Greece repatriates dozens of citizens, foreigners from Israel
'The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,' it said in a statement.
Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.
Visitors have rushed to leave Israel after it launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
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Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Israel in talks to resettle Gaza Palestinians in South Sudan, sources say
NAIROBI, Aug 16— South Sudan and Israel are discussing a deal to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in the troubled African nation, three sources told Reuters - a plan quickly dismissed as unacceptable by Palestinian leaders. The sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity, said no agreement had been reached but talks between South Sudan and Israel were ongoing. The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war with Israel to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by years of political and ethnically-driven violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the information from the three sources. A spokesperson for the US State Department said, 'we do not speak to private diplomatic conversations,' when asked about the plan and if the United States supported the idea. Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily. Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving Gaza's population to any country. Palestinians say that would be like another 'Nakba' (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. The three sources said the prospect of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between Israeli officials and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba when he visited the country last month. Their account appeared to contradict South Sudan's foreign ministry which on Wednesday dismissed earlier reports on the plan as 'baseless'. The ministry was not immediately available to respond to the sources' assertions yesterday. News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter. Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Palestinian leadership and people 'reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place'. His statement echoed a statement from the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday. Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, told reporters that those discussions had not focussed on relocation. 'This is not what the discussions were about,' she said when asked if any such plan had been discussed. 'The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organisations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war,' she said, referring to her talks with Juba officials. Netanyahu, who met Kumba last month, has said Israel is in touch with a few countries to find a destination for Palestinians who want to leave Gaza. He has consistently declined to provide further details. — Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Israeli far-right minister backs contentious West Bank settlement plan
The West Bank is home to around 500,000 Israeli settlers, a presence considered illegal under international law. (EPA Images pic) JERUSALEM : Israel's finance minister backed plans on Thursday to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the territory's annexation in response to several countries' plans to recognise a Palestinian state. The United Nations chief warned that building Israeli homes in the area would 'put an end to' hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel has long had ambitions to build on the sensitive parcel of land east of Jerusalem known as E1, but the plan has been frozen for decades amid international opposition. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, while critics and the international community have warned construction on the roughly 12 square kilometres would undermine hopes for a contiguous future Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital. The site sits between the ancient city and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near routes connecting the north and south of the Palestinian territory. There are also separate, frozen plans to expand Israel's separation barrier to envelop the area. 'Those who want to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive a response from us on the ground… Through concrete actions: houses, neighbourhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives,' said Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, who was speaking at a pro-settlement event on the advancement of plans for the E1 parcel. 'On this important day, I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, to abandon once and for all the idea of partitioning the country, and to ensure that by September, the hypocritical European leaders will have nothing left to recognise,' the far-right figurehead added, using the Biblical term for the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Britain and France are among several countries to announce in recent weeks plans to recognise a Palestinian state later this year, saying they wanted to keep the two-state solution alive. 'Breach of international law' Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, said 'If this went ahead – which we call on the Israeli government not to do… it would sever the northern and southern West banks.' He added that 'it would put an end to the prospects of a two-state solution'. The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the plans and called for 'genuine international intervention and the imposition of sanctions on the occupation to compel it to halt the implementation'. 'Colonial construction in the E1 area is a continuation of the occupation's plans to destroy the opportunity for the establishment of a Palestinian state,' it added. The European Union's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the plan 'further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law' and called on Israel 'to desist'. Germany said it 'strongly objects' to the plan and called on the Israeli government to 'stop settlement construction', while Saudi Arabia also condemned the move 'in the strongest possible terms'. Israeli NGO Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, denounced the E1 plan as 'deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution'. The NGO said the final approval hearing would be held next Wednesday by a technical committee under the defence ministry that has already rejected all objections to the proposals. After the bureaucratic steps are completed, 'infrastructure work in E1 could begin within a few months, and housing construction within about a year', Peace Now said. The West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as about 500,000 Israeli settlers.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
UN warns Russia, Israel of conflict sex crimes listing risk
Israel rejected the UN report's findings on its army, saying focus should be on Hamas's war crimes and the release of all hostages. (AFP pic) UNITED NATIONS : The United Nations warned Israel and Russia on Thursday that their militaries faced being listed as parties suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict in light of credible evidence of violations. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres's report said the two countries risked being added to a list of parties thought to use sexual violence including rape in conflict that includes Myanmar's military, Sudan's army and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'Due to significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli armed and security forces and Russian armed and security forces and affiliated armed groups, these parties have been put on notice for potential listing in the next reporting period,' said the annual report. 'These concerns relate primarily to violations recorded in detention settings.' In the case of Israel, the report alleges 'credible information' military and security forces perpetrated patterns of sexual violence including 'genital violence, prolonged forced nudity and repeated strip searches conducted in an abusive and degrading manner.' In February, the Israeli army said it had charged five soldiers for abusing a Palestinian detainee at a site used to hold Palestinians following the start of the war in Gaza in the wake of the Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. Among the charges was an allegation that the accused had stabbed a man with a sharp object 'which had penetrated near the detainee's rectum.' The report said there was 'credible' evidence of violations 'against Ukrainian prisoners of war, in 50 official and 22 unofficial detention facilities in Ukraine' and Russia. 'These cases comprised a significant number of documented incidents of genital violence, including electrocution, beatings and burns to the genitals, and forced stripping and prolonged nudity, used to humiliate and elicit confessions or information,' it said. In 2024, the human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine documented 209 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, the report added. Israel has cooperated with a special representative on the issue of sexual violence in conflict, whereas Russia has not, the report said. The report said however that Israel's refusal to grant access to inspectors had frustrated her ability to determine patterns and trends. Israel rejected the report's findings and called a letter that accompanied it from Guterres 'unusual.' 'The UN must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,' Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said. 'Israel will not shy away from protecting its citizens and will continue to act in accordance with international law.' Russia's embassy to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.
