Tag: #palestine

  • Palestinian and Israeli women come together for peace

    Palestinian and Israeli women come together for peace

    Hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli women rallied in the occupied West Bank to demand an end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

    According to foreign media, the protesters were chanting “We want peace.”

    Many women wore white dresses and carried placards that read “Stop killing our children.”

    On this occasion, a Palestinian woman said, “We want our children to live instead of dying.”

    Palestinian activist and director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace NGO Huda Abu Arqoub said that this is the first association between Israeli and Palestinian women on an equal footing.

    According to Arab media, at least 243 Palestinians and 32 Israelis have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.

  • Israeli minister visits Saudi Arabia in a first

    Israeli minister visits Saudi Arabia in a first

    Israeli tourism minister, Haim Katz, visited Saudi Arabia for a United Nations (UN) conference. It is said to be the first public trip of an Israeli cabinet member to Saudi Arabia.

    Leading a delegation, Katz arrived in Riyadh to attend the UN event on Tuesday.

    “Cooperation in the field of tourism has the potential to bring hearts together, and economic progress,” Katz stated.

    The meeting has been held a few days after US President Joe Biden urged the establishment of formal ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

    “I think such a peace would go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is something within our reach,” Israeli prime minister had said to Biden.

    On Tuesday, the same day as Saudi Arabia and Israel met, a Saudi delegation went to the occupied West Bank — first in three decades — to reassure Palestinians that despite the improving relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia will continue to stand by Palestinians.

    “The Palestinian matter is a fundamental pillar,” said Naif bin Bandar Al Sudairi, head of the Saudi delegation and new ambassador to Palestine. He met with top Palestinian diplomat Riyad al-Maliki in Ramallah.

  • As Saudi Arabia gets closer to Israel deal, Pakistan reiterates support for Palestine

    Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has asserted that the establishment of a strong, independent and integrated Palestinian state is essential.

    Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani saif that Pakistan stands with Palestine and does not recognize Israel at all. The statement comes days after Pakistan’s ally Saudi Arabia confirmed that it is nearing a deal with Israel linked to normalisation of relations between the two countries.

    Minister Jilani clarified Pakistan’s position in the OIC Contact Group on September 19.

    Jalil Abbas Jilani said that by implementing the resolutions of the United Nations and the OIC, an independent Palestinian state should be established under international laws.

    Jilani’s comments were given after Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke about normalisa­tion of Israel’s relations with the Muslim states. Reported by Israeli media outlet Kan News, Cohen claimed that ‘six or seven’ Islamic nations would possibly establish ties with Israel after Sau­di Arabia’s possible inclusion in the Abraham Ac­cords. The declaration already includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

    Recently, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talked about ‘normalisation’ of his country’s relationship with Israel.

    MBS told Fox’s Special Report programme that the Palestinian issue was “very important” to Riyadh. “We need to solve that part,” he said when asked what it would take to get a normalisation agreement.

    “We got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, get Israel as a player in the Middle East,” he said.

  • Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli airstrikes, raids in occupied Palestine

    Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli airstrikes, raids in occupied Palestine

    Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned raids and airstrikes by the Israeli armed forces in Jenin. Up to 10 Palestinians were killed and 50 were injured in the attacks.

    “Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the raids and airstrikes carried out by the Israeli occupation forces since yesterday in Jenin in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, which killed 10 Palestinians and injured some 50 others,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement, “This latest episode of violence against the occupied people of Palestine by the occupying power must end immediately.”

    The spokesman repeated Pakistan’s calls for the international community to raise its voice against these brutal and unlawful actions by the Israeli armed forces to ensure the protection of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people.

    Pakistan reasserted its strong and unwavering support for the justifiable struggle of the people of Palestine for the complete realisation of the basic human rights of freedom and self-determination.

  • Israeli police attack worshippers in Ramzan during Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    Israeli police attack worshippers in Ramzan during Al-Aqsa Mosque raid

    Israeli police have attacked and arrested Palestinian worshippers in a violent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Ramzan.

    In a statement, police said they had “arrested and removed over 350 individuals that violently barricaded” themselves inside the mosque in the Old City of annexed East Jerusalem.

    According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, injuries were reported as a result of the raid but it was not clear how many were hurt. It was also said that medics were prevented from reaching the mosque by the Israeli forces. 

    “I was sitting on a chair reciting (Qur’an),” an elderly woman told Reuters while sitting outside the mosque. “They hurled stun grenades, one of them hit my chest,” she said as she began to cry.

    The Israeli police claimed in a statement that they had to enter the mosque after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside with fireworks, sticks and stones.

    “When the police entered, stones were thrown at them and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” the statement said, adding that one of the police officers was wounded in the leg.

  • Bella Hadid wants your support finding the right organisations to help flood victims in Pakistan

    Bella Hadid wants your support finding the right organisations to help flood victims in Pakistan

    Supermodel Bella Hadid has requested her followers to guide her on ways to help the flood victims in Pakistan.

    Sharing a video on her Instagram stories, she wrote , “Finding real ways to help Pakistan.” 

    Floods triggered by incessant rains have killed more than 1000 people including 300 hundred children.

    The catastrophic flooding has rendered millions of people homeless during the last few days.

    Earlier this year, Bella claimed she was “shadow banned” by Instagram for posting about Palestine after Israeli authorities attacked worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday.

    “If you really would like to silence me , just like the journalists, or really anyone trying to educate about Palestine, @instagram, I will continue to come forward with peace , showing factual information about how the IDF, Israeli government, and Settlers attack innocent Palestinians for no reason , except for simply being Palestinian. This is all a breach of human rights, and if you continue to sensor us, is the biggest form of bias and Unjust censorship.”

    “But I will not continue to sit here and have my peoples name be slandered as if they are constantly doing something wrong to deserve this kind of abuse. Absolutely UNPROVOKED abuse. In their home , and on their land, that they have lived in for hundreds of years. Especially now, during the holy month of Ramadan. This is unprovoked,” added Bella.

    Bella is an ardent advocate of women’s rights as well. In February, she had called out India for the discrimination faced by Muslim women for wearing hijab.

  • Mohammed Hanif withdraws from Germany conference after Palestinian journalist disinvited

    Mohammed Hanif withdraws from Germany conference after Palestinian journalist disinvited

    Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif has announced that he would no longer attend a Goethe Institute conference being held in Hamburg, Germany, after Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer and poet, was disinvited. The conference is to be held from June 23 to 26.

    “Withdrawing from @goerheinstut’s Hamburg conference where they first invited and then disinvited Palestinian journalist and poet Mohammed El Kurd. Reason is even more offensive. Apparently Kurd is not respectful enough towards Israel. How do you say bugger off in German?,” wrote Hanif.

    “Mohammed El Kurd’s house was taken over by settlers when he was elven. Kurd and his sister Muna have been protesting since they were children. Haven’t read much Goethe but I don’t think he wanted the world to be respectful towards a ruthless apartheid regime,” Hanif wrote in another tweet.

    Hanif was invited to talk about the Dynamics of Right Wing Structures.

    Goeth Institute on June 17 tweeted that El-Kurd was “not an appropriate speaker for this forum: in previous posts on social media, he had made several comments about Israel in a way the Goethe-Institut does not find acceptable”.

    Who is Mohammed El-Kurd?

    Kurd is an internationally acclaimed award-winning writer from Jerusalem-occupied Palestine. His work has been featured in numerous international outlets and he is currently the Palestine correspondent for The Nation. RIFQA, his debut collection of poetry, was published by Haymarket Books.

    Kurd has been quite vocal about Israeli occupation and atrocities in Palestine.

  • Joe Biden to visit Saudi Arabia after calling Kingdom ‘isolated’

    United States (US) President Joe Biden will make his first Presidential trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Israel and the Palestinian West Bank next month from July 13-16, confirmed by the White House, reports Associated Press (AP).

    During this visit, Biden will meet Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in KSA, Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

    Announcing the Middle East trip, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “King Salman invited Biden to visit the kingdom during a gathering in the port city of Jeddah of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations.”

    The Saudi Embassy has said that Biden’s visit is “to strengthen the historical bilateral relations and the distinguished strategic partnership between” the two countries.

    In a statement, the Saudi Embassy stated: “The kingdom of Saudi Arabia looks forward to welcoming President Biden and defining the next chapters of our partnership. At a time of global challenges related to the global economy, health, climate and international conflict, the partnership between our two countries are as critical as ever to the promotion of peace, prosperity and stability around the world.”

    As a presidential candidate, Biden said the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — a Saudi-born US resident who wrote critical articles about Saudi rulers in The Washington Post — had made KSA a “pariah.” When Biden took charge of the presidency, his administration made clear the president would avoid direct engagement with the crown prince and instead focus on his engagements with King Salman.

  • Khan says govt ‘to recognise Israel’, Israel’s president praises Pakistani delegation

    Khan says govt ‘to recognise Israel’, Israel’s president praises Pakistani delegation

    Israel President Isaac Herzog has said that he had had an “amazing experience” while meeting a Pakistan expatriate delegation living in the United States (US). Herzog referred to this visit as an example that showed him “great change” towards Israel’s ties with the Muslim world.

    Herzog said he received a delegation of Pakistani expats who lived in the US “together with other members of other countries in their region”.

    No change in govt’s policy on Israel: Foreign Office

    However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan categorically rejected the notion of any delegation from Pakistan visiting Israel.

    “The reported visit in question was organised by a foreign NGO that is not based in Pakistan,” the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.

    “Pakistan’s position on the Palestinian issue is clear and unambiguous. There is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is a complete national consensus.”

    The statement further added that Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination. 

    “The establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant UN and OIC resolutions, is imperative for just and lasting peace in the region,” the statement added. 

    Govt going to accept Israel: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan criticised the sitting government as the Pakistani expats delegation visited Israel. More criticism was hurled their way after Herzog praised the Pakistani-American delegation.

    Khan on Sunday criticising the government and alleged that it was going to recognise Israel.

    “This government will strike a deal with India to sell the people of Kashmir, and to top it off, they are also going to accept Israel,” he said while addressing the PTI workers’ convention in Charsadda.

    There was no Pakistan delegation visiting Israel: Anila Ali

    A 15-member delegation visited Israel to promote interfaith harmony. The trip was organised by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Council and an NGO called Sharaka. Founder of the American Muslim and Multifaith Women Empowerment Council, Anila Ali, led the delegation.

    After Khan’s allegations, Anila tweeted: There was no #Pakistan delegation visiting #Israel.

    Pakistan does not recognise the state of Israel: Ahsan Iqbal

    Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal clarified no official or semi-official delegation from Pakistan met the Israeli president.

    “The participants in this delegation were Pakistani-Americans who have already provided an explanation in this regard,” the planning minister said in a tweet.

    Iqbal said the policy of the Government of Pakistan is clear — it does not recognise the state of Israel. “All our sympathies lie with brothers and sisters of Palestine.”

    Israeli President received a delegation of Pakistani expats

    “I must say this was an amazing experience. We haven’t had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel in such scope. And that all stems from the Abraham Accords [a deal brokered by the United States in 2020 which saw normalisation of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain], meaning Jews and Muslims can dwell together in the region.”

    Israeli President Isaac was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Pakistan refused to accept Israel as a sovereign state because of the Palestine-Israel conflict, and every government that came to power has endorsed this stance. Speculations were being created that the new government was in a way ready to recognise Israel as a sovereign state.

  • Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh killed by Israeli soldiers

    Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh killed by Israeli soldiers

    Israeli troops killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank according to the Palestinian health ministry. She was wearing a press vest when she was killed.

    On Wednesday, she was injured by a live bullet while covering Israeli operations in Jenin, and she was brought to the hospital in critical condition. She was declared dead at the hospital.

    Palestinian journalist narrates the story of how she was killed. “At 6:30 am, a vehicle carrying a group of journalists arrived at the first roundabout in Jenin refugee camp. They were there to cover an Israeli raid on the camp, and a number of Israeli snipers were stationed on rooftops.”

    “Shireen Abu Akleh got out of the vehicle, wearing a helmet and a flak jacket clearly marked with PRESS. An Israeli sniper shot her, hitting just below her ear. She fell near a wall, and the shooting continued, hindering other journos from reaching her.”

    “Her colleague, Ali al-Samoudi, was also shot in the back. They were both transferred to Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, and her death was announced there.”

    People on social media are condemning the brutality of the Israeli forces:

    https://twitter.com/Ayadahoukk/status/1524289518098124800

    https://twitter.com/OlaKARAKRA/status/1524290377603293184