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Hamas accepts Palestinian state with 1967 borders

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Khaled Meshaal presents a new document in which Hamas accepts 1967 borders without recognising state of Israel.

The new Hamas positions were made official on Monday in Qatar's capital, Doha [EPA]

The new Hamas positions were made official on Monday in Qatar’s capital, Doha [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Hamas has presented a new political document that accepts the formation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, without recognising the statehood of Israel, and says that the conflict in Palestine is not a religious one.

The positions were made official on Monday in Qatar’s capital, Doha, by Khaled Meshaal, the leader-in-exile of the Palestinian group that runs the besieged Gaza Strip.

“We shall not waive an inch of the Palestinian home soil, no matter what the recent pressures are and no matter how long the occupation,” Meshaal said as he revealed the document to the public after two years of work.

“Hamas rejects any idea except liberating the home soil entirely and completely, although it does not necessarily mean we recognise the Zionist entity or give up any of our Palestinian rights.”

While Hamas’ 1988 founding charter called for the takeover of all of mandate Palestine, including present-day Israel, the new document says it will accept the 1967 borders as the basis for a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees to their homes.

The 1967 borders refer to those that existed before the war in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

But it does not go as far as to fully recognise Israel and says Hamas does not relinquish its goal of “liberating all of Palestine”.

“Hamas considers the establishment of a Palestinian state, sovereign and complete, on the basis of the June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital and the provision for all the refugees to return to their homeland is an agreeable form that has won a consensus among all the movement members,” Meshaal said.

The document also falls short of accepting the two-state solution that is assumed to be the end product of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

It also clarifies that Hamas’ fight is with the “Zionist project”, not with the religion of Judaism, making a distinction between those who believe in Judaism and “Zionist Israeli citizens who occupy Palestinian lands”.

It also sidesteps language in the group’s original charter that affirms its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, and says that Hamas is a fully independent organisation.

Analysts said the release of the document appears to be an attempt by Hamas to seem more pragmatic and help it to avoid international isolation.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohammad Abu Saada, a professor at Gaza’s al-Azhar University, called the new document a bid to “accommodate Egyptian conditions and calm Egyptian fears” regarding Hamas connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has classified as a “terror” group since democratically elected president Mohammad Morsi was ousted in a 2013 military coup.

While in the 1988 charter Hamas affirmed its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood by mentioning it six times, the new document asserted Hamas strict Palestinian credentials as a “liberation movement” that uses Islam as its main ideological component.

“Hamas is trying to walk a fine line between its hardliners and its own moderates,” said Abu Saada of al-Azhar University.

“In one way, the moderates can say they accepted a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, but the hardliners can still say they are not recognising Israel.”

Azzam Tamimi, author of “Hamas: A History from Within”, told Al Jazeera that while Hamas leaders were unlikely to say so, the new document would “practically” replace the group’s old charter.

“They would prefer to say that the old charter expressed Hamas in 1988, and that now, Hamas is a different organisation. It has different insight and understanding of the conflict and that today’s document is what speaks for Hamas today.”

Crippling blockade

Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, after winning elections and forcefully pushing its Fatah rivals out. Since then, Gaza has suffered three major Israeli assaults, whick killed more than 3,500 Palestinians, and a crippling 10-year-long siege.

“The question is whether this change will do anything to try and lift the blockade, or anything to get this struggling economy back on its feet,” said Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Gaza City.

Israeli officials rejected the document before it was made official, calling it an attempt by Hamas to trick the world into believing it was becoming a more moderate group.

“Hamas is attempting to fool the world but it will not succeed,” said David Keyes, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The document’s release comes just days ahead of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Washington on May 3 and as US President Donald Trump’s administration prepares a new push to forge peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Abbas and his Fatah party have long pushed for a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, and have engaged in talks with Israel on that basis.

But Israel has frequently refused to enter into political talks with Abbas’ PA on the grounds that they do not represent all Palestinians.

Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al Jazeera that this move by Hamas reflected a level of “political maturity”.

“Acceptance of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders … means accepting a two-state solution. In my opinion this is going to embarrass Israel a lot,” said Barghouti.

“We’ve seen the Israeli reaction, which looks very frightened, first of all from the greater possibility of Palestinian unity, but also … of peace and the possibility of peace.”

Either prove charges or apologise: Telangana govt to Digvijaya

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Digvijaya Singh

Hyderabad: The Telangana government today asked AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh to either prove his allegation that the state police has set up a “bogus” ISIS website to radicalise Muslim youth or tender an apology.

The government also warned of action “as per the law” against the senior Congress leader if he failed to apologise. “The Telangana Police is widely appreciated (for its professional competence). He (Digvijaya) has made a false allegation that we created something, induced Muslim children and did something. He must prove it,” state Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy told reporters.

“If he fails to prove it, he has to openly apologise to the police department. If he does not do that also, then action will be taken against him as per the law,” he said. “The state government would take action against him as per the law if he fails to apologise,” Reddy said.

MLA from Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad, M Gopinath, has already complained to the police on the matter, Reddy said. “Would the police motivate them and make them extremists ?” he asked.

“It is unfortunate that Singh, who served as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and now oversees party affairs in two states, made such irresponsible comments,” the minister said.

Reddy recalled that Singh had made some (undesirable) comments on the Army as well.

Singh, in-charge of Congress affairs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, kicked up a row yesterday with his remarks that the Telangana Police has set up a “bogus” ISIS website to radicalise Muslim youth and encourage them to join the terrorist outfit.

(Agencies)

EC cancels Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll

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Kashmir truck attack victim dies

New Delhi: The Election Commission has cancelled the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, saying the ground situation is not conducive to hold free and fair elections.

The bypoll, earlier slated to be held on April 12, was postponed for May 25 due to poor law and order situation.

The Commission, which issued the order late last night, said non-availability of sufficient number of security personnel was another reason to cancel the poll process.

The 10-page order said a fresh date would be announced later.

(Agencies)

CBI set to act against ex-ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair in Devas-Antrix case

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Madhavan Nair

New Delhi: The CBI on Monday told a court here that it has got sanction to try three former ISRO officials including ex-chairman G. Madhavan Nair in the Devas-Antrix deal case.

The CBI told Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal that the three accused were Nair, former ISRO Director A. Bhaskar Narayana Rao and former Antrix Executive Director K.R. Sridhara Murthi.

The court listed June 1 to consider the chargesheet filed in the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a chargesheet on August 11 last year alleging a loss of Rs 578 crore to the exchequer in the deal.

The deal was inked between private multimedia company Devas and Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Former Managing Director of US-based Forge Advisors and CEO of Devas Ramachandra Vishwanathan, then Director of Devas M.G. Chandrasekhar, three former directors of Bangalore-based Devas Multi-media and Murthi were also chargesheeted.

The CBI accused them of hatching a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gains to themselves or others by abusing their official position and causing loss to Antrix Corp and ISRO.

A case was registered against the accused on March 16, 2015.

The Antrix-Devas deal saw an early exit of Nair as ISRO Chairman since he was the head of Antrix Governing Council when the deal was finalised in January 2005.

(Agencies)

Indian officials in London to push Vijay Mallya’s extradition

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Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

New Delhi: A team of officials from the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have reached London for discussions on the extradition of former liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

A four-member team led by CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana will apprise British authorities about the finer points of the loan default cases against Mallya, CBI sources said.

Two senior ED officials are also part of the team, they said.

Mallya’s extradition is now before the British court where neither the CBI nor the ED are direct parties. Indian agencies primarily aid and assist British prosecutors with case material to counter the plea of absconders before the courts, an official explained.

The agencies’ move to send a team to London is aimed at presenting a strong case for the extradition of the flamboyant business tycoon before the court.

The 61-year-old was arrested by British authorities last month on India’s extradition request in connection with a Rs 900 crore loan default case of IDBI Bank being probed by the CBI.

He was released on bail within hours by a London court which has fixed May 17 as the next date of hearing.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore (including interest) to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

The CBI has two cases against him — one related to the IDBI Bank case and the other related to a loan default of over Rs 6,000 crore filed on the basis of a complaint from a State Bank of India led consortium.

The extradition process from the UK involves a number of steps including a decision by the judge on whether or not to issue a warrant of arrest.

In case of a warrant, the person is arrested and brought before the court for preliminary hearing followed by an extradition hearing before a final decision is taken by the secretary of state.

The ‘wanted’ person has the right to appeal to higher courts against any decision all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Under the law, the British secretary of state may only consider four issues when deciding whether to order a person’s extradition — whether the person is at risk of the death penalty,whether special arrangements are in place,whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is requiredand whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.

(Agencies)

Bengaluru: Ola driver held for molesting passenger

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Ola cab

Bengaluru: Bengaluru police, on Tuesday, arrested the Ola cab driver, Ravi Kumar, who molested a woman inside his car in the wee hours of April 28 in Bommanahalli. Investigating officials have taken the accused to the spot and are verifying on the incident.

Meanwhile, Kumar told the police that the woman who was in an inebriated state that night had an argument with him over the cab fare after which she had cooked up the story of molestation to avenge him.

Bommanahalli police is verifying the case details and also the driver’s version. The woman, in her complaint stated the driver took a detour on the pretext of taking a shorter route and groped her after reaching a deserted spot.

She said she managed to get out of the car and started running while shouting for help, following which the driver chased her. She also said she then reached a small clinic and took shelter there and waited for her friend to pick her up.

(Agencies)

Sri Lanka navy detains suspected Rohingya refugees

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Navy announces detention of 32 people, half of them children, believed to be Rohingya refugees and two smugglers.

Myanmar has been accused of ethnically cleansing Rohingya minority [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

Myanmar has been accused of ethnically cleansing Rohingya minority [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Sri Lanka’s navy has arrested 32 people suspected of being Rohingya refugees and their Indian traffickers off the country’s northern coast.

Chaminda Walakuluge, a navy spokesman, said a coastguard patrol observed the boat entering Sri Lankan waters on Sunday.

The 30 passengers from Myanmar included 16 children, among them a baby just 15 days old and a four-month-old child.

The two Indians were suspected of being their traffickers.

Walakuluge said the suspects had been handed over to police for further inquiries.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since the military began a security operation last October in response to what it says was an attack by Rohingya armed men on border posts, in which nine police officers were killed.

Last month Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s leader, denied reports saying security forces carried out ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya Muslims, despite the United Nations and human rights groups saying a crackdown by the army may amount to crimes against humanity.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate whose international star as a rights defender is waning over the treatment of the Rohingya, has not condemned the crackdown and has not spoken out in defence of the persecuted minority.

Instead, she has called for space to handle the issue in a country where the more than one million Rohingya are not recognised as an ethnic minority and widely vilified as “illegal” immigrants from Bangladesh – even though many have lived in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for generations.

A UN report released in February said the army’s campaign targeting the Rohingya involved mass killings, gang rapes and the burning down of villages, likely amounting to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, where more than 75,000 Rohingya have fled to escape the crackdown, people have recounted grisly accounts of horrendous army abuse, including soldiers allegedly executing an eight-month-old baby while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers.

“What kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mother’s milk,” Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN rights chief, said in a statement at the time.

“What kind of ‘clearance operation’ is this? What national security goals could possibly be served by this?”

Harmanpreet’s brace guides India to 3-0 win over New Zealand

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Harmanpreet Singh

Ipoh (Malaysia): Defender Harmanpreet Singh converted two penalty corners as India stamped their authority over New Zealand with an assertive 3-0 victory in the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today.

Following a 2-2 draw against Great Britain in the opening game yesterday, India now have four points from two outings.

Mandeep Singh opened the Indian account with a fine deflection in the 23rd minute before Harmanpreet produced two fine drag-flicks to penetrate the Black Sticks defence.

After allowing the experimental New Zealand team to have three shots at the goal in the first quarter, the Indian team settled down to dominate the match thereafter.

The Indian game today was not disturbed by the afternoon showers and lightening, which have been a feature of the tropical weather this season.

India’s tournament-opener yesterday started two hours late due to lightening, pushing the day’s entire schedule back.

Today, the first signs of match-disrupting lightening occurred soon after the Indian players went off the pitch on completion of their game.

It was New Zealand, who earned the first penalty corner in the sixth minute, but it could not pose any danger as the low shot went straight to goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, who kicked it out of the circle.

As the Indian defence took time to settle down, New Zealand had two early shots at the citadel before Akashdeep Singh took an ambitions try from the top of the circle in the 10th minute, only to see his reverse drive soar high over the cross-bar.

Two minutes later, Manpreet Singh sent a diagonal ball into the circle to S V Sunil, who shot wide with only goalkeeper Devon Manchester to beat.

India broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Chinglensana Singh sent a reverse shot from top of the box into the goalmouth, where Mandeep did exceptionally well to deflect the shoulder high ball past the goalkeeper.

Harmanpreet then came into the picture with a drag-flick off the first penalty corner. The stinging shot went into the left corner of the board to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute.

India forced two penalty corners in as many minutes just before half-time, but were stopped on both occasions.

In the 30th minute, on India’s fourth penalty corner, New Zealand defended stoutly as Sardar Singh picked up the ball behind Harmanpreet and tried to keep up the pressure by flicking the ball into the scoring zone.

Playing in his 200th international today, Sunil had a chance to make an entry on the scoresheet five minutes after half-time when he was again in a one-on-one position with the goalkeeper, but ended up flicking wide of the mark.

Akashdeep took a try from a very narrow angle in the 39th minute, but the shot went over the bar.
Harmanpreet came back to round off the Indian scoring with another penalty corner conversion, this time sending a soaring drag-flick into the top corner of the net in the 47th minute.

With Harmanpreet in fine nick, he was allowed to take the shot on six of India’s seven penalty corners, although the push could not be stopped on two occasions.

Rupinderpal Singh only took the last of India’s penalty corners and his shot was blocked by the Black Sticks goalkeeper.

(Agencies)

‘Journalism requires courage’ The Wire chief tells young journalists

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Siddharth Varadharajan

Bangalore: “Stick to journalism.” Siddharth Varadharajan, founding editor of The Wire, gave this piece of advice to a crowd of budding journalists entering the “working world of journalism.”

Speaking at the annual graduation ceremony of Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media on May 1, 2017, Varadharajan warned the trainee journalists of the difficult times that they are invariably going to encounter in their careers.

But the only way to survive it was to “stick to the fundamental traits of journalism,” said the former editor of The Hindu.

Addressing the graduating batch of 2016-17, he summed up the problem facing this profession and his solution, using the oft-used journalistic framework of Who, what, where, when, why and how.

He said the problem that confronts Indian journalists today (The What), is largely due to the culture perpetuated by the media owners (The How), because of their increased reliance on advertiser revenues (The Why).

He said that Indian journalism of today is as bad, if not better than that in the 80s, that there was never a golden era of journalism (The When). The new journalists (The Who), in his view, were lucky to have new story-telling platforms to tell stories effectively and engage with readers. (The Where)

Reinventing business models, using social media effectively were certain things that could alleviate this problem, said the winner of the Ramnath Goenka Award for excelling in journalism.

“Journalism requires courage,” said Varadharajan, adding that the students had accomplished their first act of bravery by having completed their course in journalism.

He warned that the governments and private establishments alike will use all means, fair and foul, to suppress good journalism. The trend of “SLAP litigations, where corporates have increasingly taken to the law to silence any uncomfortable questions, was another tactic he warned of.

To thrive in their careers while overcoming these obstacles, he advised the students to: “Be passionate but objective. Be interested in people, their stories and their problems. Learn how to ask questions, especially to those of authority. Learn how to write well.”

In his address to the graduating batch of 2017, Dean Abraham George asked them to remember that a free press is the voice of the people in a democracy.

At a time when national leaders have not lived up to the challenges facing their countries, and are many times the cause of the problems, the press needs to be strong enough to expose the truth to the public. Unfortunately, that is not the case, he said.

Pointing out that prosperity for a few cannot be the yardstick for a nation’s success, he said that it was for the young journalists to inform and bring about positive change by impacting public opinion.

At the Convocation students who excelled in certain areas were given awards.

Karnataka BJP rift: Unperturbed Yeddyurappa says ‘mission 150’ in mind

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yeddyurappa eshwarappa

Shivamogga: Amid the bitter feud brewing within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Karnataka unit, state party chief B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday pinned his hope on his colleague P. Muralidhar Rao and said the saffron party’s only aim was to secure majority in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Rao, who is in-charge of the BJP’s affairs in Karnataka, has been sent by BJP president Amit Shah to sort out the warring factions – one headed by Yedurappa and the other by K.S. Eshwarappa.

“I don’t want to discuss anything about the present development. Our president Amit Shah has already sent Muralidhar Rao, the state in charge, to judge the situation and submit a report.We just have the target of 150 in our mind. Nothing else,” Yedurappa said.

The former chief minster’s remark came even as three BJP members were relieved from their functions from the party.

Party functionaries M.B. Bhanuprakash, Nirmal Kumar Surana, M.P. Renukacharya and G. Madhusudan were relieved of their posts.

On Thursday, around 24 party leaders held a ‘Save BJP’ conference and criticised the leadership of Yeddyurappa.

(ANI)

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