Middle East

Hamas: Israel plans ‘religious war’, seeks to turn al-Quds into barracks in Ramadan

admin 0

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has said the Israeli regime is fearful of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan amid growing anti-occupation outrage in the Palestinian territories, warning that the illegal entity plans to wage a “religious war” against the al-Aqsa Mosque and the occupied al-Quds.

Mohammed Hamada, a spokesman for Hamas, was cited by Palestine’s Shehab news agency as making the comment following weeks-long Israeli-provoked tensions and violent raids in the Palestinian towns and cities ahead of Ramadan.

“The occupation fears the month of Ramadan with all its details, and is turning the city of al-Quds into a military barracks to control it,” Hamada said.

Stressing that the Israeli regime is “pushing towards a religious war against al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Quds,” the Hamas spokesman said the areas of the Moroccan Gate, also known as the Mughrabi Gate, and al-Buraq Wall (the Western Wall) are among the “most sensitive and dangerous” places for the illegal entity.

“Our people will not allow the occupation to attack the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, and that the aggression against al-Aqsa Mosque is a detonator that could explode at any moment,” Hamada added.

The Hamas official said the Tel Aviv regime is waging a campaign of arrests and deportations in order to judaize the occupied al-Quds and bears full responsibility for the barbaric aggression against the al-Aqsa Mosque.

“The occupation is under a delusion to think that the aggression against al-Aqsa Mosque will be without a price, the bond of our people in al-Aqsa Mosque will thwart the occupation’s plans,” Hamada noted.

Salah al-Aruri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, warned Israel on Tuesday against “violations” at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid renewed tensions in the occupied territories.

The holy fasting month of Ramadan has often coincided with rise in violence between Palestinians and Israelis, particularly at al-Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest site.

Under the protection of Israeli forces, illegal Israeli settlers have violently stormed al-Aqsa during Ramadan, attacking Palestinian worshipers inside the compound.

In January, Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards in a highly provocative move, with Palestinians condemning the intrusion as a violation of international law and al-Aqsa’s historical status quo.

The Jewish visitation of al-Aqsa is permitted, but non-Muslim worship is prohibited according to an agreement signed between Tel Aviv and the Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967.

Tensions have increased in the occupied territories since late December 2022, when Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power as head of the occupying regime’s most far-right cabinet ever.

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.

Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian resistance in the occupied cities.

Since the start of this year, at least 88 Palestinians, including 17 children and one woman, have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.

Middle East

Nasrallah, Islamic Jihad head discuss closer coordination against Israel

admin 0


Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, (R) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad Nakhalah meet in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on March 18, 2023.

Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad Nakhalah have discussed increased cooperation between the two groups in the face of the Israeli regime and talked over the latest developments in the Middle East.

The two sides reviewed the challenges facing the Palestinian resistance during a meeting in a southern suburb of Beirut on Saturday and underlined the need for greater future cooperation between the two movements in a way that would further bolster the resistance front to counter Israeli plots, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported.

Nasrallah and Nakhalah also praised the heroism of the Palestinian nation, and the bravery of resistance fighters “who have been courageously standing up against Israeli militia groups and military forces across the occupied  Palestinian territories, especially in al-Quds and the West Bank.”

Last week, the Hezbollah leader stressed the significance of all developments taking place throughout Palestinian lands.

“Special attention should now be paid to rendering assistance to Palestinian resistance fighters, who are trying to push the occupying Israeli regime into the abyss,” he said at the time.

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.

Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian resistance in the occupied cities.

Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.

Middle East

Syrian president pays official visit to UAE

admin 0

Upon his arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport, Assad was officially welcomed by the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Emirati fighter jets also accompanied the plane carrying Bashar Assad as it entered the airspace of the UAE.

An official welcoming ceremony was also held at the Qasr Al Watan with the firing of 21 cannonballs as a sign of respect.

MP

Middle East

‘Zionists blur line between anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism to bully Palestine supporters’

admin 0

The Zionists have been making attempts to make it difficult to clearly see the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and used it as a weapon to pressure supporters of Palestine, according to an academic.

Professor David Miller, sacked from his professorship at the University of Bristol in 2021 after a sustained campaign by Britain’s Israel lobby accusing him of being anti-Semitic, told Press TV that the Zionist lobby has deployed its tricks in Canada, with the connivance of the Canadian government, big tech and a group of international lawmakers to delegitimize anyone who speaks out against the Israeli regime’s daily atrocities.

“[They] purposefully blur the line between anti-semitism and anti-Zionism, … which has been the weapon of choice used by Zionists to bludgeon Palestinian supporters ever since,” Miller said during Press TV’s weekly show Palestine Declassified.

Last September, an international parliamentary committee met in Washington DC, to demand that Twitter remove the account of Palestinian-Canadian Laith Marouf, a multimedia producer and senior consultant at the Community Media Advocacy Centre in Canada. He has a long record of active support for Palestinian rights.

The Interparliamentary Task Force To Combat Online Antisemitism hearing was held on September 16 and heard from Twitter, YouTube, Meta, and TikTok executives.

The members of the Task Force included members of Zionist lobby groups and those committed to supporting Israel.

Andrew Percy, UK’s Conservative MP who converted to Judaism, and Alex Sobel, a longtime supporter of the Zionist Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), along with Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch, the CEO of the Zionist lobby group, the American Jewish Committee were among the members of the Task Force.

Well-known Canadian politician and jurist Irwin Cotler was another member of the Task Force. He is Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, a position receiving CA$ 5.6 million over five years beginning in 2022.

Miller called the Task Force and its mission a “setup.”

“With the exception of the executives from social media, every one of [the task force members] was a Zionist, no representative of Arab or Palestinian origin, who might speak for the rights of the Palestinians, was involved in the task force, the whole thing was a setup,” he said.

Miller added that the pro-Zionist figures in the Task Force are “assets” of the Israeli regime.

“These are not people who represent the US government or the Canadian government, or any other government, they are assets of Israel,” he said.

He also said social media companies also bow to pressure from the Zionist groups because “they call on for advice about what anti-Semitism is about and what hate speeches are from Zionist organizations.”

Marouf also told Press TV that the Zionists like to target those who are the most outspoken in order to scare the rest of the Palestinian Arab and Muslim communities and anybody who stands with them for their rights.

“This isn’t really about me or why I am a target. It is that attempt to create a lightning rod that Zionists light whenever they’re creating these fear campaigns,” he said.