Israel bars Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week
Speaking to the local Wafa news agency, Muhammad Ahmad Hussein said he was summoned by Israeli intelligence for an interrogation.
The ban follows a sermon he lead on Friday at the mosque, where he condemned Israel's siege and starvation of Gaza's population.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
British Museum justification for Israel embassy event under scrutiny after FOI response
Revelations from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request have raised questions around the British Museum's claim that it had no say in a decision to host an event for the Israeli embassy, as it 'cannot undermine' UK foreign policy. On 13 May, the museum hosted an event organised by the Israeli embassy celebrating the anniversary of Israel's 77th Independence Day. Amid mounting anger from staff, who previously told Middle East Eye that they had been kept in the dark about the event, the museum issued statements insisting that, as an arms-length body, it cannot 'deviate from or undermine the UK government's foreign policy'. But a response to an FOI request asking for documentation evidencing this requirement reveals that the museum does not hold any legal advice or policy documents to support the claim, indicating that it did have a choice about whether or not to host the event. The response states that: 'As a Public Body, all money spent by the Museum is classified as public money and some of this money is provided by the Government. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'In this context it is the responsibility of the Board and the Executive, to which the Board delegates responsibility for running the Museum, to judge how the Museum must fulfil its duty to the public'. 'This duty is not prescribed but the Trustees and the Executive are helped by guidance such as the Cabinet Office Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies', it stated. The response suggests that the museum was not obliged, or otherwise forced, to hold the Israel embassy event but rather it was a choice made by its management. British Museum set to return ancient Greek statue looted from Libya Read More » A British Museum staff member described the revelations as 'very, very embarrassing'. 'This proves once again that they've been lying to British Museum employees,' the staff member told MEE. 'The museum has to give us an explanation, but also take a clear stand now because this means we don't have to follow the UK government,' they said. 'We can at least take some steps such as refusing to lend objects to Israel or have any cultural interaction with them'. They added that some members of staff are contemplating leaving as a result of management's handling of the event. 'We're all quite disgusted. I think that's the only way to put it. And we're wondering what to expect next - is there something worse?' the staff member said. 'Actively deceived' A spokesperson for the campaign group Energy Embargo for Palestine (EEFP) said that the revelations prove that the museum 'actively deceived' both its staff and the public, and 'purposefully lied about why it chose to host the event'. 'The insight obtained by MEE demonstrates that the museum was not forced to host the event, but that it chose to, and that the interests of the museum directorate are aligned with those celebrating and profiting from genocide - whether it's the Zionist consulate in Britain or BP, which it has a £50m sponsorship deal with,' the spokesperson added. 'We're all quite disgusted' - Member of staff at the British Museum MEE previously revealed that, as of 16 April, the museum had corresponded with the museum's sponsoring department, the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS). In response to a request for comment by MEE, the British Museum said: 'Fundamentally, this was a commercial event – and as such is different to activities or events the Museum generates or hosts itself.' According to the ex-civil servant who made the FOI request, it is irregular for a non-departmental government body to engage with its sponsoring department concerning private events or anything at the level of day-to-day operational detail. Meanwhile, a separate FOI request to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology revealed an email from Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely requesting the department's secretary of state, Peter Kyle, attend the event as the 'UK government's representative' delivering the evening's 'keynote speech'. In her email, Hotovely's framing of the event suggests it was not a corporate function but a joint effort by the UK and Israeli governments 'to highlight the strong bilateral links' and to endorse 'the existence, safety and security of the State of Israel'.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Nour and Remas escaped Israel's bombs – then its starvation policy killed them
Ashraf Abo Salla spent 21 months shielding his 11-year-old daughter Nour from Israeli bombardment, dodging bombs, shelling and snipers. But there was one thing he couldn't protect her from: hunger. Nour died of starvation caused by a brutal Israeli siege. Her father couldn't find food, and the lentils they were given weren't enough to keep her alive. In a Gaza morgue, frail and hollow-eyed, he appeared consumed by guilt, though none of this was his doing. He didn't cry, but his despair and anger were raw as he wrapped Nour's skeletal body, her ribs and wrists clearly visible, in a blue sheet. Her clothes were still on: dirty jeans and a worn black blouse she seemed to have lived and died in. 'They trick us with a handful of lentils, but children need bread too. They need milk,' he told The National, in reference to the aid being distributed, which is given under the constant threat of being killed, by an Israel-US backed foundation. 'She survived on the community kitchens, but those are gone now,' he added, standing in front of a cracked wall where a corner had been broken to make space for black plastic body bags. More than 60,000 Palestinians, among them tens of thousands of children, have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the war. Despite global outrage, Israel has refused to halt its bombardment, claiming it is targeting Hamas, but in the process it is destroying the lives and futures of hundreds of thousands of people. Starvation is increasingly being used as a weapon of war, according to the UN. In recent weeks, dozens have died of hunger in the besieged coastal enclave, where even fishing is banned. A trickle of aid trucks has entered Gaza in the last few days, but the famine is spreading, and children like Nour are dying every day. Cold marble table Images emerging from Gaza show clinics crowded with starving people. Residents have begun posting their daily struggles on social media: a piece of bread shaped like a fish to trick children into believing it's a real fish; a single piece of fruit shared by a family of six; fava beans eaten like snacks. 'They just see us as images,' said the aunt of 13-year-old Remas Al Burdeene, speaking from a small clinic in Gaza. Remas's life had been hard long before the famine. She lived with a disability in her legs and had endured war after wa r. This week, she died of hunger, too. On a dark, cold marble table, her tiny legs peeked out from under a brown blanket. Nurses arrived to wrap her body in a white burial shroud. Before that, Dalia, her aunt, had covered her with her own blanket and held her one last time. The blanket had a drawing of a dark blue sky. 'No one is doing anything to help us,' the aunt said, her body as thin as Remas's. On Tuesday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) issued an alert over the rise in hunger-related deaths in Gaza, warning that access to food and other essentials has plummeted to unprecedented levels. 'Famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip,' the IPC said in a report. For Dr Khalil Al Dajran, of Al Aqsa Hospital, the worst is yet to come, despite international outrage and even US President Donald Trump acknowledging the starvation crisis and calling for Gaza's children to be fed. 'Today we announced 14 more deaths due to malnutrition, raising the number of starvation deaths to 147, of which 88 are children,' he told The National. 'We fear the number will increase in the coming days,' warned the doctor, who was speaking outside the hospital near a field clinic, as people waited on the pavement for news of loved ones. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to acknowledge the consequences of his decisions and his army's siege policy. 'There is no starvation in Gaza,' he claimed in a speech.
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Turkey to follow The Hague Group's measures against Israel 'to stop the genocide'
Turkey on Tuesday said it was taking six measures against Israel, following commitments agreed earlier this month by a cohort of countries seeking to stop the Israeli war on Gaza. By endorsing The Hague Group's joint statement of the Bogota Emergency Conference on Palestine, Turkey has become the first country to sign on to the commitments since the summit on 16 July. The Bogota summit culminated in a joint declaration by states demanding international sanctions against Israel and legal accountability for what participants described as "grave violations of international law" in Gaza. The six measures include suspending military exports to Israel, refusing the transit of Israeli weapons through their ports and airspace, reviewing all public contracts to prevent state institutions and pension funds from supporting Israeli companies or the occupation of Palestinian territories. They also included a vow to actively support universal jurisdiction cases and International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants to pursue accountability for alleged war crimes. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'Children are not only dying from bombings, but also from starvation. This is a man-made humanitarian disaster pointing to a moral and systemic collapse. Israel is inventing genocide in the 21st century," Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz said in a statement shared with Middle East Eye. 'It is evident that under its current course, Israel will not stop its genocidal attacks," Yilmaz said, announcing his government's decision to endorse the Bogota declaration. "We support the Hague Group's righteous call for upholding international law and announcing measures against Israel for its violations." The Hague Group is a bloc of eight states - Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa - launched on 31 January in the eponymous Dutch city with the stated goal of holding Israel accountable under international law. UN's Albanese calls out 'appalling' EU failure to sanction Israel as 32-nation summit in Bogota kicks off Read More » The Bogota summit, co-hosted by Colombia and South Africa, brought together representatives from more than 30 countries across Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, marking the most coordinated diplomatic effort yet by a coalition of states opposing Israel's ongoing military onslaught in Gaza. Middle East Eye understands that more states will join The Hague Group within the coming weeks. Israel is coming under increased scrutiny as its strategy of starvation is killing more Palestinians in Gaza every day. Almost 150 Palestinians have died of malnutrition since October 2023, which Gaza's health ministry on Tuesday said the overall death toll had topped 60,000 people. On Monday, two major Israeli human rights groups said Israel is waging genocide in Gaza and on Tuesday the world's top hunger monitor said the "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza due to the starvation and siege. Yildiz said Turkey reiterates its calls for unhindered humanitarian aid flow to Gaza, as well as "a coordinated reconstruction process led by Palestinians, and, finally, a concrete roadmap toward a just and lasting peace based on the two-state vision". 'We should not ignore Israel's continuing aggression and violations in the West Bank. This is what can be called deepening the colonisation," he added. "The recent declaration, adopted by the Israeli parliament, openly calling for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, is a dangerous step." South Africa welcomes Turkey's decision At the Bogota conference held on 15-16 July, all 30 participating states agreed on the need to end the 'era of impunity' and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. To kickstart that process, the group said that 12 states from across the world - Bolivia; Colombia; Cuba; Indonesia; Iraq; Libya; Malaysia; Namibia; Nicaragua; Oman; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and South Africa - have committed to implementing the six measures immediately through their domestic legal and administrative systems. The measures seek to "break the ties of complicity with Israel's campaign of devastation in Palestine", the group said. A date has been set for 20 September 2025, coinciding with the 80th UN General Assembly, for additional states to join them in adopting the measures, the statement added. 'The steps taken by Türkiye today are a powerful affirmation that international law must be enforced, not merely referenced. We invite others to follow suit before the September deadline, to end impunity and defend humanity,' Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Executive Secretary of The Hague Group, said on Tuesday. Ronald Lamola, South Africa's Minister for International Relations and Cooperation, also welcomed Turkey's announcement. 'South Africa welcomes the signing of the joint statement by Türkiye. This is a welcome development to strengthen and continue the fight against injustice and ensure accountability.'
