عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

France, Israel at Loggerheads after French Officials Briefly Arrested in Jerusalem

Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
TT
TT

France, Israel at Loggerheads after French Officials Briefly Arrested in Jerusalem

Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)
Macron and Netanyahu (illustrative). (photo credit: Bertrand Guay/Reuters, Canva, REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool)

France accused Israel on Thursday of harming bilateral ties after Israeli security forces entered a holy site under French administration in Jerusalem and briefly detained two French officials with diplomatic status.
The incident occurred as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was due to visit the compound of The Church of the Pater Noster on the Mount of Olives. The site, one of four administered by France in Jerusalem, is under Paris' responsibility and deemed part of France, said Reuters.
French diplomatic sources said Israeli security had been told not to enter before Barrot's visit.
However, they did so and as a consequence Barrot refused to enter the compound, called Eleona in French, while they were present. Two French security officials were then briefly arrested, the sources said, adding that the Israelis were aware the two were from the consulate and had diplomatic status.
Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement that an argument arose between the Israeli security forces and two French security guards. They were released immediately after they identified themselves as diplomats, it said.
The dispute casts a shadow over diplomatic relations that are already strained over Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
"This violation of the integrity of a site under French responsibility risks undermining the ties I had come to nurture with Israel at a time when we all need to move forward the region on the path to peace", a visibly angry Barrot told reporters outside the building.
Israel's foreign ministry said that every visiting foreign leader is accompanied by its security personnel, a point that had been "clarified in advance in the preparatory dialogue with the French Embassy in Israel."
A French diplomatic source said the Israeli authorities were disseminating "false allegations" and that a line had not yet been drawn under the incident.
The Israeli ambassador to Paris will be summoned in the coming days, the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Diplomatic relations between France and Israel have worsened since President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the supply to Israel of offensive weapons used in Gaza. The French government also attempted to ban Israeli weapons' firms from exhibiting at a trade fair in Paris and has become increasingly uneasy over Israel's conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and that its military helped defend Israel amid Iranian missile attacks earlier this year.
Barrot's trip had aimed to press Israel to engage diplomatically to end the conflicts in the region now that the US presidential election is over.
It was not the first time that tensions have arisen surrounding France's historic holdings in the city.
In 2020, Macron lost his temper when visiting the Church of St. Anne, another site under French administration, demanding Israeli security personnel leave the Jerusalem basilica.
A similar incident took place in 1996 involving France's then-president Jacques Chirac, who saw his treatment by Israeli security as a "provocation".

Most Viewed

 
 
World

‘We Choose Denmark,’ Says Greenland Ahead of W. House Talks

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen attend a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen attend a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

‘We Choose Denmark,’ Says Greenland Ahead of W. House Talks

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen attend a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen attend a press conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Greenland would choose to remain Danish over a US takeover, its leader said Tuesday, ahead of crunch White House talks on the future of the Arctic island which President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened.

Trump has been talking up the idea of buying or annexing the autonomous territory for years, and further stoked tensions this week by saying the United States would take it "one way or the other".

"We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark," Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference.

"One thing must be clear to everyone: Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States."

He was speaking alongside Danish leader Mette Frederiksen, who said it had not been easy to stand up to what she slammed as "completely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally".

"However, there are many indications that the most challenging part is ahead of us," Frederiksen said.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are to meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to discuss Greenland's future.

Lokke said they had requested a meeting with Rubio, and Vance had asked to take part and host it at the White House.

Vance made an uninvited visit to the island in March where he criticized Denmark for what he said was a lack of commitment to Greenland and security in the Arctic, and called it a "bad ally".

The comments enraged Copenhagen, which has been an ardent trans-Atlantic supporter and which has sent troops to fight US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

- 'Misunderstandings' -

For Nuuk and Copenhagen, Wednesday's meeting at the White House is aimed at ironing out "misunderstandings".

These relate to Greenland's defense, Chinese and Russian military presence in the Arctic, and the relationship between Greenland and Copenhagen, which together with the Faroe Islands make up the Kingdom of Denmark.

"To the uninformed American listener, the ongoing (independence) talks between Denmark and Greenland might have been construed as if Greenland's secession from Denmark was imminent," said Greenland specialist Mikaela Engell.

For these listeners, "I can understand that, in this situation, it would be better for the Americans to take hold of that strategic place", the former Danish representative on the island told AFP.

But this "discussion has been going on for years and years and it has never meant that Greenland was on its way out the door", she stressed.

Denmark's foreign minister said the reason Copenhagen and Nuuk had requested Wednesday's meeting was "to move the entire discussion... into a meeting room, where you can look each other in the eye and talk through these issues".

Greenland's location is highly strategic, lying on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States. It is therefore a crucial part of the US anti-missile shield.

Washington has accused Copenhagen of doing little to protect Greenland from what it perceives as a growing Arctic threat from Russia and China, though analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region.

Denmark's government has rejected US claims, recalling that it has invested almost 90 billion kroner ($14 billion) to beef up its military presence in the Arctic.

The Danish prime minister on Tuesday called for stronger cooperation with the US and NATO to improve the region's security.

She also called for NATO to defend Greenland, and said that security guarantees would be "the best defense against Chinese or Russian threats in the Arctic".

Diplomats at NATO say some Alliance members have floated the idea of launching a new mission in the region, although no concrete proposals are yet on the table.

Rutte said on Monday that NATO was working on "the next steps" to bolster Arctic security.

Greenland's foreign minister and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen are to meet NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte on January 19 to discuss the issue.

"We are now moving forward with the whole issue of a more permanent, larger presence in Greenland from the Danish defense forces but also with the participation of other countries," Lund Poulsen told reporters.

World

ICJ Hears Gruesome Violence Against Rohingya in Myanmar Genocide Case

A view of the courtroom during the first hearing in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, 12 January 2026. (EPA)
A view of the courtroom during the first hearing in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, 12 January 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

ICJ Hears Gruesome Violence Against Rohingya in Myanmar Genocide Case

A view of the courtroom during the first hearing in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, 12 January 2026. (EPA)
A view of the courtroom during the first hearing in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the country's Muslim minority, the Rohingya, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, 12 January 2026. (EPA)

Myanmar soldiers rampaged door-to-door, systematically killing, raping, and burning Rohingya men, women and children, the International Court of Justice heard on Tuesday, on day two of a genocide hearing.

ICJ judges are hearing three weeks of testimony as they weigh accusations by The Gambia that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya in a 2017 crackdown.

Tafadzwa Pasipanodya, a lawyer for The Gambia, laid out harrowing evidence of an alleged attack on a village in northern Rakhine State in Myanmar.

Soldiers decapitated old men, gang raped women and girls, threw infants into rivers.

After killing everyone in the villages, they "systematically" burned the buildings following the so-called "clearance operations", alleged Pasipanodya.

"The totality of this evidence... convincingly show that Myanmar, through its state organs, acted with the intent to destroy the Rohingya," said Pasipanodya.

Myanmar has always maintained the crackdown by its armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead.

The violence forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

Today, 1.17 million Rohingya live crammed into dilapidated camps spread over 8,000 acres in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.

Lawyers for Myanmar will begin their response on Friday.

A final decision could take months or even years, and while the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling in favor of The Gambia would heap more political pressure on Myanmar.

The Gambia is taking Myanmar to the ICJ, which rules in disputes between states, alleging breaches of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, under which any state can haul another before the ICJ if it believes genocide is being committed.

Legal experts are watching this case as it could give clues for how the ICJ will handle similar accusations against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa.

World

US Designates Three Muslim Brotherhood Chapters as Global Terrorists

Tourists stand next to the fence of the White House in Washington, DC, US December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Tourists stand next to the fence of the White House in Washington, DC, US December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

US Designates Three Muslim Brotherhood Chapters as Global Terrorists

Tourists stand next to the fence of the White House in Washington, DC, US December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Tourists stand next to the fence of the White House in Washington, DC, US December 26, 2025. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday designated the Egyptian, Lebanese and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as global terrorists, citing in part what it called their support for Palestinian group Hamas.

The ‌move, which ‌Washington formally ‌set ⁠in motion ‌last November, will bring sanctions against one of the Arab world's oldest and most influential Islamist movements.

The Treasury said it ⁠was labeling the three chapters ‌as specially designated global ‍terrorists. ‍It has accused the ‍trio of supporting or encouraging violent attacks against Israel and US partners.

"Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood purport to be legitimate civic organizations while, ⁠behind the scenes, they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups like Hamas," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Republicans and right-wing voices have long advocated for and considered terrorist designations for ‌the Muslim Brotherhood.