Council of Arab Justice Ministers Urges Intensified Cooperation Against Terrorism

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
TT

Council of Arab Justice Ministers Urges Intensified Cooperation Against Terrorism

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks during his joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

The Council of Arab Ministers of Justice called on Arab states to intensify bilateral and collective cooperation in the field of information exchange pertaining to combating terrorism.

At the end of its 35th session at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, chaired by Bahrain, the council called for coordinating Arab efforts to face the return of terrorists and their families from conflict zones, by developing comprehensive mechanisms in line with the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, the resolutions issued by the League Council, and the decisions of the Councils of Ministers of Justice and Interior.

The Council underlined “the need to refrain from providing any form of explicit or implicit support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts,” and expressed “rejection of all forms of extortion by terrorist groups of threatening, killing hostages or demanding ransom.”

It also called for “intensifying Arab bilateral and collective cooperation among judicial bodies in Arab countries, in the field of investigations, follow-up, and judicial procedures relating to money laundering and terrorist financing.”

The council emphasized the necessity to “develop national measures and mechanisms to ensure the effective tracking, seizure and confiscation of laundered funds or funds directed to finance terrorism as quickly as possible, and to strengthen measures to prevent terrorism, address its causes and dry up its intellectual and financial sources.”

It also highlighted the importance of implementing programs aimed at promoting tolerance and pluralism and combating extremism.

The Council of Arab Ministers of Justice adopted during its meeting on Thursday “the final version of the internal rules of the Arab legal and judicial cooperation network in the field of combating terrorism and organized crime.”



Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis
TT

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Houthi militias in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”

Netanyahu monitored the new strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.