Category: Arab News
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Unicef Concern Over Gaza Children
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Around 400,000 children in the Gaza Strip are showing symptoms of distress, including bed wetting, clinging to parents and nightmares, and need psychosocial support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has said. At least 429 children were killed in the last one month as a result of Israel’s air strikes and shelling on Gaza where…
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Gaza truce is history
72-hour Gaza truce ends as talks fail A 72-hour humanitarian truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Palestine ended Friday after no deal was reached on finding a durable solution to the ongoing fighting. Israel said its Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted a rocket over the Israeli town of Ashkelon just after the 72-hour…
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US to launch airstrikes on ISIS base
Obama authorizes targeted air strikes in Iraq US President Barack Obama has authorized targeted air strikes and air drops for Iraq’s aid amid a humanitarian crisis. Speaking at the White House Thursday, Obama said he authorized air strikes “if necessary” against Islamic militants, who have advanced into the Kurdish region of Iraq and seized the…
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Pope concerned over Mosul crisis
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Islamic State onslaught makes Christians flee Thousands of Christian families Thursday fled their homes in northern Iraq after militants of the Islamic State (IS) Sunni insurgent group seized several predominantly Christian areas in Nineveh governorate even as Pope Francis expressed concern over the situation in northern Iraq. The IS rebels took the cities of al-Hamdaniya…
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Will Bibi Seize The Moment?
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir analysing the latest crisis in the Middle East There is a growing consensus among Israelis and Arabs that the Israel-Hamas war will end just like the 2009 and 2012 encounters. Hamas will declare victory by pointing out the casualties and pain inflicted on the Israelis and the likely limited relief it…
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UK charities launch Gaza appeal
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) , the umbrella organisation of 13 UK aid charities, has launched an emergency appeal for people affected by the conflict in Gaza. The DEC in a statement said: “After four weeks of terrible fighting… over half a million people have been forced from their homes. The DEC said its member charities were “rapidly increasing”…
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Saudi restricts marrying foreigners
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced tighter regulations for men wanting to marry foreigners, and has banned them from marrying expat workers from four specific countries, BBC reported. Bridegrooms must give the police a marriage proposal and ID signed by their local mayor – which will then be sent to the government for consideration…
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Call to stop arms export to Israel
Senior British politicians including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond call for suspending arms licences to Israel after “the country “overstepped the mark” in its attacks on Gaza. Clegg said he shared Baroness Warsi’s “concerns” over Britain’s relations with Israel and said such licences should be halted pending an existing…
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UNICEF raps Israel for killing children
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Nearly 400 children killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza: Unicef Economic losses at $1.6 billion, while Palestinian Public Works Minister Mufeed al Hasayne said $5 billion would be needed to repair damages to buildings and infrastructures Nearly 400 Palestinian children were killed and 2,500 wounded in the 29-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza strip, and…
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Manchester Airport back to normal
Flight services have resumed at Manchester Airport after a fighter jet was scrambled to escort a passenger plane. Greater Manchester Police said the Qatar Airways pilot received information about a possible device on board. The Airbus A330-30 had 269 passengers and 13 crew on board. The news first broke on Twitter where eyewitnesses posted pictures…
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Labour lauds Warsi decision
Prime Minister David Cameron lost a key ally from the Asian community as Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi quits from the government, saying the British government’s policy on the crisis in Gaza is “morally indefensible”. She wrote on her Twitter feed that she was leaving with “deep regret”. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has resigned from her Cabinet post…
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UAE expats to abide Sharia Law
The Foreign Office has warned expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates they could face Sharia courts in divorce or child custody cases, BBC reported. UAE personal status law provides expatriates, even if they are not Muslim, with the right to have their case heard under the Islamic law. It comes after a British mother lost…
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Truce begins in Gaza
A 72-hour humanitarian truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Palestine went into effect Tuesday in the Gaza Strip. The start of the truce at 8.00 a.m was preceded by a barrage of rockets from Gaza, with air raids sirens howling throughout southern Israel, including in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba, as well…
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PICS: Israel renews raids on Gaza
Israel blasted Gaza with a fresh wave of air strikes as it continued with a huge-scale search for the son of a former University of Cambridge academic who is feared to have been captured by Hamas. Hadar Goldin, 23, an Israeli soldier who spent a large part of his childhood in Britain, disappeared when two…
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GAZA: Egypt, S. Arabia finally wake up
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi finally commented on the ongoing Israeli raids on Gaza. When the King said Israeli actions are war crimes against humanity, the Egyptian President Sisi said Israel and Palestine must implement Egypt truce plan. He said the truce plan provided a “real chance” to end the 25-day Gaza conflict…
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Abdullah says Gaza raids a war crime
Finally the King has spoken. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia criticised international inaction over Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which he described as involving mass laughter and “war crimes against humanity”, in a speech read out on his behalf on state television. “This (international) community which has observed silently what is happening in the whole…
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EU raps Israel raid on UN school
The European Union condemned strikes on a UN shelter and a crowded market in Gaza, as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy underground tunnels in the coastal enclave regardless of any possible ceasefire agreement. The conflict in Gaza has killed 1,400 Palestinians since it began 24 days ago, Xinhua reported. “It is unacceptable…
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COMMENT by Dr. Alon Ben-Meir
Trapped Between Delusion And Denial The Israelis and Palestinians have been trapped for decades between delusions and denial and both have resorted to ideological and religious dogmas that dismiss with conviction any factual evidence to the contrary.A powerful Israeli right-of-center constituency led by Prime Minster Netanyahu insists that Israel is not an occupying power, the…
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UN: Israel killed sleeping children
Israel’s killing sleeping children in Gaza universal shame: UN body The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) condemned Israel’s killing and injuring refugees, including children in their sleep and women in a UN designated shelter in Gaza, as a “serious violation of international law by Israeli forces” and…
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UK offers more aid for Gaza
Prime Minister David Cameron is offering an additional £3m aid to help the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Mr Cameron said Britain had already sent £7m to provide food, shelter and assistance for people in the area. He said the situation in Gaza was “completely tragic and ghastly” and called for an “unconditional, immediate, humanitarian ceasefire”.…
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‘Qatar exploits migrant workers’
Migrant workers, mainly from Asia, building the first stadium for Qatar’s 2022 World Cuphave been earning as little as 45p an hour, the Guardian newspaper revealed. The pay rate appears to be in breach of the tournament organisers’ own worker welfare rules and comes despite the Gulf kingdom spending £134bn on infrastructure ahead of the competition. More…
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ICC bans Moeen’s Gaza band
England cricketer Moeen Ali has been warned by world cricket chiefs not to wear wristbands declaring his support for the people of Gaza again during international matches. But the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Ali would face no disciplinary action on this occasion after being warned about his future conduct by match referee David Boon. Worcestershire…
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Israel intensifies Gaza bombings
At least 110 Palestinians were killed Tuesday in the heaviest air and ground bombardment by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip since the launch of Operation Protective Edge July 8 as an unilateral ceasefire offered by Palestinian factions hangs in balance amid media reports of Hamas rejecting it. The Israeli attacks by land, sea and…
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British MP seeks Gaza debate
Bradford MP David Ward’s Palestine Petition hits 23,000 Signatures. If the petition reaches over 100,000 signatures then this will almost certainly guarantee that a debate will be held in the House of Commons on the petition. Bradford MP, David Ward’s Petition calling on the British government to take strong action against the Israeli Government has quickly…
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VIDEO – Jon Snow returns from Gaza
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Veteran British journalist just returns from Gaza. The newest bloody episode in the Palestinian conflict literally shaken the most respected journalist in the UK
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France offer asylum for Iraqi Christians
The French government has said that it was ready to welcome Christians fleeing from Iraqi city of Mosul which is now controlled by militants of the Islamic State, media reported Tuesday. Last month, militants from Islamic State, previously known as Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), seized large territories in northern Iraq, prompting…
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Israel committing genocide: Khamenei
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Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza Strip, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday. “What Israeli authorities are doing in Gaza today is a genocide and a big historical disaster,” Khamenei said when addressing a huge crowd gathered to mark the festival of Eid al-Fitr at the end of Islamic holy month of…
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Muslim countries urged to help Gaza
Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on Muslim countries to step up diplomatic efforts to help end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, media reported. Islamic countries and Muslim member states of the Non-Aligned Movement should take “joint action” at the international level to pressure Israel to stop its siege and attacks on Gaza, Zarif…
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Emirates to skip conflict zones
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Emirates to stop fly over Iraq0 Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, one of the world’s biggest airlines, will stop flying over Iraq after concerns about the missile threat posed by Islamist militants on the ground, The Times reported. Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said he believed that other carriers would follow suit, as the airline industry began a…
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Israel denies UN school attack
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The Israeli army Sunday denied responsibility for the deaths of 16 Palestinians during Thursday’s attack on a UN school in northern Gaza. “The inquiry as well as documented footage conclude that a single errant mortar landed in the courtyard of the (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) UNRWA school in Beit Hanun…
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Israel resumes attacks
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The Israeli military said it has resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip, cutting short a temporary ceasefire after Hamas militants rejected the truce and continued to fire rockets at Israel, an official said Sunday “Following Hamas’ constant rocket firing, the Israel Defence Forces will now resume their aerial, naval and ground activity in…
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Saeed Naqvi on India’s stance on Gaza
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Saeed Naqvi says India has two policies on Gaza: One in parliament, another at UN Indian Foriegn Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement on Palestine in the Rajya Sabha so pleased Jerusalem that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman thanked her that evening over the telephone. But the goodwill thus generated was fading by Wednesday when New Delhi, having…
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Bloodiest day in Gaza
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US Secretary of State John Kerry and top diplomats from Europe and the Middle East Saturday called for an extension to the temporary truce between Israel and the Hamas, as the toll in the Gaza strip violence rose to over 1,000 with the recovery of 130 bodies of Palestinians Saturday. The toll over the past…
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Gaza toll crosses 1000
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The toll in the 19-day Israeli offensive has climbed to 1,030, with the bodies of at least 130 more Palestinians being recovered from rubble across the Gaza Strip, officials said Saturday. Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, told reporters that rescue teams, medical crews and paramedics pulled out the corpses from the…
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UN seeks Eid truce in Gaza
The toll in the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip has escalated to 835, with more than 5,300 injured, officials said Friday even as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Fitr. According to the health ministry in the coastal enclave, 29 Palestinians were killed and more…
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India’s two sided Gaza policy
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By Saeed Naqvi Sushma Swaraj’s statement on Palestine in the Rajya Sabha so pleased Jerusalem that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman thanked her that evening over the telephone. But the goodwill thus generated was fading by Wednesday when New Delhi, having changed its mind, voted with the resolution at the UN “condemning Israel for disproportionate…
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Gaza toll reaches 800
The toll in the coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israeli offensive has escalated to 800, with no signs of a ceasefire to halt the violence. According to officials, an Israeli airstrike Thursday hit three houses in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, killing 10 Palestinians, including an infant, and injuring 15,…
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PICS: Kerry mission failed in Gaza
US Secretary of State John Kerry left Israel late Wednesday after a day-long visit during which he tried to broker a ceasefire agreement to end the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. There have been no official report regarding a possible breakthrough in the ceasefire efforts as Kerry left Wednesday night and no comments were made…
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Fuad Masoum is new Iraq president
Iraqi lawmakers Thursday elected Fuad Masoum as the new president of Iraq, signalling important progress in forming a new government. Mohammed Fuad Masoum, known as Fuad Masoum, won 211 votes among 269 lawmakers who attended the session of the 328-member parliament, Xinhua reported. “We declare that Fuad Masoum is the president of the Republic…
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Kerry wraps up Israel visit
US Secretary of State John Kerry left Israel late Wednesday after a day-long visit during which he tried to broker a ceasefire agreement to end the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. There have been no official report regarding a possible breakthrough in the ceasefire efforts as Kerry left Wednesday night and no comments were…
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Hamas links ceasefire with Gaza blockade
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Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Islamist militant group Hamas, has said there can be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel’s blockade. Meshaal said Hamas would continue to reject a lasting ceasefire until its conditions were met. It follows further Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Gaza, as Hamas…
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UN warns of possible Israeli war crimes
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Wednesday warned that Israeli military attacks on Gaza could constitute a war crime, as the toll in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Palestinian enclave rose to over 650. Pillay told a special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that independent reports on the Israeli…
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British arms for Russia and Israel?
The British government was accused of double standards over arms sales to Russia and Israel . The latest document revealed that officials have approved a massive increase in weaponry to be sold to Russia to more than £130m. MPs warn that at least 251 export licences for the sale of controlled goods – ranging from…
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If I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket?
A British politician sparks a new row as he tweeted – “The big question is – if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? – probably yes”. A Lib Dem MP has been accused of making comments on social media about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. David Ward tweeted on Tuesday: “The big question is…
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UN agency appeals for Gazan refugees
The UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees has issued an emergency appeal for $60 million to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, including tens of thousands who have fled their homes in the wake of the current Israeli military offensive. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the…
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Parents to face jail over FGM
UK will introduce new legislation to prosecute parents if they fail to stop their daughters undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM). Prime Minister David Cameron is unveiling a £1.4m prevention programme aimed at ending the practice at a global summit in London. It is estimated that up to 137,000 women and girls living in England and Wales…
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India stands for Palestinian cause
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The government Monday said its policy on Palestine remains unchanged and rejected calls for a parliament resolution on the violence in Gaza where more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military attacks since the past fortnight. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her reply to a debate on the Gaza violence, said the…
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Israeli blitzkrieg continues
The toll in the ongoing Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip rose to 540 Monday, a day which saw a hospital being shelled and 10 Palestinian militants trying to infiltrate Israel being killed. A new Israeli airstrike on a building in the centre of Gaza city Monday afternoon killed 11 Palestinians, including four children, Xinhua…
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Obama very concerned over Gaza
US President Barack Obama Sunday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing his “serious concern” about growing number of casualties in the Gaza crisis, a White House statement said. Obama and Netanyahu spoke Sunday morning over phone, their second call in three days to discuss the situation in Gaza, Xinhua reported. Obama reiterated the US’…