodies both within and outside the country.

Source: muslimmirror.com

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Karnataka Police register FIR over social media post praising murder of Muslim family

18.11.23

Karnataka police have filed an FIR over a social media post that lauded a flight attendant accused of killing four members of a Muslim family, including his female colleague.

The Instagram post, from the handle “hindu_mantra”, extolled Praveen Arun Chougule, 39, who allegedly stabbed to death his colleague Aynaz, 21, her two siblings and their mother and left her grandmother injured.

The post carried an image of Chougule wearing a digitally created crown with the comment: “He killed 4 mushilm in 15 minutes world record.”

The Cyber Economic and Narcotics police station in Udupi district has started investigations to identify the person behind the post.

Udupi superintendent of police Arun K. told reporters that the police had registered the suomotu FIR under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act (computer-related offences).

Chougule had allegedly barged into Aynaz’s home on Sunday. When her mother Haseena, 46, siblings Afnan, 23, and Aseem, 12, and grandmother tried to protect her, Chougule allegedly stabbed all of them.

Chougule was arrested on murder charges from Belgaum on Tuesday. An Udupi court has remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

Police sources have said that Chougule possibly harboured unrequited love for Aynaz.

Encouraged by both chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar, the state police have been on a drive against hate speech.

Weeks after coming to power in May, the Congress government had formed an anti-communal wing in Mangalore, a coastal city in Dakshina Kannada district that has over the years become a communal hotspot, as has adjoining Udupi district.

As part of the crackdown, Dakshina Kannada police have served banishment notices on four Bajrang Dal activists.

On Thursday, the activists met former state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel, who later met the assistant commissioner of Puttur town to try and secure relief for the four youths.

“The Congress is playing hate politics by banishing Bajrang Dal workers under fake cases,” Kateel told reporters on Thursday.

But the police have also booked members of Right-wing Muslim groups on charges of carrying out hate campaigns.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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Mideast

Muslim worshippers blocked from prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque for 6th consecutive Friday

AbdelraoufArna'out

17.11.2023

For the sixth consecutive week, Israeli authorities imposed tight restrictions on Palestinians, banning them from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem for Friday prayers, leaving the mosque all but empty.

An official with the Waqf Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu that only around 4,000 Palestinians, most of them elderly, had managed to reach the venerated mosque to perform Friday prayers – down sharply from the usual 50,000.

The official, who asked not to be named, added that the mosque appeared to be empty due to strict Israeli control of the streets.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces have been heavily deployed across occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City and the entrances leading to the mosque.

Hundreds of Palestinians were forced to perform Friday prayers in the streets near the Old City area after being barred from entering the mosque itself.

The Israeli side gave no reasons for restricting Muslims’ access to Al-Aqsa for prayers.

Before the Israeli restrictions, at least 50,000 Palestinians used to perform the Friday prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque, particularly on the holy day of Friday.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank and East Jerusalem since fighting broke out on Oct. 7 between Palestinian groups and Israel in Gaza, killing over 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them women and children.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7 in addition to over 2,700 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Source: aa.com.tr

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Israel renews call for Gazans to flee key southern city

November 18, 2023

GAZA/JERUSALEM: Israel issued a fresh warning to Palestinians in the southern city of Khan Younis to relocate west out of the line of fire and closer to humanitarian aid, in the latest indication that it plans to attack Hamas in south Gaza after subduing the north.

“We’re asking people to relocate. I know it’s not easy for many of them, but we don’t want to see civilians caught up in the crossfire,” Mark Regev, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC on Friday.

Such a move could compel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from the Israeli assault on Gaza City to relocate again, along with residents of Khan Younis, worsening a dire humanitarian crisis.

Khan Younis has a population of more than 400,000.

Palestinians walk past the rubble of the al-Saqa Mosque, damaged during an Israeli strike, at Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 16, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (AFP)

Israel vowed to annihilate the Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 rampage into Israel in which its fighters killed 1,200 people and dragged 240 hostages into the enclave.

Since then, Israel has bombed much of Gaza City to rubble, ordered the depopulation of the entire northern half of the enclave and left homeless around two-thirds of the strip’s 2.3 million Palestinians.

Many of those who have fled fear their displacement could become permanent.

Gaza health authorities raised their death toll on Friday to more than 12,000 people, 5,000 of them children. The United Nations deems those figures credible, though they are now updated infrequently due to the difficulty of collecting information.

Israel dropped leaflets over eastern areas of Khan Younis telling people to evacuate to shelters, suggesting that military operations there are imminent.

Regev said that Israeli troops will have to advance into the city to oust Hamas fighters from underground tunnels and bunkers, but that no such “enormous infrastructure” exists in less built-up areas to the west.

“I’m pretty sure that they won’t have to move again” if they move west, he continued. “We’re asking them to move to an area where hopefully there will be tents and a field hospital.”

Because the western areas are closer to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, humanitarian aid could be brought in “as quickly as possible,” he said.

FUEL DELIVERIES

With the war entering its seventh week, there was no sign of any let-up despite international calls for a cease-fire or at least for humanitarian pauses.

“We have prepared ourselves for a long and sustained defense from all directions. The more time the occupation’s forces stay in Gaza, the heavier their continuous losses,” Abu Ubaida, Hamas armed wing spokesman, said in a video statement.

Fresh violence flared in the occupied West Bank, with at least 5 Palestinians killed and two injured in an Israeli strike on a building in the Balata refugee camp in the central city of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said early on Saturday.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Amid warnings that its siege would cause starvation and disease, Israel on Friday appeared to bow to international pressure, agreeing to allow fuel trucks into Gaza and promising “no limitation” on aid requested by the United Nations.

Israel said it would allow two truckloads of fuel a day at the request of Washington to help the United Nations meet basic needs, and spoke of plans to increase aid more broadly.

“We will increase the capacity of the humanitarian convoys and trucks as long as there is a need,” Col. Elad Goren, from COGAT, the ministry of defense agency that coordinates administrative issues with the Palestinians, told a briefing.

While Israel has promised to allow in aid in the past, the remarks appeared to signal a shift in tone after UN agencies warned that humanitarian conditions in Gaza were rapidly deteriorating, including a stark warning from the World Food Programme of the “immediate possibility of starvation.”

The White House said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was “glad” that Israel had agreed to the fuel deliveries and that they should “continue on a regular basis and in larger quantities.”

At Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa, Israel said its forces had found in two days of searching a vehicle with a large number of weapons and an underground structure it called a Hamas tunnel shaft.

The facility has been a primary target of Israel’s ground assault and a focus of international alarm over the deepening humanitarian crisis.

The army released a video it said showed a tunnel entrance in an outdoor area of the hospital, littered with concrete and wood rubble and sand. It appeared the area had been excavated. A bulldozer appeared in the background.

Israel has long maintained that the hospital sat above a vast underground bunker housing a Hamas command headquarters. Hospital staff say this is false and that Israel’s findings there have so far established no such thing.

Hamas denies using hospitals for military purposes. It says some hostages have received treatment at medical centers but they have not been held inside them.

BABY, HOSTAGE DIE

Al Shifa staff said a premature baby died at the hospital on Friday, the first baby to die there in the two days since Israeli forces entered. Three had died in the previous days while the hospital was surrounded.

Hamas also announced the death of a captive from Israel, an 85-year-old it said died of a panic attack during an air strike.

In Modiin, Israel, family held a funeral for Noa Marciano, 19, an Israeli army conscript whose body was recovered from Gaza City near Shifa hospital on Thursday. She had been abducted from a military base during the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught.

The military said it had also recovered the body of Yehudit Weiss, 65, a mother of five who was seized from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Russian news agencies quoted Russia’s Emergencies Ministry as saying 170 Russian citizens on Friday crossed from Gaza into Egypt, part of a group of some 200 people that made their way out.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israel killed 12,000 Palestinians, including 5,000 children, since October 7

17 November 2023

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza since October 7 has killed over 12,000 people so far, including 5,000 children, according to officials in Gaza.

Gaza’s government media office said on Friday there are also more than 30,000 injuries, 75 percent of which are women and children.

There are 3,750 missing persons, including 1,800 children who are still under the rubble, it said as the official death toll in Gaza had not been updated for days due to the collapse of the its health system.

The media office said at least 200 doctors, nurses, and paramedics have been killed, as well as at least 22 civil defense team members.

Also, at least 51 journalists and media representatives have been killed, the media office said.

Meanwhile, there was no sign of any let-up despite international calls for a ceasefire or at least for humanitarian pauses.

Israel's military, which has concentrated its assault on northern Gaza, said its troops and warplanes were keeping up pressure on Friday.

Media reports say fierce confrontations continue in northern Gaza, with the Israeli military trying to push from the western side of Gaza City towards the neighborhoods of Shujaiya and Zeitoun.

The health ministry in Gaza said that 24 patients have died in the past two days at Al-Shifa hospital due to power cuts, as Israeli forces keep blockading the medical facility.

"Twenty-four patients in different departments have died over the last 48 hours as vital medical equipment has stopped functioning because of the power outage," said ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.

Israeli forces have raided al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, amid a new communications blackout.

Israel attacked the hospital earlier this week, claiming Hamas has used the hospital and its area as a command center.

Hamas denies using hospitals for military purposes. It says some hostages have received treatment at medical centers but they have not been held inside them.

‘Starvation imminent in Gaza’

Israel has bombed much of Gaza to rubble, ordered the depopulation of the entire northern half of the strip and made around two-thirds of Gazans homeless.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), quoting Palestinian data, said Israeli attacks had destroyed or damaged at least 45% of Gaza's housing units.

International officials say a humanitarian crisis for the 2.3 million residents of Gaza is entering a new, more dire phase as the Israeli war continues.

A Palestinian UN official said on Friday people in Gaza were facing war on two fronts, one “with bombs and bullets” and the other “through the siege” on the Palestinian territory.

One of the wars is “The siege is killing people every hour. It has killed hundreds these last few days. It will kill thousands in the next few days,” Majed Bamya, the deputy permanent observer for the State of Palestine at the UN, said on social media.

“It is a criminal tool used to kill and displace and pressure in cold blood. It is inhumane, brutal, barbaric. Israel is holding 2.3 million Palestinians hostage. The only options it is giving them is leave this earth or leave this country.”

UN aid deliveries to Gaza were suspended on Friday due to shortages of fuel and a communications shutdown, deepening the misery of thousands of hungry and homeless Palestinians.

Friday marked the second consecutive day that no aid trucks arrived in Gaza due to a lack of fuel for distributing relief.

The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said civilians faced the "immediate possibility of starvation" due to the lack of food supplies.

The Iranian foreign minister warns against unavoidable spread of Israel

Nearly the entire Gazan population is in desperate need of food assistance, said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.

"With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation," she said in a statement.

A UN human rights official said Israel must allow water and fuel into Gaza to restart the water supply network otherwise people would die of thirst and disease. Israel's actions were a breach of international law, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo said.

The World Health Organization said it feared the spread of disease, including respiratory infections and diarrhea.

Source: presstv.ir

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Gaza cease-fire can save region from ring of fire, says Turkish President Erdogan

Muhammed EnesCalli

17.11.2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that if Türkiye and Germany jointly achieve a humanitarian cease-fire in the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, the region can be rescued from the ring of fire.

Speaking at the joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Erdogan said 13,000 Palestinians -- including children, women and elderly people -- have been killed so far in the war and almost all of Gaza has been destroyed due to Israel's attacks on the besieged enclave.

Hamas' attack against Israel on Oct. 7 is portrayed as a starting point, said Erdogan.

"The period after Oct. 7 is not discussed at all. Can the weaponry and strength of the Hamas be compared to the arsenal and power of Israel?" he asked.

The support that should be given to Palestine itself is also not provided, said the Turkish leader.

"Does Israel currently have nuclear weapons? Yes, but if you ask Israel, they won't admit it because they are very good at using lies.

"If our hands, arms and tongues remain tied, we cannot account before history. The Israeli-Palestinian war should not be judged using the psychology of indebtedness,” he said.

Reminding that places of worship, churches, and hospitals are being targeted in Gaza, Erdogan said the Torah does not allow the bombing of hospitals and the killing of children.

"It is against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But as seen here, how are these children being shot? How are they being killed in hospitals?" he said. "We didn’t put ourselves through something like the Holocaust. I made my stance on anti-Semitism as a prime minister."

Erdogan noted that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Israel soon and he will ask him to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.

He emphasized the significance of both countries' potential contributions to a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and highlighted the importance of taking steps in this regard.

“The hostages and captives have been in Israel's hands for many years. We need to see this as well. It would be unjust if we did not notice this," he said.

Türkiye has not condoned attacks targeting civilians since the beginning of the conflict, said Erdogan.

"Our common priority is to achieve a ceasefire and ensure the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid,” he said.

On Türkiye's humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Erdogan stressed that his country has sent 10 plane loads of humanitarian aid to Egypt.

A two-state solution based on the 1967 borders is now inevitable, he added.

"I believe that everyone should contribute to securing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East."

The Palestinian death toll from an ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip has surged past 12,000, the government media office in the besieged enclave said on Friday.

“The victims include more than 5,000 children and 3,300 women, while 30,000 others have been injured,” the media office said in a statement.

Black Sea grain deal

There is no distinction between Europe and Africa for Türkiye to implement the Black Sea grain deal, said Erdogan.

"Forty percent of the grain coming through the Black Sea grain deal went to Europe, 14% went to Africa and 14% came to us," he said. "There are demands from Africa, and Russia has decided to send a significant amount of grain and wheat, but there are issues. What is the issue?”

"As far as I remember, the grain is sent to Zimbabwe, but there is no milling stage there. I told this to our foreign minister tonight, and I said we can handle it. We can grind them in mills and send them there as flour.

"Currently, Russia plans to send grain from this corridor to four or five countries, and it will take steps. We will take the second step, converting them into flour. We had already taken a triple step as Russia-Türkiye-Qatar before, and we will carry out this work," he said.

Accession of Türkiye to EU

Türkiye has long-held justified expectations for updating the Customs Union and visa liberalization, said Erdogan.

"We value the contributions that Germany, one of the locomotive countries of the EU, will provide in this field," he said.

“Türkiye has been kept waiting at the EU's door for 52 years. We will discuss (with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier) visa process facilitation until visa liberalization is achieved," he said.

'For us, there should be no distinction between Jews, Christians and Muslims'

In response to a question from a German journalist, Erdogan said Türkiye engages with Ukraine and Russia without making any distinctions and transported 33 million tons of grain through the Black Sea grain deal to Europe and Africa.

Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians, destroyed hospitals, hitting places of worship and churches, he said.

"As a Muslim, this disturbs me. Do you. as a Christian, not feel disturbed by the destruction of these churches?" Erdogan asked the journalist. "Why do you not take a stance against these actions? Take a stance against these as well. For us, there should be no distinction between Jews, Christians, and Muslims."

"If a struggle against anti-Semitism has been waged, I was the first leader to engage in that struggle globally," he added.

On the defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and Germany, Erdogan said it is in the common interest of both sides to cooperate in the field to continue unhindered.

"Whether Germany gives or does not give on the Eurofighter -- is Germany the only country in the world that manufactures warplanes? We could work on it and supply them from many places," he said.

Following talks with German leaders, Erdogan left Berlin for Türkiye.

Source: aa.com.tr

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Israel must stop using water as a ‘weapon of war,’ UN expert warns

November 17, 2023

NEW YORK CITY: Israel must allow clean water and fuel supplies into Gaza “before it is too late,” a UN expert warned on Friday, as he called on Israeli authorities to stop using water as a “weapon of war.”

Under international law, intentionally depriving the civilian population of the conditions required to sustain life with the aim of bringing about their destruction is classified as an act of extermination and a crime against humanity, said Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.

“Every hour that passes with Israel preventing the provision of safe drinking water in the Gaza Strip, in brazen breach of international law, puts Gazans at risk of dying of thirst and diseases related to the lack of safe drinking water,” he said.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has said that the total exhaustion of fuel supplies in Gaza, and the resulting lack of power, is having devastating effects, including the complete breakdown of water supplies, sewage-management systems, sanitation services, communications networks and healthcare facilities.

“I want to remind Israel that consciously preventing supplies needed for safe water from entering the Gaza Strip violates both international humanitarian and human rights law,” Arrojo-Agudo said.

“The impact on public health and hygiene will be unimaginable and could result in more civilian deaths than the already colossal death toll from the bombardment of Gaza.”

He cautioned that children, especially those under the age of five, and women are suffering the most as a result of the water and sanitation emergency.

“These frequently invisible casualties of war are preventable and Israel must prevent them,” he said. “Israel must stop using water as a weapon of war.”

According to UNRWA, about 70 percent of Gazans are having to drink contaminated water or salt water to survive. Many water-related facilities throughout the besieged territory have ceased operating, including: two of the main public sewage-pumping stations in the south, plus several others; 60 wells in southern Gaza; two main desalination plants, in Rafah and the central Strip; and the Rafah wastewater treatment plant.

“People are already suffering from dehydration and waterborne diseases due to salinated and polluted water consumption from unsafe sources,” Arrojo-Agudo said.

“Coupled with the massive displacement of thousands of people in recent days, this is the perfect scenario for an epidemic that will only punish innocents, once again.”

UNRWA has warned that humanitarian operations will begin to collapse this week as a result of lack of fuel. It is required to power numerous facets of the aid effort, including desalination processes, electricity generation, healthcare equipment, and the trucks used to deliver the crucial aid that arrives at the Rafah border crossing to the people of Gaza.

“The deaths of children from thirst and disease are less visible and more silent than those caused by bombs but are equally, or more, lethal,” Arrojo-Agudo said, as he urged the international community to ensure that Israel meets its obligations under international law.

“The fate of Palestinians in Gaza is in Israel’s hands.”

Special rapporteurs are part of what is known as the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. They are independent experts who work on a voluntary basis, are not members of UN staff and are not paid for their work

Source: arabnews.com

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Iranian media condemn Israel's carnage in Gaza

Nov 18, 2023

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (MNA) – Some 700 Iranian media have condemned the "unprecedented" killing of civilians and reporters in Gaza by the Israeli regime since early October.

Some 700 Iranian news agencies, newspapers, news centers, and publications issued a statement on Friday, calling for an immediate end to the Tel Aviv regime's atrocities.

The Iranian media expressed their support for all freedom-seeking journalists across the world.

They slammed the martyrdom of 50 reporters in Gaza and the intentional targeting of their houses by the Israeli regime which has in several cases led to the killing of their family members.

The Iranian journalists offered their condolences to all freedom-seeking people in the world over the Israeli regime's genocide in Gaza.

They expressed hope that collective efforts would prevent the world from overlooking the Israeli regime's inhumane measures and lead to the return of the Palestinian lands to their true owners.

Israeli regime's criminal acts against Palestinians in Gaza have once again proved the "autocratic" nature of the fake regime and the brutality of its supporters, the statement read.

It emphasized that people in Gaza would achieve the final victory in their battle against the Israeli regime.

Tel Aviv waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for intensified Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

According to the Palestinian authorities, at least 11,500 Palestinians, including over 4,700 children and 3,155 women, have been killed and over 29,200 others injured in the Israeli strikes.

Source: mehrnews.com

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Fuel enters Gaza to restore phone links after two days without aid

November 17, 2023

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: A first consignment of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt late Friday after Israel agreed to a US request to allow limited deliveries to end a communications blackout that has halted aid convoys for two days.

UN agencies have spoken of an increasingly desperate situation for the 2.4 million Palestinians trapped inside the besieged enclave, which Israel has been pounding by land and air for the past six weeks.

The fuel delivery came as troops combed Gaza’s largest hospital in a search for the Hamas operations center that Israel says lies hidden in bunkers beneath.

Israel has vowed to “crush” Hamas in response to the group’s October 7 attack, when it broke through Gaza’s militarised border to kill about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and take about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The army’s air and ground campaign has killed 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, according to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

In response to a US request, Israel’s war cabinet unanimously agreed to “provide two tankers of fuel a day to run the wastewater treatment facilities... which are facing collapse due to the lack of electricity,” national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

“We took that decision to prevent the spread of epidemics. We don’t need epidemics that will harm civilians or our fighters,” he said.

A senior US official said Washington had exerted huge pressure on Israel for weeks to allow fuel in through the Rafah crossing from Egypt, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken making clear Israel needed to act immediately to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has repeatedly demanded assurances that any fuel delivered to Gaza will not be diverted by Hamas for military purposes.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said 70 percent of people have no access to clean water in south Gaza, where raw sewage had started to flow on the streets.

Under the deal, 140,000 liters (37,000 gallons) of fuel will be allowed in every 48 hours, of which 20,000 liters will be earmarked for generators to restore the phone network, the US official said.

A first consignment of some 17,000 liters (about 4,500 gallons) of fuel for telecommunications company Paltel passed through the Rafah crossing from Egypt late Friday, a Palestinian border official said.

It comes after aid trucks were unable to enter Gaza from Egypt for two straight days due to the near-total communications blackout, UNRWA said.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said fuel was “critical for the onward distribution of aid throughout Gaza, and for the functioning of vital services.”

He told the UN General Assembly that the fuel currently being provided to UNRWA to distribute aid was “welcome but is a fraction of what is needed to meet the minimum of our humanitarian responsibilities.”

As Israeli troops kept up their search operation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital Friday, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled enclave said that 24 patients had died in the space of 48 hours due to the lack of fuel for generators.

Hamas rejects an Israeli charge that it has a command center under the hospital, where thousands of people, including wounded patients and premature babies, are believed to be inside. The hospital also denies the claim.

“Twenty-four patients... have died over the last 48 hours as vital medical equipment has stopped functioning because of the power outage,” health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said.

Israel has defended its Al-Shifa operation, with the military saying it found rifles, ammunition, explosives and the entrance to a tunnel shaft at the hospital complex.

Its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, alleged hostages may even have been held at the medical facility.

“We had strong indications that they were held in the Shifa Hospital, which is one of the reasons we entered the hospital,” he told “CBS Evening News.”

“If they were, they were taken out,” he said.

Israel said its forces were searching Al-Shifa “one building at a time.”

The military also said troops had recovered the remains of kidnapped woman soldier Noa Marciano, 19, “from a structure adjacent to Al-Shifa hospital.”

On Thursday, the army said soldiers near Al-Shifa found the body of another hostage. Yehudit Weiss, 65, had been kidnapped from the kibbutz community of Beeri.

Israel has come under increasing pressure to back up its allegations that Hamas is using hospitals as command centers.

The United States has stood behind its ally, however, with President Joe Biden this week saying he had asked Israel to be “incredibly careful” in its military moves around Gaza hospitals.

More than half of Gaza’s hospitals are no longer functional due to combat, damage or shortages, and Israel’s raid on Al-Shifa left extensive damage to the radiology, burns and dialysis units, Hamas said.

AFPTV video showed Palestinian children waiting in ambulances at Deir Al-Balah for evacuation to the United Arab Emirates via the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

“In the beginning they told (us) she would be martyred. She has fractures in her skull, pelvis and the thigh,” said Adam Al-Madhoun, father of four-year-old Kenza who already had her right hand amputated after an attack on the Jabalia refugee camp.

Conditions for Palestinian civilians are rapidly deteriorating, the UN warned.

More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced, and Israel’s blockade of the territory means “civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation,” World Food Programme head Cindy McCain said.

Israel’s ground operation has so far focused on north Gaza, where it has announced the seizure of key buildings and a port. It says 51 of its troops have been killed.

Alongside the war in Gaza, there is growing concern about violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have surged.

Raids by Israel’s military, which says it is responding to “a significant rise in terrorist attacks,” have also multiplied and the Palestinian death toll has soared.

The Israeli army said on Friday it had killed at least seven militants in two separate confrontations in the West Bank.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to take “urgent” action to “de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence,” the State Department said.

Source: arabnews.com

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Hamas' military wing: Israeli enemy searching for 'mirage' at Shifa Hospital

17 November 2023

The military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has said that the Israeli regime was searching in vain at al-Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, which the regime claims houses a Hamas' "command center."

The regime has attacked the hospital, trapping thousands of patients, premature babies, staff, and displaced people, who have fled there from an October 7-present Israeli war on the besieged coastal sliver.

Israeli forces have raided al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, amid a new communications blackout.

Speaking on Friday, Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, roundly rejected Tel Aviv's claims about the complex, saying, "What [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is looking for at al-Shifa is risible."

He termed the Israeli operation targeting the hospital as a "search for a mirage."

Osama Hamdan, Hamas' senior representative in Lebanon, debunked the regime's allegation concerning the facility by presenting damning footage during a presentation in Beirut on Thursday.

Hamas disproves Israeli allegation about the resistance movement

The footage showed that the regime had been funneling weapons that it had seized across various places during the war into the hospital, before claiming that it had found them inside the facility. Playing the footage, Hamdan showed that the regime's forces had been taking the weapons into the facility inside cardboard boxes bearing the label of food aid.

Abu Ubaida called Israel's invasion of the hospital a "[source of] ignominy for the international establishment."

Resistance ready for 'drawn-out defense'

Addressing the issue of the ongoing war, which has so far killed upwards of 12,000 Palestinians, the spokesman said, "We have prepared ourselves for a drawn-out defense."

He expressed certainty that the Gaza-based resistance movements would "force the enemy into beating a retreat across many fronts."

Abu Ubaida, meanwhile, asserted that the death toll imposed by the resistance on the Israeli military so far during the war "is way higher than what the enemy expects."

Source: presstv.ir

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Aid deliveries to Gaza stopped due to fuel shortage and shutdown of communications

18.11.23

UN aid deliveries to Gaza were suspended again on Friday due to shortages of fuel and a communications shutdown, deepening the misery of thousands of hungry and homeless Palestinians as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in the enclave.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said civilians faced the “immediate possibility of starvation” because of the lack of food supplies.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said a number of Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli strike that hit a group of displaced people near the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt - the transit point for aid.

Al Jazeera TV cited sources as saying that nine people were killed in the strike. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the reported strike and Reuters could not verify it.

The UN said there would be no cross-border aid operation on Friday because of fuel shortages and a communication shutdown. For a second consecutive day on Thursday, no aid trucks arrived in Gaza because of a lack of fuel for distributing relief.

WFP executive director Cindy McCain said nearly the entire population was in desperate need of food assistance.

“Supplies of food and water are practically non-existent in Gaza and only a fraction of what is needed is arriving through the borders,” she said in a statement.

“With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation,” McCain said.

The Israeli military’s chief of staff said Israel was close to destroying Hamas’ military system in the northern Gaza Strip and there were signs the army was taking its campaign to other parts of the coastal enclave of 2.3 million people.

Israel accused Hamas of preventing people from heading to the south of the Gaza Strip, which the militant group denied.

The army released a video it said showed a tunnel entrance in an outdoor area of Al Shifa, Gaza’s biggest hospital.

The video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed a deep hole in the ground, littered with and surrounded by concrete and wood rubble and sand. It appeared the area had been excavated.

The army said its troops also found a car containing weapons. Reuters journalists have been unable to reach anyone inside Shifa Hospital for more than 24 hours.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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North America

Protesters in Washington, Michigan call for Gaza ceasefire

18 November 2023

Dozens of protesters gathered in Washington DC, on Friday, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, where thousands have been killed by Israel since early October.

Protesters met in front of Union Station, chanting slogans, carrying banners, and calling on the US government to stop economic aid to Israel.

US President Joe Biden and his administration are under increasing pressure for their stance on the war and unconditional support for Israel.

A similar rally was held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where pro-Palestinian protesters chanted slogans and waved flags during the demonstration.

Protesters gathered at Ruthven Hall, where the office of the University's president, Santa Ono, is located and chanted, "Ono, Ono, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide."

Local media reported that a smaller group of protesters demanded to speak with Ono, while they were escorted out by police.

Source: presstv.ir

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A rabbi and an imam called a meeting of Jewish and Muslim students at Queens College

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

Students crammed into a meeting room on the leafy Queens College campus, some wearing keffiyehs, others kippahs. Kosher and halal food were served on a table at the back of the room, while late arrivals gathered at the door, listening to the rabbi and imam holding court at the center of the gathering.

“There are no two faith communities that have more in common than Islam and Judaism,” Rabbi Marc Schneier said, sitting next to his longtime partner in interfaith work, Imam Shamsi Ali. “We can agree to disagree, without being disagreeable.”

The meeting between the Muslim and Jewish students was meant to build bridges between the two groups amid fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7. But, in actuality, the gathering further exposed the deep chasms between their two communities, which did disagree — and were often disagreeable.

As the conversation on Thursday descended into shouting, a Jewish student fired across the room, “October 7 is resistance?”

A Muslim student said, “Yes, October 7 is resistance, according to the Geneva Convention.”

“At least someone said it,” the Jewish student said.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has riven campuses in New York City and elsewhere, sparking heated clashes between student groups, as well as between students and administrators. An Israeli student was assaulted and a swastika was drawn on a bathroom wall at Columbia University, which later suspended two prominent pro-Palestinian groups. At Manhattan’s Cooper Union, Jewish students sheltered in a library as pro-Palestinian activists pounded on the doors and shouted slogans. Campuses across the city, including in the CUNY system, have seen tensions soar between rival pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups.

Finding connections amongst the animosity

The Queens College gathering was similarly tense. At times, it devolved into shouting and mutual recriminations, although some individual students did appear to forge ties with classmates from the other side.

The New York Jewish Week was invited to cover the meeting on the condition that its student attendees not be identified by name so they could speak freely.

“Israelis are doing, in my opinion, what the Nazis did to them,” said the opening speaker, a Muslim. “This is how you create Hamas. If you want to know how to create Hamas, just keep bombing Gaza.”

“In my eyes as a Muslim, Palestinian and Israeli life – equal,” he said. “We have to be direct with each other.”

A Jewish student said, “A lot of our pain and suffering has been invalidated since October 7. Right away, there was not a second to mourn. Automatically we had to defend ourselves.”

Citing student organizations on social media that had denied the atrocities, she said, “People were slaughtered. The world doesn’t care.”

She added, “I want to see my pain acknowledged.”

Queens College is part of the sprawling City University of New York system, which has been grappling with allegations of antisemitism for years. Jewish students and faculty have said Israel criticism often spills over into outright antisemitism, while Palestinians and their supporters have decried alleged attacks on free speech.

Around 50 students attended the hourlong meeting, perhaps the first formal gathering between Jewish and Muslim students on a New York City campus since October 7, according to its organizers. Schneier and Ali previously held two meetings for students from several CUNY schools, one with only Muslims, and another with just Jewish students. They plan to hold several more gatherings.

“We are not here to convince you, whatever you have in mind, but we’re here to listen with the hope that we can build a sense of sympathy or empathy for one another,” Ali said.

Schneier is a prominent rabbi involved with outreach between Jews and Gulf countries; his Foundation for Ethnic Understanding focuses on Jewish-Muslim relations. He is also a member of CUNY’s Jewish advisory council. Ali is the leader of the Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens, one of the largest mosques in New York, with 20,000 members.

The students present included members of the campus Hillel and the Muslim Student Association. Muslim students outnumbered Jewish students at the meeting and held the floor for more of the discussion, using the forum to air historical grievances and complaints against the college administration. Jewish students said their pain after the Hamas attack had been dismissed, or even exacerbated, as some student groups denied or endorsed the atrocities.

One Jewish student read out a threat posted online to the group, her hands shaking, saying, “We were terrified.” Both groups also felt that their voices had been stifled.

A Jewish student said that graffiti threatening Jews had been etched around campus and that she hadn’t seen similar hate directed toward pro-Palestinian students. The Muslim students in attendance forcefully disagreed, with one woman saying, “It’s absolutely appalling to disregard all the hate that the Muslims on this campus have been receiving.”

The Jewish speaker said she understood and had not been aware of anti-Muslim incidents.

The rabbi and imam made repeated efforts to guide the conversation toward interfaith relations and the atmosphere on campus, and the students all unequivocally condemned discrimination against Muslims and Jews as well as civilian casualties. At one point, Ali said, “Both communities are victims, but it looks like we are opponents to each other, and that’s what we need — to find a way to make sure that actually we are not enemies to one another.”

Still, the discussion repeatedly turned to the war, with the students unable to agree on its basic facts. Muslim students disputed that Hamas was using civilians as human shields, frustrating the Jews in attendance, or that Hamas had targeted Israeli civilians on October 7, citing a conspiracy theory that the Israeli military was responsible for most civilian casualties.

The Muslim students repeatedly objected to the pro-Israel position, bringing up the Palestinian death toll of 12,000, a figure provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry that has not been externally verified and does not make a distinction between civilians and combatants.

In one heated exchange, a Muslim student said she had asked Israel supporters around campus if they condemned Israel. “I have not received a single yes,” she said. Pro-Israel students asked if she condemned Hamas, and she said she condemned the killing of innocent civilians on any side. Both groups said they were not “spokespeople” for the conflict’s combatants.

“What they accuse Hamas of doing today, they did — they’ve been doing for 75 years,” a Muslim student said. “The start date for you guys is October 7,” another student said.

“A people who are occupied have a right to armed resistance. I know you don’t like hearing it but those are the facts,” a Muslim student said.

“People like you think they should lay back and let Israel slaughter them. No, we don’t want two states, we want one solution under pre-1948 borders,” he said, to applause, while one student held up a sign that said, “Bombing hospitals is not self defense.”

“We are trying to move forward as a community. We cannot fix the issues that present themselves in the Middle East,” a Jewish student said.

“It tears my heart hearing his pain, his family’s pain, it’s just awful,” a Jewish student said about the Palestinian speaker. “I think it would be great for us all to understand that there are bad people on both sides and there are great people on both sides.”

Later in the discussion, several Muslim students berated Ali, appearing to oppose his partnership with Schneier.

“Who told you to come here? Which Muslim? How much did they pay you?” one student said. “Say you’re a Zionist. You’re not welcome. Nobody wants you here.” He then led the room in several chants of “Allahuakbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is the greatest.”

The Muslim students also repeatedly criticized the Queens College administration, saying the college had been overly supportive of Israel and that they had not been given a forum to express their grievances. The college president, Frank Wu, opened an investigation earlier this week into the Muslim Student Association after the group posted online that there was no evidence Palestinians had killed women and children, and justified Hamas taking civilians hostage.

The October 7 attack by the terror group killed 1,200 Israelis and other nationals, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 others captive. Wu’s investigation sparked furious protests against the administration. Slogans attacking Wu and Israel were chalked on the sidewalk around campus.

“We’re not here representing CUNY. What do you want from us?” Schneier said.

After the meeting let out, the arguing continued outside the room, although some students seemed to forge connections in individual discussions.

A Muslim student spoke with a Jewish student, saying he had grown up in an environment that was not welcoming to Jews, but that his closest friend, whom he met in school, was Jewish. The two students bonded over the religions’ shared traditions, including fasting on holidays and eschewing pork.

“This is turning into a very Israel and Palestine thing, which it shouldn’t have, because it was an interfaith thing,” the Muslim student said. “It really hurts me a lot hearing terrible things being said about you guys because I for one don’t align with that.”

“I’m really happy that you came here,” the Jewish student said. “Jews, our religion, our values, it’s about a good world, good people, not doing violence. Everyone’s rights matter.”

Nearby, two students engaged in a heated but measured argument about the war, while two others showed each other information on their phones.

“I thought it was a good beginning,” Schneier told the New York Jewish Week after the meeting, pointing out that the complaints surrounding discrimination and stifled voices were mirrored on both sides. He said that an overflow room had been set up in case the two groups needed to be separated, which didn’t happen. “You’re planting a seed here,” he said.

“For some of the students, they grow in terms of their sense of empathy for the other side. It’s important for people to see it’s everyone’s pain,” Schneier said. “These kinds of discussions need to take place.”

Source: jpost.com

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Columbia, Cornell, others investigated for antisemitism and Islamophobia

Nov 18, 2023

WASHINGTON: The federal government has opened civil rights investigations into seven schools and universities over allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

The list includes three Ivy League institutions - Columbia, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania - along with Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. It also includes one K-12 system, the Maize Unified School District in Kansas.

The education department announced the inquiries on Thursday, calling it part of the Biden administration's effort to take "aggressive action" against discrimination. Schools found to have violated civil rights law can face penalties up to a total loss of federal money, although the vast majority of cases end in voluntary settlements. Schools have a legal duty to act "when students are targeted because they are - or are perceived to be - Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry," education secretary Miguel Cardona said.

Five of the investigations are in response to allegations of antisemitic harassment, while two are in response to allegations of anti-Muslim harassment, the department said. The agency did not disclose which schools faced which accusations. Most schools either declined to speak on the investigations or did not respond to requests for comment.

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Elon Musk under fire for supporting Palestine

17 November 2023

Elon Musk has come under fire once again for supporting Palestine.

The globally recognized American tech entrepreneur who owns the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside Space X and Tesla, is being criticized for endorsing credible news linked to Israel amid its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip that began on October 7.

Musk came under fire for agreeing with a post that claimed Jewish people were pushing “hatred against whites.”

The owner of X had responded to an anti-Semitic posting, endorsing it as “the actual truth.”

The initial tweet posted by @breakingbaht on November 15 read, “Jewish communties [sic] have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”

Musk responded the same evening, “You have said the actual truth.” In another reply, he wrote, “I am deeply offended by ADL’s messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind.” Musk has feuded with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) before, threatening to sue over its accounting of hate speech on his social media network.

The ADL has been engaged in verbal attacks on Musk in recent weeks on social media.

The US-based pro-Israel lobby group, the Anti-Defamation League, is again in the news for riding the bogey of anti-semitism, and this time it has taken on social media mogul Elon Musk.

The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, decried Musk’s endorsement of the anti-Semitic conspiracy. He wrote, “At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories. #NeverIsNow.”

Musk continued the thread on Thursday morning by approving an X post by a Dutch conservative commentator reading, “Everyone is allowed to be proud of their race, except for white people, because we’ve been brainwashed into believing that our history was some how ‘worse’ than other races. This false narrative must die.”

Musk wrote, “Yeah, this is super messed up. Time for this nonsense to end and shame ANYONE who perpetuates these lies!”

Musk’s response evoked immediate and strong backlash, some condemning him for his “white supremacist conspiracy theory” while some showed anti-Semitic support for him.

Meanwhile, the ADL is said to be working in a coordinated manner with dozens of Zionist groups against Musk.

In their attacks on Musk, the ADL and ally organizations claim the billionaire is doing nothing to prevent the “epidemic of hate speech” on his platform.

Speaking to CNN on November 15, Greenblatt said the ADL has seen a surge in threats since Musk took over Twitter, linking it to anti-Semitism. “What starts online often ends up on the ground,” Greenblatt stated, referring to how the #BanTheADL hashtag jumped from X to actual protesters in recent days.

Musk came up with a telling image of the ADL which read, “Drop the anti, just defamation league, It’s cleaner.”

Meanwhile, an essay titled “Elon Musk’s Disturbing ‘Truth’” published in The Atlantic has lambasted Musk.

The watchdog publication Media Matters headlined its story on the topic “Elon Musk lights his tiki torch,” in reference to the infamous 2017 march by white supremacists at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Late on Thursday, X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino posted a message that did not name Musk but seemed to respond to the controversy.

Yaccarino insisted that “discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board.” She also said X had been combating anti-Semitism and discrimination, and that both had no place in the world.

“X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board,” she tweeted on Thursday. “When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world.”

Her tweet was met with a deluge of replies pointing out that the platform’s owner — her boss — has done as much as anyone to amplify white nationalist ideology online.

Meanwhile, the Verge reported that Musk had also engaged with other posts supporting anti-Semitism and white pride.

Media Matters reported this week that tech companies such as Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity had their ads placed near anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi content on X social network platform.

Later, IBM confirmed the firm had suspended advertising on X while it investigates the issue.

Meta informed Jill Stein on Wednesday that no one could see or find her account, and she cannot use it.

In response to the reports, Musk described Media Matters as “an evil organization.”

Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and promised greater freedom of speech compared to when the platform implemented policies as draconian as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The company came under pressure from the Israel lobby to reinstate rigorous censorship measures against criticism of the regime and its Zionist ideology. After the company refused to accept the diktats, the lobby launched a massive smear campaign against Musk.

Source: presstv.ir

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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/11/17/714775/Elon-Musk-Palestine

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Dear Americans Defending

Bin Laden: He’d Still Want To Kill You

November 17, 2023

GAGE KLIPPER

It should come as no surprise that lefties on TikTok are cheering for Osama bin Laden’s infamous “Letter to America.” More surprising is that parts of bin Laden’s critique of America resonates with conservatives as well. But anyone who defends any one part of bin Laden’s critique is missing his larger point. No matter how much you agree with him on America’s many ills, bin Laden would still kill you for one very simple reason.

Thousands of users took to TikTok this week to post their reaction to bin Laden’s letter, where he explains why he attacked the United States on 9/11. The videos come from people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds, but appear mostly to come from younger generations. The reaction, however, is all largely the same: bin Laden opened their eyes to the realities of geopolitics, and they will never be the same again. In the context of the current Hamas-Israeli War, they have come to understand how one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

This is exactly the point that the 2002 letter – scrubbed from the internet after its viral re-emergence – sought to make. In the letter, bin Laden addresses two questions:

“(Q1)Why are we fighting and opposing you?”

“(Q2)What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?”

Q1 lays out a list of grievances against America’s supposed oppression of the Muslim world. He critiques American support for Israel for causing the “oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation” of the Palestinian people. He argues that Muslims are the “original Semites” and that historical Jewish claims to the land are “fabricated lies.” He indicts the oil trade as the “biggest theft ever witnessed by mankind in the history of the world,” and claims that U.S. military bases “corrupt our lands” and “besiege our sanctities.” All Western exploitation is said to occur under American “supervision, consent and orders.” Against such a great evil, resistance is both necessary and righteous.

“It is commanded by our religion and intellect that the oppressed have a right to return the aggression,” he argues, even against “innocent” civilians. The American people “choose their government,” “pay the taxes,” and fight in the army that oppresses the Muslim world – no one is innocent.

Twenty years ago, this may have been shocking. Now, it just sounds like the average $50,000 a year college education. It’s no surprise that a generation raised on this relativistic bile would revel in finding it in its natural habitat. Like bin Laden, America’s so-called marginalized communities seek retribution for the “taste of humiliation” that an oppressive American system is said to have inflicted on them.

Yet it is the answer to Q2 that disconcertingly resonates with many conservative critiques of America.

“We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling’s, and trading with interest,” he argues. “We call you to all of this that you may be freed from that which you have become caught up in; that you may be freed from the deceptive lies that you are a great nation, that your leaders spread amongst you to conceal from you the despicable state to which you have reached.” He even evokes the Founding Fathers: this is “precisely what Benjamin Franklin warned you against.”

In other words, a decadent, liberal elite is responsible for all that’s wrong in America. Is this the world’s most infamous terrorist talking, or a conservative talk radio host?

Interestingly, liberals and conservatives can both evoke bin Laden “They hate us because of your jingoistic imperialism,” a liberal can shriek. “No,” a conservative can reply, “they hate us because of your decadent individualism.” Both are true, to an extent, but are symptoms of a large disease. Radical Islamists hate us because we are not like them: “The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam,” bin Laden writes.

He does not just want for America to leave the Muslim World alone; even an active push for “decolonization” is not enough. Rather, he wants a “complete submission” to Islam and “the discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict” it. The Queers for Palestine would be treated the same as American military generals under the global Caliphate.

Neither does he wish to see the American moral revival that conservatives have long pined for. He is not against the excesses of liberal individualism that leads to 50 percent divorce rates and child drag shows. Rather, he opposes even the Founding iteration of liberalism, that enshrines religious tolerance and where the concept of individualism is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is this very tolerance and individualism that he opposes. Even the most morally upright Western is still an infidel. (RELATED: Social Media Giants Crack Down On Viral Osama Bin Laden Letter Justifying 9/11 Attacks)

No matter how based or woke you are, bin Laden would still want to kill you. He is on a religious crusade, and his critique of America cannot be separated from his underlying Islamic supremacism – the same mentality that is alive and well among Hamas terrorists.

That brings us to the last bad actor in this story: the tech censors who want to make it appear as though the letter never existed. Scrubbing it from the internet, whether it’s the Guardian taking down their archival copy or TikTok banning the video responses, is wrong. Yes, the letter expresses great evil, but it is a piece of history that must be understood. If we view our enemies as one dimensionally evil, unworthy of closer examination, we make ourselves feel good but give them the upper hand by underestimating the complexity of their motivations. At a time when Islamic extremism is once again surging around the world, that’s no longer a luxury we can afford.

Source: dailycaller.com

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https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/17/osama-bin-laden-letter/

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Inola church hands out 480 turkeys; donated by Islamic Relief USA

Nov 17, 2023

INOLA — 480 more families will now have a Thanksgiving turkey, thanks to Islamic Relief USA.

The turkeys were handed out at Inola's Unity Temple Family Church's monthly food pantry on Friday.

JoAnn Matthews, one of the many waiting in line at the church, said food insecurity is an issue in Inola. "This whole area, people are down. You know. It's hard. It's hard to make a living," she said.

The church's pastors, Arnetta Cotton and her husband Earrak Cotton, aim to address this need in the community by collaborating with Islamic Relief USA.

Arnetta described their partnership: "They are a division of the USDA. We met with them in Washington D.C. about five years ago, and explained to them what we were doing in this community, and where we were located in rural northeast Oklahoma," said Arnetta. "We needed help, you know, because we wanted to serve people."

Another beneficiary, Rowena Beach, expressed her gratitude, noting the impact of this assistance on her family's Thanksgiving plans. "It's gonna be well. I'll probably just get a little ham from somewhere. A small ham then have the turkey, so that's good," she shared.

Highlighting a sense of community, Arnetta spoke about the family atmosphere between volunteers and beneficiaries at the church. "We're thankful. We cry together and we laugh together and we love together and we support one another," said Arnetta. See how many volunteers? Different ethnicities, different age groups," she said.

United Temple Family Church is hosting a community-wide Thanksgiving service & dinner on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Source: kjrh.com

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https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/inola-church-hands-out-480-turkeys-donated-by-islamic-relief-usa

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Man shot outside mosque while selling Islamic goods in Rhode Island, police say

November 17, 2023

(CNN) — A 52-year-old man was shot outside a mosque while selling goods in Providence on Friday, according to Rhode Island officials.

Patricia Socarras, the city’s director of communications, told CNN the shooting happened at the Islamic Center of Rhode Island. She added the victim appeared to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was immediately transported from the scene.

Col. Oscar L. Perez, the police chief in Providence, told reporters during a news conference police received a call at 11:22 a.m. about the shooting.

The victim was at a table selling Islamic goods and at some point began folding some of the items when he was shot in the buttocks, according to Perez.

“We would hold those accountable that think that they can come to the city and commit violent crime in our city,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”

Law enforcement authorities will provide security at the mosque to ensure everyone is safe, Perez added.

Socarras said the search for the suspect is ongoing and no one is in custody. A motive for the shooting is still under investigation, authorities said.

The Islamic Center of Rhode Island’s Imam, Abdul-Latif Sackor, said the center has video footage of a man waiting across the street for 20 minutes prior to the shooting, according to CNN affiliate WJAR.

Sackor said he feels the center was targeted and hopes police find out more information throughout the investigation.

The center has turned over the video to police and noted the person was standing across from the center before its scheduled 11:30 a.m. prayer service, Sackor said.

Providence police confirmed to CNN they have received the video from the center and are investigating the motive of the shooting, and whether the suspect shot the man because he had a vendetta or for some other reason.

“We’ve been here for years and we haven’t had this type of issue,” Sackor said, according to WJAR. “We’ll try to get protection from the police and we’ll try to protect ourselves, that’s all we can do.”

Source: edition.cnn.com

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https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/17/us/providence-rhode-island-mosque-shooting/index.html

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CAIR Urges Revocation of Israel’s Visa Waiver Program Status Over Palestinian American Travel Restrictions

Ismail Allison

November 17, 2023

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/17/23) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for an immediate formal review and revocation of Israel’s participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This call comes in response to widespread reports that Israel is blocking Palestinian Americans from entering the country from the West Bank, despite a recent agreement that allows citizens from both countries to travel visa-free.

In July, the Homeland Security Department agreed to include Israel in the U.S. government’s visa waiver program when the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU). The VWP allows citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

In a statement, CAIR National Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:

“The unimpeded movement of Americans in Israel is paramount under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, particularly during periods of instability. Restrictions on such travel would jeopardize the safety of Americans traveling in Israel.

Israel’s participation in the visa waiver program should be reconsidered and revoked due to clear violations of the program’s terms and the mistreatment of Palestinian American citizens. It is crucial that the U.S. government to take decisive action against Israel’s ongoing inclusion in the visa waiver program.”

In September, CAIR joined civil society organizations representing tens of thousands of Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and allied communities in expressing deep concern an outrage regarding the United States’ decision to admit Israel into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program despite Israel not fully meeting the requirements outlined by the law.

In August, an American Muslim from New York who uses the moniker SQ faced discriminatory, abusive, and traumatic treatment that Israeli government agents at Ben Gurion Airport perpetrated against him during the ongoing U.S. visa waiver trial period.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertadesciviles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanesen los Estados Unidos.

Source: cair.com

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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-urges-revocation-of-israels-visa-waiver-program-status-over-palestinian-american-travel-restrictions/

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Southeast Asia

Proposed changes to law will allow Muslims to solemnise marriages online

NOV 17, 2023

SINGAPORE – Muslim couples will no longer require the signatures of a solemniser and witnesses to get married, as part of efforts to take Muslim marriages online under proposed changes to the law.

The changes also include the introduction of digital certificates of marriage, and will be part of the new process for Muslim marriages.

Members of the public can give feedback on the proposed changes to the Administration of Muslim Law till Nov 30, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said in a statement on Nov 17.

The changes are largely aimed at updating rules governing the way statutory Muslim institutions operate.

The institutions are the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), the Syariah Court and the Registry of Muslim Marriages.

Another proposed change will be to define Muslim religious schools more clearly and allow Muis to better administer all such schools in Singapore, including online and physical classes. It will also better enable Muis to take action against unregistered Muslim religious schools.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Muis found there were schools or individuals not registered with Muis who were conducting online religious classes.

Details of the proposed changes to the rules can be found on the Reach website at https://go.gov.sg/amla-consult, and the public have until 6pm on Nov 30 to give feedback.

The statement said: “The Government, in consultation with community partners and stakeholders, regularly reviews the Act to ensure that this legislation stays up to date with new programmes and processes, and serves the needs of our Muslim community.

“MCCY will review all comments submitted during the consultation and refine the amendments where appropriate.”

A summary of MCCY responses to the main comments will be published on the Reach website after the consultation period ends.

Source: straitstimes.com

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/proposed-changes-to-administration-of-muslim-law-to-allow-muslims-to-solemnise-marriages-online

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‘Anwar has never called Hamas a terrorist organisation’

18 Nov 2023

SAN FRANCISCO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has never made any remark categorising Hamas as a terrorist organisation, says Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

“What recent remark? He never said that, not even in Parliament.

“This is insinuating (something) he has never insinuated. We condemn all acts of terrorism,” Fahmi, who is also the unity government spokesman, told the Malaysian media when asked about an allegation by the Concerned Lawyers for Justice (CLJ).

In a statement, CLJ claimed that Anwar has insinuated that Hamas is a terrorist organisation and it expressed its disappointment at this.

“We call upon Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to carefully consider the implications of his statements and to approach the matter with a balanced and informed perspective,” said the CLJ.

Fahmi is in San Francisco as part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s delegation to the 30th Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which ends today. – Bernama

Source: thestar.com.my

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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/11/18/anwar-has-never-called-hamas-a-terrorist-organisation

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New clashes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state displace 26,000: UN

November 18, 2023

YANGON, Myanmar: Renewed fighting this week between Myanmar’s military and an ethnic minority armed group has displaced more than 26,000 people in western Rakhine state, the United Nations said on Friday.

Ongoing clashes between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military “have resulted in the displacement of 26,175 people” across Rakhine, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an update.

AA fighters launched attacks on security forces in Rakhine and neighboring Chin state on Monday, ending a shaky cease-fire and opening another front as the military battles opponents in the north and east.

UNOCHA said at least 11 people had been killed in military shelling of AA positions since Monday.

On Thursday junta troops shelled the town of Pauktaw, 16 miles (25 kilometers) west of state capital Sittwe, and shot at it from helicopters after AA fighters briefly seized the police station, residents told AFP.

The military took control of the town later in the day, and on Friday local media cited residents saying that around 50 people had been detained and an unknown number were feared dead.

UNOCHA said 19,000 people had been displaced from Pauktaw.

“Virtually all” roads and waterways connecting Rakhine townships have been blocked, UNOCHA said, adding most humanitarian activities in affected townships had been suspended.

It added more than 100 people had reportedly been detained by junta authorities since the renewed clashes.

For years the AA has fought a war for the autonomy of the state’s ethnic Rakhine population in their home near the border with Bangladesh.

Since last month AA fighters, in alliance with two other armed ethnic minority groups, have been battling the junta across a swathe of northern Shan state near the border with China.

The alliance, which includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has seized towns and blocked vital trade routes to Myanmar’s northern neighbor.

The offensive has galvanized other opponents of the military, with clashes spreading to Myanmar’s western and eastern borders in what analysts say is the biggest military challenge to the junta since it seized power in 2021.

On Friday anti-coup fighters in eastern Kayah state said they had torched a courthouse in the state capital Loikaw amid clashes with security forces in and around the city.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday he was “deeply concerned” about the widening conflict.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2410851/world

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S’pore ‘deeply regrets’ impact of Israel’s military operations on Gaza hospital; Hamas should not use premises for military purposes: MFA

NOV 18, 2023

SINGAPORE – Singapore “deeply regrets” the impact of Israel’s military operations on Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Nov 17.

“We strongly urge Israel to do its utmost to protect all civilians and medical facilities in Gaza. We urge all parties to comply fully with international humanitarian law,” it said in a statement.

“Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, should be protected.”

MFA also said that Hamas should not use these premises for military purposes or civilians as human shields, and reiterated its call for the immediate and safe release of civilian hostages in Gaza.

On Nov 15, Israeli troops entered Al-Shifa, Gaza’s biggest hospital, following a days-long siege that has caused global alarm over the fate of civilians trapped inside.

Reuters quoted a Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson as saying that there was no water, food or baby milk in the hospital, which was packed with 650 patients and about 7,000 people displaced by weeks of Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments.

MFA also said that Singapore remains deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Palestinian civilians have borne the brunt of Israel’s weeks-long military campaign in retaliation for an Oct 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel also says that Hamas took more than 240 hostages.

Singapore welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2712, which calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors in Gaza.

The resolution was adopted by the Security Council on Wednesday, with 12 members voting in favour, none against and three abstentions (Russia, Britain and the United States).

“Every effort must be made for the immediate, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to affected civilians throughout Gaza,” MFA added.

The Al-Shifa Hospital has become the main target of Israel’s ground operation.

The Israeli military has claimed that Hamas has its headquarters in tunnels beneath the facility, which the Palestinian militant group denies.

MFA said that Singapore will continue to work closely with its humanitarian partners to offer additional assistance and support to the Palestinian people.

Reuters reported that Gaza health authorities deemed reliable by the UN had said that at least 11,500 people have been confirmed killed, more than 4,700 of them children, in the Israeli bombardment and ground invasion.

Since the war began, more than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes.

There have been limited deliveries of humanitarian relief crossing from Egypt into Gaza since Oct 21.

Source: straitstimes.com

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-deeply-regrets-impact-of-israel-s-military-operations-on-gaza-s-al-shifa-hospital-mfa

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PM Anwar: US needs to be fair on Gaza conflict

18 Nov 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 17 — It is imperative that the principles of justice and human rights be upheld when handling global issues, including trade and economic growth, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Therefore, the United States should be fair and should not choose to abstain when it comes to discussions on the conflict (ceasefire) in Gaza, he said.

“I emphasise the need for all countries to press for a ceasefire in Gaza so that there will be no further loss of civilian lives, especially infants.

“Stop the atrocities in Gaza; stop it now,” he said at the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting Retreat, which was chaired by US President Joe Biden and attended by representatives from all the other 20 Apec economies.

At the meeting, Anwar, who is also finance minister, said that as a trading nation, Malaysia needs to have good trade ties with major powers, including the US and China.

“As such, I welcome the bilateral meeting that was held between the presidents of US and China.”

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Apec meeting here. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/11/18/pm-anwar-us-needs-to-be-fair-on-gaza-conflict/102738

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Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia call for end of Gaza fighting after Apec summit

18 Nov 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 ― Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia called for an immediate durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

The three member economies welcomed the 2023 Apec Economic Leaders’ Golden Gate Declaration that reflects consensus on all economic issues of common concern.

However, given that the Chair issued a separate Chair’s Statement on aggression in Ukraine, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia decided that they would do the same with regards to Gaza.

“We therefore agreed to issue the following statement to give a better and fair reflection of the discussions on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza during the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting.”

The three countries noted with grave concern the immense human suffering and the adverse impact of wars and conflicts around the world.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir told the Malaysian media here that in addition to Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia, several Apec member economies, such as Chile, also gave the same view on the issue in Gaza.

“They are also of the view that the crisis in Gaza needs to be stopped immediately because it will affect the global economic climate,” he said.

At this meeting, he said, there were many countries that agreed with Malaysia that a ceasefire should be implemented immediately and maintained the stance that the crisis in Palestine should be included in the Apec Leaders’ Golden Gate Declaration.

This is following a suggestion that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine should also be included in the statement.

“The only point of contention is one more aspect, which is the geopolitical statement, where there are differences of opinion among member countries because there is an effort to focus only on Ukraine,” he said.

Zambry said countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei disagreed with the hypocrisy.

“Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei did not compromise on the matter, and then there were efforts until this morning, where I (representing Malaysia), Indonesia and Brunei also held final discussions with the representatives of the committee who were directed to meet the three of us.

“We still insist that if we want to include the geopolitical issue (in the leaders’ statement), it means that we also have to include the Gaza issue. Why do we want to deny it?” he said. ― Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/11/18/malaysia-brunei-and-indonesia-call-for-end-of-gaza-fighting-after-apec-summit/102712

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Africa

MSF concern over malnourished Sudanese child refugees

November 18, 2023

LIBREVILLE: Thousands of children whose families fled the conflict in Sudan for neighboring Chad are suffering from severe malnutrition, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Friday, appealing for emergency food aid.

Chad hosts the highest number of refugees from Sudan, where a war erupted in April between the army and paramilitaries.

More than 8,000 people fled from Sudan to Chad in the first week of November alone, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The country already hosts nearly 900,000, and amid escalating fighting in Sudan’s western Darfur region the influx has picked up in recent weeks.

In the Metche camp, which hosts 40,000 people, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that the prevalence of global acute malnutrition is 13.6 percent among the under fives.

Its teams have helped around 14,000 malnourished children since the start of the year, nearly 3,000 of whom had to be taken to hospital in a serious condition, it said.

More than 10,400 people have been killed in the Sudan conflict so far, according to one estimate by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project.

The war has displaced more than 4.8 million people within Sudan while a further 1.2 million have fled into neighboring countries, according to UN figures.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2410861/middle-east

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History made as Nigerian Army gets first serving professor, Lt. Col. Imam

Jerry Wright-Ukwu

November 18, 2023

Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar-Surajo Imam has etched his name in history as the first serving Nigerian Army personnel to attain the esteemed rank of Professor.

Lt. Col. Imam was elevated to Professor of Mechatronics Engineering in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) annals.

The announcement, made by Brigadier General AM Tukur, Registrar of the NDA, unveiled the remarkable promotion, which was officially ratified during the NDA Council Meeting in September and came into effect from October 1, 2022.

Gen. Tukur hailed the decision as a testament to Imam’s unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions to the Department of Mechatronics Engineering.

“This recognition not only honours Professor Imam but also highlights the commitment of the Nigerian Defence Academy to acknowledging and rewarding outstanding contributions within its academic community,” affirmed Gen. Tukur.

Gen. Tukur further said, “On behalf of the Commandant and staff of the Academy, I sincerely congratulate you on your well-deserved promotion.

It is expected that you will continue to work hard to justify the confidence.”

Hailing from Kankia in Katsina State, Imam’s academic journey spans prestigious institutions both locally and abroad. Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bayero University, Kano, he further honed his expertise with a Master’s Degree in Mechatronics from Newcastle University, United Kingdom, and a PhD in Mechatronics and Robotics from the same institution.

Imam’s service in the Nigerian Army commenced as a Short Service Combatant Course 32 member before transitioning to Regular Commission.

Throughout his tenure, he has served across various critical units, including 1 Base Workshop, Technical Group EME, HQ Nigerian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps, and DICON, showcasing his versatile and expansive experience within the military sphere.

Beyond his military duties, Prof. Imam’s scholarly pursuits have been extensive. He has served as an Examiner and Member of the Central Selection Committee for Master’s and PhD candidates sponsored by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.

Additionally, he has research affiliations with esteemed institutions such as the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), the Defence Research and Development Bureau, and various universities.

His published books cover Mechatronics, PIC Microcontrollers, Embedded Systems Design, Sensors and Actuators for Embedded Systems, Coding, Robotics and Drone Technology for Kids, and Field Manual for Drone Technology, among others.

Source: politicsnigeria.com

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https://politicsnigeria.com/history-made-as-nigerian-army-gets-first-serving-professor-lt-col-imam/

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NEWSMuslim group names Gov Makinde ‘Aare Atayese of Yorubaland’

November 17, 2023

Musliudeen Adebayo

An Islamic group, Supreme Council for Islamic Preachers South West Nigeria, has named Governor SeyiMakinde of Oyo State as Aare Atayese of Yorubaland.

Chairman of the group, Alhaji TaofikAkeugbagold, announced the development during the inauguration of Adogba Mosque, Iwo Road, by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III on Thursday in Ibadan.

DAILY POST reports that the Sultan was accompanied by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Bayero and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta, Alhaji DaudMakanjuola.

Akeugbagold, while speaking, noted that Makinde deserved the title.

He added that the group decided to confer the title on the governor due to what he described as his love for Muslims and other religions.

Akeugbagold further explained that the Council decided to confer the governor with the title in order to encourage others in the society.

He said, “If all Muslims can be doing the way Makinde did, the society will be peaceful for all to live.

“We want Muslims too to reciprocate the gesture to the Christians.

“When a Christian does good to we Muslims, we should try and look back to what we can also do to the Christians in order to promote peace and love among all religions.”

Source: dailypost.ng

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Kenyan Court extends orders blocking deployment of police officers to Haiti

November 18, 2023

The Kenyan High Court on Thursday extended orders blocking the deployment of police officers to Haiti, on the same day that parliament approved a government request to send 1,000 policemen to the Caribbean nation to help deal with gang violence.

High Court Judge ChachaMwita said he would make a ruling on January 26 next year, effectively delaying the sending of security officers to Haiti, where they are expected to lead a multinational force that’s backed by the U.N Security Council.

Either of the parties can appeal the decision due in January at the High Court and beyond to the Supreme Court, meaning this could be a protracted battle to send troops to Haiti.

The court decision came hours after Kenya’s parliament passed a motion allowing the deployment of the security officers.

But the government was immediately criticized for disobeying the court orders first issued in October that barred the deployment.

Former presidential candidate EkuruAukot who filed the case in court described the tabling of the motion as "beligerent."

Aukot said the move as unconstitutional, calling it a huge mistake and a suicide mission.

"All of you have seen the statement, the joint statement from those committees of parliament, it has gone against the court order."

Herman Manyora, a political pundit, and journalism professor at the University of Nairobi, said the government had no choice but to respect the court's decision on the delay.

He said even holding the debate in parliament was a brazen defiance of the laws of the country.

Earlier, the Kenyan parliament approved a government a motion tabled by the parliament’s Committee on Administration and Internal Security approving the government request to send the security officers as violence escalated in Haiti.

The heated debate saw opposition legislators rejecting government plans for Kenya to lead a multinational policing team in Haiti, saying it violated the country’s constitution.

Supporters of the motion said Kenya had a moral obligation and duty to aid Haiti.

Gabriel Tongoya, who chairs parliament’s committee on administration and internal security, said all costs of the deployment would be funded by the United Nations.

Interior minister KithureKindiki last week told parliament that Kenya would only deploy the officers to Haiti if funding and equipment were paid for by U.N. member states.

Burundi, Chad, Senegal, Jamaica, and Belize have all pledged troops for the multinational mission.

Violence has escalated in Haiti as a heavily armed gang surrounded a hospital in the capital Port-au-prince Wednesday, trapping patients including 40 children and newborns. Police later rescued the people.

Gangs across Haiti have continued to grow more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President JovenelMoïse, and the number of kidnappings and killings keeps rising.

Source: africanews.com

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Nigeria: a pro-Palestinian demonstration leaves one dead

November 17, 2023

Clashes between police and a pro-Iranian Nigerian Shiite group protesting against Israel's incursion into Gaza left one person dead and several injured on Thursday in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, AFP learnt from both sides.

Hundreds of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) took to the streets of the city on Thursday, carrying Palestinian flags and mannequins representing dead children, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people and denouncing Israel in the war that has pitted it against Hamas since 7 October.

Footage seen by AFP showed armed police throwing tear gas and firing into the air to disperse the demonstrators, who retaliated by throwing stones at the police.

"The police opened fire on our peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestine, killing one of our members and injuring several others," IMN spokesperson Aliyu Tirmizi told AFP.

"We were simply exercising our freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution, and we were not harming anyone, it was not a provocation", added MrTirmizi.

A Kaduna police spokesman confirmed the death, but blamed it on IMN protesters, whom he accused of being armed.

"One person was killed, but he was not one of the demonstrators. He was a chicken seller who was standing near the police when the armed demonstrators killed him," said Mansur Hassan, spokesman for the Kaduna police."Any demonstration by the IMN is illegal because the group is banned by the government", added Mr Hassan.

The IMN, inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran at the end of the 1970s, is still close to Tehran and meets with great hostility in Nigeria, where the Sunni Muslim elite makes no secret of its affinities with Saudi Arabia.

The movement was banned by the Nigerian authorities in 2019. Its demonstrations have often been organised in Abuja, particularly following the arrest of their religious leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, who was detained with his wife between 2015 and 2021, after violence broke out during a religious procession in Zaria (north) that left around 350 people dead.The north of Nigeria is predominantly Muslim, while the south is mainly Christian.

Source: africanews.com

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Neighbourhoods submerged following flash floods in the Horn of Africa

November 18, 2023

More than 100 people, including 16 children, have died and over 700,000 been forced out of their homes in the Horn of Africa due to flash flooding, the British charity Save the Children said Thursday.

The region, particularly Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, has been lashed by unrelenting downpours since the beginning of the month due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, inundating homes and farmland.

About 46 people had died in Kenya, 32 in Somalia and another 33 in Ethiopia, Save the Children said, warning the rains were "showing no signs of slowing down".

The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.

The region is emerging from the worst drought in four decades after multiple failed rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and devastated crops and livestock.

"Heavy flooding and displacement have cut off families and children from basic services including access to food, healthcare, water and hygiene services," said Xavier Joubert, Ethiopia director for Save the Children.

"With that comes the real risk of waterborne diseases including cholera and measles."

Humanitarian groups have warned that the situation is only likely to worsen and called for urgent global intervention as El Nino is expected to last until at least April 2024.

El Nino is typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.

Between October 1997 and January 1998, devastating floods caused by El Nino led to more than 6,000 deaths in five Horn of Africa countries.

At least 1,800 people died in Somalia where the Juba River burst its banks.

At the end of 2019, 265 people died and tens of thousands were displaced during two months of relentless rainfall in several countries in East Africa.

Source: africanews.com

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Europe

Pope to meet Palestinian delegation and relatives of Gaza hostages

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will meet separately next week with relatives of hostages held by Hamas and with a delegation of Palestinians with family members in Gaza, the Vatican said on Friday, confirming a Reuters report.

“With these meetings, which are of an exclusively humanitarian character, Pope Francis wants to show his spiritual closeness to the sufferings of both,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

The meetings will be held on Wednesday in the Vatican.

Three sources who spoke to Reuters earlier on Friday about the meetings did so on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss papal plans.

One source said 12 relatives of Israeli hostages would meet the pope early on Wednesday morning before his weekly general audience.

That source said they would be a mix of relatives who met with Italian leaders last month as well as others who were not among the first group.

Israeli hostage families start 5-day march on Netanyahu’s home

One of the two sources who spoke about the Palestinian meeting said the pope wanted to hold the meetings as a “humanitarian gesture to hear the grievances on both sides”.

The Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said earlier on Friday the Holy See believed the release of the hostages and a ceasefire - which Israel has so far ruled out - were two “fundamental points” to resolve the crisis.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Rome, Parolin said the Vatican was working on a meeting between the pope and relatives of the hostages but gave no time frame.

“We are working on it and hope to realise it as soon as possible,” he said. He did not mention the Palestinian meeting.

“The release of the hostages is one of the fundamental points for the solution of the current situation, taking into consideration the humanitarian aspects of those who are being held - men, women, children, newborns, pregnant women,” said Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

About 240 hostages were taken by Hamas gunmen when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Francis has made numerous appeals for their release and for a ceasefire.

“The other (fundamental point) is a ceasefire, taking into consideration the humanitarian aspects that come with it - the arrival of aid, curing the injured and other aspects,” Parolin said.

U.N. aid deliveries to Gaza were suspended again on Friday due to shortages of fuel and a communications shutdown, deepening the misery of thousands of hungry and homeless Palestinians as Israeli troops battled Hamas in the enclave.

Source: brecorder.com

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Apec leaders divided on Ukraine, Gaza wars, back WTO reform

18 Nov 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 18 — Pacific Rim leaders showed divisions over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza after a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum yesterday, although they pledged support for reform of the World Trade Organisation.

Days of meetings involving Apec ministers and leaders were dominated by a summit on Wednesday between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at cooling tensions between the world’s two largest economies, which have alarmed the region.

The 21 Apec members, which include Russia and Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia, went into the meetings divided over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, and that is how they left them.

A statement issued by this year’s Apec chair, the United States, echoed last year’s Apec leaders’ declaration in saying that “most” Apec members “strongly condemn aggression against Ukraine.”

It said the leaders exchanged views on the Gaza crisis, with some objecting to language of the chair’s statement in an accompanying “Golden Gate Declaration” covering economic issues “on the basis that they do not believe that Apec is a forum to discuss geopolitical issues.”

Some Apec leaders shared the united messages of the November 11 joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, the chair’s statement said.

At that summit, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries called for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, rejecting Israel’s justification of its actions against Palestinians as self-defence.

The Apec leaders’ declaration reaffirmed their determination “to deliver a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, inclusive, and predictable trade and investment environment.”“We are committed to necessary reform of the WTO to improve all of its functions, including conducting discussions with a view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024,” it said.

Despite the frictions over the Ukraine and Middle East wars, the Sino-US talks will have brought some relief to Apec members concerned by a worsening trajectory in the rivalry between the superpowers, which are also the world’s largest economies.

The Biden-Xi summit brought agreements to resume military-to-military communications and work to curb fentanyl production, showing some tangible progress in the first face-to-face talks in a year between the two, but no major reset in their strategic rivalry.

Xi appeared to achieve his aims, earning US concessions in exchange for promises of cooperation, an easing of bilateral tensions that will allow more focus on economic growth, and a chance to woo foreign investors who increasingly shun China.

Biden, addressing the other Apec leaders yesterday, urged them to work together to ensure that artificial intelligence brings change for the better, rather than abusing workers or limiting potential.

Biden used the Apec summit to highlight the strong US economy and its ties to other Pacific nations, even as his vision for greater regional cooperation to counter China’s influence stumbled on the trade front over his bid to strengthen workers’ rights.

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, told Reuters the Biden-Xi meeting was a badly needed signal that the world needs to cooperate more and a positive sign for cooperation on global challenges, especially climate change.

Much US-China tension is linked to democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims at its own, and the issue has raised fears of a conflict between the superpowers.

Taiwan’s Apec envoy, semiconductor magnate Morris Chang, told a news conference on Friday he believed the Biden-Xi summit had been a “good meeting.”

He said he had had informal interactions with Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of Apec, but not with Xi.

As it competes with China for influence, Biden’s administration has vowed to continue negotiating an ambitious Asia trade deal as part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework it created as a forum for engagement after then-President Donald Trump quit a regional trade pact in 2017.

However, election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely, trade experts and business groups say. — Reuters

Source: malaymail.com

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Teenager arrested in north London on suspicion of Islamist terror offences

Sami Quadri

17 November 2023

A teenager has been arrested in north London on suspicion of Islamist terror offences.

The 17-year-old male was arrested by officers on suspicion of disseminating extremist material.

He is also suspected of other offences including encouraging terrorism, arranging the availability of money or other property for the purposes of terrorism and possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

He was taken to a south London police station and later released on bail until February 2024.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This is another case where a teenager has been arrested on suspicion of what are serious terrorism offences, and we remain very concerned about the increasing numbers of young people we’re seeing feature in our investigations.

“We have officers working around the clock to counter the threat from terrorism, but the public can also play a big part as well.

"I would urge all Londoners – particularly as we now enter the festive season – to be vigilant when they are out and about in the Capital over the coming days and weeks.

"Please report anything that doesn’t look or feel right to us. Your call won’t ruin any lives, but it could help to save them."

Source: yahoo.com

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Putin says ‘something unexpected’ about LGBTQ

17 Nov, 2023

Members of the LGBTQ community and its culture are part of a modern society and shouldn’t be barred from being represented at cultural events or contests, Russian President Vladimir Putin believes. At the same time, such themes must not be mandatory criteria for winning said contests, as appears to occur in the West, he suggested.

The president made the remarks on Friday as he spoke at the 9th International Culture Forum in St. Petersburg. Putin was asked by Emir Kusturica, the iconic Serbian film director and screenwriter, about his opinion on LGBTQ topics becoming a mandatory requirement for winning certain film contests in the West.

“Yes, indeed, we see that at various competitions in Western countries, in order to win something, you need to either tell, write, or show the lives of sexual minorities, transgenders and transformers – many different names for them,” Putin stated.

But I’ll tell you something unexpected. They too – these topics and these people – have the right to win, show and tell, because this is also part of society. This is also what people live by. It’s bad if they just win all sorts of competitions, that’s of no use.

The president stressed that “equality” should be a universal principle, including in cultural contests.

The International Culture Forum is currently underway in St. Petersburg, set to go on until November 18. This year, the major international event is titled the ‘Forum of United Cultures.’ The Forum brings together representatives of some 70 nations from around the globe, including more than 30 culture ministers, and hosts multiple events that end with panel discussions on various culture-related matters and an international dialogue.

Source: rt.com

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Israel-Hamas war creating shell hunger for Ukraine – Zelensky

17 Nov, 2023

Ukraine has received fewer artillery rounds since Israel launched its military operation against Hamas, President Vladimir Zelensky has claimed. He said that competition for munitions between countries has intensified, particularly for 155mm shells.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon had ramped up arms deliveries to Israel amid its campaign in Gaza. Elsewhere, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also recently warned Kiev that member states could no longer provide weapons from existing stockpiles.

Speaking to reporters in Kiev on Thursday, Zelensky noted that “our deliveries have decreased” and “really slowed down,” as quoted by AFP.

“It’s not like the US said: we don’t give Ukraine any. No. It’s just that everyone is fighting for [stockpiles] themselves,” the Ukrainian leader clarified.

According to Zelensky, the situation has been aggravated because “now the warehouses are empty, or there is a legal minimum that a particular state cannot give you.”

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an internal Defense Department list dated late October, that Washington had increased defense aid to Israel without publicly announcing the move.

Among the weapons being provided from the Pentagon’s own stocks are 57,000 155mm high explosive artillery shells, the media outlet claimed.

Speaking to reporters ahead of an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday, Borrell said the bloc had already supplied more than 300,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine, depleting existing stockpiles. The foreign policy chief added that the bloc would now have to switch to domestically produced munitions to satisfy Kiev’s demands.

His message was echoed by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who warned that Brussels would likely not be able to make good on its pledge to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery rounds by next March. He attributed the supposed shortfall to insufficient production capacities in Europe.

With its months-long summer counteroffensive having failed to yield any significant territorial gains, Ukraine has lately doubled down on requests for yet more weapons and ammunition from its Western backers.

Russia has repeatedly stated that no amount of defense aid provided to Kiev can change the course of the conflict, warning that continued weapons supplies only serve to raise the risk of direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow.

Source: rt.com

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South Asia

80,000 Expelled Refugees Treated in Torkham: Officials

17 NOVEMBER 2023

Local officials of Nangarhar said that since the beginning of the expulsions of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, they have treated nearly 80,000 patients in the Torkham temporary camp.

According to them, several health camps have been activated in Torkham for the refugees deported from Pakistan, where various health services are provided to the patients.

Gul Insan, seven years old, who was forcibly deported from Pakistan together with his family, has been struggling with severe diarrhea for several days, and a number of other children in this special camp for refugees are suffering from pneumonia and high fever.

"My child was sick, we took him to this camp, they treated my child very respectfully," said Atif Ali, a patient’s family member.

"Almost 80,000 patients have been treated, including with obstetrics, surgery, and by other departments of internal medicine," said Quraishi Badloon, the head of the information and public advertisement committee of Torkham camp.

A number of other expelled refugees from Pakistan and health workers in this camp say that as the weather gets colder, the number of monsoon patients has also increased.

"Here is a tent and our children get sick. Cold, pneumonia, heartache and malaria are diseases here that are among people," said Noor Ali Shah, an expelled refugee from Pakistan.

"We have been on this plain for 12 days and thankfully there are doctors who treat us," said Yar Mohammad, an expelled refugee.

"We provide services here, which include different departments such as OPD, vaccination and obstetricians and gynecologists, and we also provide basic services to patients in the trauma department," said Fazelhaq, an employee of the camp.

After the announcement of the deadline by the interim government of Pakistan to expel illegal refugees from the country, an average of 400 families have entered the country through the Torkham crossing every day.

Source: tolonews.com

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India’s steadfast aid: A beacon of hope in aftermath of the 2023 Herat earthquake

Noman Hossain

November 18, 2023

In response to the 2023 Herat earthquake, India has emerged as a significant contributor to the relief efforts in Afghanistan. Amidst a varied global response, India’s actions, including the dispatch of three batches of medical supplies and a pledge of 50,000 tons of wheat, underscore its commitment to humanitarian aid. This aid has been channeled both bilaterally and through international organizations like WHO and WFP.

The earthquake, which struck the Herat province on October 7, 2023, caused widespread devastation, claiming nearly 2,000 lives and affecting around 1.6 million people. The UNOCHA and other agencies have highlighted the urgent need for humanitarian assistance, estimating a funding requirement of USD 93.6 million.

India’s assistance extends beyond immediate relief efforts. Over the past two decades, India has invested over USD 3 billion in Afghanistan, supporting a range of sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education. These contributions have positioned India as a major developmental partner in the region.

However, it’s important to note that the geopolitical context, including strained Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, influences the dynamics of regional aid. Pakistan’s handling of the situation and its relationship with Afghanistan add complexity to the crisis. While highlighting India’s contributions, it’s essential to acknowledge the broader international efforts and challenges in the region.

In the wake of the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, India has expressed its willingness to resume stalled projects, reflecting a focus on long-term stability and development in Afghanistan. Notable projects include the Shahtoot Dam and connectivity initiatives like the Chabahar project and the TAPI pipeline.

Indian contributions like the Afghan Parliament building, the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, and the Zaranj-Delaram highway have been significant. The establishment of the Delhi-Kabul Air Corridor further illustrates India’s commitment to maintaining direct trade links with Afghanistan.

Economists and experts in Afghanistan recognize the potential impact of resuming these projects, emphasizing their role in reducing poverty and unemployment, and fostering socio-economic development.

India’s role in Afghanistan, especially in times of crisis, has been appreciated by various stakeholders. Its approach aligns with its Neighbourhood First policy and reflects its commitment to regional stability and cooperation.

In conclusion, India’s response to the Herat earthquake and its ongoing support to Afghanistan demonstrate its commitment to humanitarian assistance and long-term development. While India’s role is significant, it’s part of a larger international effort to support Afghanistan during this challenging time.

Source: khaama.com

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UN chief links Taliban’s legitimacy to International commitments and comprehensive constitution

Fidel Rahmati

November 17, 2023

The UN Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council says that sticking to international agreements and starting a comprehensive constitution process will improve relations with the Taliban worldwide.

In a recent report presented to the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has outlined a way for the Taliban to emerge from international isolation and overcome the impasse of non-recognition by the world’s nations.

“Any formal re-integration of Afghanistan into global institutions and systems will require the participation and leadership of Afghan women,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Antonio Guterres also referred to the human rights situation in Afghanistan.

According to this report, the leaders of the Taliban are obligated to abide by international commitments and make progress in implementing them, along with establishing a political process among Afghans that leads to the creation of a comprehensive constitution – these are the two key components for normalizing global community relations with the government of this group.

The report states that the Taliban desires to be officially recognized as the governing system of Afghanistan by the international community. However, according to the UN Secretary-General, accepting this request is contingent upon the Taliban accepting international commitments and conventions and demonstrating their good faith through policies, legislation, and actions.

Antonio Guterres added that adherence to international commitments, along with other obligations and expectations from the Taliban, is part of the responsibility of a government and a precondition for granting legitimacy to it.

He stated in his report that this precondition applies to all members of the international community.

The UN Secretary-General’s report also addresses the human rights situation, counterterrorism efforts, drug trafficking, the economy, and comprehensive governance in Afghanistan.’

Source: khaama.com

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Pakistan agrees to release Afghan traders’ assets from Karachi port

Fidel Rahmati

November 17, 2023

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan has announced that Pakistani authorities have agreed to the immediate release of seized assets of Afghan traders in the port of Karachi.

In a statement, the ministry stated on Friday that an agreement was reached during a meeting of the Taliban delegation, led by Nooruddin Azizi, the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, with Pakistani Foreign and Commerce Ministers. The agreement entails the swift release of the confiscated assets of Afghan traders from the Karachi port.

Reports indicate that Pakistan has detained thousands of containers of Afghan commercial goods in the port of Karachi. However, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Taliban has not specified the reason behind Pakistan’s actions.

KhanjanAlkozi, a Joint Afghanistan-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce member, spoke to the media and mentioned that approximately 3,000 to 3,500 containers, like in the past, will be released based on banking guarantees or payment of a ten per cent fee.

According to the report, Alkozi also noted that out of nearly 4,000 containers of commercial assets, 400 containers are not included in this resolution and are classified as sensitive items. Discussions regarding them will take place in the future.

Reports suggest that nearly four thousand containers of assets belonging to Afghan traders have been detained at the Karachi port for approximately three months.

Source: khaama.com

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Guterres Stresses Roadmap for Intl Reintegration of Afghanistan

November 17, 2023

The third recommendation of the assessment of the situation of Afghanistan to the UN Security Council by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called for a roadmap for reintegration of the country into the international system.

In a document seen by TOLOnews, Guterres made four recommendations including building confidence by addressing the immediate needs of Afghans, continuing cooperation on key security, regional and political issues and a roadmap for reintegration of the state of Afghanistan into the international system as well as mechanisms to support engagement.

A part of his third recommendation highlighted the importance of beginning a more coherent political engagement process by the international community and Afghan stakeholders.

“More integrated and coherent international engagement should be pursued through a performance-based roadmap,” the document stated.

The document also stressed the need for international obligations of the State of Afghanistan with suggested benchmarks to indicate progress in meeting them, and a call for an intra-Afghan political process that will build toward inclusive constitution-making.

“Progress in both of these components will build toward an end state of the international community’s normalization of relations with the State of Afghanistan,” the document reads.

Torek Farhadi, a political analyst, told TOLOnews that the assessment shows that there has not been development in important issues.

“This is an independent assessment and the message for the interim government is that there has not been breakthroughs in important issues such as girls’ schooling, women’s integration in society and work as in other Islamic countries, the constitution and people’s role in the government,” he said.

“The question is that this roadmap, which is the will of the people of Afghanistan -- will this roadmap be implemented by the interim government?” said Suraya Paikan, a women’s rights activist.

Guterres underscored a set of obligations for Afghanistan, saying that founding principles of the UN Charter, as set out in its preamble, are to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights.

He said that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have asked to be recognized as the governing authority for Afghanistan but doing so comes with acceptance of their obligations and commitments in international conventions, and good faith measures to comply with these through policy, legislation and in practice.

“Afghanistan has committed to multiple treaties, including equal treatment of all citizens, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, identity or political opinion,” he said.

“Considering the specific policies on women and girls in place since August 2021, it is important to emphasize the commitments and obligations of the State of Afghanistan as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and as a party to the CEDAW, ICCPR, ICESCR.”

Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, in reaction to Guterres’ assessment, said: “There are various countries with various types of government in the world.

Afghanistan also has a government of its own and no one should put these illegitimate conditions on the Afghans. If they do so, we can still live without being recognized by them,” he said.

The assessment called for pursuing intra-Afghan dialogue to achieve more inclusive governance, saying that there is a need to take steps towards an Afghan national dialogue that would establish inclusive governance and ensure sustainable peace and social, cultural and economic development after 45 years of armed conflict.

The UN Secretary-General said that an inclusive governance and intra-Afghan dialogue would permit movement toward the end state of full normalization and integration of Afghanistan within the international system.

Guterres made the assessment in response to resolution 2679 (2023), adopted by the Security Council on March 16, 2023.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186074

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'Robust Measures' Keep US Aid From Benefiting Islamic Emirate: Miller

17 NOVEMBER 2023

FatemaAdeeb

The spokesman for the US department of State, Mathew Miller, told a press conference in a response to a question about SIGAR John Sopko’s testimony to the US Congress regarding the "Taliban’s” getting US aid, said that the US government has robust oversight measures in place to monitor the implementation of US-funded humanitarian assistance around the world, which “we provide to help save the most vulnerable of lives.”

He made the remarks days after the Special Inspector General (SIGAR), John Sopko, said that the “Taliban demands payoffs to permit the implementation of aid projects” and that they also are pressuring the UN and NGOs to hire their “Taliban members, their relatives, and allies to help provide US assistance.”

But Miller said that the US works with “trusted international” partners who have extensive experience working in challenging environments like Afghanistan, where there is no US presence.

“In cases where the Taliban makes demands of our partners beyond routine operational costs, our partners pause or adjust their operations accordingly,” he said.

But the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied the interim government’s interference in international assistance’ delivery.

“We just investigate the complaints. There has been no interference in NGOs. We have heard about this report, and we deny it. It is not true,” he said.

Economist Sayed Masoud said that such remarks of the US officials indicate political messages for the interim Afghan government.

“In fact, this is a distraction from the US direction towards the regime in Afghanistan,” he said.

To a large degree, Sopko said, “our research confirms that those who control the guns control the aid.”

Source: tolonews.com

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Islamic World News ( 18 Nov 2023, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Bahraini crown prince condemns Hamas, calls to release hostages

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