by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Benjamin Netanyahu
Jerusalem : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on world leaders to follow the US and relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.
Speaking during a reception of a US diplomatic delegation in Jerusalem, Netanyahu thanked the US for the relocation, which will take place on Monday.
“There is no greater supporter of Israel on the earth,” he said. “We are eternally grateful.”
He called on other countries to follow the US move, saying that “in any peace that you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain as Israel’s capital.”
He also thanked the leaders of Guatemala and Paraguay for their decisions to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
According to Netanyahu, other countries are expected to announce similar decisions soon. “We will not say whom because that is a state secret,” he said.
The delegation is led by US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, reports Xinhua.
US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said at the welcoming ceremony that Trump’s decision to relocate the embassy was “essential to creating a roadmap for peace in the region.”
A total of 86 foreign ambassadors in Israel were invited to the opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, while 40 of them accepted the invitation.
Four European countries — Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary — have confirmed their participation in the US move while the European Union opposes the relocation.
Thousands of police officers were deployed throughout Jerusalem over fear of Palestinian protests and riots.
Additionally, Police officers will stand in “human wall” between the neighbourhood of Arnona, where the new embassy is located, and the Palestinian Sur Baher.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
The Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina
Ramallah, Palestine: The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Tuesday reiterated refusal to accept any plans to establish a Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital.
“Any attempt to promote suspicious ideas from any side, and under any vague slogans and endless positions, will have no value or usefulness,” PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement cited by the official Wafa news agency.
“We say to those who try to circumvent the Arab peace initiative and resolutions of international legitimacy by proposing vague proposals or slogans that your attempts will be doomed to failure,” he said.
“No Palestinian or Arab will accept that,” the spokesman stressed.
“There will be no solution”, Abu Rudeina said, “without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders and with a just solution to the refugee issue”.
The spokesman, however, did not disclose the reasons for issuing the statement.
An official source in the Palestinian Authority, however, told Anadolu Agency that some countries have suggested to the PA to accept American ideas for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“The ideas do not include East Jerusalem as a future capital,” the source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.
The source acknowledged that the Palestinian areas “would be considerably less than a state”.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
The holy city has captured world attention in December when U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, triggering world outcry and protests in the Palestinian territories.
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Benjamin Netanyahu
Jerusalem : Two associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been remanded in custody amid a corruption investigation.
The Tel Aviv Magistrates’ Court has extended the arrests of Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israel’s giant telecom company Bezeq, and Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu’s confidant and former media adviser.
They will stay under arrest at least until Monday, the court said on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Elovitch is suspected of being part of a bribery deal, in which Bezeq received regulatory and financial benefits from the Communications Ministry, which Netanyahu headed between 2014 and 2017 in addition to his capacity as prime minister.
In return, Walla, a news site controlled by Elovitch, allegedly refrained from criticizing Netanyahu and gave him and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, positive coverage.
Hefetz is a suspect in the Bezeq affair, called by the police “case 4000.” He was also charged in a separated case with bribery, in which he sought to throw out a criminal case against Sara Netanyahu, said the police.
Also on Thursday, the court extended the arrest of Shlomo Filber, who was until recently one of the closest associates of Netanyahu.
Filber, who served as the director general of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, became a state witness against Netanyahu on Wednesday. Under the terms of his deal, he will stay in custody until he finishes his testimony.
The media reported on Thursday that Filber told his investigators that he acted under direct orders from Netanyahu.
The recent arrests came only a week after the police said there was sufficient evidence to charge Netanyahu with corruption in two other cases.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, saying the allegations are part of a witch-hunt by the media and “the left.”
His coalition has remained stable for now, with his major partners, the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party and the centre-right Kulanu, saying Netanyahu will be required to step down only if the general attorney decides to indict him.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Summit, Events, Muslim World, Social Round-up
The 30th African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will deliver a keynote speech at the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), kicked off in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on Sunday.
President Abbas is set to deliver a speech and meet with several African officials on the sidelines of the summit, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The summit is expected to present a draft resolution that affirms African rejection of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The draft will include aspects such as rejecting moving any embassy to Jerusalem, ending settlement activities and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.
The opening ceremony will feature among others, speeches and keynote addresses by Guinean President Alpha Conde, the AU outgoing chairperson; statement by Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat; statement by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres; and a statement by Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.
The 30th AU Summit, which is being held under the theme of “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”, will wrap up its works on Monday, according to the AU website.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Tehran : Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said here on Tuesday that Jerusalem is “definitely” the capital of Palestine.
The US move to call Al-Quds (Jerusalem) the capital of Israel will fail eventually and “they won’t be able to implement this (decision)”, Khamenei said at the 13th session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Iran’s capital Tehran.
He said the governments who help the US and Israel are “traitors to Islam and Muslims”, Xinhua news reported.
He added that the cause of Palestine is the foremost issue of the Muslims.
The cause of “Palestine is an important issue of Islamic world and should not be forgotten”, he was quoted as saying by semi-official ISNA news agency.
The resistance against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has achieved advancements so far and “I believe that it will bear fruit”, he said.
Khamenei also urged unity and solidarity among Islamic countries.
Last December, US President Donald Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and instructed the State Department to begin the process of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the decision, saying Washington’s recognition was a “blatant violation of international resolutions”.
—IANS
