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Arab World

Palestine Lays to Rest Protest Victims, Fatah Calls for Anger-Displaying Rallies

Relatives of Mohammed Amin, who was killed during clashes on Sunday, Attend funeral ceremony, Asharq Al-Awsat
Relatives of Mohammed Amin, who was killed during clashes on Sunday, Attend funeral ceremony, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Palestine Lays to Rest Protest Victims, Fatah Calls for Anger-Displaying Rallies

Relatives of Mohammed Amin, who was killed during clashes on Sunday, Attend funeral ceremony, Asharq Al-Awsat
Relatives of Mohammed Amin, who was killed during clashes on Sunday, Attend funeral ceremony, Asharq Al-Awsat

Dozens of Palestinians were injured on Saturday as angry confrontations continue across protests objecting to United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy to it.

Most Palestinian cities witnessed confrontations less severe than the violent clashes that took place on Friday, which resulted in the death of four martyrs, including two in the Gaza Strip and two in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

But the intensity of clashes spiked during the funeral service for the four killed --thousands of Palestinians attended the ceremony which saw popular demonstrations demanding further escalation.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that eight minors were injured by Israeli occupation forces on Salah Al-Din Street and Bab al-'Amud area in Jerusalem.

Najib al-Razzim was also wounded during his coverage of protests in the area. Israeli occupation forces arrested activist Awad al-Salaymeh, confiscated flags from demonstrators and assaulted a female Palestinian.

A spokesman for the Israeli police said that his forces have arrested 14 Palestinians since Friday dawn in east of Jerusalem, claiming that they participated in throwing stones and fireworks on police forces.

More so, 30 Palestinians were injured while being gassed by Israeli occupation forces near Nablus, Hebron and Ramallah. In addition, five demonstrators were wounded by live bullets in the Gaza Strip.

The Fatah movement issued a statement calling to amp up popular activities and demonstrations against Washington’s decision, stressing that it will go forth with blocking roads on Monday and Thursday, and continue massive demonstrations, especially next Wednesday in Jerusalem and its surroundings.

US Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit the Middle East next Wednesday.

Pence will spend three days in the region with stops in Israel and Egypt, the first high-level official to visit after the president reversed decades of US policy and announced the United States would start the process of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv.

Fatah said that it “stresses the need to carry out demonstrations and protest rallies showing anger at the gates of Jerusalem coinciding with Pence’s arrival to the occupying state next Wednesday”.

More so, the statement urged full coordination with Christians on Sunday evening to participate intensively in lighting candles in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Birzeit and Nablus.

In its statement, Fatah said that next Friday should be considered a day of united display of anger in all governorates nationwide, rejecting and denouncing the American decision.

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Arab World

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.

Arab World

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 World

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.