Middle East

Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh released from Israeli jails

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Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh. (Photo: wafa.ps)

Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, who made headlines last year by going on a 172-day hunger strike in protest to his administrative detention, has finally been released from Israeli imprisonment.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) says Awawdeh has been taken to a hospital in Ramallah for medical checkup upon his arrival to the West Bank via al-Jeep Israeli military checkpoint.

Awawdeh, a father of four daughters, was arrested by Israeli military forces from his home in the southern occupied West Bank town of Idhna, located 13 kilometers west of al-Khalil, in December 2021.

Israel accused Awawdeh of being an activist for the Islamic Jihad resistance movement.

After that, he was kept in prison under administrative detention, a mechanism that allows the regime to keep Palestinians in prison without charges or trial.

Last year, he went on hunger strike for 172 days in protest against his detention, which prompted Israeli prison officials to promise him his administrative detention would not be renewed and that he would be released soon.

Awawdeh was supposed to be released in October last year. But days before that date, he was charged with “smuggling” a mobile phone, which led to his jail time being extended.

There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Human rights organizations say Israel violates all the rights and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Palestinian prisoners are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted, which is in sheer violation of human rights. Advocacy groups describe Israel’s use of detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and have long called on Israel to end its use.

According to the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, about 60% of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails suffer from chronic diseases, a number of whom died in detention or after being released due to the severity of their cases.

 

 

Middle East

Iraqi FM affirms adherence to security agreement with Iran

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Hussein made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi on Thursday where they discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring countries, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi foreign ministry.

Both sides discussed the implementation of the security agreement and the disarmament of armed groups on the Iraqi-Iranian border in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Hussein and President Raeisi also discussed the political and security situations in the region and the role of countries in the region in resolving crises and confronting challenges.

During a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, Hussein announced the disarmament of the groups located on the Iraqi-Iranian border.

“We are reaching the final goal of the plan agreed upon by the two countries. The groups on the Iraqi-Iranian border have been disarmed, and refugee camps, supervised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have been set up,” the Iraqi Foreign Minister said.

According to IRNA, President Raeisi has told the Iraqi foreign minister that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not tolerate the presence of terrorist groups at its joint border with the Arab country or on Iraqi soil.

The Iranian president said that the presence of terrorist groups at the Iran-Iraq border or on Iraqi soil is not tolerable for Tehran at all, stressing the need for fully implementing a security pact between the two countries.

Accordingly, Raeisi and Fuad Hussein held talks in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon hours after the top Iraqi diplomat began his visit to Iran.

Raeisi also said that Iran has already proved that it stands by Iraq at difficult times when parts of the Arab country had been seized by the Daesh terror group.

MNA/IRN

Middle East

Hamas rejects UN chief, says 'violence' a misnomer for Palestinian self-defense

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An Israeli soldier kicks a Palestinian man as troops try to arrest him in the West Bank city of al-Khalil. (File photo by AFP)

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has categorically rejected UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ labeling of the resistance of Palestinian people against the Israeli regime as “violence,” saying what takes place in the Palestinian territories is the right to self-defense against the occupying entity.

Hamas made the statement on Thursday after Guterres said at a press conference that he does not think it is with “violence” that the Palestinians will be able to better defend their interests.

“Hamas confirms that such a misnomer is not compatible with a genuine human right – i.e. the right to self-defense against the aggression inflicted by an occupying entity,” the Palestinian resistance movement said. “This right to self-defense is a legitimate right in consonance with international laws and norms.”

Hamas underlined that the Palestinian people will never abolish such a right and will continue to fight the Israeli occupation and its Judaisation schemes until they liberate their homeland.

The Palestinian resistance movement said the terms “violence,” and “terrorism” apply exclusively to the Israeli occupation and fascist colonial settlers, who bear full responsibility for escalating the situation, disrupting the lives of the Palestinian people and denying them their national rights.   

Hamas also called on Guterres and the UN to assume their role in endorsing the Palestinian people’s rights and their just cause by condemning the Israeli occupation and its continued aggression and holding its leaders responsible for their crimes and racist policies in order to allow the Palestinians to exercise their rights to freedom and independence on their homeland.

Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the occupied West Bank on an almost daily basis under the pretext of detaining what the regime calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied territories and Gaza. The majority of these fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank.

The figure makes 2023 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations began keeping track of fatalities in 2005.

Previously, 2022 was the deadliest year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, according to the United Nations.

Middle East

Explosion reported in central Tel Aviv

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The Zionist media reported the explosion of a bomb in the “Yarkon” park in the center of Tel Aviv.

According to media reports, no one was killed or injured in this bomb blast.

Security forces in the Zionist regime are investigating the cause of the explosion.

Other media has not yet published more details about this incident.

RHM/IRN85229090

Middle East

US arms maker cancels Saudi deal over Russia, China trade: Report 

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Major US weapons maker Raytheon has reportedly terminated a multi-billion-dollar deal with a Saudi Arabian weapons firm over claims that the kingdom was engaged in dealings with sanctioned Russian and Chinese entities.

The New York-based Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, reported on Thursday that Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) called off the agreement due to apprehensions that the Saudi firm, Scopa Defense, was pursuing financial translations with Chinese, Russian, and Belarusian entities subject to sanctions by the US administration.

The American newspaper said the unease over engagement with entities from Moscow and Beijing also led to the advisory board of Scopa Defense, which was comprised of retired US military officers, to resign from the company.

Established in 2021, Scopa Defense is one of the companies in Saudi Arabia that plans to transform the kingdom from importing arms to developing its domestic military sector.

Last year, the RTX and Scopa Defense entered into a memorandum of understanding with the intention of establishing a factory for air defense systems in Saudi Arabia.

Nasr Alghrairi, the former CEO of Scopa, said the deal, which included radars and several air defence systems, was expected to have been an investment of $25bn in Saudi Arabia and would have brought $17bn worth of sales.

“The US government has expressed apprehension regarding the possibility of its weapon systems being compromised if the technologies integrated into Scopa Defense’s weaponry were acquired by Chinese or Russian entities and subjected to reverse engineering,” the US daily newspaper said.

Citing company records, the WSJ reported that two companies linked to Scopa Defense, namely Tal Military Industries and Sepha Military Industries, conducted business with sanctioned entities from China, Russia, and Belarus.

Scopa owner Mohamed Alajlan had reportedly hired an executive from a Russian company sanctioned by the US to run Sepha, and hired a Chinese national to run Tal, which had engaged in talks regarding deals with Chinese firms that are also sanctioned by Washington.

The newspaper added that Sepha also held discussions with Russian and Belarusian firms that face Western sanctions.

Tal and Sepha, the two Saudi firms, also shared computer servers with employees at Scopa, as Scopa was looking to gain access to sensitive data from RTX, according to the WSJ.

One document showed that Sepha had looked at “marketing Russian ammunition, body armor and surveillance equipment in Saudi Arabia, assembling Russian attack helicopters there, and manufacturing armored vehicles with Russia’s Military Industrial Co.”

Alajlan has refuted allegations of engaging with companies under international sanctions and having dealings with Russian firms, stressing that any transactions with Chinese companies are limited to securing raw materials to be used for producing ammunition and armored vehicles.

“We don’t work with any companies that have international sanctions,” Alajlan said in an interview with the WSJ, adding that any suggestions that he was working with sanctioned firms “are all rumors, inaccurate and illogical and unrealistic.”

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine last February, Western countries, led by the United States, have been levying sanctions against Russia, while pumping Kiev full of tens of billions of dollars worth of advanced weapons, steps that Moscow says would only complicate the standing situation and prolong the hostilities.

China also has long been under sanctions by the United States over various issues, including accusations of cyber security attacks and intelligence espionage.  

Middle East

Iran vows to respond 'resolutely' to Israel's threats

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Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks in a letter addressed to Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council President Ferit Hoxha on Thursday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently and unequivocally stated that it will not hesitate to exercise its inherent and legitimate rights to defend its security and national interests, as well as to protect its people,” the Iranian envoy said.

The comments came less than a week after David Barnea, head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, alleged that the agency had foiled 27 anti-Israel attacks “orchestrated, masterminded, and directed by Iran” over the past year.

“The time has come to exact a price from Iran in a different way,” Barnea said, threatening to target Iran’s “highest echelon…in the heart of Tehran.”

Iravani rejected the Israeli spymaster’s claim against Iran of serving as a source of anti-Israeli attacks as “baseless allegations” and “unfounded claims.”

The ambassador considered the threat verbalized subsequently by Barnea to be another instance of “the Israeli regime’s ongoing violations of international law against Iran.”

These “claims primarily serve to divert attention from the hostile and malevolent policies that this occupying and apartheid regime pursues in the region, notably the daily ongoing atrocities carried out by this regime against the Palestinian people,” noted the envoy.

The Israeli regime, he added, uses such accusations as a pretext to try to justify its illegal actions against other nations and sovereign states.

Such hostile statements as the ones that were made by the Israeli official “serve as a clear illustration of the acts of terrorism this illegitimate regime has always used to maintain its existence,” Iravani stated.

The envoy’s response to Barnea’s claims followed one delivered by Hossein Salami, chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Speaking on Wednesday, the commander warned Israel that threats against the Islamic Republic would only shorten the occupying regime’s lifespan.

“Go ahead if your previous assassination operations have increased your security. However, you should know that if you make threats against [Iran’s] security, we will have more options and your life will be cut short,” he said, addressing Israeli officials.

MNA/Press TV

Middle East

US hits five Turkish firms with sanctions over trade with Russia

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The administration of US President Joe Biden has blacklisted five Turkish companies and a Turkish national as part of new sanctions aiming to hamstring the Russian economy over the Ukraine war.

The sanctions issued on Thursday target shipping and trade companies accused of helping repair sanctioned vessels tied to Russia’s defense ministry and helping the transfer of “dual-use goods.” 

Three Turkish firms were placed under sanctions for supplying Russian defense-related manufacturers. Another two Turkish firms, and the owner of one of them, were hit for providing ship repair services to vessels involved with the Russian defense sector.

They were among more than 150 individuals, companies and institutions added to the US Treasury and State Department blacklists for their alleged roles in supporting Russia during the war.

“The US government is targeting individuals and entities engaged in sanctions evasion and circumvention, those complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and those responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.

Multiple senior US officials, including Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, have traveled to Turkey in recent months as part of a pressure campaign to prevent any Turkish companies from helping Russia circumvent US curbs.

“For the past 18 months, we’ve shared our concerns with the Turkish government and private sector and informed them of the significant risks of doing business with those we’ve sanctioned who are tied to Russia’s war,” a senior US Treasury official was quoted as saying.

“These designations reflect our ongoing commitment to target individuals and entities who provide material support to sanctioned entities,” the official added.

The action was taken at a delicate moment for US-Turkey relations. Ties with the US have been strained over Turkey’s reluctance to support the bids of Sweden and Finland to join NATO following the Ukraine war.

While Finnish membership was sealed in April, Sweden’s application remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring militants hostile to the Turkish state.

After months of objections, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden’s NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification, but the exact timing of the approval remains unclear.

The United States has repeatedly said Sweden has done enough to alleviate Turkey’s concerns and that its membership should be approved now.

Russia is already under harsh sanctions by the US. Ever since the war began, Kiev’s allies, led by the United States and Britain, have been supplying Ukraine with weapons, a step that Russia says would prolong the conflict.

Middle East

Wiring Iran’s unfrozen funds to Qatar to finish next week

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Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani made the remarks in a phone conversation on Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, according to Iran’s official news agency the IRNA.

Qatar has been a mediator in talks that led to a prisoner exchange deal between Iran and the United States that was made public on August 10.

The deal involves the release of five prisoners from each side as well as the unfreezing of some $6 billion worth of Iranian funds that had remained inaccessible since 2018 in two banks in South Korea because of US sanctions.

The process for transferring the funds took more than a month mainly because there was a daily cap on the amount of exchange possible for Iranian funds that were in South Korean won.

Under the deal, the Swiss National Bank carried out exchange transactions and Qatar paid for banking fees, according to unconfirmed details of the deal published in media reports earlier this week.

During his phone calls with Al-Thani on Thursday, Amirabdollahian hailed Qatar for efforts that led to the release of Iranian prisoners in the US and the unfreezing of funds in South Korea.

It was reiterated in the phone call that both side of the prisoner exchange deal are ready to swap prisoners on the day agreed in the deal mediated by Qatar.

Iran has already released five US prisoners subject to the deal to house arrest while the country’s mission in the United Nations has also revealed the names of five Iranians planned to be released from US jails.

MNA/PressTV 

Middle East

Ansarullah officials head to Riyadh for ceasefire talks

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“The Omani plane took off towards Riyadh carrying the Houthi [Ansarullah] delegation,” French news agency AFP reported, citing an aviation official in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Thursday.  

The talks between Saudi officials and Ansarullah envoys will reportedly focus on a full reopening of Yemeni ports and Sana’a International Airport, payment of wages for public servants from oil revenues, reconstruction efforts, and a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Yemen.

Ali al-Qahoum, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, said the Omani delegation and representatives from the National Salvation Government will try to complete the previous rounds of ceasefire talks. He expressed his optimism over mediation efforts, and Oman’s efforts to restore peace and stability in Yemen.

Oman, which borders Yemen, has been trying for years to bridge differences between the warring parties.

The first round of the Oman-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sana’a, which are running in parallel to UN peace efforts, was held in April when Saudi envoys visited the Yemeni capital.

The peace initiatives have gained momentum since Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic ties back in March following a Chinese-brokered deal after a seven-year estrangement.

Saudi Arabia launched the war against Yemen in March 2015, enlisting the assistance of some of its regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates, as well as massive shipments of advanced weaponry from the US and Western Europe.

The Western governments further extended their political and logistical support to Riyadh in their failed bid to restore power in Yemen to the country’s former Saudi-installed government.

The former Yemeni government’s president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, resigned from the presidency in late 2014 and later fled to Riyadh amid a political conflict with Ansarullah. The movement has been running Yemen’s affairs in the absence of a functioning administration.

The war further led to the killing of tens of thousands of Yemenis and turned the entire nation into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

MNA/PressTV 

Middle East

Ansarullah officials heading to Riyadh for ceasefire talks with Saudis

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Representatives of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and members of a meditation team from Oman have left for Riyadh to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Saudi officials, news agencies say. 

The Omani plane took off towards Riyadh carrying the Huthi delegation,” 

Two people involved in the talks said on condition of anonymity Ansarullah officials will travel to Riyadh with the Omani mediators, who landed in Sana’a on Thursday. The sources added that the Omani plane is expected to fly from Sana’a to Riyadh on Thursday night.

They said the talks between Saudi officials and Ansarullah envoys will focus on a full reopening of Yemeni ports and Sana’a International Airport, payment of wages for public servants from oil revenues, reconstruction efforts, and a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Yemen.

Ali al-Qahoum, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, said the Omani delegation and representatives from the National Salvation Government will leave Sana’a on an Omani plane bound for Saudi Arabia to complete the previous rounds of ceasefire talks. He expressed his optimism over mediation efforts, and Oman’s efforts to restore peace and stability in Yemen.

Oman, which borders Yemen, has been trying for years to bridge differences between the warring parties.

The first round of the Oman-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sana’a, which are running in parallel to UN peace efforts, was held in April when Saudi envoys visited the Yemeni capital.

The peace initiatives have gained momentum since Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic ties back in March following a Chinese-brokered deal after a seven-year estrangement.

Saudi Arabia launched the war of aggression against Yemen in March 2015, enlisting the assistance of some of its regional allies, including the United Arab Emirates, as well as massive shipments of advanced weaponry from the US and Western Europe.

The Western governments further extended their political and logistical support to Riyadh in their failed bid to restore power in Yemen to the country’s former Saudi-installed government.

The former Yemeni government’s president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, resigned from the presidency in late 2014 and later fled to Riyadh amid a political conflict with Ansarullah. The movement has been running Yemen’s affairs in the absence of a functioning administration.

The war further led to the killing of tens of thousands of Yemenis and turned the entire nation into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.