Skip to main content

Israeli occupier attacks threaten historic Christian presence in West Bank town

In Taybeh, one of the few Palestinian communities with a Christian majority in the occupied West Bank, fears are growing that Israeli occupier attacks on farmland and property could push more families to emigrate, threatening the town’s demographic character and historic Christian presence. Local officials and clergy warned of the impact of rising violence by Israeli occupiers, which has coincided with worsening living and economic conditions in the town. Taybeh, east of Ramallah, is one of the few Palestinian towns in the West Bank that still has a Christian majority, according to church and local accounts. Residents say the town’s Christian roots go back thousands of years. Residents say the attacks have deepened fears in the town, even as they stress their determination to remain on their land. Also Read: Pakistan raises red flag over illegal settlements in West Bank, calls for Israel accountability In recent years, Israeli occupiers have established several ill...
Post a Comment

Seven students arrested in IIOJK for ‘celebrating’ India’s World Cup defeat

Police in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have arrested seven university students under tough anti-terrorism laws for alleged intimidation after they celebrated Australia's victory over India in the Cricket World Cup final. Police said Tuesday that the students were arrested following "anti-India sloganeering and intimidation of others who did not agree with them" after the match. Hosts India were favourites to capture the one-day cricket crown in the November 19 final but they lost to Australia in a six-wicket defeat. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the high-altitude territory in full, but administering separate portions of it. Freedom fighters have waged an insurgency in IIOJK since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. The conflict has left tens of thousands dead. Police said the Kashmiri students at an agriculture university were arrested last week after a complaint filed by another student, who came from outside the territory. Also read: Australian cricketer Mitchell Marsh booked for 'offending Indian fans' "They started abusing me and targeting me for being supporter of my country and also threatened me to shut up otherwise I would be shooted (sic)," the police case file seen by AFP notes, quoting the complainant. Police charged the seven students under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terrorism law, as well as other sections of the penal code. Many people in IIOJK support any cricket team playing against India – including arch-rival Pakistan – and fireworks were set off in the main city Srinagar to celebrate Australia's victory. The arrests were criticised by Mehbooba Mufti, Kashmir's former chief minister. "Why is there so much fear, restlessness and paranoia only because some students celebrated Australia's victory?" Mufti told reporters on Tuesday. "You... want to destroy their lives for cheering the team of their choice and for expressing happiness when that team plays well. I condemn it," she said. India has used the vaguely worded UAPA legislation against thousands of Kashmiri residents, journalists and dissidents, according to activists. It allows people to be held for six months – often rolled over – without being charged, and bail is virtually impossible. In 2021, police detained six residents and opened an investigation under UAPA against several hundred students in the territory who celebrated when Pakistan defeated India in a high-octane T20 World Cup cricket match in Dubai. Police in Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Tuesday issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, to explain the context of the recent arrests, which they claimed were not about "airing personal preference of a particular sporting team". Instead, it was "about terrorising others who may be nourishing pro-India feelings or anti-Pakistan feelings or disagreeing", it said.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/UajSp2k
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian opposition supporters detained ahead of protest at Modi's home

Police in the Indian capital detained dozens of opposition supporters on Tuesday as they attempted to march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to protest against last week's arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, a key opposition leader whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has governed the national capital territory for a decade, was arrested by the financial crime-fighting agency on corruption charges relating to the city's liquor policy, weeks before India begins voting in general elections on April 19. He was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate until March 28, with the lawyer for the agency arguing he was the "kingpin" in the case and needed to be interrogated. Kejriwal's party, all of whose main leaders are now imprisoned in connection with the case, says he has been "falsely arrested" in a "fabricated case". The federal government and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny political interfere...
Post a Comment
Read more