Latest news with #Arabs'
New York Post
02-08-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Arab nations are getting wise to Hamas — even as others foolishly squeeze Israel
Most media ignored last week's most important Middle East development: Arab nations for the first time publicly slammed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and demanded the terrorists surrender power, disarm, and release their hostages. OK, it's a low bar. But it's progress, and a lot more meaningful than British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's threat to recognize a Palestinian state or the other maneuvering over Gaza's food crisis. The landmark demands came in a seven-page declaration Tuesday by 17 countries, plus the European Union and the entire 22-member Arab League, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar. Advertisement British Foreign Secretary David Lammy embraces Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa after Lammy spoke at a United Nations conference on July 29, 2025. AFP via Getty Images They reflect a willingness — finally! — to publicly acknowledge that Hamas' ouster is necessary to end the war in Gaza and thus ease the suffering of its civilians. Hallelujah: We've stressed since Day 1 that the conflict can't end with Hamas in power; the group, after all, openly vows to keep attacking the Jewish state until Israel is destroyed. Advertisement Perhaps the Gaza food shortages got the Arabs' attention — even if most reports misled readers by tacitly (or even openly) blaming Jerusalem for them. Bigger picture: Nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, egged on by President Donald Trump, are now eager to normalize relations with Israel, though they want the Gaza fighting to end first. Sadly, other parts of Tuesday's statement are as misguided as ever, calling for Hamas to 'hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State.' Advertisement With Gaza then seeing 'the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission upon invitation by the Palestinian Authority and under the aegis of the United Nations.' The Palestinian Authority? The United Nations? Neither is fit for real responsibilities: The PA is nothing but an autocratic kleptocracy that uses international-aid funds to enrich its leaders and to pay terrorists to kill Israelis; even clueless President Joe Biden insisted it would have to be 'revitalized' before it could play any role in Gaza. UN peacekeepers, meanwhile, have never managed to keep peace anywhere in the Middle East; instead, the world body's presence — e.g., via groups like the UN Relief and Works Agency — has only fueled violence in the region. Advertisement Even more brainless is Starmer's threat to recognize a Palestinian state, along with France and Canada's plans to do so next month, 'unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a cease-fire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.' Why no threats to Hamas if it keeps preventing food from reaching ordinary Gazans? How about insisting that it hand over its remaining Israeli hostages? Look: Israel has already taken 'substantive steps' to aid Gaza's civilians, and has already agreed to numerous cease-fire plans. Hamas rejects any cease-fire unless Israel agrees to let it keep power in Gaza, even as the terrorists block the peaceful distribution of food aid. It also refuses to release the remaining hostages, knowing that if it did, it would be its last act before total annihilation. As for a 'two-state solution,' Israelis backed it (until Oct. 7, anyway); the problem is finding Palestinian leadership to agree to a deal that doesn't put Israel's future at risk. So why is Starmer threatening Israel? Advertisement Oh, and here's a reality check: The outside world can't actually summon a state into existence; citizens of a would-be nation must create it on their own. Fact is, neither Britain, France, nor any other country can truly claim to care about Gazans unless they focus solely on the heart of the problem: Hamas. That Arab nations are at last starting to admit that it is the most hopeful sign yet for peace.
The Age
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Few believe Iran has nuclear weapons. We can't afford to repeat the Iraq War lie
The Middle East is once again in danger of exploding, with massive global geopolitical and economic implications. The leader who bears most responsibility for this is undoubtedly Benjamin Netanyahu. For years, the Israeli prime minister has doggedly pursued the demise of the Iranian Islamic regime in line with his power interests and his vision of Israel's security requirements. His stated goal has long been to bring down the 'Islamic empire in Iran', 'expand the Abraham Accords with Arabs' and once and for all end the Palestinians' aspirations for an independent state. As part of this Middle East master plan, he has also zeroed in on Iran's nuclear program. But let's not forget: No concrete evidence exists that Iran has been manufacturing nuclear weapons. In a congressional hearing earlier this year, the United States' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed this fact. And earlier this week, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that 'on the basis of our evaluation, we came to the conclusion that we could not affirm that there is any systematic effort in Iran to manufacture a nuclear weapon'. Despite this, Netanyahu continues to insist that Iran is on course to produce nuclear weapons within weeks, and the US is teetering on entering the war in Israel's support. Meanwhile, he omits the fact that Israel itself has its own nuclear program. Though Israel has never formally confirmed or denied its nuclear arsenal, its national Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1952. By 1958, researchers believe the government had established a weapons development site in Dimona, and American intelligence from the 1960s stated that there was a reprocessing plant for plutonium production at the site. Loading As the Federation of American Scientists wrote in 2007, 'the existence of Israeli nuclear weapons is a 'public secret' by now due to the declassification of large numbers of formerly highly classified US government documents which show that the United States by 1975 was convinced that Israel had nuclear weapons'. According to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Israel today has at least 90 nuclear warheads and enough material to produce hundreds more. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog has also found that of the 30 countries capable of developing nuclear weapons, Israel is among nine that possess them (Russia, US, China, France, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea).
Express Tribune
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
'JUI-F's stance on establishment no secret'
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said his party's stance on the establishment's alleged role in politics is no secret and that it has always demanded that the powers that be keep themselves limited to the constitutional role. "We have rejected the establishment's role in manipulating elections. We have always opposed the establishment's interference in politics, and this is our political stance and a political party does not abandon its stance," Fazl said on Sunday while addressing a rally in Hyderabad. He said the establishment may be a power, but it is a subordinate one. "If in Pakistan the right to rule belongs to the people, then the decisions of the people cannot be altered. Whoever tries to change the people's decisions is the greatest criminal against Pakistan, and it is this crime that we are fighting against." He said when India committed aggression against Pakistan last month, it was the JUI-F that urged the nation to stand united against India. "We suspended our differences because it was a matter of the nation's survival and defence and we fulfilled our duty to defend the homeland. "We encouraged our army and if our army achieved success in that war, that is exactly what we desirethat you demonstrate excellence in defence, not in politics." He said if the armed forces play their role in defence then they will honour them like a crown upon our heads. "But if you try to forcibly sit on our heads, we will not tolerate it." He said God bestowed honour upon Pakistan and upon our defence leadership and that they should be thankful to God for this, and should not turn towards pride or arrogance. He said today Israel is not only a cancer in the Arab world but also in the entire Islamic world. "The dagger that British imperialism stabbed into the Arabs' back in the form of Israel still bleeds. But, God willing, Israel will be forced to swallow its own blood and will never gain dominance over the Islamic world," he added.
Kuwait Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Zionists assault Palestinians, activists during flag march
Marchers chant 'death to Arabs' as they mark Zionist entity's occupation of East Jerusalem JERUSALEM: Far-right Zionist Jews assaulted Palestinians, fellow citizens and journalists during a large rally marking the Zionist entity's occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967 following the Six-Day war. The annual "Flag March" drew thousands chanting, dancing and waving flags shortly after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The march frequently stokes tension as ultranationalist Jews stream into Palestinian areas of Jerusalem's walled Old City en route to the Western Wall, one of Judaism's most sacred sites, which abuts the mosque compound. Most countries consider East Jerusalem to be occupied territory and do not recognize Zionist sovereignty over it. Young marchers began harassing the few Palestinian shopkeepers who had yet to shutter their stores ahead of the rally in the walled Old City of East Jerusalem shortly after midday, a Reuters witness said. The marchers, mostly young Zionist settlers who lived in the occupied West Bank, then began to target left-wing activists from the Zionist entity and journalists observing the rally. JERUSALEM: Right-wing activists hold up a banner reading in Hebrew "67 - Jerusalem in our hands; 2025 - Gaza in our hands" as they gather with Zionist entity flags outside the Damascus Gate of the walled Old City of Jerusalem on May 26, 2025, during a flag march for Jerusalem Day. — AFP photos The demonstrators shouted anti-Arab and anti-Islamic slogans, chanting: 'Death to Arabs'. A Palestinian woman and journalists were spat on by a group of settlers, and nearby Zionist entity police did not intervene, the Reuters witness said. Police officials did not respond to a request for comment. No arrests were reported as of late afternoon. A police officer at the scene said young Zionist marchers could not be arrested because they were under the age of 18. Moshe, a 35-year-old Zionist entity settler from the West Bank and supporter of the current right-wing government, walked through a Palestinian neighborhood of the Old City with a rifle slung over his shoulder and his daughter on his shoulders. It was a 'very happy day' because all of Jerusalem was 'under the government of (the Zionist entity,' he said, declining to give his last name. Left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan, a former armed forces deputy commander, described images of violence in the Old City as 'shocking'. He said in a statement: "This is not what loving Jerusalem looks like. This is what hatred, racism and bullying look like." "We will keep Jerusalem united, whole, and under (Zionist entity) sovereignty," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting held in East Jerusalem earlier on Monday. A spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency based in the West Bank condemned the march and Ben Gvir's visit to Al-Aqsa. The Gaza genocide, "repeated incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and provocative acts such as raising the (Zionist occupation's) flag in occupied Jerusalem threaten the stability of the entire region," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement. Clashes flared throughout the day as left-wing activists, who are Zionist entity citizens, intervened to escort Palestinians away from young far-right Zionist Jews threatening passersby, witnesses said. Journalists covering the rally were repeatedly harassed and in some instances assaulted, the Reuters witness said. Ben Gvir in Al-Aqsa Earlier, Ben Gvir stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the walled Old City - the third holiest site in Islam. Ben Gvir said in a video filmed at the elevated compound that the site was being flooded by Jews. "Today, thank God, it is already possible to pray on the Temple Mount,' he said. Under a decades-old arrangement, the compound is administered by a Jordanian Islamic trust. Jews, who regard the compound as the site of two ancient temples, are allowed to visit but not pray there. Ben Gvir, whose visit was condemned by the Palestinian Authority and Jordan - has along with others long pushed for Jewish prayer rights at the site. This year's Flag March again coincided with the Gaza genocide, now in its 20th month, and escalating Zionist military attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. Settler attacks targeting Palestinian residents are also on the rise. — Reuters
Middle East Eye
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Smotrich calls for 'rebuilding temple' during Jerusalem Day celebrations
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the rebuilding of a Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque and for the expansion of Israel's borders and Jewish settlements in Gaza. In speech addressing crowds at a Jerusalem Day rally on Monday, which celebrates Israel's occupation of the old city of Jerusalem, Smotrich also called for 'complete redemption' and reconstruction of 'the Temple here,' referring to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which settlers had raided earlier. 'We are conquering the Land of Israel, liberating Gaza, settling Gaza and defeating the enemy,' Smotrich said to crowds that had chanted 'death to Arabs' as they marched through Jerusalem's Old City and attacked Palestinians. 'With God's help, we will expand Israel's borders, bring about complete redemption, and rebuild the Temple here,' he said. Smotrich also reiterated his calls for Jewish settlement in Gaza, declaring that 'Israel is not afraid of the word occupation'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'Some people are afraid of victory. We are not afraid of victory,' he said. 'Lets give strength to our brave and heroic fighters'. 'Are we afraid of victory? Are we afraid of the word occupation?' Smotrich demanded, to which the crowd responded with a resounding 'no'. Smotrich has long advocated for extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and across the Middle East as part of his vision of a 'Greater Israel'. Earlier this month, Smotrich vowed that 'Gaza will be entirely destroyed' and its Palestinian population will 'leave in great numbers to third countries'. He also declared that Israel would 'apply sovereignty' in the occupied West Bank before the next Israeli general elections in October 2026. 'Within a few months, we will be able to declare that we have won. Gaza will be totally destroyed,' Smotrich said. 'In another six months, Hamas won't exist as a functioning entity.'
