
Israeli Left-wing Leader Calls for Immediate End to Gaza War
Israeli left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government no longer represented the majority of Israelis, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, according to Arab News.
'Today the government of Israel doesn't represent the vast majority of Israelis,' Golan said.
He added that after over 20 months of fighting, Israel 'should end the war as soon as possible'.
Golan also stated that Netanyahu's government — one of the most right-wing in Israel's history – represented a threat to democracy.
'The vast majority wants to keep Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and at the same time a free, egalitarian and democratic state,' Golan said.
In this regard, he said he represents those 'who want to save Israeli democracy… from a corrupted future' and from the 'messianic-like and nationalistic and extremist vision of a very small faction in the Israeli society'.
As for the ongoing war on Gaza, Golan said 'we can reach a hostages deal in a matter of days.'
'I believe that by ending the war and freeing the hostages, we will be able to build an alternative to Hamas inside the Gaza Strip,' he added.
Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 118,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe
LONDON: Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in European cities Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation. In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves. In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the center of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures. And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organizers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire. There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza. This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including 'Stop arming Israel' and 'No war on Iran' as they marched in the sweltering heat. 'It's important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,' said 34-year-old Harry Baker. 'I don't have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation.' This was his third pro-Palestinian protest, he added. Saturday's marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel's strikes against Iran. Tehran said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies. Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures. One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was 'scared.' 'I'm worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it's still my country. I'm scared,' she said. Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade. Gaza's civil defense agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites. 'People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That's where the genocide is happening,' said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus. In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting 'Germany finances, Israel bombs.' 'You can't sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,' said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name. For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the 'genocide currently taking place' and the 'dirty work' being done by the German government. In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The rally there was called by organizations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation. Slogans included 'Stop the occupation,' 'Stop the starvation, stop the violence,' and 'Right to self-determination.' Some marchers chanted: 'We are all the children of Gaza.' The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry. Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.


Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Discrimination in East Jerusalem
Periods of war are exceptional times, during which it is perfectly understandable that governments would place certain restrictions on the population. When there is danger to the public from rockets, drones or flying debris, officials understandably prefer that large gatherings be avoided. In normal emergencies, in normal countries, this is reasonable and acceptable. But in the case of East Jerusalem, the Israeli government takes the issue to an exaggerated, maximum degree. It uses the war situation to punish the Palestinian population, using the justification that they are simply trying to protect them. The Old City of Jerusalem is home to more than 30,000 Palestinians. It is also the main shopping area for much of the city as a whole, the population of which numbers over 300,000. The Old City is also home to the cradles of world religions. While the Israeli-initiated war on Iran has raged this past week, Israel unilaterally closed the Old City of Jerusalem to everyone except those who can prove, with ID cards, that they have a local address. In addition, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were closed by Israeli security orders. On the surface, these might appear to be prudent and natural actions to protect the population. But when one realizes that other large shopping areas, such as West Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda, have remained open, it becomes clear that this is a punitive measure and not a genuine effort to protect people. Regarding the holy places, again, if the policy had been applied to all religious sites, one would concede that it was a decision reached out of caution. But when it becomes clear that the Buraq Wall, also known as the Western Wall, which is a holy site to Jews, has remained open during this period (although few people have visited it), one concludes that the closure of the other sites is not a simple security decision but an unacceptable, prejudicial action based on ethnic and religious discrimination. Furthermore, Israeli security officials, using the war-like atmosphere as an excuse, have been bullying local muezzins (those who call Muslims to prayer) to considerably reduce the volume of their daily calls or even stop them altogether. The Palestinians of Jerusalem have no one to defend them. Daoud Kuttab In addition to the closures of public spaces and the discrimination against the entire Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli police have been acting in a discriminatory manner against pedestrians. Anyone spotted filming with a cellphone is harassed and ordered to surrender the device so that officers can check whether they have liked any social media posts that might be deemed to indicate support for Iran. In one incident, a Palestinian child and a young man were shot in the A-Tur neighborhood of the city. The Palestinians of Jerusalem, unfortunately, have no one to defend them, or to plead with the government that collects their taxes to provide compensation for the merchants of the Old City for the large losses they are suffering, or at least to suspend the Arnona municipal property tax. Since the sudden death of Faisal Al-Husseini in Kuwait in 2001, Palestinians in Jerusalem have not been able to organize and unite under any single leader or spokesperson, and so there has been no representative or leadership in a position to lobby for them. Of course, the Israelis make the most of this leaderless reality for Palestinians in the city, and fight tooth and nail against any nationalist efforts in Jerusalem. Orient House, which served as the headquarters for Al-Husseini and his Arab Studies Society, was seized by Israeli authorities following his death and has remained closed for more than two decades as a result of a recurring six-month order. Other local organizations, including the chamber of commerce and the tourism union, are also regularly closed. Cultural centers that attempt to organize any public events that Israeli authorities deem to have nationalistic undertones or to be connected, directly or indirectly, with the Palestinian government in Ramallah are automatically shut down by order of the Israeli police. Even events such as a children's puppet festival at the Hakawati Theatre, a screening of a documentary about the drug problem East Jerusalemites are facing, or a graduation ceremony sponsored by a local club, have been suddenly canceled on the orders of the Israeli army, using nearly century-old British Mandate emergency regulations. Despite all of these concerted Israeli efforts, and following a public protest in the form of a statement issued by a nongovernmental organization in Jerusalem criticizing the closure of the holy sites, on Thursday the Israelis finally permitted Muslim worshippers to attend prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, albeit a mere 450 of them. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre also finally reopened on Tuesday to a handful of local Christian worshippers, and the Catholic Latin Patriarch was allowed to hold religious ceremonies, though they were attended by only a few. While the situation has slowly, through the force of public pressure, started to return somewhat to normal, there is no doubt that the ways in which Israeli authorities deal with the Palestinians of Jerusalem and the Jewish Israelis of Jerusalem are totally different.


Leaders
5 hours ago
- Leaders
Israel Leading Middle East to ‘Total Disaster': Turkish FM
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel on Saturday of pushing the Middle East towards the brink of a 'total disaster' by attacking Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, according to Arab News. 'Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster,' Fidan said. OIC Summit in Istanbul Fidan's remarks came during the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul held to discuss Israel's war against Iran and related regional security issues. 'There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem,' Fidan said. He also described Israel's strikes against Iran as an 'unlimited aggression.' Moreover, he urged for an immediate end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, warning that it 'would further jeopardize regional and global security.' Unconditional Support Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Western leaders of unconditionally supporting Israel. Erdogan also stated that Turkey would never allow borders in the Middle East to be redrawn 'in blood.' 'It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel's banditry — not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,' he told the OIC's 57 member countries. Harmful Impacts On Friday, Erdogan warned that the ongoing Israeli Iranian tensions could cause a surge in migration and have harmful impacts on Europe and the region, according to Al Arabiya. In a phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Erdogan said that 'negotiations' was the solution to the nuclear disagreements with Iran. 'The spiral of violence triggered bky Israel's attacks could harm the region and Europe in terms of migration and the possibility of nuclear leakage,' he said. He also noted that the ongoing conflict had 'raised the threat to regional security to the highest level,' expressing that Turkey is making efforts to put an end to the Israeli-Iranian strikes. Israel-Iran War On June 13, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran under the name of Operation Rising Lion. The military campaign targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists. As a response, Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles against Israel and targeted Tel Aviv. Israel also killed three more Iranian nuclear scientists, bringing the total number of scientists slain to nine, Gulf News reported. Currently, both countries are trading missiles and attacks amid intensifying efforts to halt the conflict. Related Topics: Iraqi Cities Protest against Israel's War on Iran Netanyahu Uses Iran Conflict to Stay in Office Forever: Former US President Clinton Iran-Israel Conflict Enters 2nd Week with Dim Prospects for Diplomacy Short link : Post Views: 15