Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired dozens of missiles into Saudi Arabia in response to coalition air attacks [File image, courtesy of Al Masirah]

by Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The Saudi statement came just hours after the Yemeni group claimed to have launched the attack.

State-owned TV channel Al Ekhbariya reported on Friday that Saudi defence forces intercepted the missile over Najran, a region straddling the kingdom’s southern border with Yemen, before it could hit its intended target.

Al Masirah, a TV network run by the Houthi rebels, said the group claimed responsibility for the attack via Twitter, saying it had a “successful launch of a short range ballistic missile at a military target in Saudi Arabia”.

It said the the rebels fired a Qaher-2M missile of Soviet origin towards a military installation in Najran. The missile has a range of up to 400km.

Saudi retaliation
Al Masirah also said that within hours of the missile attack, the Saudi coalition bombing Yemen retaliated with several air raids on Saada, an impoverished Houthi stronghold.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the network’s claims.

Saudi Arabia, supported by the US and other countries, have launched more than 15,000 air attacks against Houthi targets since March 2015, while dozens of missiles have been fired into the kingdom from Yemen.

Last month, the Houthis said that one of their missiles hit a military target inside Saudi Arabia, without specifying the location.

Saudi officials, however, said they intercepted the missile.

The Saudi-led coalition has previously accused Iran of helping arm the Houthis, accusing Iran of “flagrant military aggression” and “manufacturing and smuggling [missiles] to the Houthi militias in Yemen for the purpose of attacking the Kingdom, its people, and vital interests”.

Iran has repeatedly rejected allegations of arming the Houthis, calling them “malicious, irresponsible, destructive and provocative”.

The war in Yemen, the region’s poorest country, started in 2014 after Houthi rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa and began pushing south towards the country’s third-biggest city, Aden.

Concerned by the rise of the Houthi rebels, believed to be backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran, the kingdom and a coalition of Sunni Arab states launched an intervention in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government.

Since then, more than 10,000 people have been killed and at least 40,000 wounded, mostly from Saudi-led air attacks.

Khoshroo accused Washington of inciting Iranians to ‘engage in disruptive acts’ [Mike Segar/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Iran has accused the US of “inciting” anti-government protests that have gripped the country, and said the Trump administration had “flouted” international law and the principles of the UN charter by supporting the unrest in a series of “absurd tweets”.

In a letter sent to Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, on Wednesday, Gholamali Khoshroo, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, said the US had “crossed every limit” by “inciting Iranians to engage in disruptive acts”.

“[The US] has stepped up its acts of intervention in a grotesque way in Iran’s internal affairs under the pretext of providing support for sporadic protests, which in several instances were hijacked by infiltrators,” Press TV quoted Khoshroo as saying.

He criticised US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence directly for their “numerous absurd tweets”, that called on Iranians to “change their government”.

“The US Department of State went so far as admitting that the US government wants to encourage protesters in Iran to change their government, admitting that the US is engaged in interfering with the internal affairs of Iran through Facebook and Twitter,” Khoshroo said.

The Trump administration is yet to respond to the letter.

At least 22 people have died and more than 450 arrested since anti-government demonstrations erupted across Iran on December 28.

The protests, which have focused on economic and political grievances, have been the largest display of public dissent since pro-reform rallies swept the country in 2009.

Trump, who has banned Iranians from travelling to the US, praised the demonstrators for “finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime” in a tweet earlier this week, and warned that “the world is watching”.

The Trump administration is yet to respond to the letter.

At least 22 people have died and more than 450 arrested since anti-government demonstrations erupted across Iran on December 28.

The protests, which have focused on economic and political grievances, have been the largest display of public dissent since pro-reform rallies swept the country in 2009.

Trump, who has banned Iranians from travelling to the US, praised the demonstrators for “finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime” in a tweet earlier this week, and warned that “the world is watching”.

Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, said on Tuesday that the US would seek an emergency session of the Security Council and the Human Rights Council to discuss the situation in Iran.

“The people of Iran are crying out for freedom,” she said. “All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has blamed external “enemies” for heightening unrest in the country.

Money, weapons, politics and intelligence services have been used by these “enemies” to undermine stability, he said on Tuesday.

Pro-government rallies
Tens of thousands of Iranians took part in nationwide pro-government demonstrations on Wednesday.

The rallies took place in at least 10 cities, including the Iranian capital of Tehran.

TV pictures showed people carrying banners in support of the government and shouting slogans against the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The footage, carried by state media, was in broad contrast to the coverage of the past week’s demonstrations against Iran’s leadership.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Tehran, said, a “few small and short-lived anti-government rallies have taken place overnight Wednesday in a few cities around the country.

“[But] what really is at play today are the pro-government, pro-establishment demonstrations and marches being held in major cities across Iran. This really is an effort by the government to bookend this whole episode.

“It illustrates to a domestic audience, but also to anyone watching from outside, that the government does enjoy support and that there are tens of thousands of people willing to rally on behalf of the government.”

Following the demonstrations, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), declared unrest in the country as over.

“Today, we can announce the end of the sedition,” Jafari said, quoted on the Guards’ website.

“A large number of the troublemakers at the centre of the sedition, who received training from counter-revolutionaries … have been arrested and there will be firm action against them,” he added.

The UN’s human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has urged Iran to handle the situation “with great care” in order to prevent further violence and unrest.

“It is incumbent on the authorities that their actions do not provoke a downward spiral of violence, as occurred in 2009,” he said on Wednesday in a statement.

“The authorities must take all steps to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Singapore authorities have banned Radiance of Resistance, a U.S.-made documentary about the Palestinian-Israel conflict depicted through the eyes of two Palestinian girls, 16-year old Ahed Tamimi and another young female activist. The film was scheduled to be screened on Thursday at the Singapore Palestinian Film Festival being held at independent cinema The Projector, agencies have reported.

The island nation’s film certification body, Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) gave the film a Not Allowed for All Ratings (NAR) classification, meaning it is not cleard for showing in any circumstances in Singapore. The IMDA said that the film had a “skewed narrative” and could “cause disharmony among races and religions in Singapore.”

NAR ratings are considered quite rare, and three were issued in November. “Radiance” was directed by Jesse Roberts and has played on the international festival circuit since 2016. The Festival spokesmen said that the NAR decision came too late to make an appeal or to find alternative programming. It cancelled the screening, and refunded.

Singapore’s censors objected to three titles in the government-backed showcase Singapore International Film Festival. They included Barbet Schroeder’s The Venerable W, Singaporean director Chew Tzr Chuan ‘s Shadows of Fiendish Ancestress and Occasionally Parajanov on Durian Cialis, and the Nameless Boy, by Indonesian director Diego Batara Mahameru. The three had been announced in the festival’s lineup, but had to be removed before screenings took place.

The film was screened at several festivals in 207 and won Best Documentary at the Respect Human Rights Film Festival in Belfast, but got into further limelight with the arrest of Ms Tamimi, featured in the film. Thanks to her arrest, she became a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. She was charged with aggravated assault and is to be tried in an Israeli military court. The law prescribed jail for up to 10 years if the assailant is an adult, but the 16-year old Tamimi being a minor such a sentence is unlikely.

By and large, Singapore’s media and film monitoring is tight, and more so when they touch on race and religion. But blanket ban is not that common. Adela Foo, the organizer of the Singapore Palestinian Festival, called the ban “understandable” with obvious avoidance of sensitivities.

As for the Palestinian problem, the Singapore government position on the Middle East is in favour of a two-state solution. Singapore has a sizeable Muslim minority and is surrounded by Muslim-majority countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and the prevailing attitude to the Palestinian cause is of overall sympathy. All the same Singapore maintains friendly diplomatic ad military ties with Israel. In the most recent voting on the Palestinian issue in the UN, Singapore voted against the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

(Agencies)

by Al Jazeera

A number of Iranians have died amid ongoing nationwide anti-government protests that began last week in various cities across Iran.

Nine Iranians were killed in Isfahan province alone during anti-government protests on Monday night.

State TV said on Tuesday that six people were killed in Isfahan’s central town Qahderijan – during a raid on a police station – and one more in Khomeinishahr.

According to state media, the rioters were attempting to break into the station to obtain weapons.

An 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were among those killed in Khomeinishahr.

In addition, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said a member of Basij militia and a police officer were killed in Najafabad, 350km south of the capital Tehran, on Monday.

According to reports, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldier was shot by an assailant using a hunting rifle in Najafabad.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify whether the IRGC member was the same police officer who was reported as being shot.

Overall, at least 21 people have died in Iran during six days of protests, according to state media.

In the same period, at least 20 people have been killed and about 450 people n arrested, with the Tehran governor’s deputy giving the following breakdown: 200 on Saturday; 150 on Sunday; and 100 on Monday.

The detention figures for other Iranian cities were not available.

On Tuesday, Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused “enemies” of the state of stirring unrest in the country.

He said that “enemies” of Iran have allied and used the various means they have available including “money, weapons, politics, and intelligence services” to stir unrest as nationwide anti-government rallies continue.

“The dignity, security, and progress of the Iranian nation is owed to the self-sacrifice of the martyrs. What prevents enemies from exerting their atrocities is the spirit of courage, sacrifice, and faith within the nation,” he said in a statement posted on his official website.

“I have something to say on these events, and I will speak to the dear people when the time is right.

“The Iranian nation will forever owe the dear martyrs, who left behind their homes and families, to stand against the wicked enemies.”

Despite threats by the IRGC to put down the demonstrations, protesters have continued taking to the streets in various parts of Iran, in what has been described as the biggest show of dissent in the country since huge rallies took place in 2009.

The rallies began on December 28 in the second-largest city of Mashhad, prompted by anger over rising cost of living and the state of the economy.

“We cannot predict a time when the protests will come to an end,” said Sadegh Zibakalam, an author and academic.

“But the protests will shake the people in power who must give priority to the people’s demands and needs.”

On Sunday, President Hassan Rouhani said Iranians have the right to protest but not violently.

“People are free to express their criticism and to protest,” he said in televised remarks, his first since the rallies began.

“However, we need to pay attention to the manner of that criticism and protest. It should be in such a way that it will lead to the improvement of the people and state,” he added.

“People have the right to protest, but those demonstrations should not make the public feel concerned about their lives and security.”

In May 2017, Rouhani, who belongs to the reformist bloc of Iran’s political spectrum, decisively won re-election after garnering 57 percent of the vote in the country’s presidential election.

That poll was the first since Rouhani negotiated a historic deal with world powers in 2015 to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Many in Iran hoped that the deal, by lifting many international sanctions, would ease the country’s financial struggles. Yet, the benefits do not seem to have trickled down.

Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group who worked with all sides during the negotiations for the nuclear deal, said the fact that the nuclear deal did not quite deliver the results people expected played a key part in what is happening currently in Iran.

“The government inflated public expectations a lot,” Vaez told Al Jazeera, noting that factors such as falling oil prices and doubts over the US commitment to the deal were also adversely affecting the Iranian economy.

“The reality is, however, that President Rouhani failed to pave the ground for the potential the nuclear deal created, and that has led to a lot of frustration in Iran,” he said.

“President Rouhani over-promised and under-delivered.”

Mohammad Ali Shabani, an Iranian political analyst and scholar, agreed.

“The issue is elevated expectations, that’s where the danger comes in,” he told Al Jazeera.

“People have been expecting better lives, partly as a result of Rouhani’s promises in connection with the nuclear deal.

“It’s not a matter of absolute poverty driving people into the streets.

“It’s mostly about people thinking that ‘We need more than this, we were actually promised more than what’s happening, and we don’t have the jobs that we were anticipating’.”

With additional reporting by Saeed Jalili

by Al Jazeera

Tensions are high in Iran as hundreds of people protest in multiple cities against the government’s economic policies.

About 300 people protested in Kermanshah, a city in western Iran, on Friday, according to the semi-state news agency Fars. Police there used water cannon and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

Protests also broke out in the capital Tehran, according to social media.

The demonstrations are said to be the biggest display of public dissent since pro-reform rallies swept the country in 2009.

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran’s government to respect the people’s right to protest.

Relations between Washington and Tehran have been particularly tense since Trump decertified the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)- agreed to by the US, China, Russia, Germany, France, and the UK – imposes restrictions on Iran’s stockpiles of uranium and the capacity to enrich it in exchange for sanctions relief.

Al Jazeera spoke to Mohammad Marandi, professor at Tehran University, about the reasons behind the recent anti-government rallies.

Al Jazeera: Why have people been protesting over the past few days?

Mohammad Marandi: There are economic difficulties in the country.

After the JCPOA, many of the Iranian people had expectations that the economic situation would improve, but as we saw both [former President Barack] Obama and Trump repeatedly violated the JCPOA by passing new laws such as the Iran sanctions act and the visa restriction laws.

The treasury and other arms of the government, both under Obama and Trump, have basically weakened the JCPOA extensively, which has kept a lot of the sanctions regime intact.

Al Jazeera: There have been small protests over economic conditions in Iran. But what’s special about these ones is that they have spread to numerous cities and have been picked up on social media. Is some sort of movement emerging?

Marandi: It’s difficult to say, because on the one hand, the economic situation is something that exists across the board.

Iranians, I think, while they are upset with mismanagement, they also recognise that the administration is being prevented from doing a lot of what it’s trying to do because of the United States and its allies, and the sanctions that I mentioned.

And of course social media makes things easier, so people have information.

But also, there is a fact that has to be kept in mind that while some people have been protesting economic problems.

We do see a very distinct effort on behalf of foreign governments.

For example, BBC Persian which belongs to the British government, VOA which is owned by the US government and media outlets that are directly or indirectly funded by the West – they are showing an effort to expand the protests.

They are trying to intensify them in order to politicise them.

Al Jazeera: The government recognises that these protests are about more than the economics of the country. We’re hearing anti-government slogans – “Death to Rouhani”, “Forget Palestine”, “No to Gaza”, “No to Lebanon” – deriding Iran’s foreign policies. How concerned is the government about this?

Marandi: Well the protesters … are not large in number. You have to keep in mind that these protesters are not all chanting the same slogans.

Some of them have been chanting anti-government slogans or slogans against Iranian foreign policy.

But when you look at the clips, you see that in some cases there is unity in the slogans and in other cases, when there are radical voices, then you see a lot of the crowd not repeating the slogans. So it’s not so simple.

But there is a concerted effort, I think, on behalf of the Western media outlets.

In Iran, whenever there is any sign of discontent you will always have the think tanks and Western media saying that the regime is about to implode and the regime is unpopular. We have been hearing that for 39 years now, and I don’t expect anything like to happen in the future.

Al Jazeera: It is quite interesting to see how quickly the Trump administration jumped on these protests, warning the government not to react with a heavy hand…

Marandi: Yes, it is ironic, especially with Trump being such a divisive figure inside the United States with the protests and counter-protests.

In Charlottesville, we had a person killed. On the other hand, we see that the US is supporting Saudi Arabia in the destruction of Yemen in mass genocide through starvation.

We see the United States, both under Obama and Trump, supporting extremist groups in Syria, so it’s not really for the US to talk about human rights when it comes to Iran.

A military spokesman said that Pakistan would continue to fight armed groups in the region in Pakistan’s self-interest, rather than at the behest of other countries [File: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters]

by Asad Hashim, Al Jazeera

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s military has warned the United States against the possibility of taking unilateral action against armed groups on its soil, in its strongest response yet to tensions between the two allies.

Speaking to journalists in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor rejected the notion that Pakistan is not doing enough to fight armed groups.

“We have sacrificed a lot. We have paid a huge price both in blood and treasure,” Ghafoor said. “We have done enough and we cannot do any more for anyone.”

He said Pakistan would continue to fight armed groups in the region in Pakistan’s self-interest, rather than at the behest of other countries.

“Had we not supported [the US], al-Qaeda would not have been defeated,” he said.

Since 2007, Pakistan has been battling armed groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), al-Qaeda and their allies, who have been seeking to impose a strict version of Islam on the country. The military has launched multiple military operations to regain territory where the groups’ fighters once held sway.

Violence has dropped since the launch of the latest operation in 2014, but sporadic, high-casualty attacks continue to occur. Earlier this month, at least nine people were killed in a suicide bombing on a church in the southwestern city of Quetta.

The US has often called on Pakistan to “do more” in its fight against armed groups, accusing it of selectively targeting armed groups and not taking action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, both of whom target US and Afghan forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

US criticism
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson repeated the call for Pakistan to take on groups allegedly offered safe haven on its soil.

“We are prepared to partner with Pakistan to defeat terrorist organisations seeking safe havens, but Pakistan must demonstrate its desire to partner with us,” he wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times.

Tillerson’s message echoed US President Donald Trump’s words when he announced a new South Asia strategy in August, singling out Pakistan for criticism. Since then, a series of high-level contacts between the two governments have taken place, although no breakthrough achievements have been announced.

During his press conference on Thursday, Ghafoor linked the difficulty of acting against armed groups such as the Haqqani Network to the number of Afghan refugees resident in Pakistan.

The country is home to more than 2.7 million Afghan refugees, by the military’s figures, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for more than three decades.

Haniya says the US offered Abu Dis to the PA as the capital of a future Palestinian state [Said Khatib/AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has said that the US had offered the Palestinian Authority a Jerusalem suburb, Abu Dis, as an alternative to East Jerusalem for the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Speaking at a meeting with Palestinian clan leaders in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Haniya labelled President Donald Trump’s recent decision, to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a ploy to demolish the Palestinian cause in line with the so-called deal of the century.

“The US is still offering deals and continues to be on the side of the Palestinian Authority (PA) one way or another, in order to give them a capital or entity in the Abu Dis area, away from Jerusalem, with a bridge linking to al-Aqsa Mosque allowing for the freedom of prayer,” he said.

Haniya said certain regional forces are seeking to divide the West Bank into three sections, in addition to creating a political entity in the Gaza Strip with its own controlling powers.

Al Jazeera’s Wael al-Dahdouh, reporting from Gaza City, said Haniya cautioned local, regional and international players against working to implement the US plan for the Middle East, which is yet to be published.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a White House adviser, has been spearheading efforts to gauge the possibility of resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“Haniya sent a warning to all the parties that are involved in this ‘deal of the century’, whether they are Palestinian, Arab or Muslim, or international,” Dahdouh said.

“There are also signs that the Israelis will take advantage of this deal to impose their version of facts on the ground, such as the Judaization of Jerusalem bill that will be voted on tomorrow.”

Haniya said the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel introduces new risks that could affect the nature of the relationship between Palestine and Jordan.

He cited reports of discussions regarding an alternative homeland for Palestinians and a confederation between Jordan and Palestine.

Haniya said he has spoken to King Abdullah of Jordan about what he saw as the dangers arising from the Jerusalem decision, the resettlement project and alternative homeland.

He also asked Palestinians to continue their “uprising” against Trump’s decision, and for popular movements in the Arab and Muslim capitals to carry on their protests.

Addressing the ongoing reconciliation process between the two, main Palestinian groups, Fatah and Hamas, Haniya said internal, political issues need to be addressed quickly in order for a unified government to devote itself to major, national ones.

He also sounded a warning regarding the potential “grave” consequences of the slow implementation of the Egypt-brokered reconciliation agreement, which was signed in October in Cairo by Fatah and Hamas representatives.

For his part, Yahya Sinwar, the prime minister of the Hamas government, speaking at Tuesday’s meeting in Gaza, called for efforts to support reconciliation efforts aimed at “uniting in the battle of Jerusalem”.

He also demanded that the Palestinian leadership “convene the unified leadership framework of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the presence of all Palestinians”.

Tzipi Hotovely says some European countries are among the ones considering embassy moves [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Israel’s deputy foreign minister has said her government is “in contact with at least 10 countries” over the potential relocation of their embassies to Jerusalem.

Tzipi Hotovely’s comments on Monday came a day after Guatemala announced plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem, following a similar decision by the US earlier this month which sparked widespread international condemnation and mass rallies across the Muslim world.

Speaking to state radio, Hotovely did not specify the countries in question but said “some” of them are “in Europe”.

“So far we have only seen the beginning,” she said, adding that US President Donald Trump’s decision would “trigger a wave” of followers.

Widespread protests
The status of Jerusalem is one of the main sticking points in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian leaders want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel says the city cannot be divided.

Breaking with decades of policy, Trump announced on December 6 that the US recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said his administration would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the Holy City.

Currently, there are no embassies in Jerusalem.

Following Trump’s announcement, a resounding majority of UN member states – 128 countries – last week voted in favour of a resolution declaring Washington’s move “null and void”.

Guatemala, the US, Israel and six other countries voted against the resolution at the emergency UN General Assembly meeting on Thursday. No European country voted against the resolution, but several abstained.

See how each country voted here.

In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian foreign ministry criticised Guatemala for its plans to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

“It’s a shameful and illegal act that goes totally against the wishes of church leaders in Jerusalem” and of last week’s UN General Assembly resolution, it said in a statement.

Bolivian President Evo Morales also slammed Guatemala for following in Washington’s footsteps.

“In a complete act of mockery of the international community, the government of Guatemala ignores the resolution of the UN (General) Assembly and decides to move its embassy to Jerusalem,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

Trump’s decision to unilaterally recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital pitted the US against some of its own allies, and prompted Palestinian leaders to say that Washington can no longer have a role in the peace process.

The move also triggered a wave of mass rallies in major international cities – from Jakarta, through Istanbul, to Rabat, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, demonstrations have been met with violence by Israeli forces, who fire live ammunition, disperse tear gas canisters, and carry out a wave of arrests against protesters.

More than 2,900 people have been left injured and more than 500 have been jailed.

In the Gaza Strip, several Israeli air raids killed at least six people and wounded many others.

In total, at least 15 people have been killed across the occupied Palestinian territories in the last three weeks.

Afghan security forces keep watch at a check point close to a compound of Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency in Kabul [Omar Sobhani/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

At least five people have been killed in a suicide blast near the intelligence agency in Kabul, the Afghan capital, officials said.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the blast on Monday morning.

The attack near Abdul Haq Square comes one week after gunmen stormed a military training centre in Kabul, an assault also claimed by ISIL.

The interior ministry said the attacker blew himself up near the gate of the National Directorate of Security.

Video posted to social media showed emergency services on the scene.

Local media said at least two people were also wounded.

The Afghan capital has come under attack several times in 2017.

On March 8, more than 30 people were killed when gunmen dressed in white lab coats stormed a hospital in the centre of the city. ISIL claimed that attack, but officials considered other groups could have been responsible.

On May 31, a truck bomb exploded near the diplomatic district, killing more than 150 people. It remains unclear who was behing the assault.

On October 21, ISIL claimed responsibility for killing at least 39 people at a Shia mosque in Kabul.

Israel’s construction minister announced plans for the building of 300,000 settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem [File: EPA]

by Al Jazeera

The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates has denounced a new Israeli settlement construction plan, which includes the building of 300,000 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the ministry on Sunday held US President Donald Trump responsible for “Israeli arrogance” that has endorsed the annexation of East Jerusalem.

“The ministry affirms that this Israeli colonial arrogance would not have happened without US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” the statement read.

“Trump’s administration must bear the responsibility for new crimes that Israel, the occupying country, imposes on our people.”

The ministry urged the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to confront the move.

According to Israeli media, the country’s Minister of Housing and Construction Yoav Galant announced the launching of a campaign to promote the building of the new settlement units.

Israel’s Channel 10 said the planned construction was part of the so-called “Greater Jerusalem Bill”, which aims to annex illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to the Israeli-defined boundaries of the city of Jerusalem.

The bill was meant to be voted on in October by a ministerial committee before going to the Knesset for approval, but the vote was delayed until further notice.

If passed, the bill would annex to the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem the three major mega-settlement cities of Maale Adumim, Givat Zeev and Gush Etzion, which together house around 140,000 Israelis.

It would add the Israelis who live there to the population of Jerusalem, thus allowing them to vote in local elections.

To ensure a Jewish majority in the city, the bill would also create “independent municipalities” for several Palestinian neighbourhoods that are part of the Jerusalem municipality but cut off from the city by Israel’s separation wall.

These neighbourhoods are home to more than 100,000 people who suffer from a severe lack of basic services and infrastructure.

Galant’s remarks come three weeks after US President Donald Trump announced that the US recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and said his administration would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

Trump’s declaration prompted international condemnation and widespread protests across the world.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that declared Trump’s move “null and void”.

Demonstrations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have been met with use of force by Israeli forces. In the Gaza Strip, Israel launched several air raids.

Since Trump’s announcement, at least 15 people have been killed across the occupied Palestinian territories, more than 2,900 people injured and more than 500 jailed.

Status of Jerusalem
The status of Jerusalem is extremely sensitive and is one of the main sticking points in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian leaders want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel says the city cannot be divided.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and proceeded to effectively annexit, in breach of international law.

The separation wall, which Israel started building in 2002, snakes through the occupied West Bank’s territory, dividing villages, encircling towns and splitting families from each other.

Today, 86 percent of East Jerusalem is under direct control of the Israeli authorities and Jewish settlers.

Around 200,000 settlers live in settlements that have been mostly built either entirely or partially on private Palestinian property.

Of that number, 2,000 settlers live in the midst of Palestinian neighbourhoods under army protection.

Based on the law in the West Bank, a state is only allowed to expropriate private land for public Palestinian needs.

Israel uses this law, however, to confiscate private land for building Jewish-only settlement roads, connecting them with one another and to Israel. In this way, 12 settlements were built in East Jerusalem on Palestinian property declared for “public needs”.

In October, Israel’s civil administration approved for the first time in 15 years the construction of 31 settlement housing units in the occupied Palestinian city of Hebron.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers settlement construction activities there as illegal.