Turkish government 'seeking to sabotage' disarmament process, says PKK leader
The Kurdish PKK group on Wednesday said that some elements of the Turkish government are seeking to undermine a historic disarmament process meant to put an end to decades of conflict.
The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, in May declared an end to its armed conflict and was expected to hold a series of ceremonies to destroy its weapons.
But Mustafa Karasu, one of the group's founders and top leaders, told a Kurdish-linked television station that "a group at the heart of the state is seeking to sabotage the process".
"We are ready, but it is the (Turkish) government that has not taken the needed steps," he said.
Read moreAfter PKK's landmark disarmament, leader Ocalan urges 'major shift' to mend Kurdish-Turkish ties
Karasu cited continued Turkish military strikes on PKK positions in northern Irak as well as the lack of improvement in the prison conditions of the PKK's founder Abdullah Ocalan.
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:PKK rejects 'exile' of its members from Turkey after agreeing to disbandKurdish militant group PKK to disband and end armed struggle with Turkey
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32 minutes ago
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MAGA civil war gets uglier as Trump first pal Laura Loomer hurls Qatar money ‘lie' at Tucker Carlson
The MAGA civil war over the specter of America joining Israel's conflict with Iran has grown increasingly ugly in recent days as Donald Trump superfan and 'proud Islamophobe' Laura Loomer is now accusing Tucker Carlson of being bankrolled by Qatar, prompting Carlson's team to call out Loomer's 'lie.' Loomer, who generally sides with the hardcore 'America First' wing of Trump's coalition, has split from the MAGA isolationists and found common cause with the hawkish Republicans and right-wing commentators who are incessantly nudging the president to take military action against Tehran. In doing so, Loomer — who has the president's ear — has also pledged to snitch on any of her fellow conservative pundits and influencers who 'is sh*t talking Trump right now,' anointing herself the 'loyalty enforcer' of MAGA. 'I am screenshotting everyone's posts and I'm going to deliver them in a package to President Trump so he sees who is truly with him and who isn't,' Loomer tweeted this week. 'And I think by now everyone knows I mean it when I say I'm going to deliver something to Trump.' The rabid Trump supporter and self-described 'investigative journalist,' who has already taken credit for Trump axing his national security adviser and other 'disloyal' aides, is now looking to use her influence with the president to kneecap another longtime Trump ally who has been critical of the administration's Iran saber-rattling. During a recent discussion with Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist who has also warned the president about attacking Iran, Carlson denied the implication lobbed by Fox News host Mark Levin that he was being paid by the Qatari government. Levin, who has been engaged in a months-long back-and-forth with his former Fox colleague over the brewing tensions with Iran, also accused Carlson of leaking stories to the press about him. 'Chatsworth Qatarlson is very angry,' Levin tweeted last week. 'Busy leaking to and planting stories with his media pals. Burning up his cellphone with calls to his embeds in government and his Koch-heads at the Quincy institute. A desperate man does desperate things.' The 'Qatarlson' jab appeared to refer to a Washington Examiner story last month about Qatar's foreign influence operation targeting conservative media figures, specifically noting that the Muslim kingdom's 'biggest victory in its post-election right-wing media campaign' was Carlson's friendly interview with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in March. The story noted that Foreign Agents Registration Act records showed that consulting firm Lumen8 Advisors LLC helped facilitate the interview, adding that the Qatari government was paying Lumen8 Advisors $180,000 per month 'to provide media and communication coaching and consulting services.' Meanwhile, the story that Levin suggested Carlson 'planted' was a Politico article about the 'MAGA vs. hawk battle' over Iran and Trump. Politico reported that Levin had a private lunch with Trump earlier this month in which he told the president that 'Iran was days away from building a nuclear weapon' despite American intelligence saying the opposite. The previously unreported meeting, where Levin urged Trump to allow Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, was sourced to 'an intelligence official as well as another Trump ally familiar with the matter.' During his sitdown with Bannon earlier this week, Carlson outright refuted that the Qatari government had paid him. 'They know I'm not working for Qatar,' he declared. 'I've never taken a dime from any foreign country or anybody. They're the ones who have these weird, complex motives, and so they project onto everyone else the same.' Sharing a screenshot of the FARA documents that the Examiner had reported on last month, Loomer — who backtracked on her criticism of Trump accepting a free Qatari jet last month — claimed that she had caught Carlson lying and that he was peddling 'propaganda' on behalf of 'genocidal Muslims.' 'Tucker is controlled by Muslims. People need to wake up and stop pretending like this is a conspiracy theory,' she tweeted. 'Qatar and Iran are buying off conservative podcasters to push pro-Islamist, anti-American and anti-Israel talking points to undermine President Trump.' She also urged Bannon to 'correct the record for his viewers' and tell them Carlson was 'lying' about Qatar funding him, claiming that the Qataris had dished out $200,000 for Carlson's interview. 'Tucker is in fact being influenced by foreign money to spew propaganda for Islamists,' she added. 'This is un-American and dishonest.' The actual FARA document, however, shows that Lumen8 Advisors had not disbursed any money in connection with activity on behalf of Qatar over the past six months, something Neil patel – the CEO of Carlson's media company and longtime friend of the former Fox News star – pointed out this week while denying Loomer's accusations. 'Allegations that Tucker Carlson or Tucker Carlson Network took money from any foreign country for an interview or for any other reason are categorically and definitively false and defamatory,' Patel posted on X on Wednesday, which Carlson retweeted. 'Neither Tucker nor TCN has ever taken a penny from Qatar or any foreign country. To the contrary, TCN bought out all its investors last March to achieve total and absolute independence. Almost no other major media company can make that claim.' 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Yahoo
an hour ago
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Facing settler threats, Palestinian Bedouins forced out of rural West Bank community
By Ali Sawafta JORDAN VALLEY, West Bank (Reuters) -Thirty Palestinian families left their home in a remote area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, saying they were forced out after years of persistent harassment and violence by Israeli settlers. The families, members of the Bedouin Mleihat tribe from a shepherding community in the Jordan Valley, began dismantling homes built with iron sheets and wooden boards on Friday, overwhelmed by fears of further attacks. "The settlers are armed and attack us, and the (Israeli) military protects them. We can't do anything to stop them. We can't take it anymore, so we decided to leave," said Mahmoud Mleihat, a 50-year-old father of seven from the community. As the Palestinians took down their encampment, an Israeli settler armed with a rifle and several Israeli soldiers looked on. Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley, a sparsely populated region near the Jordan River, have faced escalating harassment from settlers in recent years, including violence. Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has documented repeated acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in Mu'arrajat, near Jericho, where the Mleihat tribe lives. In 2024, settlers armed with clubs stormed a Palestinian school, while in 2023, armed settlers blocked the path of vehicles carrying Palestinians, with some firing into the air and others hurling stones at the vehicles. "We want to protect our children, and we've decided to leave," Mahmoud said, describing it as a great injustice. He had lived in the community since he was 10, Mahmoud said. Israel's military did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the settler harassment faced by the Bedouin families or about the families leaving their community. Asked about settler violence in the West Bank, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday that any acts of violence by civilians were unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands. Activists say Israeli settlement expansion has accelerated in recent years, displacing Palestinians, who have remained on their land under military occupation since Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. B'Tselem representative Sarit Michaeli said the Mleihat tribe had faced "intense settler violence" that included, theft, vandalism, and assault. This week, she said, the settlers had established an informal outpost near the Palestinians' home. The military was failing to protect Palestinians from attacks by settlers, who she said acted with impunity. Aaliyah Mleihat, 28, said the Bedouin community, which had lived there for 40 years, would now be scattered across different parts of the Jordan Valley, including nearby Jericho. "People are demolishing their own homes with their own hands, leaving this village they've lived in for decades, the place where their dreams were built," she said, describing the forced displacement of 30 families as a "new Nakba". The Nakba, meaning 'catastrophe' in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes during 1948 at the birth of the state of Israel. Most countries consider Israeli settlements a violation of the Geneva Conventions which ban settling civilians on occupied land; Israel says the settlements are lawful and justified by historic and biblical Jewish ties to the land. (Writing by Alexander Cornwell, Editing by William Maclean)
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an hour ago
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Hamas says it has given a 'positive' response to the latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza
DEIR al-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas said Friday it has given a 'positive' response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but said further talks were needed on implementation. It was not clear if Hamas' statement meant it had accepted the proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war, now nearly 21 months old. Donald Trump has been pushing hard for a deal to be reached, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit the White House next week to discuss a deal. The Hamas statement came as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza early Friday, while a hospital said another 20 people died in shootings while seeking aid. The U.N. human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said. Efforts ongoing to halt the war Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which the U.S. would "work with all parties to end the war.' He urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. In its statement late Friday, Hamas said it 'has submitted its positive response' to Egyptian and Qatari mediators. It said it is 'fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework.' It did not elaborate on what needed to be worked out in implementation. A Hamas official said the ceasefire could start as early as next week but he said talks were needed first to work out how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for each freed Israeli hostage and to specify the amount of aid that will enter Gaza during the truce. Hamas has said it wants aid to flow in greater quantities through the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the response with the press. The official also said that negotiations would start from the first day of the truce on a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in return for the release of remaining hostages. He said that Trump has guaranteed that the truce will be extended beyond 60 days if needed for those negotiations to reach a deal. There has been no confirmation from the United States of such a guarantee. Previous rounds of negotiations have run aground over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the destruction of the militant group. 'We'll see what happens. We're going to know over the next 24 hours,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One late Thursday when asked if Hamas had agreed to the latest framework for a ceasefire. 20 killed Friday while seeking aid Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said at least three Palestinians were killed Friday while on the roads heading to food distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern Gaza. Since GHF began distributions in late May, witnesses have said almost daily that Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians on the roads leading to the food centers. To reach the sites, people must walk several kilometers (miles) through an Israeli military zone where troops control the road. The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops. The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's military. On Friday, in reaction to the U.N. rights agency's report, it said in a statement that it was investigating reports of people killed and wounded while seeking aid. It said it was working at 'minimizing possible friction between the population' and Israeli forces, including by installing fences and placing signs on the routes. Separately, witnesses have said Israeli troops open fire toward crowds of Palestinians who gather in military-controlled zones to wait for aid trucks entering Gaza for the U.N. or other aid organizations not associated with GHF. On Friday, 17 people were killed waiting for trucks in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area, officials at Nasser Hospital said. Three survivors told the AP they had gone to wait for the trucks in a military 'red zone' in Khan Younis and that troops opened fire from a tank and drones. It was a 'crowd of people, may God help them, who want to eat and live,' said Seddiq Abu Farhana, who was shot in the leg, forcing him to drop a bag of flour he had grabbed. 'There was direct firing.' Airstrikes also hit the Muwasi area on the southern end of Gaza's Mediterranean coast, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes are sheltering in tent camps. Of the 15 people killed in the strikes, eight were women and one was a child, according to the hospital. Israel's military said it was looking into Friday's reported airstrikes. It had no immediate comment on the reported shootings surrounding the aid trucks. U.N. investigates shootings near aid sites The spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, said the agency was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. But she said 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by GHF. In a message to The Associated Press, Shamdasani said that of the total tallied, 509 killings were 'GHF-related,' meaning at or near its distribution sites. In a statement Friday, GHF cast doubt on the casualty figures, accusing the U.N. of taking its casualty figures 'directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry'and of trying 'to falsely smear our effort.' Shamdasani, the U.N. rights office spokesperson, told the AP that the data 'is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical, human rights and humanitarian organizations.' Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization, said Nasser Hospital, the biggest hospital operating in the south, receives dozens or hundreds of casualties every day, most coming from the vicinity of the food distribution sites. The International Committee of the Red Cross also said in late June that its field hospital near one of the GHF sites has been overwhelmed more than 20 times in the previous months by mass casualties, most suffering gunshot injuries while on their way to the food distribution sites. Also on Friday, Israel's military said two soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, one in the north and one in the south. Over 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began, including more than 400 during the fighting in Gaza. The Israeli military also issued new evacuation orders Friday in northeast Khan Younis in southern Gaza and urged Palestinians to move west ahead of planned military operations against Hamas in the area. The new evacuation zones pushed Palestinians into increasingly smaller spaces by the coast. The Health Ministry in Gaza said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory has passed 57,000. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is run by medical professionals employed by the Hamas government, and its numbers are widely cited by the U.N. and international organizations. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. ___ Kullab reported from Jerusalem and Mroue from Beirut. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed.
