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Algerian FM Accused of ‘Violating Constitution’

Abderrazak Makri, the leader of Algeria Islamist political party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) is pictured in Algiers, Algeria May 18, 2018, REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Abderrazak Makri, the leader of Algeria Islamist political party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) is pictured in Algiers, Algeria May 18, 2018, REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Algerian FM Accused of ‘Violating Constitution’

Abderrazak Makri, the leader of Algeria Islamist political party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) is pictured in Algiers, Algeria May 18, 2018, REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Abderrazak Makri, the leader of Algeria Islamist political party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) is pictured in Algiers, Algeria May 18, 2018, REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

The Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), Algeria's biggest Islamist political party, accused Foreign Minister Abdulqader al-Msahel of ‘violating the constitution’ after using the French language in his speech in the UN, during its 73rd session in New York.

Head of the Movement of Society for Peace Abderrazak Makri said Wednesday, following a meeting of the party cadres, that the foreign minister using of a foreign language while delivering a speech in front of the General Assembly constituted an abuse of the national sovereignty and a violation of the constitution.

He added that not taking procedures against this incident is proof that the decision-makers are insincere in their repetitive speech about patriotism.

The Algerian constitution stipulates two formal languages: Arabic and Berber language. However, the majority of government officials speak in French in their official meetings and while communicating with the media.

Furthermore, MSP criticized the ambiguity regarding presidential elections and said that was a proof that the ruling system lacked vision.

Earlier, Makri stated that his party wouldn't take part in the political arena in case Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ran for the presidency.

A statement was issued by the foreign ministry Wednesday to note that the minister called for a political solution that is fair and acceptable by Morocco and Polisario Front – his statement was made during a meeting between Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General President Horst Koehler and al-Msahel.

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With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)

After weeks of Israeli bombardment left them with nowhere else to go, hundreds of Palestinians have ended up in a former Gaza prison built to hold murderers and thieves.

Yasmeen al-Dardasi said she and her family passed wounded people they were unable to help as they evacuated from a district in the southern city of Khan Younis towards its Central Correction and Rehabilitation Facility.

They spent a day under a tree before moving on to the former prison, where they now live in a prayer room. It offers protection from the blistering sun, but not much else.

Dardasi's husband has a damaged kidney and just one lung, but no mattress or blanket.

"We are not settled here either," said Dardasi, who like many Palestinians fears she will be uprooted once again.

Israel has said it goes out of its way to protect civilians in its war with the Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza and led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the latest conflict.

Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced several times, say nowhere is free of Israeli bombardment, which has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

An Israeli air strike killed at least 90 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi area on July 13, the territory's health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas' elusive military chief Mohammed Deif.

On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli military strikes on areas in eastern Khan Younis had killed 14 people.

Entire neighborhoods have been flattened in one of the most densely populated places in the world, where poverty and unemployment have long been widespread.

According to the United Nations, nine in ten people across Gaza are now internally displaced.

Israeli soldiers told Saria Abu Mustafa and her family that they should flee for safety as tanks were on their way, she said. The family had no time to change so they left in their prayer clothes.

After sleeping outside on sandy ground, they too found refuge in the prison, among piles of rubble and gaping holes in buildings from the battles which were fought there. Inmates had been released long before Israel attacked.

"We didn't take anything with us. We came here on foot, with children walking with us," she said, adding that many of the women had five or six children with them and that water was hard to find.

She held her niece, who was born during the conflict, which has killed her father and brothers.

When Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 they killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the air and ground offensive Israel launched in response, Palestinian health officials say.

Hana Al-Sayed Abu Mustafa arrived at the prison after being displaced six times.

If Egyptian, US and Qatari mediators fail to secure a ceasefire they have long said is close, she and other Palestinians may be on the move once again. "Where should we go? All the places that we go to are dangerous," she said.