Human Rights Violations Increased in Houthi-Militia Controlled Areas

People stand past destroyed houses in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 5, 2017. Reuters
People stand past destroyed houses in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 5, 2017. Reuters
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Human Rights Violations Increased in Houthi-Militia Controlled Areas

People stand past destroyed houses in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 5, 2017. Reuters
People stand past destroyed houses in an outskirt of the northwestern city of Saada, Yemen September 5, 2017. Reuters

A number of areas under the control of the Yemeni insurgents, especially in the capital Sana'a and the province of Tihama, have witnessed a significant increase in cases of violations of the rights of civilians, amounting to approximately 120 cases per month, including killings, torture and armed robbery of properties and closing of Quran memorization institutes in some cities.

Civil rights organizations called for the speedy intervention of international bodies to stop these violations, which have increased with the progress of the National Army on a number of fronts near Sana’a, demanding the need to put pressure on the militias to stop recruiting children and abducting them from their homes.

According to the Yemeni Minister of Human Rights, 20,000 children from different cities were taken by the militias to the front lines.

Human rights activist in the province of Tihama Abdul Hafiz al-Hattami said that Houthi-Saleh militias have escalated the pace of violations against citizens and their private and public rights to intimidate them and prevent a possible revolution against them in a clear absence of many international organizations in this regard.

“The Yemeni citizen has become exposed to killing and torturing in the prisons of the insurgents; many teachers have not been released recently from prison and were subject to torture and murder in many cases. The most recent case was the killing of a family consisting of a mother and son, whose father works in the education sector,” Hattami added.

He pointed out that according to human rights reports, Dhamar city recorded in September 120 cases of violations of public and private properties, including recruiting children and forcing them to fight in the war without taking their parents’ permission and returning their corps.

Ibb city also recorded around 100 violations in September, represented in abducting, killing, stealing, raiding houses, attacking public sector employees and recruiting children by force, according to Hattami.

Hattami added that Hodeidah province, for its part, recorded 50 violations, including the killing of children, torturing, oppressing, stealing revenues of Hodeidah port and the costumes that amounted to nine billion in one month, imposing additional fees on the citizens and looting humanitarian aids.



Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.


Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.


Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.