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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...

Over 70 Rohingya dead or missing after boat capsizes off Indonesia's Aceh

More than 70 Rohingya are "presumed dead or missing" after a boat they were on capsized off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, while 75 have been rescued, the UNHCR refugee agency said on Friday. The UNHCR said in a joint statement with the International Organization for Migration that if the death toll was confirmed, it would be the biggest loss of life so far this year. The alert was raised on Wednesday when fishermen rescued six of the migrants. A fishing community in Aceh said they had been standing on the hull of the boat after it capsized due to high tides. For years, Rohingya have left Buddhist-majority Myanmar where they are generally regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia, denied citizenship and subjected to abuse. More than 2,300 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia last year, UNHCR data showed, surpassing the number of arrivals in the previous four years combined. The 2023 toll of at least 569 Rohingya dead or missing while trying to flee Myanmar or Bangladesh was the highest since 2014, the UNHCR said in January. Babar Baloch, a UNHCR Asia spokesperson, told Reuters on Friday there had been 151 people on this latest boat, some 75 of whom have been evacuated by local authorities, while the rest were "presumed dead or missing". Faisal Rahman, UNHCR's protection associate in Aceh, told Reuters the surviving Rohingya were in a good condition and were staying at a Red Cross building in West Aceh. The immigration agency in Aceh did not respond to a request for comment.

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