GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas accused Israel of killing a cameraman for a television station it operates in the Gaza Strip, while Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera also blamed Israeli forces for wounding one of its journalists in the territory’s north.
Muhammad Al-Tanani, a cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV, was buried Wednesday afternoon by colleagues at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in northern Gaza City, according to AFP journalists.
In a statement, Hamas’s press office called his killing an “despicable crime” and said the Israeli army was “fully responsible,” without offering details of the circumstances of his death.
Al Jazeera, meanwhile, said Wednesday that one of its cameramen, Fadi Al-Wahidi, was “injured by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza, becoming the second Al Jazeera cameraman to be injured in an Israeli attack this week.”
According to an AFP journalist who was present, Wahidi was wounded in the neck in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, while covering Israeli operations in an area the army had previously told civilians to evacuate.
Al Jazeera said on X that his condition was critical.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the two incidents.
Israel’s military has repeatedly accused journalists from Al Jazeera of links to Hamas or its ally Islamic Jihad.
The network has fiercely denied these accusations and said Israel systematically targets its employees in the Gaza Strip.
Four Al Jazeera journalists have been killed since the war in Gaza began, and the network’s office in the territory has been bombed.
Hamas accuses Israel of killing cameraman for Gaza TV network
https://arab.news/gcxwf
Hamas accuses Israel of killing cameraman for Gaza TV network
- Muhammad Al-Tanani, a cameraman for Al-Aqsa TV, was buried Wednesday afternoon by colleagues at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in northern Gaza City
Elon Musk’s X is back in Brazil after its suspension, having complied with all judicial demands
- X and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan
- Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest
RIO DE JANEIRO: The social media platform X began returning to Brazil on Wednesday, after remaining inaccessible for more than a month due to a clash between its owner, Elon Musk, and a justice on the country’s highest court.
Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting X’s suspension on Tuesday.
“TWITTER IS ALIVE,” Lucas dos Santos Consoli, known as luscas on X, wrote on the platform to his more than 7 million followers.
“I’m happy that the platform decided to follow the laws of Brazil and finally adapted, after all I’ve been using the app for almost 15 years so I can’t deny that I was missing it,” the 31-year-old told The Associated Press.
De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on Aug. 30 after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including X’s nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.
Musk’s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes’ demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.
“This sends a message to the world that the richest person on the planet is subject to local laws and constitutions,” said David Nemer, who specializes in the anthropology of technology at the University of Virginia. It could set a precedent as to how other countries that are clashing with Musk — such as Australia — could move forward, as it shows Musk is not unbeatable, he added.
Brazil — a highly online country of 213 million people — is one of X’s biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 million to 40 million.
“X is proud to return to Brazil,” the company said in a statement posted on its Global Government Affairs account. “Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”
Julia Bahri, an 18-year-old law student, said she was delighted with X’s return. She said that losing access to the platform had led to “one of the most desperate feelings I’ve experienced for a while,” adding that she had felt lost with regards to news.
Bahri said she uses X to express herself, whereas Instagram and Snapchat are mostly for posting photos.
The Aug. 30 ban came two days after the company said it was removing all its remaining staff in Brazil. X said de Moraes had threatened to arrest its legal representative in the country, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição, if the company did not comply with orders to block accounts.
Brazilian law requires foreign companies to have a local legal representative to receive notifications of court decisions and swiftly take any requisite action — particularly, in X’s case, the takedown of accounts.
Sleeping Giants Brazil, a platform for activism that seeks to combat fake news and hate speech, said the resumption of X’s activities in Brazil marked “a significant victory for Brazilian democracy.”
“It is crucial to remain steadfast against efforts to weaken democratic state authority, institutions and values,” it said in a statement.
Some of Brazilian X’s users have migrated to other platforms, such as Meta’s Threads and, primarily, Bluesky. It’s unclear how many of them will return to X.
In a statement to the AP, Bluesky reported that it now has 10.6 million users and continues to see strong growth in Brazil. Bluesky has appointed a legal representative in the South American country.
“Never get back with your eX,” Paul Frazee, a developer at Bluesky, wrote on the platform on Tuesday.
X is returning to Brazil weaker than it was before the ban, said Nemer, noting that X is now worth less than a fifth than when Musk bought Twitter. The platform has lost a lot of users, especially in Brazil, he said.
Brazil was not the first country to ban X — but such a drastic step has generally been limited to authoritarian regimes. The platform and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest.
X’s dustup with Brazil has some parallels to the company’s dealings with the Indian government three years ago, back when it was still called Twitter and before Musk purchased it for $44 billion. In 2021, India threatened to arrest employees of Twitter (as well as Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp), for not complying with the government’s requests to take down posts related to farmers’ protests that rocked the country.
Musk’s decision to reverse course in Brazil after publicly criticizing de Moraes isn’t surprising, said Matteo Ceurvels, research firm Emarketer’s analyst for Latin America and Spain.
“The move was pragmatic, likely driven by the economic consequences of losing access to millions of users in its third-largest market worldwide, along with the millions of dollars in associated advertising revenue,” Ceurvels said.
“Although X may not be a top priority for most advertisers in Brazil, the platform needs them more than they need it,” he said.
Israeli journalist arrested in Lebanon after entering with foreign passport
- Joshua Tartakovsky entered together with other reporters using a British passport
BEIRUT: An Israeli journalist has been arrested in Lebanon after entering the country using a British passport, according to reports from Israeli and Lebanese media on Wednesday.
The pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar identified the journalist as Joshua Tartakovsky, an Israeli citizen who reportedly entered Lebanon two weeks ago. Tartakovsky, born in the US, raised suspicions due to his behavior, leading to his eventual arrest by Lebanese security forces.
When arrested on Tuesday, authorities discovered that Tartakovsky was carrying both British and Israeli passports, violating laws in both Israel and Lebanon that prohibit Israeli citizens from entering Lebanon.
A security source confirmed to Arab News that Tartakovsky had been in Beirut’s southern suburbs in recent days, reportedly covering Israeli strikes in the area.
“He entered Lebanon as part of a group of foreign journalists who arrived in Beirut to cover the ongoing events in Lebanon and who visit the southern suburb and certain areas on a daily basis under the pretext of inspecting the destruction,” said the source, who requested anonymity.
The southern suburbs, heavily targeted by Israeli airstrikes, have seen widespread displacement and severe damage. The area is monitored by Hezbollah, who not only control journalists’ access but also guard the buildings against looting.
A security source stated that Tartkovsky has been referred to the judiciary, which will decide whether he will be deported or arrested.
“This is similar to other foreign nationals accused of collaboration, who have been arrested and tried in Lebanon unless their countries request extradition. The final decision rests with the Lebanese government,” the souce explained.
A judicial source told Arab News that “there is a strong inclination to deport the detained journalist without awaiting any extradition request. In this case, he would be handed over to the British embassy, which would facilitate his deportation from Lebanon.”
Tartakovsky, according to his profile on Vision Magazine, describes himself as an independent journalist. He studied at Brown University and the London School of Economics. He entered Lebanon alongside other journalists before his arrest.
Israeli media reported that Tartakovsky, who grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family and served in the Israeli army, reaching the rank of first sergeant, has been a contributor of “Zo Haderech,” a website associated with Israel’s far-left and anti-Zionist movements.
He has also previously worked for the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, the International Defense and Security Team at Transparency International in London, and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in Israel.
Journalist calls out US spokesperson’s messages during press briefing
- Liam Cosgrove criticized Matt Miller for US hypocrisy on its Middle East conflict stance
LONDON: Journalist Liam Cosgrove criticized US foreign policy spokesperson Matt Miller during a press briefing on Tuesday, accusing the US of hypocrisy for its stance on the Middle East conflict.
During the briefing, Cosgrove questioned the US administration’s moral authority while addressing the escalating violence in the Middle East, which he argued risked a clash between nuclear powers such as Iran and Russia.
Cosgrove pressed Miller, saying: “My question for you is, you know we often hear in response to these concerns that while Putin, Khomeini, you know they’re terrorists, as if they’re too inherently evil or immoral for us to negotiate with. But meanwhile, this administration has financed a genocide in Gaza for the last year, and every day you’re up there denying accountability for it. So, what gives you the right to lecture other countries on their morals?”
Miller avoided addressing the accusation directly, responding that he would take “policy questions” but declined to comment on Cosgrove’s assertion.
“If you want to give a speech there’re plenty of places in Washington where you can give a speech,” Miller said.
Cosgrove replied: “People are sick of the bullshit in here. It (the Gaza war) is a genocide. You are abetting it. And you are risking a nuclear war in Ukraine for this proxy war.”
The clip of the confrontation quickly gained traction online, with many users praising Cosgrove for his outspokenness.
“Finally someone had the guts to tell things we are screaming to our phones for a year now,” one user said.
Another thanked the Cosgrove for “saying what most people of conscience feel.”
The heated exchange between the correspondent for The Grayzone blog and Miller underscored the growing frustration journalists face when covering complex conflicts with competing narratives.
Since the conflict between Hamas and Israel reignited more than a year ago, media outlets have been under constant scrutiny, accused of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian bias.
With international journalists largely blocked from entering Gaza and Israeli authorities accused of restricting media freedom, many media organizations argue that relying on official sources has only deepened the divide in narratives, further eroding public trust in news reporting and fueling the spread of misinformation.
“Israeli forces have systematically restricted coverage of Gaza and targeted journalists who take enormous risks to report the truth. This has directly impacted global access to information on the war, which is critical to the public interest. Journalists must be allowed to do their jobs, and the world has the right to know what’s happening in Gaza,” said Rebecca Vincent, director of campaigns at Reporters Without Borders.
Osama bin Laden’s son Omar banned from returning to France over ‘terror’ tweet
- France minister Bruno Retailleau said Omar bin Laden posted comments that glorified “terrorism and Al-Qaeda”
- Friends called decision “scandalous”, saying Omar bin Laden is victim of his father’s legacy
PARIS: Omar bin Laden, a son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been banned from returning to France where he made his home for several years before he was ordered to leave in 2023, France’s Interior Minister announced Tuesday.
Born in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. The 43-year-old settled in the northern French region of Normandy with his British wife several years ago, taking up painting.
France’s new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said Omar bin Laden “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism.”
“As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory,” Retailleau.
“The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added on X. The minister also said he had signed off on a ban preventing Omar bin Laden from returning to France “for any reason whatsoever.”
Later Tuesday, the Orne prefecture in northern France said Omar bin Laden, a national of Qatar, had lived in the town of Domfront-en-Poiraie since 2018.
On the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death in May 2023, comments that French officials say glorified “terrorism and Al-Qaeda” were published on social media in the name of Omar bin Laden, on an account that has now been suspended. A probe was launched in France.
While Omar bin Laden denied being the author of the “reprehensible comments” he did not delete or condemn them, the prefecture said. He was ordered to leave France on October 27, 2023 and did so “voluntarily.” He appealed the decision but a French court upheld the ruling last week.
He left his father at the age of 19.
Speaking to AFP in 2022, Omar bin Laden had said he felt good in France. “I feel free from the responsibility of my father’s actions,” he said at the time. “Nobody judges me, they respect me and they leave me in peace.”
US special forces killed the Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan in 2011.
Pascal Martin, who described himself as Omar’s artistic agent, said bin Laden now lived in Qatar and suffered from psychological problems. Martin and Omar bin Laden’s wife decided not to inform him of the announcement.
“He’s too fragile, if he finds out it’s going to hurt him a lot,” Martin told AFP. “This decision is completely crazy, inconceivable,” he added. “He’s had a difficult life,” Martin said, describing him as “the victim of terrorism.” “Being a son of Osama bin Laden has been an ordeal for him.”
Martin also said his friend was not capable of advocating terrrorism or the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil.
“He says that his life stopped on that day,” Martin said. “In none of his statements did I hear him advocate terrorism.”
According to Martin, his friend was placed into police custody but then released, “without any charge against him that I know of.” “He just has the misfortune of being a bin Laden,” Martin added.
Another friend, Harry Atterton, said the decision was “scandalous.” Atterton, a 87-year-old Briton who also lives in Domfront-en-Poiraie, said Omar bin Laden had “managed to separate himself from his father’s ideology.”
He described the man as “slightly shy” and generous, saying he did not talk much. “There are thousands of potential terrorists who should leave France, but they chose Omar,” added Atterton.
Omar bin Laden’s marriage to British woman Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother and over two decades his senior, had caused considerable media interest when it was confirmed in 2007. After marriage she took on the Muslim name of Zaina Mohammed.
Omar bin Laden sought to live in the UK, but his bid was rejected by the British authorities. Osama bin Laden, himself the son of a wealthy Saudi construction magnate, is believed to have had some two dozen children.
Retailleau has vowed to bring “order” on immigration and crime, insisting that “the rule of law is neither intangible nor sacred.”
Italian media crew attacked in Lebanon, driver dies of heart attack
- RAI TG3’s Lucia Goracci and Marco Nicois were attacked by unidentified man in Sidon, near Israeli border
- Longtime collaborator Ahmad Akil Hamzeh was trying to explain the situation when he collapsed unexpectedly
LONDON: Italian journalist Lucia Goracci and cameraman Marco Nicois were attacked in Lebanon on Tuesday while covering the situation near the Israeli border in Sidon. Their local driver, Ahmad Akil Hamzeh, tragically died of a heart attack during the incident.
The RAI TG3 crew, from Italy’s state television, had been reporting on the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike when they were confronted by an unidentified man who attempted to seize their camera.
“We were in Jiyeh, north of Sidon, at the site of a bombing that took place two nights ago,” Goracci recounted during a live broadcast, visibly shaken by the attack.
“The fixer had reported our presence to Hezbollah. We were filming without problems, and people were talking to us,” Goracci said. “Then someone appeared and tried to snatch the camera from us. We got back in the car ready to leave quickly, but more people arrived.”
Chased and attacked by the man, who reportedly threw a stone at them, they were confronted a second time at a gas station outside town.
“He was following us, and when the driver stopped at a gas station, by then we were out of town, he came at us, snatched the keys, tried to destroy the camera while no one came to our aid,” Goracci said.
Hamzeh, the driver and longtime collaborator, tried to mediate but collapsed unexpectedly.
“He passed away, fell to the ground. We ran to the hospital, and they told us that he had died after long attempts to revive him,” the journalist continued.
Marcello Greco, deputy editor in chief of foreign affairs at TG3, expressed shock at the attack and extended condolences to Hamzeh’s family.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also voiced solidarity with the TG3 team and offered heartfelt sympathy to Hamzeh’s loved ones.
While initial reports suggested the attackers may have been Hezbollah supporters, Goracci later told Italian news agency ANSA that the incident “was an outburst without any political implications,” caused by widespread tension among the population of the areas under attack.
Goracci, mourning the loss of her friend and colleague, said, “We have no words to describe Ahmed’s human depth and great sweetness.”
