Arab League Warns of Israel's Violations at Aqsa Compound

Israeli security forces stand guard as Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in occupied East Jerusalem. (Getty Images file photo)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in occupied East Jerusalem. (Getty Images file photo)
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Arab League Warns of Israel's Violations at Aqsa Compound

Israeli security forces stand guard as Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in occupied East Jerusalem. (Getty Images file photo)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in occupied East Jerusalem. (Getty Images file photo)

The Arab League vehemently condemned Israel's decision to build more than 800 settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem.

Assistant Secretary-General for Palestinian territories and occupied Arab Lands Saeed Abu Ali warned of the Israeli settlers’ storming of the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem, which took place under the strict protection of Israeli forces.

The forces had also fired rubber bullets and gas bombs at worshippers at the holy site.

He condemned the development as a new escalation that demonstrates Israel’s intention to “Judaize” the al-Aqsa.

Abu Ali stated that Israel’s approval to build new units is a resumption of the settlement besieging the occupied East Jerusalem and the displacement of Palestinian families, stressing that such measures violate all international resolutions, laws and conventions.

He castigated the international community's silence and the US support for Israel as encouraging the latter to continue its aggression against the Palestinians. He stressed that attempts to impose a status quo will not deter the Palestinians' will to fight the occupation and build an independent Palestinian state.

The Palestinian cause was a priority at last week’s three Makkah summits, which underlined support for Palestinian rights.



Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisians began voting on Sunday in an election in which President Kais Saied is seeking a second term, with his main rival suddenly jailed last month and the other candidate heading a minor political party.
Sunday's election pits Saied against two rivals: his former ally turned critic, Chaab Party leader Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Ayachi Zammel, who had been seen as posing a big threat to Saied until he was jailed last month.
Senior figures from the biggest parties, which largely oppose Saied, have been imprisoned on various charges over the past year and those parties have not publicly backed any of the three candidates on Sunday's ballot. Other opponents have been barred from running.
Polls close at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and results are expected in the next two days. Political tensions have risen since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law last week stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes. This Court is widely seen as the country's last independent judicial body, after Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022.
Saied, elected in 2019, seized most powers in 2021 when he dissolved the elected parliament and rewrote the constitution, a move the opposition described as a coup.