Move by Saudi-led group boycotting Qatar to add names to ‘terrorist’ list is baseless, communications director says.

The Saudi-led bloc has added 18 groups and individuals allegedly linked to Doha to their ‘terrorist’ list, a move Qatar has condemned [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Qatar has described a new blacklist released by Saudi Arabia and its allies as a “disappointing surprise”, saying it was doing all it could to fight extremism.

Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, Qatar’s communications director, said the decision by the four Arab states to add 18 groups and individuals allegedly linked to Doha to their “terrorist” list has no basis in fact.

“It comes as a disappointing surprise that the blockading countries are still pursuing this story as part of their smear campaign against Qatar,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The move by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain on Tuesday came despite mounting international pressure to compromise in their weeks-old boycott of their fellow US ally.

The new names include nine entities in Yemen and Libya, and add to a previous blacklist of 59 individuals and 12 groups issued by the four states last month.

Sheikh Saif said: “This latest list provides further evidence that the blockading countries are not committed to the fight against terrorism.

“All individuals with links to terrorism in Qatar have been prosecuted. We encourage the blockading countries to spend less time on drafting these fabricated lists and more time on implementing measures to counter the threat of extremism in their own countries.”

He added that Qatar constantly reviews its anti-terror laws to “remain on the front foot in the fight against extremism and terror financing”.

Region’s worst crisis in years

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been boycotting Qatar since June 5 in the region’s worst diplomatic crisis in years.

Accusing Qatar of financing terrorism, they sealed the emirate’s only land border, ordered its citizens to leave and closed their airspace and waters to Qatari flights and shipping.

They want Qatar to cut back ties with Iran, close down a Turkish military base in Qatar and shut the Al Jazeera TV channel, which they view as critical of their governments.

Qatar has dismissed the demands as a violation of its sovereignty and has received significant support from its ally Turkey.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who last week spent four days in the region trying to broker a settlement of the crisis, has voiced satisfaction with Qatar’s efforts to address any suspicion of terror funding.

But after talks with European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned that the four governments would accept no compromise in their dispute with Qatar.

“We cannot compromise with any form of terrorism, we cannot compromise or enter into any form of negotiations,” Shoukry told a news conference.

In Tuesday’s statement, the four countries accused Qatari, Kuwaiti and Yemeni nationals of helping to raise funds for al-Qaeda fighters.

Their blacklist now include three Yemeni charities, three Libyan media outlets, two armed groups and a religious foundation, some of which are already subject to US sanctions.

Riyad Mansour urges Security Council to protect Palestinians and their holy sites from Israel’s ‘destructive agenda’.

Riyad Mansour accused Israel of ‘aggressive behaviour and provocative violation’ [Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

The Palestinian envoy to the UN has told the Security Council that al-Aqsa Mosque compound crisis in East Jerusalem is at a tipping point, urging the council members to help protect Palestinians and their holy sites from Israel’s “reckless and destructive agenda”.

Riyad Mansour warned in his speech to the Council on Tuesday that “the stoking of a religious conflict is rapidly unfolding as Israel persists its illegal actions in occupied East Jerusalem”.

He accused Israel of “aggressive behaviour and provocative violation” of the historic status quo at the Muslim-administered al-Aqsa Mosque compound, referring to a brief closure of the holy site after a deadly shooting there that was followed by installation of CCTV cameras and metal detectors.

“We are clearly at the tipping point,” he said. “We must therefore again warn against the dangers of such provocations and incitement, and fuelling of yet another cycle of violence which will surely have far-reaching consequences.”

Prayer protests

On the ground in East Jerusalem, Muslim leaders urged the faithful on Tuesday to keep up their prayer protests outdoors and avoid entering the compound, even after Israel dismantled metal detectors that initially triggered the tensions.

Sheikh Najeh Bakirat, director of al-Aqsa Mosque, said on Tuesday that the move does not fulfil the demands of the Muslim worshippers as the security cameras remain.

Sheikh Raed Saleh, an al-Aqsa official, said that the Palestinians would “never accept the current status, unless everything that was added after July 14 was removed.

“The picture until this moment is not clear. They are doing it in the middle of the night, in the cover of darkness, like bats. God knows what we are going to wake up to the next morning,” Saleh said.

Dozens of Muslim worshippers continued to perform prayers in the streets outside the compound on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said that as the metal detectors were being removed, hundreds of Palestinians protested against the security cameras that remained in place

Israel said it would replace the metal detectors with new security arrangements based on “advanced technology”, reportedly including sophisticated cameras, but said it could take up to six months to install them.

On Tuesday evening the Israeli security forces used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse crowds of Palestinian worshippers outside the compound.

“Just after the evening prayers had finished, the Israeli security forces came out of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and used stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse the crowd … We don’t know what sparked this latest round of violence but we do know that the Palestinian protesters were unarmed,” said Khan.

“I have counted at least five protesters injured when the Palestinian Red Crescent brought them in through here.”

Israeli forces have injured more than 900 Palestinians since clashes over al-Aqsa Mosque compound erupted on July 14.

by Al Jazeera

More than 900 Palestinians have been injured in confrontations with Israeli forces in the last 10 days over the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Palestinian hospitals, already overstretched, fear a large influx of injured if tensions, which erupted on July 14 after Israel closed the sensitive site in occupied East Jerusalem, continue.

They also highlighted that most of the injuries inflicted by the Israeli forces were from rubber-coated steel bullets.

International human rights groups have long condemned Israel’s use of such bullets.

The 39-year-old Mohammed Ismeal, currently being treated at Al Maqassid hospital in East Jerusalem, was apparently shot with a stun grenade in the head, which left him drifting in and out of consciousness.

“He wasn’t disabled. But now look at him. He can’t recognise anyone. It’s like he’s lost his memory,” Muataz Ismeal, the patient’s brother, told Al Jazeera.

Suleiman Turukman, the doctor in charge of Mohammed’s case, said he feared for his patient’s life.

“His condition was serious. He was about to die. He is now improving slowly. But is disoriented and cannot recognise his family due to the trauma.”

The clashes with the Israeli forces that started with the closure of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound have continued since its reopening as Israel introduced metal detectors as a security measure at the entrances of the site.

The Palestinians see the move an attempt by Israel to expand its control at the Muslim-administered compound.

On Sunday, Israel installed new security cameras at the site which also angered the protesters.

Hussein Da’na, a 76-year-old Palestinian, told Al Jazeera that he “rejects” the cameras because they disadvantage Palestinians further.

“These cameras are made to identify the faces of people who are barred from entering al-Aqsa Mosque,” Da’na said.

“We pray each morning here and the police assaults us. I intend to keep praying here until Israel removes all what is new,” he added, referring to the security measures.

Major General Yoav Mordechai, who heads the Israeli defence body for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Israel was open to alternatives to lower the tensions.

“The only thing we want is to ensure no one can enter with weapons again and carry out another attack,” he said. “We’re willing to examine alternatives to the metal detectors as long as the solution of alternative ensures the prevention of the next attack.”

However, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, told the Voice of Palestine he demands a complete return to procedures that were in place before the initial attack at the shrine.

In a statement on Sunday, the Islamic institutions in Jerusalem, of which he is a part, said they “affirm the categorical rejection of the electronic gates and all the measures of occupation”.

A top adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said a series of consultations are under way with various countries to try and lower tensions in Jerusalem.

Abbas’s diplomatic adviser, Majdi Khaldi, said the Palestinians are coordinating with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and others.

Four-month ban on carrying laptops in cabins on US-bound flights ends as new airport security measures are put in place.

The US had earlier argued that a ban on laptops on flights would improve security [File: Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

The United States has ended a ban on passengers carrying laptops on board US-bound flights from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa, bringing to an end one of the controversial travel restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was the last of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban, which was launched four months ago, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed in a tweet late on Wednesday.

Middle East carriers have blamed Trump’s travel restrictions, which include banning citizens of some Muslim majority countries from visiting the US, for a downturn in demand on US routes.

In March, the US banned large electronics in cabins on flights from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa over concerns that explosives could be concealed in the devices taken on board aircraft.

The ban has been lifted on the nine airlines affected – Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Kuwait Airways, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc – which are the only carriers to fly direct to the US from the region.

‘Ineffective’ ban

A ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – remains in place though it has been limited after several US court hearings challenged the restrictions.

“The aviation industry has been trying to come together with a united message to governments and stakeholders about regulation and supporting the industry,” said Will Horton, senior analyst at Australian aviation consultancy CAPA.

“That was dealt a first blow from the travel ban and then a second from the large electronics ban.”

Leading industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticised the laptop ban as ineffective, as security experts argued that fighters could travel to the US via Europe or elsewhere where the restrictions didn’t apply.

New security measures

US officials lifted the ban after visiting the 10 airports in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey over the past three weeks to confirm new security measures announced last month were being implemented.

On Thursday, the US issued a revised directive to airlines around the world in response to requests that it clarify aviation security measures scheduled to start taking effect this week.

The new requirements include enhanced passenger screening at foreign airports, increased security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas and expanded canine screening.

They affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the US, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.

Airlines that fail to meet the new security requirements could face in-cabin electronics restrictions.

The UK continues to enforce a similar in-cabin ban on electronics ban on flights from some Middle Eastern airports. Those restrictions apply to flights from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Almost one week after alleged attack that set off tensions, officials deciding whether to keep metal detectors in place.

Palestinians fear Israel is trying to retake the holy site of al-Aqsa by stealth [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Fresh rallies are planned in the Gaza Strip in solidarity with worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque as Israel weighs whether to remove recently installed metal detectors at the compound.

Thursday’s expected protests follow days of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem over the new security measures introduced at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Metal detectors and turnstiles were installed at the holy site after a deadly shoot-out there on Friday.

In that incident, two Israeli security officers were killed in an alleged attack by three Palestinians, who were killed by Israeli police following the violence.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone from Hungary with Israel’s security chiefs to hear their assessments and recommendations, according to a statement by his office.

Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, has recommended that the metal detectors be removed, but Jerusalem police have said that the barriers should stay in place.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said Palestinians are “incredibly worried” about the police stance.

“They see this as an escalation of Israeli sovereignty over al-Aqsa compound,” Khan said. “Palestinians are asking what happens next.”

Netanyahu said on Friday that he did not want to alter the status quo, which gives Muslims religious control over the compound and Jews the right to visit, but not pray there.

But Palestinians fear Israel is trying to retake the site by stealth.

The site houses al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, as well as the ruins of the Biblical Jewish Temple.

Muslims know the site as al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, while Jews refer to the place of worship as Temple Mount.

Abbas to mediate

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut short his trip to China on Wednesday to return to Palestine to deal with the mounting tensions.

His office said he had been touch with Arab and international leaders to try to “prevent a deterioration of the situation”.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Jerusalem’s top Muslim leader called on all of the city’s mosques to close on Friday in protest of the new security measures.

Grand Mufti Muhammad Hussein said Palestinian Muslims should instead gather outside the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque for the weekly Friday prayers.

Questions about control of the site frequently lead to outbursts of fighting.

After last Friday’s alleged attack, Israel closed off the area, preventing Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in decades.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s security adviser dismisses UN investigation into alleged rape and killings of Rohingya Muslims.

More than 90,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes since a crackdown in Rakhine state began in October [Simon Lewis/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

A UN mission investigating allegations of rape, torture and killings of Rohingya Muslims would only “aggravate” troubles in Rakhine state, the security adviser of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi told diplomats.

Thaung Tun’s comments on Tuesday came less than a month after Myanmar declined to grant visas to three UN-appointed experts who would probe allegations of abuse against the minority by the armed forces.

“We dissociated ourselves from the decision because we found that it was less than constructive,” Thaung Tun told UN officials and diplomats.

“We feel that that mission can only aggravate the situation on the ground,” he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi and several high-level Myanmar officials have been painfully reluctant to address the Rohingya issue, and are often criticised for their failure to stem human rights abuses.

The north of Myanmar’s Rakhine state has been under lockdown since October, when the military launched a security operation in response to what it claims was an attack by Rohingya armed men on border posts, in which nine police officers were killed.

More than 90,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes since the crackdown began, according to UN estimates.

A UN report in February said the campaign against the Rohingya, who were stripped of their citizenship in 1982, “very likely” amounted to war crimes.

Following the report, the UN adopted a resolution in March to set up an independent, international mission to investigate the alleged abuses. It stopped short of calling for a Commission of Inquiry, the UN’s highest level investigation.

Thaung Tun did not directly address the allegations outlined in the report, but said Myanmar had a “clear right to defend the country by lawful means” as it tackles “increasing terrorist activities”.

Myanmar officials say a domestic investigation, led by Vice President Myint Swe, a former lieutenant general, is sufficient.

Last week, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, called on Myanmar to accept the mission, arguing that the “international community cannot overlook what is happening” in the country.

Human Rights Watch warned that Myanmar’s government risked getting bracketed with “pariah states” like North Korea and Syria if it did not allow the UN to investigate alleged crimes.

The UN investigators must provide a verbal update in September and a full report next year on its findings.

Burned to death

This week, Myanmar’s Ministry of Information escorted more than a dozen journalists to parts of Rakhine state.

Villagers told reporters about alleged abuses by troops in the area.

Rohingya women said their husbands and sons were arbitrarily detained and described killings and arson by security forces.

One villager, Lalmuti, told Reuters news agency that she found her father’s remains in a small pile of ashes in a house that had been set on fire.

She said her mother was later arrested when authorities deemed her complaint about the killings to be fabricated.

On Friday, Thura San Lwin, commander of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police, said some villagers had made what he said were erroneous claims and were subsequently charged and jailed for lying to authorities.

“The media said we torched houses and that there were rape cases – they give wrong information,” Lwin said.

Minister dismisses report his country orchestrated hacking of Qatari official news agency accounts that preceded crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5 [Neil Hall/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

A UAE minister has denied his country’s involvement in the alleged hacking of Qatari official media accounts and news sites, which preceded the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis.

Anwar Gargash, UAE state minister for foreign affairs, said on Monday that a report in the Washington Post newspaper suggesting that the United Arab Emirates arranged for the hacking, is “not true”.

“The Washington Post story is not true, simply not true,” Gargash said.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatari emir, had been falsely quoted in May as praising Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Gaza Strip, and saying that Iran was an “Islamic power”.

In response, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting “terrorism”. Qatar strongly denies the allegations.

Qatar said in late May that hackers had posted the fake remarks by Sheikh Tamim, but several Arab Gulf media outlets refused to give credence to the denial.

The Washington Post reported that US intelligence officials learned last week of newly analysed information that showed that senior UAE government officials discussed the planned hacking on May 23, the day before it occurred.

The officials said it was unclear if the UAE hacked the websites or paid for it to be carried out, the newspaper reported.

The report did not identify the intelligence officials it spoke to for the report.

UAE’s denial

Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE’s ambassador to the United States, rejected the hack accusation in a statement, saying it was “false,” the Washington Post said.

“What is true is Qatar’s behaviour. Funding, supporting, and enabling extremists from the Taliban to Hamas and Gaddafi. Inciting violence, encouraging radicalisation, and undermining the stability of its neighbours,” Otaiba’s statement said.

The FBI was previously known to be working with Qatar to investigate the hacking.

The US state department has not officially responded to the Washington Post’s report.

Gargash also said on Monday that the UAE would not escalate the blockade on Qatar by asking companies to choose between doing business with it or with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing armed groups and allying with Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, Iran – allegations that Qatar denied.

On June 22, the Saudi-led group issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country, as a prerequisite to lifting the sanctions.

Qatar rejected the demands, and the countries now consider the list “null and void”.