Human Rights

Palestine’s top political groups Fatah and Hamas on Wednesday slammed the UAE-Israel deal as a “stab in the back and an obliteration of the [Palestinian] cause,” Anadolu reports.

20 Aug 2020; MEMO: Hundreds of Palestinians attended in a public rally where figures from the two main groups reaffirmed their opposition to the UAE’s move to normalize ties with Israel.

20 Aug 2020; MEMO: Consultant paediatrician and Chairman of the Gaza Neonatal Network (GNN) Dr Nabil Al-Baraqoun warned on Wednesday that the frequent electricity outages threaten the lives of 120 newborn babies currently being taken care of in intensive care incubators in Gazan hospitals.

20 Aug 2020; MEMO: Saudi Arabia hailed on Wednesday the controversial UAE-Israel normalisation deal, describing it as as a potential contribution to peace in the region, Anadolu Agency reported.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud expressed: “Any efforts that promote peace in the region and that result in holding back the threat of annexation could be viewed as positive.”

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the submission of activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan that the arguments on quantum of sentence in the contempt proceedings in which he has been held guilty be heard by another top court bench.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra gave assurance to Bhushan that no punishment will be acted upon till his review against the order convicting him in the case will be decided.

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted multi-city searches in connection with a money laundering case filed against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, trusts linked to the Jamaat and others, officials said.

They said various premises in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and a few other locations are being raided to collect evidence.

19 Aug 2020; MEMO: The only electricity plant in the Gaza Strip shut down yesterday after running out of fuel banned from entering the besieged enclave by the Israeli occupation, Gaza Electricity Distribution Company announced.

“The power plant has shut down completely,” the company said in a brief statement.

Israel banned fuel imports into Gaza as part of punitive measures over the launching incendiary balloons from the Strip.

19 Aug 2020; MEMO: Former US envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, said yesterday that Israel’s annexation plans were suspended, not cancelled, Israeli media reported.

“I think it’s important to look at the word that was chosen by the three parties and the official statement, which is the word ‘suspend’,” Greenblatt was reported by Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post as saying.

19 Aug 2020; MEMO: Some 37 Kuwaiti MPs yesterday called on their government to affirm its position against normalising relations with Israel.

In a statement, the MPs expressed their “unyielding and firm support for the Palestinian people,” recalling parliament’s “steady and consistent position against normalisation [with Israel] in all its forms “.

The statement continued: “The Kuwaiti people from all sects will not accept their government’s unwillingness to stand for the cause of Arabs and early Muslim.”

19 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israeli prison services sent Sheikh Raed Salah to solitary confinement in Ashkelon Prison, Palestinian sources in Israel told Quds Press yesterday.

Reporting lawyers who spoke with Israeli prison officials, Quds Press said that Salah was moved from Al Jalama Prison to solitary confinement in Ashkelon Prison.

His defence lawyers said they expected him to be put in solitary.

19 Aug 2020; MEMO: Kuwait’s support for Palestinians is “not very constrictive”, Anadolu reported the senior adviser to US President Donald Trump saying yesterday.

During a briefing with reporters, Jared Kushner denied that the US administration is pressuring Kuwait and other Gulf states to normalise relations with Israel, following a similar move by the UAE.