Category: 2. Middle East

Pro-Palestinian activists aboard a boat damaged in an alleged Israeli drone strike have allowed a Maltese surveyor to inspect the vessel and six crew members have agreed to disembark, Malta’s premier told parliament Monday.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that Malta could tow the stricken Conscience to port for repairs once a maritime expert has been allowed to board the ship and study the results of Friday’s alleged attack.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition had hoped to pick up supporters,…

A deadly shooting Monday at a Damascus club, days after another attack on the capital’s nightlife, has sparked fears, adding to concerns that personal freedoms may be restricted under Syria’s Islamist authorities.

Since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the international community has been pressing the new authorities to respect personal freedoms, protect minorities and include all components of society in its transition.

The perpetrators of Monday’s shooting at the…

Israel’s plan for the “conquest” of Gaza has sparked renewed fears, but for many of the territory’s residents, the most immediate threat to their lives remains the spectre of famine amid a months-long Israeli blockade.

The plan to expand military operations, approved by Israel’s security cabinet overnight, includes holding territories in the besieged Gaza Strip and moving the population south “for their protection”, an Israeli official said.

But Gaza residents told AFP that they did not expect…

Demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in London on Monday to protest Israel’s attacks on Syria and the occupation of the Golan Heights, Anadolu Agency reports.

Organized by the Syrian Solidarity Campaign, the protest drew a large crowd calling for an end to what they described as violations of Syrian sovereignty and international law.

The Syrian Solidarity Campaign stated that since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has launched nearly 1,000 air…

The Israeli army demolished 152 Palestinian structures, including dozens of homes, in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem last month, Palestinian figures showed on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The demolished buildings included 96 inhabited houses, 10 uninhabited houses, and 34 agricultural facilities, the official Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a report.

Moayad Shaaban, head of the commission, said Israeli authorities also issued 46…

The goal of Israel’s renewed onslaught is the “complete occupation of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar said on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“Such a move endangers those who remain in captivity,” Zohar, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, told the public broadcaster KAN. “But there is no choice left.”

The Israeli minister claimed that the ongoing military assault will force the Palestinian group Hamas…

The Israeli army on Monday released 10 more Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, who were detained during the Israeli genocidal war in the enclave, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Hamas-run Prisoners’ Media Office said the 10 freed Palestinians were transferred from the Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah.

The freed Palestinians are in “severe” health condition, the office said.

According…

Spain will contribute an additional €500,000 (over $560,000) to support UN investigations into human rights violations and possible war crimes committed in Gaza, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced Monday, Anadolu reports.

“With the aim of ending these violations of international law and with the desire to ensure accountability, I announce that we will support the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in increasing its investigative…