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Jailed schoolgirl becomes Palestinian symbol

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Between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are tried before Israeli military courts every year, says NGO

A poster of 14-year-old Malak al-Khatib (AFP)

A poster of 14-year-old Malak al-Khatib (AFP)

by Middle East Eye

A 14-year-old schoolgirl jailed for trying to attack Israeli soldiers has become a symbol for hundreds of Palestinian children tried in Israeli military courts each year.

The two-month sentence for Malak al-Khatib, who was accused of stone-throwing and possession of a knife, has unleashed a wave of solidarity and support among Palestinians.

“My heart broke when I saw her in court, cuffed and shackled,” her mother Khawla al-Khatib told AFP from her home in the town of Beitin near Ramallah.

“I brought in a coat for her to wear because it was cold, but the judge refused to let her have it,” the distressed 50-year-old said.

Israeli forces arrest about 1,000 children every year in the occupied West Bank, often on charges of stone-throwing, according to rights group Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI Palestine).

But the case of Malak has brought countless media organisations flocking to her family’s door and attracted more public attention than most.

The difference – she is a girl.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club estimates that 200 Palestinian minors are held in Israeli prisons, but only four are girls, and Malak is the youngest.

Amani Sarahna, spokeswoman for the Ramallah-based organisation, said it was the first time in years that four female minors were held in Israeli jails, out of the 6,500 Palestinians incarcerated.

Following Malak’s arrest, the Palestinian leadership sent a letter to the UN denouncing the Israeli practice of “seizing children in the dead of night”, detaining Palestinian children “for extended periods of time” and subjecting them to “psychological and physical torture”.

Palestinian icon

A picture of Malak’s face has been circulating in social media and Palestinian newspapers.

“I don’t know why a state like Israel, with the most powerful weapons at its disposal, is pursuing my 14-year-old daughter,” Malak’s father Ali al-Khatib said.

“They accused her of trying to stab a soldier. Really? A child against an armed and heavily equipped solider, a grown man?” he asked incredulously.

The father-of-eight said his daughter was arrested on her way home from school in Beitin on 31 December.

According to the indictment served at a military court, Malak had “picked up a stone” to throw at cars on Route 60, which is near the village and serves Israeli settlers as well as Palestinians.

The indictment, citing five Israeli officials, said Malak was in possession of a knife which she intended to use to stab security personnel in the case of her arrest.

As well as the jail term she was fined $1,500.

In a report released in February 2013, the UN children’s agency UNICEF criticised Israel for its treatment of arrested Palestinian children, saying their interrogation mixes “intimidation, threats and physical violence, with the clear purpose of forcing the child to confess.”

“Children have been threatened with death, physical violence, solitary confinement and sexual assault, against themselves or a family member,” the report said.

After three weeks in custody Malak was brought before an Israeli military court and sentenced to prison.

“Every year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are tried before Israeli military courts,” said DCI Palestine’s Ayed Abu Qteish.

Qteish said Israeli military law allows the prosecution of children from as young as 12, which UNICEF says is unique to Israel.

Israeli military courts normally refuse bail and rely primarily on the children’s confessions, UNICEF says.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP that Malak was convicted after a plea bargain.

“Rock throwing is an extremely dangerous crime, which has maimed and killed Israeli civilians in the past,” she added.

Malak’s father thinks his daughter’s confession counts for little.

“A 14-year-old girl surrounded by Israeli soldiers will admit to anything,” he said bitterly.

“She would admit to holding a nuclear weapon if she were accused.”

Alleged IM operatives brought to Mangaluru; custody extended

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Photo: R. Eswarraj

Photo: R. Eswarraj

Mangaluru: A court in Bengaluru on Tuesday extended the police custody of two of the Bhatkal based youth arrested last month on terrorism charges by two days for further interrogation.

Police said that Bhatkal based homeopathic doctor Dr. Syed Ismail Afaq and his cousin Abdus Subur were on Tuesday remanded in police custody for two more days in Bengaluru. Two other youth — Saddam Hussain and Riyaz Ahmed Sayeedi — were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

The police, in their remand application submitted to the court, said that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) wanted custody of the suspects to probe into their suspected role in bombings in Mumbai in 2011. The Maharashtra ATS is expected to move court soon.

Taken to Mangaluru

The Bengaluru police had brought three of arrested Bhatkal youth — Afaq, Riyaz Ahmed Sayeedi and Abdus Subur — to Mangaluru and Bhatkal on Monday in connection with the investigation.

Sources say that the team headed by the investigating officer Omakaraiah took Sayeedi to an outlet on Kudmal Ranga Rao Road in Mangaluru from where he had reportedly sent a parcel a few months before his arrest, apart from a host of other places in the coastal city. Mr Omakaraiah said that they had visited various places in Mangaluru to collect evidences.

Jordan executes prisoners after ISIL murder of pilot

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Two prisoners hanged after Jordan vows “earth-shattering” response to avenge burning alive of captive fighter pilot.

Kassasbeh

by Al Jazeera

Jordan executed two death-row prisoners at dawn after vowing an “earth-shattering” response to avenge the burning alive of one of its fighter pilots by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.

Would-be Iraqi female suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and Iraqi al-Qaeda member Ziad al-Karboli were hanged at dawn, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.

A security source said the executions were carried out at Swaqa prison south of the capital Amman in the presence of an Islamic legal official.

Jordan had promised to begin executing the prisoners on death row at daybreak in response to the murder of Moaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured by ISIL when his plane went down in Syria in December.

Rishawi, 44, was condemned to death for her participation in deadly attacks in Amman in 2005 and ISIL had offered to spare Kassasbeh’s life and free a Japanese hostage – who was later beheaded – if she were released.

Al Jazeera’s Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from Amman, said that the executions took place at 5am local time (3:00 GMT).

“Usually, it is a long and highly bureaucratic process to carry out executions in Jordan. Several ministries and the king should approve them,” she said.

“However, a security source told Al Jazeera last week that Jordan would speed up the process if the pilot was harmed.”

Karboli was sentenced to death in 2007 on terrorism charges, including the killing of a Jordanian in Iraq.

Jordan had on Tuesday vowed to avenge the killing of Kassasbeh, hours after a harrowing video emerged online purporting to show the caged 26-year-old F-16 fighter pilot engulfed in flames.

The video – the most brutal yet in a series of gruesome recorded killings of hostages by ISIL – prompted global revulsion and vows of continued international efforts to combat the Sunni group.

Jordan, a crucial ally of Washington in the Middle East, is one of five Arab countries that has joined a US-led coalition of countries carrying out air strikes against ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

‘Vile murder’

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who was visiting Washington as the video came to light, recorded a televised address to his shocked and outraged nation.

The king, once in the military himself, described Kassasbeh as a hero and vowed to take the battle to ISIL.

The army and government vowed to avenge the pilot’s murder, with Momani saying: “Jordan’s response will be earth-shattering.

“Whoever doubted the unity of the Jordanian people, we will prove them wrong,” he said.

US President Barack Obama, who hosted Abdullah in a hastily organised Oval Office meeting, led international condemnation of the murder, decrying the “cowardice and depravity” of ISIL.

“The president and King Abdullah reaffirmed that the vile murder of this brave Jordanian will only serve to steel the international community’s resolve to destroy ISIL,” a National Security Council spokesman said after the pair met.

The Obama administration had earlier reaffirmed its intention to give Jordan $3bn in security aid over the next three years.

Kassasbeh was captured in December when his jet crashed over northern Syria on a mission that was part of the coalition air campaign against the group.

Jordanian state television suggested he was killed on January 3, before ISIL offered to spare his life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto in return for Rishawi’s release.

Highly choreographed

British Prime Minister David Cameron called the murder “sickening” while UN chief Ban Ki-moon labelled it an “appalling act”.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned it as “unforgivable”.

The highly choreographed 22-minute video shows Kassasbeh at a table recounting coalition operations against ISIL, with flags from the various Western and Arab countries in the alliance projected in the background.

It then shows Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by armed and masked IS fighters in camouflage.

It cuts to him standing inside a cage and apparently soaked in petrol before a masked man uses a torch to light a trail of flame that runs to the cage and burns him alive.

The video also offered rewards for the killing of other “crusader” pilots.

ISIL had previously beheaded two US journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar highly choreographed videos.

ISIS claims to have burned alive captive Jordanian pilot

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Muath al-Kaseasbeh

Supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group circulated images on social media on Tuesday which they claimed showed a Jordanian hostage being burned alive.

Shortly afterwards, a member of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh’s family told Reuters the head of the Jordanian armed forces had informed them he had been killed.

The highly produced 22-minute video released online showed images of a man purported to be Kassasbeh, who was captured by ISIS in December, engulfed in flames inside a metal cage.

The authenticity of the images could not be confirmed at this time.

Jordanian state television reported the Jordanian government had confirmed that the pilot had been killed on January 3. The Jordanian government hasn’t yet publicly stated if it knew how Kassasbeh had been killed.

Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured on December 24 after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission over northern Syria as part of a US-led coalition against the jihadists.

The video released on Tuesday shows footage of Kassasbeh sitting at a table discussing coalition operations against ISIS, with flags from the various Western and Arab countries in the alliance projected in the background.

It then shows Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by armed and masked ISIS fighters in camouflage.

It cuts to footage allegedly showing Kassasbeh standing inside the cage and apparently soaked in petrol before a masked jihadist uses a torch to light a trail of flame that runs to the cage and burns him alive.

Fighters then pour debris, including broken masonry, over the cage which a bulldozer then flattens, with the body still inside.

The news comes two days after ISIS announced it had beheaded Japanese hostage, journalist Kenji Goto, after previously murdering another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa.

An audio message that appeared to be from Goto last week said Kassasbeh would be killed if Jordan did not release Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi, even though Kassasbeh had been killed before ISIS asked for the swap to take place. Jordan had offered to free Rishawi, who was convicted for her part in triple-hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people, if ISIS released Kassasbeh. Amman insisted on proof that the pilot was alive before any exchange.

Jordan will execute Rishawi on Wednesday, an official said.

“The sentence of death pending on… Iraqi Sajida al-Rishawi will be carried out at dawn,” the security official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Jordan, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are taking part in US-led coalition airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France and the Netherlands are participating in Iraq.

Jordan vowed a “strong, earth-shaking and decisive” response, the government spokesman said a statement.

The Jordanian military also pledged to avenge Kassasbeh’s death.

“The blood of the martyr will not have been shed in vain and… vengeance will be proportional to this catastrophe that has struck all Jordanians,” said army spokesman General Mamdouh al-Amiri.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah cut a visit to the United States short after news of Kassasbeh’s death emerged.

US President Barack Obama immediately denounced the purported killing.

“Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness (and) barbarity of this organization,” Obama said.

“Whatever ideology they’re operating off of, it’s bankrupt,” Obama told reporters.

He said it would “redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of the global coalition to make sure” ISIS is “ultimately defeated.”

ISIS, which has declared a “caliphate” in territories in seized in Syria and Iraq, has killed thousands of citizens and soldiers in both countries. It has particularly targeted ethnic and religious minorities, as well as foreign hostages, some of them in highly-choreographed videotaped sequences in which the victims are beheaded.

(AFP, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

Congress attacks BJP over northeast 'immigrants', BJP withdraws word

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North East Racism

New Delhi: The Congress Tuesday attacked the BJP for referring to northeast people as “immigrants” in its vision document, and asked if the party considers people from the region like those from other countries. The BJP, rushing to make amends, withdrew the word and stressed that the “brothers and sisters of the northeast are the pride of Delhi”.

The Congress’ campaign chief Ajay Maken, while releasing the party manifesto here, said: “Does the BJP consider the northeast people like those from other countries? Does the BJP want to say that the northeast is not part of the country?”

Maken said that at a time when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was visiting China, which lays claim to Arunachal Pradesh, was it proper for the Bharatiya Janata Party to come out with a vision document terming the northeast people “immigrants”.

He said the Congress demands that the BJP rectify the error and apologise to the country.

“We will not tolerate that the BJP does this (refer to the northeast people as immigrants),” he said.

Noted journalist and BJP spokesperson M.J. Akbar, at a press conference Tuesday evening, said the party was withdrawing the word, and that it was “mistakenly used”.

“The brothers and sisters of the northeast are the pride of Delhi. The word was mistakenly used. We withdraw the word, and we repeat that their (northeast people’s) welfare is as important as that of any citizen of Delhi and the country,” Akbar said.

BJP leader and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, when cornered by journalists, said the word was a “typo” and “clerical error”.

The BJP’s vision document for the Delhi elections has a statement that says “North eastern immigrants to be protected”.

Many people from the northeast have been attacked in the recent past in Delhi.

(IANS)

24 positive cases of H1N1 reported last week

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Representational Image. Photo: REUTERS/Arko Datta

Representational Image. Photo: REUTERS/Arko Datta

Bengaluru: The number of confirmed H1N1 cases in the State has doubled, in the past one week. Health Department sources said that from the 24 positive cases reported last week, the number has now jumped to 54. However no deaths have been reported.

Of the total of 54 cases reported in the State from January 1, the majority have been reported in Bengaluru, itself. Of this, 37 cases have been reported in BBMP limits, while two other cases have been reported from Bengaluru Urban jurisdiction. Officials said 268 samples had been tested for H1N1.

Likewise earlier, last month cases were reported in Tumakuru as well, District Vector Borne Disease Control Officer, Dr.H. Veena informed, “Out of four H1N1 cases, three are from Sira taluk and one from Chikkanayakanahalli taluk.” She said they are all recovering from H1N1.

In the month of January, the hospitals in the city were finding it difficult to cope with the situation as the free supply of H1N1 medicine from the Centre has been stopped. The hospitals had been asked to procure it locally, which was turning out to be an expensive affair.

However Health Minister U.T. Khader said the situation was not alarming and it was being monitored.

RGICD Director Shashidhar Buggi attributed the cases to the fluctuating climate. “The flu can be treated if people seek medical advice at the earliest. But most people tend to ignore the symptoms and report it only when the condition worsens”, he said.

(Agencies)

Lottery to Fund Health scheme in Karnataka

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lottery-ibrahim

Bengaluru: State Planning Board Deputy Chairman C M Ibrahim said on Tuesday he had recommended reintroduction of lottery in Karnataka to fund a proposed healthcare scheme for poor and middle-class families.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Ibrahim said he has asked Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) to submit a detailed report in this regard. The JD(S)-BJP coalition government had banned all forms of lottery in 2008.

According to Ibrahim, starting a weekly draw lottery with each ticket costing 500-600 crore a year but also provide jobs to more than 2,000 people.

“The money mobilised could be used for providing long-term treatment, say up to five years, for the poor and the needy,” he said.

When asked whether restarting the lottery would encourage the growth of single digit lottery system and gambling, Ibrahim shot back, “Do you think matka and gambling dens are not active in the state?”

In case the government is not able to start the lottery, it will have to raise around `300 crore from various corporate houses under the corporate social responsibility scheme.

He claimed that the chief minister has agreed to fund the first phase of Anna canteens in Bengaluru. In the subsequent phases, it could be extended to other parts of the state, he said. “The chief minister can even announce it in his budget,” he said.

Seven years after the government completely banned lottery in Karnataka, the board headed by chief minister Siddaramaiah has proposed re-introduction of lottery in the state.

The board has asked the state government to introduce Rs 10 denomination lottery and entrust its issuance to Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL), a government of Karnataka undertaking.

(Agencies)

Dr. Zakir Naik wins King Faisal International Prize

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Dr_Zakir_Naik

Riyadh: Dr Zakir A. Naik, president of the Islamic Research Foundation of India has won the 2015 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for Service to Islam.

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and KFIP Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Othaimeen announced the names of the winners at a glittering function held at Al-Khozama Center on Tuesday.

Two internationally acclaimed scholars of chemistry, Professor Omar Mwannes Yaghi from the United States and Professor Michael Gratzel from Switzerland, were declared co-winners of the prize in science category (chemistry).

The award for Islamic studies went to Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Kaki, a consultant at Madinah Development Authority.

Prof. Jeffrey Ivan Gordon from the US was declared winner of the prize in medicine. Each prize consists of a handwritten Arabic certificate summarizing the laureate’s work, a commemorative 24-carat, 200-gram gold medal and a cash award of SR750,000.

The co-winners in any category share the monetary grant.

According to the citation read out by Al-Othaimeen, Naik, a non-Arabic Indian Islamic scholar, has become a renowned authority on comparative religion. “He has founded a TV channel called Peace TV, which remains the only channel in the world specialized in comparative religion with huge audience profile,” said the citation.

Referring to the prize given in science category, the KFIP secretary-general said that Gratzel, a professor at Swiss Federal Institute, is recognized for “his foundational and practical discoveries in the development of photo-electrochemical systems for solar energy conversion.”

The co-winner in science category, Yaghi, has made seminal contributions in the field of metal organic frameworks.

He applauded the achievements of Kaki in Islamic studies for “his distinguished research on cultural heritage of Madinah.”

The award for Arabic language and literature was withheld as none of the nominees met the criteria laid down by the selection committee this year.

(Agencies)

38-46 seats for AAP, says India Today Group-CICERO opinion poll

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AAP

New Delhi: With three days left for the Delhi assembly elections, the TG-CICERO opinion poll projected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) getting the highest number of seats (between 38- 46 seats) and the BJP between 19-25 seats in the 70-member house.

According to it, the Congress would get between three and seven seats while the other parties would get between zero to two seats.

It said the AAP would get over 43 percent of the votes, the BJP over 35 percent of votes, the Congress 13 percent, down by over 11 percent votes, and the others eight percent votes, a slide of nearly four percent votes.

According to the India Today Group-Cicero poll, over 44 percent respondents feel AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is best suited to be chief minister, while 35 percent think so of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi and just 12 percent hold Congress’ Ajay Maken best suited for the post.

The Delhi elections are on Feb 7 and results would be out on Feb 10.

(IANS)

Bengaluru: Permission denied for Asaduddin Owaisi rally; party approaches HC

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asaduddin-owaisi

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru city police has denied permission for a gathering where the chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi was expected to deliver a speech.

After making a foray into Maharashtra politics, the Hyderabad-based Majlis Ittehadul Muslimin (MIM) party, led by Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi intends to enter the Karnataka political arena. Owaisi was supposed to visit the city and address a public meeting in Shivajinagar on February 8, the same day the Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP) is planning to organise the ‘Hindu Viraat Samavesha’.

Anticipating communal tension, as a result of both events being held on the same day, the Bengaluru police are in no mood to give MIM permission for the meeting.

“A low-level police officer, of the rank of assistant sub-inspector at the Commercial Street Police Station, without applying his mind and anticipating consequences, issued an endorsement for the MIM local unit’s application seeking permission to hold the public meet in Shivajinagar on February 8. On discovering this, high-ranking officers stepped in and cancelled the permission, asking MIM to select another date for the event,” a senior police officer said. By doing so, we have averted a big showdown and communal flare-up, he added.

An inquiry has been ordered to find out how an ASI-rank policeman endorsed an event without consulting higher-ups, sources said.

Despite this, if the organisers hold any programme, we will take action against them as per the law, another police officer said.

According to sources, the police are likely to permit the event on Tuesday if organisers submit an undertaking that they will restrict the schedule to agreed programmes and avoid the visit of controversial VHP leader, Praveen Togadia.

“The VHP programme and Owaisi’s visit on the same day will not do any good for the city’s peaceful atmosphere. Owaisi’s speech may ignite trouble or counter forces may take advantage of it and provoke a communal situation. We do not want to trouble,” a police official said.

Speaking to Nasheman an AIMIM official informed that the party has approached the Karnataka High Court, and would then decide on our course of action.

Incidentally, the Pune city police has denied permission for a similar gathering.

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