Archives for 2017

by Ma’an News Agency

UN officials visited the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem on Wednesday, which is under threat of forcible relocation by Israeli authorities who delivered demolition notices to every single house in the village on Sunday, and called the situation “unacceptable.”

Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory Robert Piper and Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank Scott Anderson visited the small village located in Area C — the more than 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli control and the site of frequent Israeli demolitions.

“Khan al-Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities to move to a planned relocation site,” Piper said in a statement, adding that “this is unacceptable and it must stop.”

Over the past week, Israeli authorities delivered demolition notices to the village’s 40 homes and elementary school, including stop-work orders targeting various structures in the village. Locals told Ma’an at the time that Israeli forces imposed a military closure on the area before delivering the demolition warrants, as faculty and students of the school were prevented from accessing the building.

Despite the fact that the community, and the school in particular, has been threatened with demolition by the Israeli government for years, locals said the issuing of demolition warrants to every single house was an unprecedented blow.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that Israeli authorities confirmed the widespread issuance of demolition orders was unprecedented in the area, and that the raid was “a declaration of intention in advance of an attempt to evacuate the entire village.”

The demolition notices were issued on the basis of the community lacking almost impossible to obtain Israeli building permits, which the UN has said results from the discriminatory zoning and planning regimes implemented in Area C.

According to the statement released by the UN, the enforcement of these orders in Khan al-Ahmar would “directly impact the homes and livelihoods of over 140 Palestinian refugees, more than half of them children.”

The statement also highlighted that the orders have also targeted the village’s primary school, built out of tires and mud. The school was built with the help of international donors, and according to the UN serves some 170 Bedouin children in the area.

“The developments in Khan al Ahmar are not unique,” Piper said. “Thousands of families live in fear of demolitions at any moment, and entire communities exist in chronic instability.”

“When schools are demolished, the right to education of Palestinian children is also threatened. This creates a coercive environment that forces certain Palestinian communities to move elsewhere, ” he noted.

He added that the international community should work together to support and protect vulnerable communities like the Bedouin, while “insisting that international law is respected.”

Khan al-Ahmar, like other Bedouin communities in the region, is under threat of relocation by Israel for being located in the contentious “E1 corridor” set up by the Israeli government to link annexed East Jerusalem with the mega settlement of Maale Adumim.

Israeli authorities plan to build thousands of homes for Jewish-only settlements in E1, which would effectively divide the West Bank and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state — as envisaged by the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict — almost impossible.

Rights groups and Bedouin community members have sharply criticized Israel’s relocation plans for the Bedouin residing near the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, claiming that the removal would displace indigenous Palestinians for the sake of expanding Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank in violation of international law.

The statement reiterated the UN’s longstanding condemnation of the forcible transfer of Bedouin communities without their free, prior, and informed consent.

“The entire existence of this community, the homes, animal sheds and school that we visited today, is under threat. I am gravely concerned about Israel’s continued pressures to force these Bedouin from their homes, destroying their livelihoods and their distinct culture,”Anderson said in the statement, adding that “many of these Palestine refugee families have already had their homes demolished several times within the last couple of years.”

“I urge the Israeli authorities to halt all plans and practices that will directly or indirectly lead refugees to be displaced once again,” he said.

The village is one of 46 villages comprising of a population of 7,000 — 70 percent of whom are Palestinian refugees — in the central West Bank that are considered by the UN as being at risk of forcible transfer by Israeli authorities to alternative sites, in violation of international law, the statement highlighted.

The demolition raids this past week were the latest in a years-long legal battle waged by the Israeli government and residents of illegal Israeli settlements surrounding Khan al-Ahmar to demolish and relocate the school, which was built in 2009 with the assistance of Italian NGO Vento Di Terra using ecological methods.

In August last year, after reports emerged that the Israeli prime minister’s office ordered the school to be closed down, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the state of Israel provide a formal opinion on the school the following week.

In October, the state postponed issuing a decision at the Supreme Court for four months.

Now, four months later, the status of case remained unclear. A spokesperson for the Israeli Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to Ma’an on a request for comment on the case.

On Wednesday, the European Union (EU) Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah also released a statement condemning Israeli demolition policies in Area C of the West Bank, saying that since the start of 2017, 218 Palestinians had already been displaced due to Israeli-imposed demolitions, confiscations, and evictions in Area C. More than half of those displaced were children, the statement added.

The statement went on to highlight the record-high amount of Israeli-enforced demolitions of Palestinian structures in 2016, saying that “6,088 Palestinians were affected by 872 demolitions in Area C, among whom 1,663 were children.”

Negotiations off to rocky start after opposition threatens to skip opening ceremony over disagreements.

by Al Jazeera

Geneva, Switzerland – UN-led negotiations on the war in Syria got off to a delayed start following disputes over the participation of the Syrian opposition delegation.

Opposition representatives nearly missed the opening ceremony of the talks on Thursday after threatening not to attend over disagreements on the make-up and format of the session. But in a last-minute turnaround, they arrived late and as one large delegation.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura formally began the fourth round of talks in Geneva in an opening session that brought the opposition and government delegations face-to-face at UN headquarters with expectations of a breakthrough low.

“I ask you to work together. I know it’s not going to be easy to end this horrible conflict and lay the foundation for a country at peace with itself, sovereign and unified,” de Mistura told the two delegations, who sat on opposite sides of the stage.

“It is your opportunity and solemn responsibility … not to condemn future generations of Syrian children to long years of bitter and bloody conflict.”

The talks are part of the latest political initiative to bring an end to a six-year war that has killed nearly half a million people, wounded more than a million, and forced more than 12 million – half of the country’s prewar population – from their homes.

Hopes for a ‘work plan’

In a news conference shortly after his opening speech, de Mistura said he would meet with each side on Friday in the hopes of setting a “work plan” for the remainder of the negotiations.

At the last Syria talks in Geneva 10 months ago, de Mistura had to shuttle between the government and opposition delegations in different rooms.

The opening ceremony on Thursday was delayed by several hours after disputes between the main opposition bloc – the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) – and de Mistura over the structure of the opposition delegation.

The bloated size of the delegation was due partly to de Mistura’s inclusion of two other groups – the Moscow and the Cairo platforms – in the talks. The envoy invited the two pro-Russia, government-tolerated opposition groups to sit separately from the HNC, an umbrella group of armed and political factions.

“You must have seen that there was, in particular, a very heavy [presence] on the side of the opposition in the room … they were including also the armed groups … because, as you know, peace is made between those who fight each other,” said de Mistura.

The idea of the opposition sitting at different tables riled the Saudi Arabia-based HNC, leading to hours of last-minute diplomacy ahead of the opening ceremony as diplomats scrambled to find a solution.

“Today, the real opposition that represents the Syrian people is the HNC. This delegation and the HNC, extends its hand to any national partner that adopts the will of the Syrian people,” Naser al-Hariri, head of the HNC delegation, told reporters ahead of the opening session.

“We hope that the Moscow and Cairo platforms will prioritise national interest and the interests of the Syrian people,” Hariri said.

“The HNC was in contact with the Cairo and Moscow platforms in previous meetings. There are ongoing efforts to join these platforms within the opposition delegation so that we are represented as one delegation.”

De Mistura said there had been “serious progress” made in the hours leading up to the opening ceremony in “forming a united political opposition,” but that there was still much work to be done.

Truce violations

The talks in Geneva came about after Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, a backer of the Syrian opposition, managed to forge a fragile nationwide ceasefire in place since December 30.

The Syrian government and the opposition agreed to participate in negotiations despite daily violations of the truce.

Much has changed on the ground in Syria since de Mistura suspended the last round of talks in Geneva last April after a previous ceasefire collapsed and heavy fighting resumed.

Russia’s September 2015 military intervention drastically changed the balance of power, propping up Assad’s embattled forces and helping them to retake key parts of the country.

With the help of Russian jets and Iranian-backed fighters, Syrian government forces dealt the rebels their biggest defeat in the conflict in December by retaking Aleppo, Syria’s commercial capital before the war and a rebel stronghold since 2012.

The Russian-backed push on the battlefield has been coupled with a similar takeover by Moscow in the diplomatic arena – a move helped by confusion surrounding US President Donald Trump’s Syria policy.

While the Geneva talks are seen as the most serious diplomatic effort in months, disputes over the agenda and long-standing disagreements between the opposition and the government on the future of the country have cast doubts on whether any progress will be achieved.

A day before the talks began, de Mistura said he was not expecting any major breakthroughs, but added he was determined to maintain “proactive momentum” on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, a document that provides the backbone of the talks.

“254 lays out a clear agenda, including specific language on governance, constitutions, elections, and even for the way negotiations should be timed,” said de Mistura. “That is what must now be discussed.”

Though matters on the ground have shifted, the starkly different political objectives of the warring sides remain unchanged from previous rounds of negotiations.

For the Syrian opposition, a political transition that ensures the removal of Assad remains the only option for peace – an issue that the government in Damascus has consistently refused to consider.

De Mistura said the biggest challenge ahead of the delegates was a “lack of trust” as he appealed to the two sides to use the talks as an opportunity for peace.

“We do know what will happen if we fail once again – more deaths, more suffering, more terrorism, more refugees,” he said.

(Agencies)

At least seven killed and many wounded as powerful blast rips through market in city’s affluent Defence area.

by Al Jazeera

At least seven people were killed and 17 wounded in a bomb blast at a market in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, government officials said.

Thursday’s blast follows a string of attacks across the country.

The bombing ripped through a building that was under construction at a commercial market in the affluent Defence area, replete with upmarket boutiques and cafes as well as an academy for the international hair salon Toni & Guy.

“It was a bomb attack,” Nayab Haider, a spokesman for the provincial Punjab police said. “It was a planted explosive device. We do not yet know if it was a timed device or remote detonated.”

No group has immediately claimed the attack.

Television footage showed a smouldering building and several crumpled cars with their windows blown out.

“My God, my God, I saw so many bodies,” Imtiaz Ali, a barber in the Toni & Guy salon, told the AFP news agency. “When I came out I first just saw smoke and dust … Bikes upturned. Cars destroyed. My own colleague’s car windows blown out. My clients’ cars blown out. I was close to fainting.”

According to police, 20kg of explosives were planted at the market.

Rescue official Rizwan Naseer told reporters: “Rescue operations have been completed, and all the wounded and killed have been taken to hospital. We suspect there may be one or two more bodies trapped under the rubble, which we are still investigating.”

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said the area was busy at the time of attack.

Reports of a second blast in the Gulberg area were later retracted by government officials, who said that a tyre blowout caused the loud sound.

Since mid-February, various armed groups have killed at least 130 people across the country and wounded hundreds more.

On February 17, Pakistan suffered the deadliest attack in more than two years as a suicide bomber killed at least 88 people and injured hundreds at a Sufi shrine. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) said it was behind that attack.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban-linked armed group, claimed responsibility for last Monday’s suicide attack targeting police at a protest rally in central Lahore. At least 13 people died in the blast.

Military response

Government and military officials have vowed extensive operations to hunt down fighters across the country and Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has been shut down due to security concerns.

After the shrine bombing, Pakistani security forces said they had killed more than 100 suspected fighters in targeted campaigns across the country.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s army announced that it was launching a new military operation in response to recent violence.

Dubbed Radd-al-Fasaad, the operation by paramilitary forces in Punjab focuses on counterterrorism.

The Punjab is Pakistan’s most populous province, with Lahore its capital.

The operation aims to provide “more effective border security”, a military statement said.

The army has pursued a series of operations in the country’s tribal areas over the past 15 years.

Zarb-e-Azb, the latest, was launched in 2014 to target the Pakistani Taliban and their allies in North Waziristan, the group’s headquarters.

Last year North Waziristan was declared cleared of armed groups, but intelligence-based operations under the banner of Zarb-e-Azb continued across Pakistan.

Radd-al-Fasaad marks the first time the military has formally announced a security operation in Pakistan’s most populous province, which is also the political heartland of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The operation gives policing powers to the paramilitary Rangers force when pursuing suspects.

Iraqi forces storm ISIL-held Mosul International Airport as they continue offensive on western half of the city.

by Al Jazeera

US-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the ISIL-held western half of Mosul have stormed the city’s airport and a nearby military base, state television said.

Counterterrorism service (CTS) troops and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response forces descended on the airport early on Thursday and the nearby Ghazlani military complex, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state TV.

“This is one of the major achievements that the Iraqi forces were hoping to get in the first phase of going towards the Western side of the city,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Erbil.

“This area is about 30 kms away from the western edge of the city, and Iraqi forces now say that they are in full control.

“They say that the two main buildings of the city have been destroyed by ISIL and they have found a number of car bombs parked on strategic locations in the entry points and along the runway of Mosul International Airport.”

The airport and military complex, which includes barracks and training grounds and sprawls across an area close to the Baghdad-Mosul highway was captured by ISIL fighters when they overran Mosul in June 2014.

The advances come days after Iraqi forces officially launched the operation to push ISIL out of Mosul’s western half.

The operation to retake Iraq’s second largest city was officially launched in October and in January its eastern half was declared “fully liberated.”

A US-led coalition has been providing close air support throughout the campaign to retake Iraq’s second-largest city.

US special operations forces are embedded with some Iraqi units and thousands of US troops are in Iraq providing logistical and other support.

US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis was holding discussions with US and Iraqi officials, a week before he is expected to present a new strategy to President Donald Trump for defeating ISIL .

Trump has repeatedly vowed to eliminate the group but has provided few details about how his approach might differ from that of the Obama administration, which had partnered with Syrian and Iraqi forces to drive ISIL out of several towns and cities.

The battle for western Mosul , the group’s last major urban bastion in Iraq, is expected to be the most daunting yet.

The streets are older and narrower in that sector of the city, which stretches west from the River Tigris, forcing Iraqi soldiers to leave the relative safety of their armoured vehicles.

The presence of up to 750,000 civilians also poses a challenge .

Two suicide car bombers struck army and paramilitary forces west of Mosul on Monday, killing and wounding a number of troops, two army officers said, without specifying the number of casualties.

A third suicide car bomber was blown up before reaching the troops, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

ISIL claimed responsibility for two attacks in an online statement, saying the attackers were British and Iraqi.