Haniyeh: Palestinians Will Not Leave Gaza

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. AFP
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. AFP
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Haniyeh: Palestinians Will Not Leave Gaza

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. AFP
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. AFP

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday Palestinians will not leave Gaza or the West Bank to migrate to Egypt.

"Our decision is to remain in our land," Haniyeh said in a televised speech, while addressing Egypt in that part of his address.

Israel has made calls for more than a million of the Gaza Strip’s residents to leave their homes and head south.

Egypt shares a border with Gaza and has been alarmed by the possibility that the enclave's residents could be displaced by Israel's siege and bombardment of the territory, launched in retaliation for a devastating incursion by Hamas militants.

Like other Arab states, Egypt has said that Palestinians should stay on their lands as the war escalates, and that it is working to secure delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip.



UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

UK, Iraq Sign Security Pact to Target People Smuggling Gangs

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper walks near 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Britain said on Thursday it had signed a security pact with Iraq to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border co-operation, the latest in its efforts to crack down on illegal migration.

"There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through Northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond," Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"Organized criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too," she said during a visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Britain will also support Iraqi law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including countering narcotics, the statement added.