Asilah Seminar Discusses Drafting, Implementation of Bahrain’s Citizenship Charter

Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Asharq Al-Awsat
Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Asilah Seminar Discusses Drafting, Implementation of Bahrain’s Citizenship Charter

Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Asharq Al-Awsat
Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. Asharq Al-Awsat

Participants in a seminar held in Morocco’s Asilah have shed light on the immunity of the Bahraini political model in face of foreign plots.

They said that these plots lie mainly in the Iranian project, which seeks to destabilize Bahrain and make it a gateway to destabilize the region as a whole.

The seminar was organized on Tuesday on the "citizenship in the Bahraini National Charter" as part of the 40th Cultural Moussem of Asilah.

Participants also discussed the problems facing Bahrain’s democratic model because of the presence of a large Iranian community that obtained Bahraini citizenship in the framework of the project to consolidate citizenship and democracy.

And the continued loyalty of many of the members of this community to the contractual and religious considerations of the Iranian regime makes it a growing threat to the stability of the country.

Asked by one of the participants whether there is a possibility to resort to revoking citizenships of those found guilty of working for foreign parties and involved in conspiring against the state, Bahrain King's Advisor for Media Affairs Nabil al-Hammer said: “Any State has the right to protect its societies and defend its possessions.”

Hammer pointed out that many countries resort to revoking citizenships of citizens who abuse them, adding that the state has the right to revoke citizenship from whomever “betrays it.”

He explained that Bahrain's National Action Charter, established at the beginning of the millennium and endorsed by the Bahrainis during a public referendum, has laid the foundations and cultural components of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the constitutional and civil levels.

He said it also specified the historic Arab-Islamic civilizational identity of Bahrain.

“The charter was based on a comprehensive vision of the reform project, which was set by the Bahraini King in the consolidation and development of the principle of citizenship and making political reform stem from the citizen himself," Hammer stressed.

He said that a citizenship does not only mean rights but also duties according to the society, mainly the supreme interest of the nation and its unity, which is based on diversity.

For his part, Dr. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, highlighted the achievements and gains of Bahrain’s National Action Charter since its adoption early 2001.

He stressed that during this period, Bahrain has been able to raise the economic challenges to become the fastest growing economy in the Gulf region, develop its qualifications, upgrade its human capital, reduce unemployment to less than four percent and become a global financial center.

At the end of the seminar, Asilah Forum signed a partnership and cooperation agreement with Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies.



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.