Tag Archives: middle east

World

Iranian couple handed prison sentence for dancing in the streets

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

An Iranian couple, both social media influencers, have been given lengthy prison sentences after a video emerged of them dancing in a main square in the capital Tehran.

In a video shared widely on social media, Astiyazh Haghighi, 21, is seen dancing without a headscarf with her fiancé Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, in Azadi Square. The couple posted the video themselves.

Each was charged with “spreading corruption and vice,” and “assembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting national security,” receiving sentences of ten and a half years, according to activist group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

However Mizan, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, said each individual was sentenced to 5-year prison term on the charges of “assembly and collusion with the intention of disrupting national security.”

The two are accused of encouraging people to assemble and inviting them to riot in an Instagram post made on October 26, Mizan Online also said.

Judge Abolqasem Salavati presided over their case and meted out the sentences, along with a ban on posting videos on social media for two years and a ban on leaving the country for two years, according to HRANA.

Security forces first raided the couple’s home in the early morning hours of October 30, a source told CNN, and took them to interrogation and then later transferred them to prison.

Haghighi was initially sent to Evin prison’s Ward 209 but then transferred to Qarchak women’s prison where she is currently detained, HRANA reports. Both Haghighi and her partner are being denied access to a lawyer, it added.

Haghighi and Ahmadi each has close to a million followers on Instagram and also have separate YouTube channels with a total of more than half a million followers.

This comes after the country has been roiled in nationwide protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman accused of flouting the country’s compulsory hijab laws. Iran has cracked down by executing protesters, accused of killing security forces, which critics say were the result of hasty sham trials.

Their lengthy sentences have been compared by critics to that of Sajjad Heydari, an Iranian man who notoriously beheaded his wife last year. Heydari, who killed his 17-year-old wife in February 2022, was sentenced to just eight years and two months in prison, according to the country’s semi-official Khabar Online website.

Read original article here

US

GOP leaders work to lock down votes to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

House Republican leaders have worked to lock down the votes to remove Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota from the Foreign Affairs Committee after several members of their conference had signaled resistance to the move.

One of those Republicans, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, announced on Tuesday that she is now prepared to support a resolution to oust Omar, citing the addition of “due process language.”

“I appreciate Speaker McCarthy’s willingness to address legitimate concerns and add due process language to our resolution. Deliberation and debate are vital for our institution, not top-down approaches,” the congresswoman said in a statement.

Later on Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNN he has the votes to oust Omar from the committee. “Yes,” he said.

Spartz had previously indicated that she opposed the effort to remove three Democratic lawmakers from committees, including Omar.

Last week, Spartz said in a statement, “Speaker McCarthy is taking unprecedented actions this Congress to deny some committee assignments to the Minority without proper due process.”

The addition of “due process” language may prove to be a sweet spot for GOP leaders and a handful of Republican members who have remained on the fence about a vote to oust Omar, who has been accused by some members of making antisemitic remarks in the past. Omar apologized in 2019 for her remarks, but she has since defended some of her criticisms of Israel and some of its American allies.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN earlier on Tuesday that she too heard there could be a due process provision included in the resolution, but she suggested she needed to see the resolution.

“Here’s the thing. This has never been done before until Democrats did it to Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Mace said. “Typically it’s the conference or the steering committee of each conference … who choose what members go on what committees. This is not a precedent we should be setting at all.”

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida told CNN Tuesday evening that he had just met with McCarthy to discuss changes made to the resolution.

“I’m glad we are focused on due process,” Gaetz said, indicating he was waiting to see the final language before taking a position.

McCarthy vowed last year that if Republicans won back the House majority, he would strip Democrats Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Omar of committee assignments, arguing that Democrats created a “new standard” when they held the majority by removing Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from committees for violent rhetoric and posts.

Congressional Democrats have reacted with outrage – arguing that Greene and Gosar’s behavior merited a major rebuke and saying the move to kick Schiff, Swalwell and Omar off committees appears to be an act of political revenge.

McCarthy has the power to unilaterally block Schiff and Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee because it is a select committee. Ousting Omar, however, from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would require a vote of the full House of Representatives.

House GOP leadership has expressed optimism they’ll have the votes to remove Omar from the committee. But with Democrats poised to oppose the move, it would only take a handful of GOP members to defect and block McCarthy from moving forward given that Republicans control a razor-thin majority in the House.

Democrats had also argued the move by the House GOP is hypocritical – pointing to the fact that embattled GOP Rep. George Santos, who is facing mounting legal issues and growing calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume and identity, had been awarded seats on two committees.

In an abrupt turn of events, however, Santos told the House GOP conference on Tuesday behind closed doors that he wants off of his two committees until his issues are resolved, three members told CNN.

The New York Republican, who has faced calls for his resignation for false statements – including regarding his professional experience, education history and identity – is a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Small Business. Federal prosecutors are also investigating Santos’ finances. Santos declined to speak to reporters as he left the meeting.

Greene told CNN on Tuesday that it was Santos’ decision that he made on his own to “abstain” from the committees. She said he told the conference he would step aside from the committees as the GOP is trying to oust Omar from Foreign Affairs.

“He just felt like there was so much drama really over the situation, and especially what we’re doing to work to remove Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs committee,” she told CNN.

Omar, Schiff and Swalwell have pushed back in reaction to McCarthy’s effort to strip them of committee seats.

“Kevin McCarthy’s purely partisan moves to strip us from our committee is not only a political stunt, but also a blow to the integrity of our democratic institution and threat to our national security,” Omar said at a recent news conference where she spoke alongside Schiff and Swalwell.

House Republicans have argued that Omar should not be on the Foreign Affairs committee in light of past statements she has made related to Israel that have sparked controversy and in some cases been criticized by members of both parties as antisemitic.

In 2019, Omar issued a public apology after she faced a backlash for tweets condemned on both sides of the aisle as antisemitic. The apology came after the Minnesota Democrat faced widespread criticism after suggesting Republican support of Israel is fueled by donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel group.

There have been other incidents as well: In 2021, a group of Jewish House Democrats accused Omar of equating the US and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the US. In response, Omar said that she was “in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries.”

As House Republicans move to kick Omar off the Foreign Affairs committee, the new GOP majority has granted Greene and Gosar committee assignments for the new Congress.

Greene and Gosar have faced criticism from both sides of the aisle. Last year, Republican leaders in Congress condemned both lawmakers for speaking at a White nationalist conference.

Greene spoke at the America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida – an event founded by the far-right activist Nick Fuentes as an alternative to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Gosar appeared at the America First Political Action Conference via a pre-recorded video, HuffPost reported. Gosar also attended the same conference last year.

Greene defended her appearance in a lengthy statement, dismissing the blowback as “fake divisions and disingenuous allegations” and proclaiming that she won’t “cancel” other conservatives even if she finds their statements “tasteless, misguided or even repulsive at times.”

A CNN KFile review of Gosar’s events and social media posts over the years found that the lawmaker has long associations with White nationalists, a pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe players. A spokesperson for Gosar declined to comment on specific questions about the congressman’s associates in response to the reporting.

This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.

Read original article here

World

Peshawar, Pakistan mosque: Suspected suicide attack kills more than 30 people and injures 125

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

A deadly blast inside a mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar Monday was likely a suicide attack, according to authorities.

The powerful explosion left at least 31 people dead and 125 injured, according to Peshawar deputy commissioner Shafiullah Khan.

Rescue operations are now underway inside the mosque, which is situated inside a police compound in the city and is mostly attended by law enforcement officials.

No claims of responsibility have been made in relation to the attack so far, which took place in the middle of afternoon prayers.

In a statement to CNN, Peshawar Police Chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan said the blast inside the Police Lines Mosque was “probably a suicide attack,” echoing Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“The brutal killing of Muslims prostrating before Allah is against the teachings of the Quran,” Sharif said in a statement, adding that “targeting the House of Allah is proof that the attackers have nothing to do with Islam.”

“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” the prime minister continued.

“Those who fight against Pakistan will be erased from the page.”

Sharif went on to say that “the entire nation and institutions are united to end terrorism” and that there’s a “comprehensive strategy” in the works in order to restore law and order in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is located.

Pakistan’s former leader Imran Khan, whose party the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf holds the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkwa also condemned the blast saying in a tweet that “it is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism.”

Read original article here

World

Was Israel behind drone attack on Iran military installation? | Drone Strikes News

Leave a comment

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticised the drone attack as ‘cowardly’ and aimed at creating ‘insecurity’ in the country.

Israel appears to have been behind a drone attack on a military factory in Iran, United States officials say.

Iran said on Sunday that it intercepted drones targeting the facility near the central city of Isfahan, adding there were no casualties.

The extent of damage could not be independently ascertained. Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.

Israel was behind the drone attack, The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials and people familiar with the strike as saying. No response was immediately available from Israeli authorities.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency that it did appear Israel was involved. Other American officials declined to comment beyond saying the US played no role.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack targets in Ukrainian cities, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked the incident directly to the war there.

“Explosive night in Iran,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. “Did warn you.”

‘Cowardly’

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticised the drone attack as “cowardly” and aimed at creating “insecurity” in the country. State TV broadcast comments by lawmaker Hossein Mirzaie saying there was “strong speculation” Israel was behind it.

Iran’s defence ministry did not comment on who carried out the attack. However, Iran has been a target of suspected Israeli strikes in the past amid a shadow war with its Middle East rival after its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed.

A ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing “minor damage” to its roof and wounding no one.

Isfahan’s factory is 350km (217 miles) south of the capital Tehran. The ministry called the site a “workshop” without elaborating. It is home to both a large airbase built for its fleet of US-made F-14 fighter jets and its nuclear fuel research and production centre.

When Amir-Abdollahian was asked if it would affect the country’s nuclear programme, he responded,  “Such moves can’t impact our nuclear scientists’ will and intentions to achieve peaceful nuclear energy.”

Iran’s government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear programme rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic accord with world powers.

In separate incidents on Sunday, a refinery fire broke out in the country’s northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.

Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021 assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top nuclear scientist.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.

Talks between Iran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since September. Under the pact, abandoned by Washington in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, Tehran agreed to limit nuclear work in return for the easing of sanctions.

Read original article here

World

Israeli guards kill Palestinian near West Bank settlement | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Leave a comment

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead near the settlement of Kedumim amid rising tensions.

Israeli guards have killed a Palestinian teen near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said amid rising tensions after Israeli forces killed at least nine people in a Jenin refugee camp earlier this week.

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by “the Israeli occupation near the settlement of Kedumim”, the Palestinian health ministry reported on Sunday.

More than 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year.

The ministry added that Kedumim was built on privately owned Palestinian land.

The Israeli army claimed Salman was “armed with a handgun” and was shot by a “civilian security team”.

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli raid, during their funeral in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 War and settlements are regarded as illegal under international law.

The shooting follows a slew of attacks after Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp during a raid on Thursday.

On the same day, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces in the town of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem, marking one of the deadliest days in the occupied West Bank.

The United Nations said 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, with at least 170 people killed including more than 30 children, and 9,000 others injured.

Meanwhile on Saturday, a Palestinian family’s home was set on fire by Israeli settlers north of Ramallah. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Maher said no one was in the house when it was torched.

“We learned the family have left the occupied Palestinian territories,” he added, speaking from Ramallah. “Activists and eye witnesses say there has been a rise in attacks since Friday night.”

On Friday, a Palestinian attacker shot dead seven people near a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem before being fatally shot.

In response to the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans on Saturday to make it easier for Israelis to get firearms, a move seen as “collective punishment” and one that could further increase the violence.

Israel also launched multiple air attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip on Friday. Local sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera that Israeli warplanes had hit the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the territory, with at least 13 attacks in the early hours of Friday.

The Israeli army said the air attacks on Gaza – one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 2.1 million residents – followed after two rockets were fired towards Israel at about midnight (22:00 GMT).

Read original article here

World

Iran says drone attack targets defense facility in Isfahan

Leave a comment

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the country’s northwest and a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing two people.

However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that country’s embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing “minor damage” to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

Iranian state television’s English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Iran’s capital. A small crowd stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building.

“Oh my God! That was a drone, wasn’t it?” the man filming shouts. “Yeah, it was a drone.”

Those there fled after the strike.

That footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a site on Minoo Street in northwestern Isfahan that’s near a shopping center that includes a carpet and an electronics store.

Iranian defense and nuclear sites increasingly find themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country’s cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations as well remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing a Defense Ministry or paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a “workshop,” without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

The attack comes after Iran’s Intelligence Ministry in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan. A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran and now lives in Iraq, that they planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

Activists say Iranian state TV has aired hundreds of coerced confessions over the last decade. Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.

Separately, Iran’s state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. Tabriz is some 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.

State TV also said the magnitude-5.9 earthquake killed two people and injured some 664 more in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran’s theocratic government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic accord with world powers. Nationwide protests have shaken the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman detained by the country’s morality police. Its rial currency has plummeted to new lows against the U.S. dollar.

Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021 assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top military nuclear scientist.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently re-entered the premiership, long has considered Iran to be the biggest threat his nation faces.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Iran as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometer (27-mile) border with landlocked Armenia — something that could be threatened if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through warfare.

Iran in October launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which has infuriated Iranian hard-liners, and has purchased Israeli-made drones for its military.

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.

Read original article here

World

Iran earthquake kills 2, injures hundreds

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

At least two people were killed, and more than 500 injured when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck Iran on Saturday night local time.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the earthquake hit the city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province, in northwest Iran, around 9:44 p.m. local time, citing the Iranian Seismological Center in Tehran.

At least 580 people were injured and 70 villages damaged, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported. It said that relief and damage assessment operations are underway.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also registered the quake as 5.9 magnitude.

“The tremor was so strong that it was felt in many regions of West Azerbaijan Province, causing concern among residents. It was also felt in several cities, including the provincial capital of Tabriz in the neighboring province of East Azerbaijan,” IRNA reported.

Read original article here

World

Iran thwarts drone attacks on Isfahan military site | Military News

Leave a comment

Iranian defence ministry says a loud blast heard in Isfahan was caused by ‘unsuccessful’ drone attacks.

Iran’s defence ministry has reported several drone attacks on a military plant in the country’s central city of Isfahan.

The attacks were “unsuccessful” and there were no casualties, the ministry said in a statement early on Sunday.

“One of [the drones] was hit by the … air defence and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up,” said the statement carried by the state news agency, IRNA. “Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop’s roof,” it said.

The ministry did not say who was suspected of carrying out the attack.

The statement came shortly after Iranian media reported a loud blast in Isfahan.

News agencies published a video showing a flash of light at the plant, said to be an ammunitions factory, and footage of emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the plant.

The ministry said the attack “has not affected our installations and mission … and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country’s progress”.

Reports of the drone attacks in Isfahan also came as Iran’s state TV also said a fire had broken out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz.

It said the cause was not yet known as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze.

There have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past few years.

They come amid a long-running shadow war between Iran and Israel.

The two countries are at loggerheads over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Israel says Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.

In July last year, Iran said it had arrested a sabotage team made up of Kurdish fighters working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” defence industry centre in Isfahan.

Iran also blamed Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in 2020, as well as an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility in April 2021 that damaged its centrifuges.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.

Read original article here

World

Jerusalem: Two wounded in shooting, police say, after synagogue attack leaves seven dead

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Two people were wounded in a shooting attack in Jerusalem on Saturday, emergency services say, the day after a gunman killed at least seven people near a synagogue in the city.

The two men injured in the City of David area of Jerusalem on Saturday, one aged 22 and one in his 40s, are father and son, according to police. A 13-year-old who police say shot and wounded the pair was “neutralized and injured” by “two passers-by carrying licensed weapons.”

Tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories remain high after Friday’s shooting, which police chief Yaakov Shabtai described as “one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years.” The shooter in that attack was also later killed by police forces, according to police.

“As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury,” police said.

Five of the shooting victims were pronounced dead at the scene, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency rescue service said: four men and a woman. Five people were transported to hospitals, where another man and woman were declared dead. Among the wounded is a 15-year-old boy, the MDA said.

The attack occurred around 8:15 p.m. local time on Friday, near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street, according to a police statement.

Shabtai said the gunman “started shooting at anyone that was in his way. He got in his car and started a killing spree with a pistol at short range.” He then fled the scene in a vehicle and was killed after a shootout with police forces, police said.

Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, saying in a statement that he appeared to have acted alone. East Jerusalem is a predominantly Palestinian area of the city, which was captured by Israel in 1967.

Referring to Saturday’s attack, a community leader said the 13-year-old suspected shooter knew a 16-year-old Palestinian who died of gunshot wounds a day earlier. Jawad Siam, director of the Silwanic non-profilt organization in East Jerusalem, told CNN the suspect’s family denied their 13-year-old son was responsible for the Saturday attack, which happened close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Silwan, East Jerusalem.

According to Siam, the 13-year-old suspect was a neighbor of a 16-year-old Palestinian who died of gunshot wounds in hospital overnight Friday. The 16-year-old was shot Wednesday by Israeli police.

Of the two wounded Saturday, the 22-year-old man is now in a serious but stable condition, anesthetized and ventilated in the intensive care unit, while his 47-year-old father is in a moderate and stable condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people against revenge attacks on Friday night. “I call on the people not to take the law into their own hands. For that purpose we have an army, police and security forces. They act and will act according to the cabinet instructions,” he said.

Meanwhile, the European Union on Saturday urged Israel to only use lethal force as a “last resort.”

“The European Union fully recognises Israel’s legitimate security concerns, as evidenced by the latest terrorist attacks, but it has to be stressed that lethal force must only be used as a last resort when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said Saturday in a press release.

Borrell also stressed that the bloc is “very concerned by the heightened tensions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.”

“We call on both parties to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation and to restart security coordination, which is vital to prevent further acts of violence,” he concluded.

Friday’s incident came one day after the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and wounded several others in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, prompting the Palestinian Authority to suspend security coordination with Israel. A tenth Palestinian was killed that day in what Israel Police called a “violent disturbance” near Jerusalem.

Overnight, on Friday morning local time, Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza strip after rockets were fired towards Israel.

Israel’s controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the scene of the attack on Friday evening, telling people who were chanting angrily that “it cannot continue like this.”

“I can tell you, [the people chanting] you are right. The burden is on us. It cannot continue like this,” Ben Gvir, who also leads the far-right Jewish Power party, said.

Some people on the scene were chanting support for Ben Gvir, saying “You are our voice, we support you.”

CNN’s Hadas Gold and team, who were also at the scene of Friday night’s shooting, heard what sounded like celebratory gunfire and car horns honking from the nearby predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

The White House condemned the “heinous terror attack” at a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday and said the United States government has extended its “full support” to Israel, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The US State Department also condemned the “apparent terrorist attack” in Jerusalem “in the strongest terms.”

“This is absolutely horrific,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. “Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those killed and injured in this heinous act of violence.”

Patel said no change to the schedule of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank was expected.

US second gentleman Doug Emhoff joined the Biden administration in denouncing the mass shooting on Friday that killed at least seven people. “This is a terror attack. This is murder,” Emhoff said to reporters after touring the Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory in Krakow, Poland.

“This is something that is horrible. These were people who were just praying in a temple, living their everyday lives, and were murdered in cold blood and it’s not acceptable.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky added his voice to those condemning the deadly shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday, saying that one of those killed in the attack was a Ukrainian national.

“We share (Israel’s) pain after the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. Among the victims is a (Ukrainian) woman. Sincere condolences to the victims’ families. The crimes were cynically committed on the Intl Holocaust Remembrance Day. Terror must have no place in today’s world. Neither in (Israel) nor in (Ukraine),” Zelensky said in a tweet.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates called for an end to escalation in tensions.

In a statement released on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned “the situation between Palestinians and Israelis will slide into further serious escalation,” and the “Kingdom condemns all targeting of civilians, stressing the need to de-escalate, revive the peace process and end the occupation.”

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also warned of the “severe risks of the ongoing escalation” between Israel and Palestine, calling for “provocative measures in order to avoid falling into a vicious circle of violence that worsens the political and humanitarian situations and undermines de-escalation efforts and all chances of reviving the peace process.”

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation condemned and rejected “all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and principles.”

Egypt and the UAE have normalized ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia has not.

France, Germany and the UK also condemned the shooting. “I am appalled by reports of the terrible attack in Neve Yaakov tonight. Attacking worshippers at a synagogue on Erev Shabat is a particularly horrific act of terrorism. The UK stands with Israel,” Neil Wigan, the British ambassador in Israel wrote on Twitter.

The French embassy in Israel tweeted that the incident was “all the more despicable as it was committed on this day of international remembrance of the Holocaust.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemned Friday’s deadly attack, his spokesman said.

“It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship, and on the very day we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” he said.

Guterres also expressed worry “about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory,” urging all “to exercise utmost restraint.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered their condolences to the victims’ families following the two attacks. Scholz said Saturday that he was “deeply shocked” by the “terrible” attacks in Jerusalem in the past 24 hours.

Russia on Saturday urged all parties to show “maximum restraint” after the wave of deadly violence. “We perceive this development of events with deep concern. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and prevent further escalation of tension,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Read original article here

World

Jerusalem synagogue attack leaves at least seven dead, Israeli police say

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Israeli police say at least seven people were killed and three were injured in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday amid high tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Friday’s shooter was also later killed by police forces, according to police, in what police chief Yaakov Shabtai described as “one of the worst terror attacks in the past few years.”

“As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury,” police said.

Five of the shooting victims were pronounced dead at the scene, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency rescue service said: four men and a woman. Five people were transported to hospitals, where another man and woman were declared dead.

Among the wounded is a 15-year-old boy, the MDA said.

The attack occurred around 8:15 p.m. local time, near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street, according to a police statement.

Shabtai said the gunman “started shooting at anyone that was in his way. He got in his car and started a killing spree with a pistol at short range.” He then fled the scene in a vehicle and was killed after a shootout with police forces, police said.

Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, saying in a statement that he appeared to have acted alone. East Jerusalem is a predominantly Palestinian area of the city, which was captured by Israel in 1967.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people against revenge attacks on Friday night. “I call on the people not to take the law into their own hands. For that purpose we have an army, police and security forces. They act and will act according to the cabinet instructions,” he said.

The incident comes one day after the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records.

On Thursday, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and wounded several others in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, prompting the Palestinian Authority to suspend security coordination with Israel. A tenth Palestinian was killed that day in what Israel Police called a “violent disturbance” near Jerusalem.

Overnight, on Friday morning local time, Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza strip after rockets were fired towards Israel.

Israel’s controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the scene of the attack on Friday evening, telling people who were chanting angrily that “it cannot continue like this.”

“I can tell you, [the people chanting] you are right. The burden is on us. It cannot continue like this,” Ben Gvir, who also leads the far-right Jewish Power party, said.

Some people on the scene were chanting support for Ben Gvir, saying “You are our voice, we support you.”

CNN’s Hadas Gold and team, who were also at the scene of Friday night’s shooting, heard what sounded like celebratory gunfire and car horns honking from the nearby predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

The White House condemned the “heinous terror attack” at a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday and said the United States government has extended its “full support” to Israel, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The US State Department also condemned the “apparent terrorist attack” in Jerusalem “in the strongest terms.”

“This is absolutely horrific,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. “Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those killed and injured in this heinous act of violence.”

Patel said no change to the schedule of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming trip to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank was expected.

The European Union, France and the UK also condemned the shooting.

“I am appalled by reports of the terrible attack in Neve Yaakov tonight. Attacking worshippers at a synagogue on Erev Shabat is a particularly horrific act of terrorism. The UK stands with Israel,” Neil Wigan, the British ambassador in Israel wrote on Twitter.

The EU ambassador to Israel, Dimiter Tzantchev, also condemned the “senseless violence,” saying in his tweet, “Terror is never the answer.”

And the French embassy in Israel tweeted that the incident was “all the more despicable as it was committed on this day of international remembrance of the Holocaust.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also condemned Friday’s deadly attack, his spokesman said.

“It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship, and on the very day we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” he said.

Guterres also expressed worry “about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory,” urging all “to exercise utmost restraint.”

Read original article here