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D-8 Nations Pledge to Mobilize All Resources to Achieve Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (C) speaks as he participates in a joint press conference alongside other countries' representatives after an Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Gaza, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 08 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (C) speaks as he participates in a joint press conference alongside other countries' representatives after an Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Gaza, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 08 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
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D-8 Nations Pledge to Mobilize All Resources to Achieve Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (C) speaks as he participates in a joint press conference alongside other countries' representatives after an Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Gaza, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 08 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (C) speaks as he participates in a joint press conference alongside other countries' representatives after an Extraordinary Meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Gaza, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 08 June 2024. EPA/ERDEM SAHIN

The Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation pledged on Saturday to mobilize all resources to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the Strip.
The ministers of the D-8, an alliance of developing nations of Türkiye, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, and Indonesia, discussed means to stop all violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“Those who oppose occupation in Ukraine consider resistance to occupation in Palestine a crime,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a press conference held following the meeting.
He added, “We declare together to the whole world that we are not silent in the face of Israeli oppression in Gaza and we cannot remain silent.”
The Turkish FM said the D-8 will work with all their strength to stop the Israeli occupation and achieve a two-state solution.
“The fundamentalist Netanyahu government continues to play with fire. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu does not hesitate to endanger the future of everyone in the region, including his own people,” he said.
Fidan then expressed appreciation of the mediation efforts by Egypt and Qatar, indicating that Türkiye has also contributed to diplomacy.
He said that Israel’s continuous rejection of negotiations and its abstention from approving a ceasefire are costing a heavy price.
He asserted that statehood is a natural right for Palestinians, adding that Palestine is recognized as a state by the majority of countries in the world.
But, Fidan said, “because of the US veto, it cannot become a full member of the UN.”
He then expressed “hope for the future” in the bold stance some European countries and the Western public have taken against Israeli actions.
Fidan said the D-8 ministers held their meeting to demonstrate further support and solidarity for Palestine, adding that the war is not a war of Israel-Palestine anymore but “a challenge to global democracy."
The Minister then noted that a just and lasting peace can only be achieved by diplomacy and compromise.
Fidan affirmed that there is no doubt those who perpetrated the massacre in Gaza will eventually be held accountable.
Prior to the D-8 extraordinary meeting on Gaza, Fidan held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa to discuss the latest developments in the Strip.

 

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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.