ABU DHABI: A high-profile meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has pledged its commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Delegates at the 46th session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers concluded their two-day conference in Abu Dhabi by issuing a declaration condemning Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.
And ministers agreed to set up an endowment fund to guarantee future finance for the aid activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
According to the UAE news agency, WAM, the declaration also called on Iran to start peace talks with the UAE and international community, aimed at ending the Iranian occupation of three Emirati islands.
A reaffirmation of support in finding a political solution to the crisis in Yemen was agreed, and issues surrounding Syria, Libya and other countries were also covered.
On the situation over Palestine, the OIC statement reaffirmed that the Palestinian issue was central to both Arab and Muslim nations and reiterated the organization’s position to strive to reach a permanent solution to the matter “and to establish an independent Palestinian State according to the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The declaration condemned “all Israeli violations against the brotherly Palestinian people,” and pledged backing for UNRWA while urging “the international community to fulfill its commitments regarding the Palestinian issue and Palestinian refugees.”
On Yemen, the foreign ministers affirmed their “commitment to preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial independence and integrity” of the country.
They said only a political solution would resolve the crisis in Yemen and they renewed their support for the efforts of the UN, its special envoy for Yemen, and coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia.
The declaration praised the efforts of the OIC over five decades to address the challenges facing not only the Muslim world, but the international community in general.
The agreement said: “(OIC members) affirm our commitment to respect the security, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of member states, and believe in the necessity of resolving existing and emerging litigations and conflicts through negotiation, mediation and reconciliation by adopting diplomatic solutions based on the principles of international law.”
The OIC will mark 2019 as its golden jubilee year with member states urged to organize national programs to celebrate the 50th anniversary.
OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen said the new endowment fund, to be set up to guarantee sustainable financing for UNRWA activities, would be run as a trust fund under the umbrella of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank.
OIC foreign ministers condemn Israeli violations against Palestinians
OIC foreign ministers condemn Israeli violations against Palestinians
- Delegates at the 46th session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers concluded their two-day conference in Abu Dhabi by issuing a declaration condemning Israeli violations against the Palestinian people
- The OIC will mark 2019 as its golden jubilee year with member states urged to organize national programs to celebrate the 50th anniversary
Rats, dogs and torn clothes amid the ruins of Gaza homes
- Much of the rest of Gaza City also lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting
- Like many displaced Palestinians, Al-Harsh faces uncertainty as she tries to salvage what remains
JABALIA, Gaza: The rats and dogs scavenging amid the ruins of her neighborhood in northern Gaza make Manal Al-Harsh’s return to her wrecked home even more miserable.
Despite the respite from Israeli bombardments that a ceasefire has brought, she still fears for her family’s security. They have trouble sleeping at night.
Even trying to find her children’s clothes amid the rubble of their house in Jabalia is a forlorn task.
Al-Harsh, 36, has erected a makeshift tent from salvaged blankets to provide shelter for her and her children.
“We are staying here, but we are afraid of rats and everything around us. There are dogs. There is no place to settle. We have children. It is difficult,” Harsh, 36, said as she stepped cautiously over the debris.
She said she had returned from the south of the Palestinian enclave when the ceasefire took effect but found her house destroyed.
Much of the rest of Gaza City also lies in ruins after 15 months of fighting and waves of Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages that left it a shell of the bustling urban center it was before the war.
“We are practically sleeping here, but we don’t sleep. We are afraid someone might come upon us. We are sleeping and scared,” she said.
“I want to retrieve some clothes for the children to wear. We came with nothing. Life here is expensive, and there is no money to buy anything.”
Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the battlegrounds shifted, had trekked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north.
Like many displaced Palestinians, Al-Harsh faces uncertainty as she tries to salvage what remains. She had managed to pick some clothes from the rubble but they were in a sorry state.
“It’s all torn. Nothing is good. As much as we do, as much as we retrieve, it is all stones,” she said.
“Death is better,” Al-Harsh said, her voice heavy with despair.
Sudan paramilitary chief admits setbacks, vows to expel army from Khartoum
- Dagalo acknowledged setbacks in the capital but urged his troops “not to think of the army entering the General Command or the Signal Corps... “
- Two weeks before its gains in Khartoum the army reclaimed the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in a rare video address on Friday, acknowledged setbacks in the capital Khartoum but vowed to expel the army from the city again.
The war since April 2023 between Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million, according to the United Nations, and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
After months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum, the army one week ago broke an almost two-year RSF siege of its Khartoum General Command headquarters. On the same day, the army reported reclaiming its Signal Corps base in Khartoum North, and expelling the RSF from Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.
In his address on Friday, Dagalo — commonly known as Hemeti — acknowledged setbacks in the capital but urged his troops “not to think of the army entering the General Command or the Signal Corps... or taking control of Al-Jaili or Wad Madani.”
Two weeks before its gains in Khartoum the army reclaimed the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, securing a key crossroads just south of the capital.
The RSF last week said army statements claiming they had broken the sieges and seized Jaili refinery were rumors intended to sway public opinion.
But on Friday, Dagalo promised his fighters that the army “will not enjoy the General Command for long, nor will they enjoy the Signal Corps.”
“We must think of what we intend to take,” he added.
Appearing behind a desk in military fatigues, with a camouflage scarf wrapped around his neck, the RSF leader said “we expelled them (from Khartoum), and we will expel them again.”
Dagalo has remained out of sight for most of the war, with his rare addresses usually delivered via voice message on social media.
His troops early in the war conquered much of Khartoum and pushed south. They still control almost all of Sudan’s vast western Darfur region.
Army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan — Dagalo’s former ally before they fell out in a power struggle — on Sunday visited his troops at the General Command, which is near central Khartoum and the airport.
His push into RSF-controlled Khartoum North, also known as Bahri, enabled the army’s biggest victory since it regained Omdurman, the third district of the capital, around a year ago.
According to an army source, who was not authorized to speak to the media, fighting continued Friday for the Kafouri neighborhood in eastern Bahri.
This month, the United States sanctioned both Hemeti and Burhan, accusing the former of genocide and the latter of attacking schools, markets and hospitals, as well as using food deprivation as a weapon of war.
Istanbul opposition mayor slams ‘judicial harassment’
- Ekrem Imamoglu: ‘We are experiencing the highest level of judicial harassment in Istanbul’
- He is accused of threatening, insulting and targeting an official and attempting to influence fair trial
ISTANBUL: Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, condemned on Friday what he described as “judicial harassment” targeting him, as thousands of supporters demanded justice outside the court.
Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, spoke after giving a statement in connection with two investigations opened against him earlier this month.
He is also fighting several other legal cases.
“We are experiencing the highest level of judicial harassment in Istanbul,” he told the crowds, standing on the roof of a bus after leaving Istanbul’s Caglayan court.
Imamoglu, who belongs to the main opposition CHP party and was re-elected mayor last year, vowed not to give up.
“We will keep on fighting against injustice,” he said.
His statement on Friday was in connection with two investigations into remarks he made about Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor and about a court-appointed expert witness involved in cases against CHP-run local councils.
He is accused of threatening, insulting and targeting an official and attempting to influence fair trial.
In his statement to the prosecutor, a copy of which was seen by AFP, Imamoglu denied all the allegations, saying he was simply exercising his right to free speech.
“There was no threat or targeting in my words. What I said was freedom of expression,” he said.
“Freedom of expression is a constitutional right… (which) includes the right to criticize judicial authorities and the way they function,” he said.
Addressing the huge crowd, Imamoglu said there was a “conspiracy” against him.
Ankara’s opposition mayor Mansur Yavas, who was there to support him, accused the government of turning Turkiye into an “open prison.”
Turkish authorities regularly target journalists, lawyers and elected political representatives, especially since the failed 2016 coup.
An Istanbul court on Thursday ordered the arrest of an opposition TV journalist for broadcasting an interview the authorities allege was conducted without the consent of the interviewee — none other than the court-appointed expert Imamoglu had criticized.
Among the crowd, some supporters wore Imamoglu face masks while others waved banners. There was a significant police presence.
“The government is trying to limit the space for opponents, including journalists, and intimidate them with unfair accusations,” said Fethi Kocaer, 71, holding a banner reading: “We will fight together.”
“Mayor Imamoglu’s courage and strong stance will help unite us. We will not give up but will step up the fight against injustice,” he said.
Fevziye Yalcin, 57, said the cases against Imamoglu were meaningless.
“It just makes us even stronger in our desire to fight them. We will hold the government to account at the ballot box,” she said defiantly.
“Imamoglu will never walk alone.”
EU restarts Rafah border crossing mission, says foreign policy chief Kallas
- ‘The EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis’
- The crossing would now be run by members of the Palestinian Authority and European monitors
BRUSSELS: The European Union has restarted its civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, a key entry and exit point for the Palestinian territory, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday.
Kallas announced on Monday that there was broad agreement among member states’ foreign ministers that the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) could play a “decisive role” in supporting the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas group that administers Gaza.
“The EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis. It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care,” she posted on X.
Palestinian and Hamas officials said the crossing would now be run by members of the Palestinian Authority and European monitors.
It will be opened for 50 injured militants and 50 wounded civilians, along with individuals escorting them, according to the officials, who said a further 100 people, most likely students, would be allowed through on humanitarian grounds.
A civilian EU mission to help monitor the crossing began work in 2005 but was suspended in June 2007 as a result of Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip.
In its standby mode, the mission had 10 international and eight local staff.
Italy has said it will send seven paramilitary Carabinieri officers to join the Rafah mission in addition to two Italians already there, while Germany’s interior and foreign ministries are discussing sending a German contingent.
Any forced halt of UNRWA’s work would jeopardize Gaza ceasefire, agency says
- For now, its work in Gaza and elsewhere continues despite an Israeli ban that was due to take effect on Jan. 30
GENEVA: The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on Friday that if its humanitarian work in Gaza is forced to halt, it would put a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas at risk.
The agreement has paused a 15-month-old war between Israel and Gaza’s rulers Hamas that has decimated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destabilized the Middle East.
The deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees from Israeli jails.
“If UNRWA is not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy,” Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a Geneva press briefing.
For now, its work in Gaza and elsewhere continues despite an Israeli ban that was due to take effect on Jan. 30, she added.
However, she said that its Palestinian staff located in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at checkpoints.
“They face an exceptionally hostile environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues,” she said.
