Israel urges Egypt to block Gaza-bound activist convoy
JERUSALEM: Israel's defense minister on Wednesday called on Egypt to block a hundreds-strong pro-Palestinian activist convoy from reaching Gaza, as the group arrived in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
'I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza — an act that would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed,' Israel Katz said in a statement.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Nationwide protests against immigration raids escalate, leading to arrests and curfews
An anti ICE protesters is detained by Texas state troopers near the Alamo in downtown San Antonio on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo) People gather in protest against ICE, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raids at the San Antonio City Hall on June 11, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP) People march against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at San Antonio City Hall on June 11, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Getty Images via AFP) AUSTIN, Texas: Protests over federal immigration enforcement raids are flaring up around the country, as officials in cities from coast to coast get ready for major demonstrations against President Donald Trump over the weekend. While many demonstrations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been peaceful, with marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs, others have led to clashes with police who have sometimes used chemical irritants to disperse crowds. Hundreds have been arrested. Volatile protests prompted city officials to enforce curfews in Los Angeles and Spokane. And Republican governors in Texas and Missouri mobilized National Guard troops to be ready to help law enforcement manages demonstrations in those states. Activists are planning 'No Kings' events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump's planned military parade in Washington, D.C. While those were already scheduled, they will happen amid the rising tensions of the week. The Trump administration said immigration raids and deportations will continue regardless. A look at some recent protests and reactions across the country: Las Vegas Police said 94 people were arrested on 'various criminal and traffic' charges, and four officers were injured in a Wednesday night protest. Some in the estimated crowd of about 800 threw bottles and rocks at law enforcement, police said. A large crowd gathered on Las Vegas Boulevard near the city's federal courthouse and blocked several streets before police deemed the gathering an unlawful assembly. Police announced in English and Spanish that protesters must leave the area. Local media reported that tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets were used to disperse the crowds. Chicago Hundreds of demonstrators packed a park plaza near Lake Michigan on Thursday. Veronica Castro, an organizer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, urged people to learn how to protect themselves and elected officials to speak out. Demonstrators chanted 'No hate, no fear.' The group later marched along the city's iconic Michigan Avenue, flanked by their own security marshals and Chicago police officers on bicycles and in slow-moving patrol cars. The crowd, including parents with strollers, students and longtime organizers chanted, 'Power to the people, no one is illegal.' Seattle Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Seattle Wednesday evening to a federal building where immigration cases are heard. Some of them dragged a dumpster nearby and set it on fire. The building was covered in graffiti, with 'Abolish ICE Now' written in large letters across its front window. They moved electric bikes and cones to block its entrance. Dozens of officers squared off with protesters near the federal building, with some shooting pepper spray. Police worked to move the crowd away and some protesters threw fireworks and rocks at officers, according to the Seattle Police Department. Spokane, Washington Mayor Lisa Brown imposed an overnight curfew in downtown Spokane after a protest Wednesday afternoon outside an ICE office that ended with more than 30 arrests and police firing pepper balls at the crowd. Brown said the curfew would 'protect public safety,' and that the majority of protesters were peaceful. 'We respect their right to peacefully protest and to be upset about federal policies,' she said. 'I have been that person who has protested federal policies and that is a right we have.' San Antonio Several hundred protesters marched through downtown San Antonio and near the historic Alamo mission. Although Texas National Guard troops were seen in the area, the demonstration was mostly peaceful with no significant clashes with law enforcement. The Alamo building and plaza, among the most popular tourist attractions in the state, was closed to the public early and police guarded the property as the crowd gathered and marched nearby. Tuscon, Arizona A protest Wednesday outside an ICE office in Tuscon, Arizona, turned into a clash between masked security officers and demonstrators who blocked a roadway, threw balloons filled with paint and spray painted anti-ICE graffiti on the gates and walls of the facility. Video clips showed a security officer who was hit with a water bottle. Masked protesters held makeshift shields as they inched toward the security team, and a member of the security team set off what appeared to be a flash-bang device. At one point, a security officer sprayed a chemical irritant at protesters and a protester responded by firing irritant back at the officers. It was unclear if the officers were private security or federal agents. The Associated Press left messages with the Tucson Police Department and ICE's operation in Arizona. 'No Kings' This week's protests are leading into the scheduled 'No Kings' demonstrations that organizers say are planned in nearly 2,000 locations around the country, from city blocks to small towns, courthouse steps to community parks, according to the movement's website. Organizers plan a flagship march and rally in Philadelphia, but no protests are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will be held. In Florida, state Attorney General James Uthmeier warned that any 'No Kings' protesters who become violent will be dealt with harshly. 'If you want to light things on fire and put people in danger, you are going to do time. We do not tolerate rioting,' said Uthmeier said Thursday. Federal prosecutors are watching as well. In a message sent Thursday, a Justice Department official told US attorneys across the country to prioritize cases against protesters who engage in violence and destruction. The email cites several potential federal charges, including assault, civil disorder and damage of government property. Governors and the Guard Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe mobilized National Guard troops in their states ahead of the weekend demonstrations. Abbott said more than 5,000 guard troops and more than 2,000 state police would be ready to assist local law enforcement if needed. Several 'No Kings' rallies are planned in Texas, including in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin. There were brief clashes between protesters and police who used chemical irritants during demonstrations in Austin and Dallas earlier in the week. Police in Austin made about a dozen arrests. Mayors in San Antonio and Austin have said they didn't ask for help from the National Guard. Kehoe's announcement called his decision a 'precautionary measure' and did not provide specific troop levels or duties. His order authorized guard leadership to call up as many members as necessary. Abbott and Kehoe stand in sharp contrast to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has publicly sparred with Trump over the president's decision to send National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles, where volatile demonstrations have mostly been contained to a five-block section of downtown. All 22 other Democratic governors signed a statement backing Newsom, calling the Guard deployment and threats to send in Marines 'an alarming abuse of power.' ____ Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Curt Anderson in Tampa, Florida; Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix; David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; and Lisa Baumann and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Sweden accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza aid blockade
STOCKHOLM: Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve, which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday. In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime,' while several rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. 'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Lifesaving humanitarian help must never be politicized or militarized,' Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. 'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she said. 'It is crucial that food, water, and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions,' she said. Sweden announced in December 2024 that it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, after Israel banned the organization, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's press conference that Stockholm was now channeling aid through other UN organizations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza.' The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said Internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza following an attack on the territory's last fiber optic cable. 'All Internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been cut following the targeting of the last remaining main fiber optic line in Gaza,' the PA's Telecommunications Ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of attempting to cut Gaza off from the world. 'The southern and central Gaza Strip have now joined Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip in experiencing complete isolation for the second consecutive day,' the ministry said in a statement. It added that its maintenance and repair teams had been unable to safely access the sites where the fiber optic cable was damaged. 'The Israeli occupation continues to prevent technical teams from repairing the cables that were cut yesterday,' it said, adding that Israeli authorities had prevented repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza 'for weeks and months.' The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communication lines were 'directly targeted by occupation forces.' It said the Internet outage was hindering its emergency services by impeding communication with first responder teams in the field. 'The emergency operations room is also struggling to coordinate with other organizations to respond to humanitarian cases.' Maysa Monayer, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Communication Ministry, said that 'mobile calls are still available with very limited capacity' in Gaza for the time being. Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure across the Palestinian territory, including water mains, power lines and roads.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Egypt blocks activists aiming to march to Gaza to draw attention to humanitarian crisis
RABAT: Egypt blocked activists planning to take part in a march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin. Egyptian authorities and activists both said Thursday that people planning to march across the Sinai Peninsula were deported. To draw attention to the humanitarian crisis afflicting people in Gaza, marchers have for months planned to trek about 30 miles (about 50 kilometers) from the city of Arish to Egypt's border with the enclave on Sunday to 'create international moral and media pressure' to open the crossing at Rafah and lift a blockade that has prevented aid from entering. Saif Abu Keshek, one of the activists organizing the march, said that about 200 activists — mostly Algerians and Moroccans — were detained or deported. But those arriving to the Cairo International Airport on Thursday afternoon were allowed into Egypt, the Spain-based activist added. Organizers have not received approval from Egyptian authorities for Sunday's march and were evaluating how to proceed, he said. An Egyptian official on Thursday said more than three dozen activists, mostly carrying European passports, were deported upon their arrival at the Cairo International Airport in the past two days. The official said the activists aimed to travel to Northern Sinai 'without obtaining required authorizations.' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
