عزمي بشارة يكشف أسباب دخوله الكنيست الإسرائيلي: 'أسمعت الصهاينة خطابًا جديدًا لم يسمعوه من قبل'
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Turkey protesters slam jailing of journalists
More than 100 journalists are in jail in Turkey, amid what rights groups say is a clampdown on free speech
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Turkish journalists and opposition lawmakers protested in Istanbul on Saturday against the detention of reporters, as a crackdown on the media has accelerated after the failed coup last July against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Journalism is not a crime" and "We will not remain silent," chanted the crowd of some 50 people, who railed against the conditions the journalists are held in.
"Many jailed journalists are not allowed to receive letters under the state of emergency conditions," said Baris Yarkadas, an opposition lawmaker with the Republican People's Party.
Yarkadas added he hoped the government would lift the ban. In a gesture of protest, the demonstrators mailed cards to their detained colleagues.
The Turkish government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the failed 15 July coup attempt against Erdogan, which critics say has been used for a massive clampdown on Erdogan's opponents and not merely suspected coup plotters.
According to journalists' associations, about 170 media outlets have been closed and nearly 800 press cards cancelled.
Turkey has also detained or expelled foreign correspondents for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, and the French website Les Jours.
More than 100 journalists and media contributors are in jail, said Reporters Without Borders in a December report, which said the country led a rise in journalist detentions in 2016.
"The number of detained professional journalists in Turkey has risen 22 percent after quadrupling in the wake of the failed coup d'etat in July," it said.
Last month's detention of Deniz Yucel, 43, a German journalist for the Die Welt daily, on terrorism-related charges has strained relations between Ankara and Berlin.
"Deniz Yucel is a professional, he is known to be a very good journalist," Fatih Polat, editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Evrensel, told AFP.
"We will give any kind of support for his and other jailed journalists' release," he said
World faces worst humanitarian crisis since 1945, says UN official
Twenty million people face starvation without an immediate injection of funds in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria, warns Stephen O’Brien
The Guardian
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The Guardian
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The world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the second world war with more than 20 million people in four countries facing starvation and famine, a senior United Nations official has warned.
Without collective and coordinated global efforts, “people will simply starve to death” and “many more will suffer and die from disease”, Stephen O’Brien, the UN under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the security council in New York on Friday.
He urged an immediate injection of funds for Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and northeast Nigeria plus safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid “to avert a catastrophe.”
“To be precise,” O’Brien said, “we need $4.4bn by July”.
Unless there was a major infusion of money, he said, children would be stunted by severe malnutrition and would not be able to go to school, gains in economic development would be reversed and “livelihoods, futures and hope lost”.
UN and food organisations define famine as when more than 30% of children under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition and mortality rates are two or more deaths per 10,000 people every day, among other criteria.
“Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations [in 1945],” O’Brien said. “Now, more than 20 million people across four countries face starvation and famine.”
O’Brien said the largest humanitarian crisis was in Yemen where two-thirds of the population — 18.8 million people — need aid and more than seven million people are hungry and did not know where their next meal would come from. “That is three million people more than in January,” he said.
Yemen is engulfed in conflict as Saudi Arabia and Iran wage a proxy war in the Arab world’s poorest nation. O’Brien said more than 48,000 people fled fighting just in the past two months.
During his recent visit to Yemen, O’Brien said he met senior leaders of the Saudi-backed government and the Tehran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa, and all promised access for aid.
“Yet all parties to the conflict are arbitrarily denying sustained humanitarian access and politicise aid,” he said, warning if that behaviour did not change “they must be held accountable for the inevitable famine, unnecessary deaths and associated amplification in suffering that will follow”.
For 2017, O’Brien said $2.1bn was needed to reach 12 million Yemenis “with life-saving assistance and protection” but only 6% has been received so far. He announced that secretary-general Antonio Guterres will chair a pledging conference for Yemen on 25 April in Geneva.
The UN humanitarian chief also visited South Sudan, the world’s newest nation which has been ravaged by a three-year civil war, and said “the situation is worse than it has ever been.”
“The famine in South Sudan is man-made,” he said. “Parties to the conflict are parties to the famine — as are those not intervening to make the violence stop.”
O’Brien said more than 7.5 million people need aid, up by 1.4 million from last year, and about 3.4 million South Sudanese are displaced by fighting including almost 200,000 who have fled the country since January.
“More than one million children are estimated to be acutely malnourished across the country, including 270,000 children who face the imminent risk of death should they not be reached in time with assistance,” he said. “Meanwhile, the cholera outbreak that began in June 2016 has spread to more locations.”
In Somalia, which O’Brien also visited, more than half the population — 6.2 million people — need humanitarian assistance and protection, including 2.9 million who are at risk of famine and require immediate help “to save or sustain their lives.”
He warned that close to one million children under the age of five would be “acutely malnourished” this year.
“What I saw and heard during my visit to Somalia was distressing — women and children walk for weeks in search of food and water. They have lost their livestock, water sources have dried up and they have nothing left to survive on,” O’Brien said. “With everything lost, women, boys, girls and men now move to urban centers.”
He said current indicators mirror “the tragic picture of 2011 when Somalia last suffered a famine”. But he said the UN’s humanitarian partners have a larger footprint, better controls on resources, and a stronger partnership with the new government which recently declared the drought a national disaster.
“To be clear, we can avert a famine,” O’Brien said. “We’re ready despite incredible risk and danger ... but we need those huge funds now.”
In north-east Nigeria, a seven-year uprising by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and driven 2.6 million from their homes. A UN humanitarian coordinator said last month that malnutrition in the north-east is so pronounced that some adults are too weak to walk and some communities have lost all their toddlers.
الأب مسلم يدعو لإسقاط إسرائيل والسلطة الفلسطينية والتنسيق الأمني -
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لاقت تصريحات الأب الفلسطيني منويل مسلم، والتي جاءت عقب استشهاد الناشط باسل الأعرج في رام الله الأسبوع الماضي، ردود فعل بين رجال دين مسيحيين، والتي دعا فيها مسلم إلى العصيان المدني ضد السلطة الفلسطينية والاحتلال الإسرائيلي.
وانتقد مسلم، عبر شريط فيديو، التنسيق الأمني (بين السلطة الفلسطينية وإسرائيل)، وعبر عن رفضه له، داعياً الشعب الفلسطيني لإسقاط إسرائيل والسلطة الفلسطينية. وقال إن "الشهيد باسل الأعرج عذّب في سجون السلطة ولم يطلق على الأمن الفلسطيني النار لأنهم شعبه، لكنه أطلق رصاصه على جيش الاحتلال، أرفض التنسيق الأمني. نحن كتلة واحدة تحت الاحتلال".
ولاقت مواقف مسلم انتقادات من رجال دين مسيحيين فلسطينيين، أبرزهم البطريرك ميشيل صباح، والذي كتب مخاطباً مسلم: "ولدنا وعشنا ونموت في الحرب وتحت ظلم الاحتلال. وشعبنا لا يحتاج منك إلى كلمة حرب، بل إلى كلمة محبة ورحمة وكلمة حق لا مزايدات ولا طلب مديح المادحين".
وانتقد مسلم، عبر شريط فيديو، التنسيق الأمني (بين السلطة الفلسطينية وإسرائيل)، وعبر عن رفضه له، داعياً الشعب الفلسطيني لإسقاط إسرائيل والسلطة الفلسطينية. وقال إن "الشهيد باسل الأعرج عذّب في سجون السلطة ولم يطلق على الأمن الفلسطيني النار لأنهم شعبه، لكنه أطلق رصاصه على جيش الاحتلال، أرفض التنسيق الأمني. نحن كتلة واحدة تحت الاحتلال".
ولاقت مواقف مسلم انتقادات من رجال دين مسيحيين فلسطينيين، أبرزهم البطريرك ميشيل صباح، والذي كتب مخاطباً مسلم: "ولدنا وعشنا ونموت في الحرب وتحت ظلم الاحتلال. وشعبنا لا يحتاج منك إلى كلمة حرب، بل إلى كلمة محبة ورحمة وكلمة حق لا مزايدات ولا طلب مديح المادحين".
غير أن الأب مسلم عاد وعلّق على رسالة صباح، في تصريحات نشرها على صفحته في "فيسوك"، معتبراً أنه فقد حق الصمت أمام الإجرام الواقع على الشعب الفلسطيني، ثم قال: "أنا لا أدعو إلى الحرب أبداً، ولا إلى الكفاح المسلح أبدا؛ لأني أعلم تماماً إمكانات شعبي الآن. أنا في مسيرة تحرر من الاحتلال، ولذلك أنادي بالعصيان المدني على إسرائيل، وهو سيسقط حتما السلطة الفلسطينية المرتبطة عضوياً به. والعصيان المدني هو المقاومة الشعبية التي ينادي بها سيادة الرئيس (محمود عباس)، وتتبناها جميع الفصائل أي المقاومة باللاعنف".
وتابع: "أنا مع منظمة التحرير التي تقود شعبها للتحرير وأنا مع رئيس للشعب الفلسطيني. للسلطة أشكال مختلفة فلتبحث لنا منظمة التحرير عن شكل آخر غير هذا الشكل، شكل سلطة أوسلو الذي نرفضه".
كذلك شدّد على أن موقفه هذا لا يحرج أحداً من المسيحيين ولا الكنيسة، قائلاً: "فلا أمثل أي مسيحي في الطوائف ولا أنطق باسمه. ولا أتقاضى أي راتب من السلطة أو حماس، أنا أعيش على راتب التقاعد في البطريركية فقط".
وشرح الأب مسلم موقفه قائلاً إن "العدالة والسلام وحق العودة والقدس لن تمنحنا إياها إسرائيل القوية لا بالمحبة ولا بالرحمة ولا بقرارات الأمم المتحدة أو مجلس الأمن بل بالقوة. فما أخذته منا بالقوة من حقنا أن نأخذه بالقوة. يقولون لنا هذا مستحيل. لا بأس. ونحن نقول بالزمن والصبر ستصل الحلزونة إلى القدس. ونحن وإياهم والزمن طويل".
وتابع: "السلطة الفلسطينية مشلولة تماماً وكما قال الرئيس عباس إنها سلطة بلا سلطة لا تستطيع أن تحمي رئيسها ولا القدس ولا توقف تسونامي المستوطنات وبناء الجدار العنصري، ولا تستطيع أن تحمي شعبها، فلا ضرورة أبداً لاستمرار وجودها تحت إذلال إسرائيل".
وأضاف أن "السلاح بالسلاح يقهر والتكنولوجيا بالتكنولوجيا تقهر والرجال بالرجال تقهر. فلسطين لنا والإسرائيليون غرباء فليعودوا إلى شعوبهم وبلادهم التي أتوا منها. من قال إن هذا مستحيل فلا مانع أن يثبت على فكره، ولكن لن يسمح له أن يتنازل
عن أي شبر في فلسطين لإسرائيل لأنها قوية الآن، إلا بعد استفتاء شعبي يشمل كل شعب فلسطين أو يواجه شعبه في القضاء. يجب أن تتراجع منظمة التحرير عن اعترافها بإسرائيل وقد هدد الرئيس عباس بذلك، إذا تصاعدت الأمور، وهي بسرعة تتصاعد".
Friday, March 10, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
إلكين: الروس سيسمحون لإسرائيل بحرية التحليق بسورية
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ركز رئيس الحكومة الإسرائيلية، بنيامين نتنياهو، على مهاجمة إيران في مستهل لقائه مع الرئيس الروسي، فلاديمير بوتين، في موسكو اليوم، الخميس. وسبق ذلك نفي الكرملين تقارير تحدثت عن سماح روسيا لإسرائيل باستهداف حزب الله في سورية.
واعتبر نتنياهو، مخاطبا بوتين، أن "أحد الأمور التي نحاربها معا هو الإرهاب الذي يمارسه الإسلام المتطرف. وبالطبع خلال العام المنصرم تم تحقيق تقدم ملموس في مكافحة الإرهاب السني المتطرف الذي يقوده (تنظيما) داعش والقاعدة. ولروسيا مساهمة مهمة جدا في ذلك. ومن البديهي أننا لا نريد استبدال هذا الإرهاب بالإرهاب الشيعي المتطرف الذي تقوده إيران".
وأضاف نتنياهو أن "إسرائيل هي دولة لها جيش ونحن قادرون على الدفاع عن أنفسنا ولكن التهديد الذي يشكله الإسلام المتطرف الشيعي ليس موجها ضدنا فقط، بل أيضا ضد المنطقة والسلام العالمي. وأعلم أننا نتشاطر الرغبة بمنع الإسلام المتطرف مهما كان صنفه من تحقيق أي انتصار".
وقبل ذلك، نفى الكرملين تقارير إعلامية تحدثت عن موافقة موسكو على عمليات إسرائيلية ضد حزب الله من الأجواء السورية.
وقال دميتري بيسكوف، الناطق الصحفي باسم الرئيس الروسي، إنه "لا مكان لهذه المزاعم بالواقع على الإطلاق". وشدد على أن هذا الموضوع لم يطرح في سياق الاتصالات الروسية الإسرائيلية وغير وارد بتاتا.
وقال الوزير الإسرائيلي زئيف إلكين للإذاعة العامة الإسرائيلية، إن المحادثات التي يجريها نتنياهو في موسكو هامة للغاية، وأن موسكو ستسمح لإسرائيل بالتحليق بحرية تامة في المجال الجوي السوري فيما يخص متابعة نشاطات حزب الله. وشدد على أن الروس "يسمحون لنا بعمل ما هو مطلوب".
واستهدفت إسرائيل، بواسطة طيرانها وصواريخها، مرات عديد مواقع في عمق الأراضي السورية، بادعاء منع حزب الله من نقل أسلحة إلى لبنان. لكن تقارير عديدة أشارت إلى أن الصواريخ تطلقها إسرائيل من موقع قريب من بحيرة طبرية، بينما القصف الجوي يتم من الأجواء اللبنانية.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Knife-wielding group attacks women’s day event at Turkish university
Injuries caused by stab wounds were reported with students saying they had been threatened on Twitter before the incident
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ISTANBUL, Turkey - A group of 30-40 people wielding knives attacked students celebrating International Women’s Day on a university campus in central Istanbul, injuring some participants.
A tent set up to mark the event was attacked by the assailants and there were reported injuries caused by stab wounds at the private Bilgi University after the assailants jumped over turnstiles and entered the campus illegally.
The university’s private security guards intervened after the attack began and the assailants fled.
Students at the scene claimed that the assailants shouted “Allah u Ekber” (God is great) before attacking them.
The participating students then started protesting against the university’s administrators saying such incidents had occurred previously but no security measures were put in place.
In a video, a student can be heard telling university staff: “We are talking about knives here. They dragged one girl by the hair and slammed her head on the ground… we were threatened on Twitter, we informed you…you didn’t take any steps and they were encouraged and came here.”
Yazıklar olsun verilen dilekçeler okunmamış @BiLGiOfficial Güvenliğimizi de mi biz sağlıyalım bu iş turnike ile çözülmez
Scores of small-scale rallies and marches were planned and being held in various cities across Turkey on Wednesday to mark International Women's Day, which takes place on 8 March each year.
Under the state of emergency, which Turkey has been under since 20 July following a failed coup bid, authorities have the power to ban any gathering.
There were conflicting reports about whether bans were imposed for Women’s Day marches across the country. A ban initially announced in Diyarbakir was lifted later. The same appears to have been the case in most cases.
Turkey has a mixed record on women’s rights. It granted women the right to vote in municipal elections in 1930 and women enjoy considerably more rights in Turkey in comparison to most countries in the region.
Turkey is also grappling with problems such as honour killings and the issue of underage marriages (legally prohibited but frequent in the south and southeast of the country).
Attacks over dress
In the past few years, however, attacks on women in major urban centres have increased, particularly in opposition to the way they dress.
One of the major cases of recent times is that of Aysegul Terzi, a 24-year-old nurse who was attacked and kicked by a man on her way to work on a public bus for dressing “inappropriately”. She was wearing shorts.
Her assailant, Abdullah Cakiroglu, was initially sentenced to imprisonment but then released.
The final hearing in the case is also expected today, with a group of women’s right activists gathered in front of Istanbul’s Caglayan court complex to show solidarity.
The campus attack came around the same time as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent out Twitter messages in multiple languages congratulating women in Turkey and the world on the occasion of women’s day:
In a video prepared for women’s day Erdogan also appears in a message calling violence against women a betrayal of humanity:
The president’s wife, Emine Erdogan, was also a keynote speaker at a Women’s Day event organised in Ankara on Tuesday where she hailed the role of women in society both in Turkey and across the globe.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Egypt bread riots: Protests erupt after proposed cut to subsidies
Crowds take to streets in Alexandria, Giza and other areas after government proposes limit on supply of bread amid economic crisis
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Egyptians took to the streets on Tuesday in protest at the proposed limits on bread supplies and a cancellation of subsidies, as the country sinks depper into economic crisis.
Reports and videos on social media showed crowds in central Alexandria, in what was dubbed on social media the "Intifada of supplies". Many became angry after bakeries refused to take their subsidy cards, which Egyptians use to get a government quota of bread.
Social media reports suggested police had fired warning shots over the heads of demonstrators in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba, although Middle East Eye is unable to verify the reports.
The protests come a day after the minister of supplies [REMINDS ME OF THE "MINISTRY OF PLENTY" IN GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984], Ali Moselhy, announced he was considering limiting bread to three loaves per person a day and cancelling subsidies.
Protesters also blocked railways station in Desouk, 80km east of Alexandria in the Kafr el-Sheikh province.
"We want to eat! We want bread!" protesters chanted in what seem peaceful protests, according to Egyptian journalists on the ground.
A correspondent for Middle East Eye said there were also protests in Giza, south of Cairo - leading to clashes with police, road blocking and minor rioting.
Police officials and national security agents have asked protesters to return home, saying their demands would be satisfied if they stopped protesting, according to tweets from protesters.
The protesters included families and older Egyptians, the correspondent said.
Social reports said the rail link between Cairo and Minya in upper Egypt had also been blocked by protesters.
The government recently lifted subsidies on staple foods, and has suffered shortages of other basic foodstuffs, as Egypt faces a debt crisis and rampant inflation that has hit more than 20 percent.
Moselhy replaced Major General Mohammed Ali el-Sheikh as minister of supplies in February following widespread shortages of sugar.
In Egypt, bread is called "life" (bread) because the poor depend on it. That's why when it is threatened there is revolt.
#انتفاضة_التموين
Bread uprising #انتفاضة_التموين is the most trending hashtag in #Egypt as bread protests erupt across the country.
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