Muslim World – Page 81

More than 850 killed in 50 days of coalition air strikes

November 13, 2014 by Nasheman

by SOHR

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) documented the death of 865 people since the U.S led coalition started its strikes on Syria in 23/Sep until last night, including 50 civilians (8 children, 5 women), killed by coalition air strikes on oil fields and refineries in al-Hasakah and Der-Ezzor countrysides, al-Raqqa, Around Menbej northeast of Aleppo, and Idlib countryside.

68 fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra were killed by coalition air strikes on their HQs in the western countryside of Aleppo and the northern countryside of Idlib 746 fighters from the IS most of them were Non-Syrian fighters, were killed by coalition airstrikes on their HQs and groupings in Homs, Hama, al-Hasakah, al-Raqqa, Der-Ezzor, and Aleppo.

A fighter from Islamic battalions killed by coalition air strikes on ISIS HQ in Ma’dan in al-Raqqa countryside.

We, in SOHR, believed that the real number of casualties in ISIS is more than 746, because there is absolute secrecy on casualties and due to the difficulty of access to many areas and villages that have witnessed violent clashes and bombardment.

Worth to mention that the coalition air strikes targeted oil refineries and oil fields in Der-Ezzor, al-Hasakah and al-Raqqa, what led to material damages in these refineries and oil fields.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights expresses its strong condemnation, to the fall of the civilians, as a result of the coalition air strikes, and Calls neutralize civilians areas from the military operations from any party, because the the Syrian people who have lost hundreds of thousands and been displaced in millions, is looking forward to a decent safe life away from Humiliation, detention, and destruction, a life of democracy, justice, freedom and equality.

Israeli army issues arrest warrant against a 2 year old child

November 12, 2014 by Nasheman

Hamza Hatem Zeidani – Silwanic

by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC & Agencies

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), in occupied East Jerusalem, has reported that the Israeli army issued an arrest warrant against a two-year-old child, and that the army told the family he is “wanted” for questioning by the security forces.

The family said that an Israeli security officer, accompanied by several soldiers, stormed their home, and told them they have an arrest warrant for their child, Hamza Hatem Zeidani, and that they asked the soldiers, whether they realize they are after a 2-year-old child.

The soldiers actually confirmed they are coming after the child, and the family told them he lives in the house next door, but the soldiers did not go there to arrest him.

Earlier on Wednesday, the soldiers kidnapped four Palestinians from Silwan and the Suwwana neighborhood, after searching and ransacking their home.

Silwanic said the soldiers kidnapped Ra’ed Ra’fat Abu Gharbiyya, 17, Ahmad Mansour Abu Gharbiyya, 17, from Suwwana neighborhood, and Mohammad Ziad Zeidani, 16, and Kayed Yahia Rajabi, 19, from the al-Bustan neighborhood.

Members of the Zeidani family said the soldiers confiscated three computers from their home when they kidnapped their son Mohammad.

UNHCR: 13.6 million displaced by conflict in Iraq and Syria

November 12, 2014 by Nasheman

Syrian Kurdish refugees try to get warm around a fire at a refugee camp in the town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, on November 7, 2014. AFP / Aris Messinis

by Al-Akhbar

About 13.6 million people, equivalent to the population of London, have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq, many without food or shelter as winter starts, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.

“The whole humanitarian community is facing shortfalls. People are becoming numb,” said Amin Awad, who heads UNHCR’s Middle East and North Africa bureau.

“Now when we talk about a million people displaced over two months, or 500,000 overnight, the world is just not responding,” he told reporters in Geneva.

The 13.6 million include 7.2 million displaced within Syria – an increase from a long-held UN estimate of 6.5 million, as well as 3.3 million Syrian refugees abroad, 1.9 million displaced in Iraq and 190,000 who have left to seek safety.

The vast majority of Syrian refugees have gone to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey, countries which Awad said “are putting us all to shame” with their support for homeless Syrian families.

“Other countries in the world, especially the Europeans and beyond, should open their borders and share the burden.”

UNHCR says it is short of $58.5 million in donations to prepare 990,000 people for winter, money that would cover basic supplies such as plastic sheeting and warm clothing.

Awad said Russia and China, both in the UN Security Council, came in bottom of a list of top donors and should contribute more.

“Politically they cannot really be indifferent, therefore humanitarian is an imperative and it has to be put first and foremost if there is no (political) settlement … They need to contribute one way or the other, like the others do,” he said.

Lack of funds

The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it had been forced to slash the number of people it can help prepare for winter in conflict-ravaged Syria and Iraq for lack of funds.

Awad lamented that his agency was forced to make “tough choices.”

The agency said it was facing a shortfall of $58 million (47 million euros) for its efforts to prepare millions of displaced people in Syria and Iraq for winter.

As a result, as many as one million displaced people desperate for blankets, kerosene, warm clothes and other items needed to keep warm and dry may have to go without assistance, it warned.

“I wish we could support everybody, and I wish that we could keep everybody warm,” Amin told reporters in Geneva, adding however that “the world is not responding.”

“Many fled with nothing,” UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told reporters.

With winter already on the doorstep, and temperatures falling as low as minus 16 degrees Celsius in some parts of Syria and Iraq, UNHCR has already invested $154 million in winter aid for the devastated countries.

But because of the funding shortfall, it has been forced to revise down the number of people it can help.

The agency had planned to help 1.4 million people in Syria and 600,000 people in Iraq, but now expects to reach only 620,000 in Syria and 240,000 in Iraq.

As a result, UNHCR said it was being forced to make “some very tough choices over who to prioritize.”

“The needs are massive but funding has not kept up apace with the new displacement,” Fleming said.

Those at higher, colder altitudes, as well as vulnerable people such as the sick, the elderly and newborns, are first in line for aid, Amin said.

He noted that 11 young children froze to death in Syria last year.

“The same can happen this year with children, elderly and frail persons,” he warned.

(Reuters, AFP)

Israel to confiscate 3,000 acres of Palestinian village land near Jerusalem

November 11, 2014 by Nasheman

Jerusalem/Ma’an: Locals said on Saturday that Israeli authorities delivered orders to the village of Beit Iksa north of Jerusalem indicating the confiscation of 12,852 dunums (3,176 acres) of Palestinian land.

Locals told Ma’an that soldiers deployed at the military checkpoint at the entrance to the village delivered confiscation orders signed by the Israeli military commander in the West Bank, Nitzan Alon, that gave them until Dec. 31, 2017 to remain on their land.

Villagers said that soldiers informed them that an official from the Israeli military liaison would arrive on Monday to specify which lands that would be confiscated, adding that the lands confiscated would be used for “military purposes.”

Israeli officials, however, denied the reports late Sunday.

A spokeswoman of COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry unit in charge of civil administration in the Palestinian territories, told Ma’an that there were only Israeli military orders to renew a confiscation order for 163 dunams (41 acres) of land in Beit Iksa north of Jerusalem.

“Around 163 dunams were temporarily confiscated in 2004 for military purposes,” the spokeswoman said.

“The new orders mean that the area will be used for military purposes until 2017,” she added.

Although located immediately next to Jerusalem, the village’s lands have been progressively confiscated and the village is surrounded on all sides by the Israeli separation wall. Villagers can no longer travel to Jerusalem without permits, and Palestinians not resident in Beit Iksa cannot enter the single Israeli checkpoint that allows access to the village.

Ninety-three percent of the village is under full Israeli military control, and a majority of the total land of the village falls in areas outside of the separation wall, meaning they have been de facto confiscated, including about 1,500 dunums (371 acres) where Jewish-only settlements have been built.

The head of the Beit Iksa village council Saada al-Khatib told Ma’an that according to the order and the maps that soldiers had shown them Saturday, the lands that would be confiscated are between parcels 7 and 8 and include Haraeq al-Arab, Thahr Biddu, Numus, and Khatab areas around the village.

Al-Khatib added that the Israeli authorities claim that the confiscation order has been under way since 2012, and that the new order issued on Saturday only emphasizes the old order.

The order would prevent dozens of farmers from reaching their lands, he said, calling upon Palestinian ministries and national institutions to support the village of Beit Iksa and its neighbors.

He added that the order came after the Israeli municipality announced the approval of 244 housing units to be built in the Ramot settlement, which was previously built on lands confiscated from the settlement.

Al-Khatib warned that the land confiscation orders being issued to many villages were an attempt to carry out the “Judaization” of Beit Iksa after sealing the village shut and surrounding it with a checkpoint and the separation wall, turning it into an 2,500-dunum prison.

Washington moving towards wider war in Iraq and Syria

November 10, 2014 by Nasheman

by Bill Van Auken, WSWS

There are new indications that Washington is moving toward a wider and protracted military intervention in the Middle East in the name of combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In the wake of last weekend’s collapse of US-backed Syrian “rebels” in the face of an offensive by Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Al Nusra Front, plans are being prepared to extend the three-month-old US-led bombing campaign deeper into Syria. The ostensible purpose of these air strikes would be to provide air support for the Western-backed militias formed to prosecute the war for regime change against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The concern within US military and intelligence circles is that the Nusra Front fighters appear poised to seize control of the strategic Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, which has served as a key conduit for funneling arms and other aid to the Syrian “rebels.”

A substantial portion of that aid, including heavy weapons such as TOW anti-tank missiles and GRAD rockets, fell into the hands of the Nusra Front last weekend as the American-backed groups—the Syrian Revolutionary Front and Harakat Hazm (Steadfastness Movement)—surrendered without a shot being fired. Many of the members of these groups then joined the Nusra Front.

“The recent fighting in northwestern Syria has been taking place a long way from areas farther east where US and Arab warplanes have been pounding Islamic State positions,” the Washington Post reported Wednesday. “But US concern has grown rapidly in recent days amid fears about the [Bab al-Hawa] border crossing, according to senior administration officials who spoke about internal discussions on the condition of anonymity.”

The report cited discussions about likely “complications” arising from air strikes in the area, in particular whether the Syrian government would “tolerate an expansion” of the war beyond Iraq and areas of Syria near the Iraqi border, which have fallen under ISIS control.

There are, however, multiple demands that Washington carry out such an expansion with the aim of directing the US-led war precisely at toppling the Assad regime.

This is the position being advanced by the governments of both France and Turkey. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius wrote an opinion column published by several media organizations earlier this week calling on the US and its allies to shift the military intervention away from the Kurdish border town of Kobane, where there have been regular US bombings, to the city of Aleppo. Previously Syria’s industrial capital, Aleppo has been the scene of stepped up fighting as the Syrian government seeks to consolidate its control by defeating the so-called rebels.

“France cannot resign itself to the breakup of Syria or to the abandonment of the Aleppans to this fate,” Fabius wrote. “That is why—together with our coalition partners—we must focus our efforts on Aleppo, with two clear objectives: strengthening our support for the moderate Syrian opposition, and protecting the civilian population from the twin crimes of the regime and Daesh [ISIS]. After Kobane, we must save Aleppo.”

Just two days later, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that if Aleppo were to fall to the government forces, Turkey could face a major new refugee crisis. “This is why we called for a safe zone as well as taking measures against not only the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS] but also the Assad regime,” he said. Turkey has called for the creation of a “buffer zone” inside Syria along the Turkish border. Such a “buffer” would serve the dual purpose of providing a safe haven for the Western-backed “rebels” and breaking up the autonomous zones created in the border area by Syrian Kurds, which Ankara sees as a threat in terms of its own conflict with the country’s Kurdish population.

Turkey has also advocated the imposition of a “no fly zone,” which would entail a massive bombing campaign against Syria’s air force and air defenses.

These same positions find support within Washington from, among others, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who, after Tuesday’s midterm election, will become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, giving him access to a significant lever for shifting the US toward a more aggressive policy.

On the eve of the election, McCain charged that the collapse of the American-backed “rebels” to the Nusra Front constituted proof that “the administration’s current strategy in Syria is a disaster.” He demanded a greater military intervention to “protect the Syrian people.”

An escalation of the war is a virtual certainty now the US midterm elections are over. As Foreign Policy commented Wednesday: “When it comes to foreign policy, a GOP win could make it easier for Obama … if the president decided to shift his strategy against the Islamic State, [to] win Congressional backing for sending ground troops to Iraq or Syria.”

A revealing indication of the intense and protracted character of the war that US imperialism is preparing in the Middle East was provided by theWashington Post ’s well-connected national security correspondent, Walter Pincus.

“The Defense Department is certainly preparing for a long fight,” Pincus wrote, citing a recent notice to military contractors of department plans for an eight-year contract for the Air Combat Command of the US Air Force, set to begin in October 2016. The contract is for operating and supporting the command’s “major war reserve materiel facilities in Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.”

Among the items to be pre-positioned at these sites are mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs), massive amounts of ammunition and “medical contingency hospitals for expeditionary medical support.” The plan also calls for creating “facilities and equipment that could house 3,300 airmen and 72 fighter aircraft at expeditionary locations.”

In the meantime, the Pentagon’s Central Command announced Wednesday it had carried out four air strikes in Syria and 10 in Iraq since Monday. A CENTCOM spokesman said the strikes had hit various ISIS vehicles, bunkers and small units.

From Iraq itself, however, came a different account of the US bombing runs. In al-Qaim, in western Anbar province near the Syrian border, security officials told the National Iraqi News Agency that a US warplane fired two missiles into a popular market in the center of the city. The explosions ripped through the crowded market, leaving at least seven Iraqi civilians dead and 27 others wounded, many of them critically.

Islamic State leader possibly killed – or possibly not – by airstrikes in Iraq

November 10, 2014 by Nasheman

by Liz Fields, Vice News

The fate of the Islamic State’s top commander, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains murky in the aftermath of coalition airstrikes that reportedly targeted a house in Iraq where top militants were meeting Saturday, according to witnesses and local media.

Dozens were wounded and killed in an attack that reportedly hit a gathering of Islamic State leaders near the western Iraqi town of Quaim, local residents told Reuters. Unconfirmed reports have stated that the reclusive al-Baghdadi was among those injured or possibly killed.

Following the assault, witnesses told Al Arabiya News that Islamic State fighters cleared a hospital in the town southwest of Mosul and brought their wounded there, using loudspeakers to encourage locals to donate blood to the fallen.

US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US troops in the Middle East, said that coalition warplanes conducted a “series of air strikes” against “a gathering of (IS) leaders near Mosul,” but did not confirm whether al-Baghdadi was there, AFP reported.

“This strike demonstrates the pressure we continue to place on the ISIL [IS] terrorist network and the group’s increasingly limited freedom to maneuver, communicate and command,” Centcom spokesman Patrick Ryder said Saturday.

Conflicting reports on the possible death or wounding of al-Baghdadi, who rarely appears in public and has been reported killed on numerous previous occasions, continued to circulate over the weekend.

Tribal sources told Al Arabiya News that al-Baghdadi was “critically wounded” in the strikes. Other senior Islamic State members believed to be among the dead or injured include the group’s leader of Iraq’s Anbar Province and his deputy, local residents told Reuters.

The Islamic State did not immediately issue any statements, but a Twitter account associated with the group stated that their leader was “alive and well.”

I can report to the Muslims that Amir Al-Momineen Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Hafid hu’allah is alive and well. #IslamicState #Iraq RT @sheikhajmee

— State of Islam (@Dawla_accountt) November 8, 2014

“Until now, there is no accurate information available,” a senior Iraqi intelligence official told AFP when asked whether Baghdadi had been killed.

“The information is from unofficial sources and was not confirmed until now, and we are working on that,” the official said without specifying what the initial reports indicated.

Al-Baghdadi’s death would be a major victory for the US and coalition forces fighting against the Islamist insurgency in Iraq and Syria. Washington has put a $10 million bounty on the leader’s head.

The airstrikes came a day after President Barack Obama announced the deployment of an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq, and the same weekend that a spate of deadly car bombings and a suicide truck attack killed at least 58 people and injured dozens more in cities across the country.

Palestinians call for 'Day of Rage' against Israeli aggressions at al-Aqsa

November 7, 2014 by Nasheman

Palestinians clean up debris inside the al-Aqsa Mosque, on November 5, 2014 following clashes between Israeli Occupation Forces and Palestinians. AFP / Ahmad Gharabli

by Al-Akhbar

Palestinian groups once again called for a “Day of Rage” on Friday in solidarity with Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque, as Israeli authorities announced late Thursday they would prevent Palestinian men under 35 from entering the al-Aqsa compound for Friday prayers.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad issued separate statements on Thursday calling on Palestinians to take to the streets following Friday prayers “in solidarity with the al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to take to the streets on Friday to “show support to occupied Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The group, in a statement, called for holding “marches of anger” after the weekly Friday prayers near the points where Israeli army troops are stationed in the West Bank.

One of the marches would head to Qalandiya military checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, and another would head to the central Hebron neighborhood of Bab al-Zawiya, the release said. A third one would be staged in central Nablus in northern West Bank, it added.

Moreover, a Islamic Jihad leader, Mohammad al-Harrazin, said in a statement that the movement’s agenda focuses on “mobilizing and recruiting” the public in support of Jerusalem.

Al-Harrazin added that a popular revolution is necessary in order to counter the Israeli threats and violations, calling upon Palestinians to organize marches expressing rage and to defend and protect Jerusalem, al-Aqsa and all holy sites.

Late Thursday, Israeli police announced they would prevent Palestinian men under 35 from entering the al-Aqsa compound for Friday prayers, while allowing Zionist settlers into the holy site undisturbed.

Tensions have been running high in occupied East Jerusalem after months of Israeli pressure on the region, including through a massive arrest campaign and a major military offensive on Gaza that left more than 2,100 dead and provoked outrage across Palestine.

They have also been stoked by Israeli authorities’ decision to hold a vote on splitting the al-Aqsa compound despite the existence of a Jewish prayer area at the Western Wall immediately next door.

The unrest mounted further after Israeli authorities sealed access to the al-Aqsa mosque and following the killing of a young Palestinian man suspected of shooting and injuring a far-right Zionist rabbi.

Several far-right Israeli members of the Knesset have also entered the mosque complex in recent days, drawing the ire of Muslim worshippers and official condemnation from Arab and Muslim countries.

Groups of Zionist settlers, too, have forced their way into the site, prompting clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces.

Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, an agreement with Jordan has maintained that Jewish prayer be allowed at the Western Wall plaza – built on the site of a Palestinian neighborhood of 800 that was destroyed immediately following the conquest – but not inside the al-Aqsa mosque compound itself.

Israeli forces have long restricted Palestinians’ access to the al-Aqsa compound based on age and gender, but have further prevented Muslim worshipers from entering the mosque for more than a month while facilitating the entrance for Zionist extremists.

On Friday, Israeli forces detained three young Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem, eyewitnesses said.

“Israeli forces raided the Issawiya village in East Jerusalem and arrested three youths,” an eyewitness told Anadolu Agency.

On Thursday, witnesses said clashes broke out near an Israeli military checkpoint at the main entrance to Shuafat refugee camp where Israeli Occupation Forces attacked Palestinian protesters with tear gas, grenades and sponge rounds.

Clashes also erupted in the al-Tur neighborhood where Israeli forces and undercover agents detained five young Palestinian men., and on the main roads near Anata and al-Ram as well as Hutta square in the Old city.

Israeli forces also closed with concrete blocks the main entrance to the town of Al-Isawiya. Concrete blocks were placed in front of tram stops in East Jerusalem.

Furthermore, seven Palestinians were struck by rubber-coated steel bullets on Thursday afternoon during clashes between Israeli soldiers and students from Birzeit University which took place near Israel’s Ofer detention center west of Ramallah.

Sources at Birzeit University told Ma’an that the Student Union suspended classes in the morning and organized a large rally in the center of campus opposing Israeli attempts to divide the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem into Jewish and Muslim sections.

Following the rally, students left campus in buses and headed to Ofer detention center near the town of Beitunia. Shortly after the rally began, Israeli forces opened fire on the students with tear gas canisters, and the students began hurling stones at the soldiers in response.

The students then ran away and took positions on hilltops around the detention center, before Israeli soldiers started to fire live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets at them, injuring seven.

On Wednesday, as many as 60 Israeli troops stormed the compound through the Al-Magharbeh and Al-Silsila gates and began shooting randomly in the direction of Muslim worshipers, eyewitnesses said.

Israeli troops also fired stun grenades inside the compound’s Al-Qibali Mosque, even entering the house of worship with their shoes until they reached Saladin’s Minbar (Pulpit) for the first time since 1967.

Israeli forces detained over 200 Palestinians in the past two weeks only.

For Muslims, al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site.

In September 2000, a visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque complex by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada,” a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.

Israel, Jordan and al-Aqsa

Israel on Thursday promised Jordan that it would not allow Jews to pray at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound as scores of Jewish extremists tried to march to the flashpoint shrine.

With clashes raging in several Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied east Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to reassure him there would be no changes to the decades-old status quo.

“I spoke today to King Abdullah of Jordan and we agreed that we will make every effort to calm the situation,” Netanyahu said.

“I explained to him that we’re keeping the status quo on the Temple Mount and that this includes Jordan’s traditional role there,” he said, using Israel’s name for the compound.

The phone call came 24 hours after fierce clashes between Israeli Occupation Forces and Palestinians protesting the storming of al-Aqsa by Jewish extremists prompted Amman to recall its ambassador to Israel “in protest at Israel’s escalation” and move to file a UN complaint.

Under the current status quo, Jews are permitted to visit the esplanade but not to pray there for fear it would cause friction at one of the most sensitive holy sites in the Middle East.

King Abdullah “recalled that Jordan firmly rejected any measure undermining the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa mosque”, a palace statement said.

Jordan’s status as custodian of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and other Muslim holy sites in annexed east Jerusalem is enshrined in the 1994 peace treaty between the two countries.

Concerns that Israel was set to legislate changes to the status quo have sparked weeks of unrest at the site.

Meanwhile, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek denounced recent Israeli aggressions in occupied East Jerusalem, warning they could jeopardize a “two-state solution” to the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah with Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, Zaoralek said that certain Israeli policies – like closing the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to worshippers and continued settlement building – contravened international law.

He also asserted his country’s support for the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, saying a two-state solution was the only way to end the decades-long conflict.

Al-Maliki, for his part, said that recent Israeli actions in Jerusalem constituted “a declaration of war.”

Meanwhile, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Israel’s “barbaric and despicable” attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is “unforgivable.”

“With such continuing actions, Israel is preparing the ground for the failure of inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue around the world,” he said in a press conference before departing for an official visit to Turkmenistan.

“Israel has already been isolated in the Middle East, but if such actions continue, Israel will also become marginalized at the world level. The occupation of al-Aqsa is not only a concern of Palestinians or Arabs, but of the whole Muslim world.”

Israeli settlers storm Joseph’s tomb

On Thursday, around 150 Zionists gathered near the Old City for a march “to the gates of the Temple Mount.”

“We are proudly marching with high heads to the direction of the Temple Mount. God willing, we’ll get there,” Ariel Groner told AFP, a far-right Zionist and hardline campaigner for “Jewish prayer rights” at the compound.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Zionist settlers under heavy military escort visited Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus early Thursday morning.

Palestinian security sources told a Ma’an reporter that more than 30 Israeli military vehicles escorted ten settler buses to the site at dawn.

The settlers performed religious rites throughout the early morning hours.

A group of young Palestinian men gathered in the area hurling stones and empty bottles at the Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas canisters and stun grenades.

No casualties were reported.

Israeli settlers frequently visit Joseph’s Tomb under the protection of Israeli forces, who regularly raid local Palestinian villages and fire tear gas into the neighboring Balata refugee camp during these visits.

Though the site lies in an area under Palestinian authority deep in the West Bank, it is fully controlled by Israeli forces.

Palestinians believe that Joseph’s Tomb is the funerary monument to Sheikh Yusef Dweikat, a local religious figure. Others believe that the tomb belongs to the Biblical patriarch Joseph.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

(Al-Akhbar, Ma’an, Anadolu, AFP)

Hassan Nasrallah: Conflict in Middle East political, not sectarian

November 6, 2014 by Nasheman

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah speaks in a rare public appearance addressing thousands of his supporters on November 3, 2014 the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs. (Photo: AFP)

by Al-Akhbar

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday that the current turmoil in the Middle East region was a “political,” not “sectarian” conflict.

Addressing thousands of supporters in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital on the religious festival of Ashura in a rare public appearance, Nasrallah repeated that his movement was waging war against radical Islamists and Israel, not against Sunnis.

“Portraying the current conflict as one between Shias and Sunnis is a major mistake,” Nasrallah said in his second appearance among his supporters in a few months.

“I address all Shias in the region: You need to understand that Sunnis are not our enemies. We are not at war with Sunnis.”

“I address Sunnis in the region: Shias are not at war with you. We are both, together, at war with extremist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),” he added.

Nasrallah said that what happens in the Middle East would decide its future for years to come.

“Our battle is against radicals who want to crush everybody else and against Israel,” Nasrallah said.

“This is not a battle against Sunnis,” he added, going on to call on Sunni Muslims to practice caution in regard to the current developments.

Hezbollah supports Michel Aoun for Lebanon’s presidency

Bringing up the current political stagnation in Lebanon, the Hezbollah chief said his movement would back its main Christian ally, Michel Aoun, in the country’s long-delayed presidential vote.

Lebanese parliament is tasked by the constitution to select a president, a decision that has already been put off 14 times as the war in Syria continues to divide rival political blocs.

Nasrallah blamed the political paralysis on external factors.

“Lebanese political factions are restrained by regional vetoes and these decisions are responsible for Lebanon’s presidential vacuum,” he said on Monday.

He reiterated his call for national dialogue to solve the crisis, adding that Hezbollah was willing to sit down with “any political group.”

While discussing Lebanese internal matters, Nasrallah also praised Prime Minister Tammam Salam and the Future Movement political party for their roles in defusing clashes in the northern city of Tripoli.

Nasrallah calls for Ashura rallies despite threats

Nasrallah called for a large turnout on Tuesday, which sees the peak of Ashura, a commemoration that marks the killing of Imam Hussein, one of the most revered figures of Shia Islam.

Ashura events have increasingly become targets of deadly bombings and attacks over the years.

“Tomorrow we will prove that we are above any threat, any danger, any challenge,” Nasrallah said.

Nasrallah addressed the crowds again by video link on Tuesday morning, where he condemned recent attacks on Ashura commemorations in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria.

He also condemned recent Israeli aggressions in Jerusalem and the storming of the al-Aqsa compound by Zionist extremists.

He reiterated comments on ISIS and Islamist extremist.

“The takfiri project will be defeated sooner or later,” he said. “The fall of ISIS is inevitable.”

“These takfiris will be defeated in all areas and countries, and we will feel honored that we played a role in their defeat,” he added.

(Anadolu, AFP, Al-Akhbar)

PILER condemns killing of brick kiln workers in Kot Radha Kishan in Pakistan

November 6, 2014 by Nasheman

Karachi: Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research has vehemently condemned the brutal killing and then burning of bodies of Shahzad and Shama, the worker couple in Kot Radha Kishan Punjab.

In a statement here Wednesday, the PILER Chief Executive Karamat Ali demanded the provincial government of Punjab to arrest the owner and other responsible staff and try them in Anti-Terrorism court.

In a recent addition to the rapidly rising list of attacks on religious minorities, the Christian couple was reported to be beaten and their bodies were put in a burning brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan area of Punjab on November 4. The couple was alleged of desecrating the Holy Quran however some news reports contradicted the allegation by claiming that there was some dispute between the couple and the kiln owner.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also reported rise in attacks against minorities groups during the last year and mentioned 2013 as one of the darkest years for the Christian community in Pakistan. Attacks on churches, Christian populations and forced conversions are some of the highlights of the year.

The case of Kot Radha kishan appears to be another outcome of blasphemy law, which has already resulted in many innocent deaths in the past. Any call for the review of this law has always been replied with threats, attacks and at most, death. None of the governments had a courage to revisit this law. Salman Taseer, former Governor of Punjab (2008-2011), had labeled the blasphemy law as ‘black law’ and soon after, he was killed by his own gunmen. The killer is now behind tge bars but was reported to have been inciting the fellow prisoners and even those on duty to kill the blasphemy convicts in the jail. Despite a number of reports which appeared in media recently, no action was taken by the jail authorities or the government of Punjab.

Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its recent landmark verdict in a suo motu case has directed government to form a National Council for minorities’ rights with the mandate to tailor policy recommendations for safeguarding and protecting minorities’ rights. Also following the kidnappings of Hindu community members in Sindh, National Assembly had agreed to form a fact-finding committee on attacks against minorities. Any progress on both the mentioned reports never appeared anywhere.

Women beat up their husbands

November 1, 2014 by Nasheman

Jeddah/Arab News: In a strange twist to the issue of domestic violence, reports of women beating up men have recently come to light, prompting widespread public debate. Wai center for social consultations stated that it received more than 557,000 complaints from abused men. However, Nouf, a teacher, rejected the claims.

“Women tend to avoid violence often for the sake of the children,” she said.

Abeer Okal, on the other hand, attributed male abuse to women’s backlash of enduring life-long neglect and abuse from their own families.

“When women are driven to anger, they are capable of the unthinkable,” she said.

Many believe that female violence is the result of insecurity because some husbands do not appreciate married life.

Mohammed Al-Sayyed, also a teacher, denounced this behavior, saying it is impossible to live with an abusive wife and that it is better for such couples to be separated.

Imad Al-Khouli said some women are naturally violent, saying: “A friend of mine can’t stay in the house for long hours because his wife begins abusing him in front of their children.”

Dr. Eid Al-Inizi, social consultant at Wai center, said that issues of women’s violence against men are fewer than men’s violence against women, and such cases are often witnessed when the latter have had enough that they turn to violence.

Other reasons for women becoming abusive are when husbands are unable to provide basic necessities to their families, forcing their wives to assume the responsibility or because of mental disorder among some women, Al-Inizi said, adding that some women are simply copying what they have seen their mothers doing in terms of abusing their father.

If the husband drinks alcohol or has unlawful relations, he becomes even more vulnerable making it easy for her to vent out her frustration. Experts say lack of respect generating from recurring conflicts leads to escalation of abuse between men and women.

Hink Al-Otaibi, a social specialist said women’s violence can result from discovering the husband’s infidelity which makes the man ashamed of his actions, and incites the desire for revenge among women.

Sometimes violence can result from the husband’s inability to deal with his wife.