by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Mohammad Javad Zarif
Tehran : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the Islamic republic will maintain supports for Palestine’s “resistance” groups, official IRNA news agency reported.
“Iran will support the Palestinian resistance groups against Zionist (Israeli) regime’s occupation and aggression,” Zarif was quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.
Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Ziad al-Nakhala, in the Lebanese capital Beirut, Xinhua news agency reported.
Ziad thanked Iran for its support for the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian nation.
The two sides, discussed the latest developments in the “occupied” lands of Palestine.
Zarif arrived in Beirut on Sunday to hold talks with senior Lebanese officials on the boost of ties.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia’s firm stance on matters relating to Israel will not affect its diplomatic relations with other countries, said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
He said countries that have diplomatic and trade relations with Malaysia were very well aware of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government’s stance on such issues.
“Our foreign policy is to be friends and to have bilateral trade with all countries, but if on certain occasions, we have some differences in opinions, it should not affect those diplomatic and trade relations,” Saifuddin told reporters after the launch of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Special Issues at the Sunway University near here on Monday.
He said this in response to the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to strip Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships following Malaysia’s decision not to allow Israeli swimmers to participate in the championships.
“I know there are questions about why sports are being dragged into becoming a political issue, but the issue of Palestine is not an ordinary political issue, it is an extraordinary issue. It just so happens that it involves sports,” the Malaysian foreign minister said.
On Sunday, the IPC stripped Malaysia of the right to host the event scheduled to be held in Kuching between July 29 and August 4. It said that the Malaysian Home Ministry failed to provide the necessary guarantees that Israeli swimmers could participate in the championships safely and free from discriminations.
–AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, a state-owned Israeli technology company, announced on Wednesday that it has sold the US military “Trophy” protection systems for vehicles in a deal worth $200 million.
In June 2018, the US purchased for the first time Trophy systems for several Abrams tank divisions for $193 million, and upon completion of the deals, all its Abrams tanks are expected to be protected by Rafael’s system, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Trophy system, also known as “ASPRO-A” or “Windbreaker”, identifies, intercepts and destroys incoming missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast.
The system consists of sensors, search radar, four “antenna” boards, a shooting computer and an interceptor.
The radar scans 360 degrees around the vehicle, and the moment it detects a threat, it analyzes it and launches metal spheres that break the threat while still in the air.
This is the only operational system of its kind in the world that has been successfully used in the battlefield (by the Israeli Army since 2011), providing survivability and manoeuvering capabilities.
The system is installed on hundreds of ground armoured fighting vehicles of the Israeli Army, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Saeb Erekat
Jerusalem : The Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, on Thursday urged the international community to impose sanctions against Israel for approving new West Bank settlement units.
On Wednesday, the Israeli authorities approved plans for 1,004 new housing units in the West Bank.
“The colonial-settlement expansion in occupied Palestine by the Israeli occupying power is not only a grave violation of international humanitarian law, but a war crime that would not be taking place if the international community did not treat Israel as a state above the law,” Erekat said in a statement.
“It is long overdue time for the international community to impose sanctions on Israel until it recognizes and fulfils its obligations under international law and UN resolutions,” Erekat was cited as saying by Efe news.
The Palestinian senior official went on to accuse the US of encouraging Israel “to continue with its violations of international law that threatens peace and security in our region”.
Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said on Wednesday that the Israeli government had approved plans for 10,536 West Bank settlement units since US President Donald Trump was elected.
Most of the international community considers the Israeli settlement construction an obstacle to peace and the two-state solution.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : Israel has carried out large-scale airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting “12 terror sites”, a military spokesperson said.
Israel struck Hamas sites in Gaza, bombing a concrete factory and a maritime assault tunnel shaft, after at least 36 Gaza rockets hit Israel, the army said on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The airstrikes came after an eight-rocket barrage hit the southern city of Sderot, lightly injuring at least six people, the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon said in a statement.
Afterward, sirens continued to wail throughout southern Israel in the night, warning of more projectiles, as residents took shelter inside their homes.
On Tuesday, two Hamas snipers were killed in Gaza in an Israeli artillery attack, which Israeli forces said was carried out under the misconception that Hamas had shot toward them.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military raised the level of alert along the Gaza border. The military warned Hamas that it “will not tolerate any aggression against Israeli civilians or Israel Defense Forces soldiers, and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios.”
The recent incidents are expected to distance the chances of a quick Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Egypt has been taking efforts to achieve a deal between Israel and Hamas, the group that runs Gaza, but has yet to achieve an agreement between the two.
The recent round of violence between Israel and the besieged Palestinian enclave has claimed the lives of at least 140 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier.
—IANS
