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Israel Calls for PA Prisoners' Affairs Administration to be Designated as Terrorist

A boy holds a picture of Palestinian prisoner I during a rally calling on Israel to release her, in the West Bank city of Hebron (file photo: Reuters)
A boy holds a picture of Palestinian prisoner I during a rally calling on Israel to release her, in the West Bank city of Hebron (file photo: Reuters)
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Israel Calls for PA Prisoners' Affairs Administration to be Designated as Terrorist

A boy holds a picture of Palestinian prisoner I during a rally calling on Israel to release her, in the West Bank city of Hebron (file photo: Reuters)
A boy holds a picture of Palestinian prisoner I during a rally calling on Israel to release her, in the West Bank city of Hebron (file photo: Reuters)

A number of political right-wing figures in Israel and the US are pressuring both the US administration and the Israeli government to declare the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs a terrorist organization.

The campaign was launched by a right-wing Israeli organization "Palestinian Media Watch" which sent direct messages to US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The organization has been working for more than 30 years against the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority (PA), claiming that they are running anti-Jewish policies, approaches and practices that support terrorism.

It played a central role in the campaign against paying salaries to Palestinian detainees serving sentences in Israeli prisons, as well as to the families of the deceased.

The Israeli government adopted this approach earlier and decided to deduct the salaries from Palestinian tax funds, which led to crisis between the Israeli government and the PA, after which the Palestinian Finance Ministry refused to receive the remaining amount.

The campaign was led by the US Republican Congressman, Doug Lamborn, who is the head of the Israeli lobby in the Congress.

In a letter to Trump on Thursday, Lamborn called for designating the commission and its director Qadri Abu Bakr, as "sponsors of terror" because of their direct involvement in providing monthly payments to prisoners and their families.

In turn, a group of the right-wing and center Knesset members sent a similar letter to Netanyahu and Gantz, saying: “It should not be, that while other nations around the world, especially our friend the United States, are making efforts to eradicate this phenomenon of terror payments, Israel will continue to keep quiet.”

The letter was signed by MKs: Matan Kahana of Yamina party, Oded Forer of Yisrael Beiteinu and Elazar Stern of Yesh Atid-Telem.

The parliamentarians said that they would put the issue on the Knesset's agenda soon, however, Netanyahu and Gantz did not comment on the matter.

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Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
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Survivors, Bodies Recovered from Capsized Red Sea Tourist Boat

25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)
25 November 2024, Egypt: Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi (R) checks on tourists rescued from capsized tourist boat called "Sea Story" that sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast. (Red Sea Governorate/dpa)

Rescuers on Tuesday recovered five survivors and four bodies from a dive boat that capsized off Egypt's eastern coast a day earlier, Red Sea governor Amr Hanafi said.  

A military-led team rescued two Belgians, one Swiss national, one Finnish tourist and one Egyptian, the governor said, bringing the total number of survivors from the accident to 33.  

The "Sea Story" had been carrying 31 tourists of multiple nationalities and a 13-member crew when it was hit by a large wave near Marsa Alam in southeastern Egypt early on Monday, causing it to capsize.

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday have not yet been identified, and eight people are still missing after 28 were rescued on Monday.

A government source close to rescue operations said the five survivors were found on Tuesday morning inside the boat, which the governor said had been thrown on its side by an early morning wave but had not completely sunk.  

The group had spent at least 24 hours in the overturned vessel after authorities first received distress calls at 5:30 AM (0330 GMT) on Monday.  

"Rescue operations are ongoing today, supported by a military helicopter and a frigate in addition to multiple divers," the Red Sea governor told AFP Tuesday, declining to provide any further details about the operation.  

The four bodies recovered on Tuesday were also located inside the stricken vessel.  

The boat had embarked on a multi-day diving trip on Sunday and had been due to dock on Friday at the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north.  

The governor on Monday said it capsized "suddenly and quickly within 5-7 minutes" of the impact with the wave, leaving some passengers -- among them European, Chinese and American tourists -- unable to set out of their cabins in time.  

- Still missing -  

Rescuers from the military and a passing tourist boat pulled 28 people from the water on Monday.  

According to a source at a hospital in Marsa Alam, six tourists and three Egyptians were admitted with minor injuries and discharged on Monday.   

According to the governor's office, the boat was carrying tourists from Belgium, Britain, China, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.  

Among the missing are two Polish tourists and one from Finland, according to both countries' foreign ministries.  

Authorities in Egypt have said the vessel was fully licensed and had passed all inspection checks. A preliminary investigation showed no technical fault.  

There were at least two similar boat accidents in the Marsa Alam area earlier this year, but no fatalities.  

The Red Sea coast is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 107 million that is in the grip of a serious economic crisis.  

Nationally, the tourism sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP.  

Dozens of dive boats crisscross between Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast every day, where safety regulations are robust but unevenly enforced.