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Tag: Israel

  • Khan denies contacting Malik Riaz to patch up with Asif Zardari

    Khan denies contacting Malik Riaz to patch up with Asif Zardari

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan denied contacting property tycoon Malik Riaz for reconciliation with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

    Khan’s comments come in relevance to an alleged telephonic conversation that was leaked on social media. In the audio conversation, Malik Riaz can be heard saying that Khan wants a patch up with Zardari. Riaz said, “Aaj usnay bohot hee message kiye hain mujhe. [He sent many texts to me today.]” Zardari responds that it is “impossible” now.

    Khan’s denial came while speaking to digital journalists in Peshawar.

    Pressure to recognise Israel

    Khan revealed that when he was in power, there was “a lot of pressure” on his government to accept Isreal as a sovereign state.

    “We were sent a message that you should think about your country but at this time, I cannot reveal who had sent the message to us,” said Khan.

    Khan criticised the government and alleged that it was going to recognise Israel after a Pakistani expatriate delegation living in the United States (US) visited Israel.

    No need for PTI MNAs to verify their resignations

    On the matter of PTI members of the National Assembly’s (MNAs) resignations, Khan said they have resigned from their posts, and there was no need for them to verify their resignations.

    “We had announced in front of the National Assembly’s speaker that we have resigned. There is no need for a member to verify their resignation individually […] the day we come back to the assembly, it will mean that we have accepted this imported government,” said Khan.

    Only the army and the PTI can keep Pakistan intact

    Speaking about the appointment of the army chief, Khan said he did not know about the candidates nor did he think about the procedure. He claimed there were “individuals within institutions” who had “opinions on certain issues”. However, he did not name the individuals.

    “Only the army and the PTI can keep Pakistan intact,” he said.

  • Khan says govt ‘to recognise Israel’, Israel’s president praises Pakistani delegation

    Khan says govt ‘to recognise Israel’, Israel’s president praises Pakistani delegation

    Israel President Isaac Herzog has said that he had had an “amazing experience” while meeting a Pakistan expatriate delegation living in the United States (US). Herzog referred to this visit as an example that showed him “great change” towards Israel’s ties with the Muslim world.

    Herzog said he received a delegation of Pakistani expats who lived in the US “together with other members of other countries in their region”.

    No change in govt’s policy on Israel: Foreign Office

    However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan categorically rejected the notion of any delegation from Pakistan visiting Israel.

    “The reported visit in question was organised by a foreign NGO that is not based in Pakistan,” the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.

    “Pakistan’s position on the Palestinian issue is clear and unambiguous. There is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is a complete national consensus.”

    The statement further added that Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination. 

    “The establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant UN and OIC resolutions, is imperative for just and lasting peace in the region,” the statement added. 

    Govt going to accept Israel: Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan criticised the sitting government as the Pakistani expats delegation visited Israel. More criticism was hurled their way after Herzog praised the Pakistani-American delegation.

    Khan on Sunday criticising the government and alleged that it was going to recognise Israel.

    “This government will strike a deal with India to sell the people of Kashmir, and to top it off, they are also going to accept Israel,” he said while addressing the PTI workers’ convention in Charsadda.

    There was no Pakistan delegation visiting Israel: Anila Ali

    A 15-member delegation visited Israel to promote interfaith harmony. The trip was organised by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Council and an NGO called Sharaka. Founder of the American Muslim and Multifaith Women Empowerment Council, Anila Ali, led the delegation.

    After Khan’s allegations, Anila tweeted: There was no #Pakistan delegation visiting #Israel.

    Pakistan does not recognise the state of Israel: Ahsan Iqbal

    Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal clarified no official or semi-official delegation from Pakistan met the Israeli president.

    “The participants in this delegation were Pakistani-Americans who have already provided an explanation in this regard,” the planning minister said in a tweet.

    Iqbal said the policy of the Government of Pakistan is clear — it does not recognise the state of Israel. “All our sympathies lie with brothers and sisters of Palestine.”

    Israeli President received a delegation of Pakistani expats

    “I must say this was an amazing experience. We haven’t had a group of Pakistani leaders in Israel in such scope. And that all stems from the Abraham Accords [a deal brokered by the United States in 2020 which saw normalisation of relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain], meaning Jews and Muslims can dwell together in the region.”

    Israeli President Isaac was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Pakistan refused to accept Israel as a sovereign state because of the Palestine-Israel conflict, and every government that came to power has endorsed this stance. Speculations were being created that the new government was in a way ready to recognise Israel as a sovereign state.

  • Israeli President visits Turkey to mend ties, Turkey calls it a ‘turning point’

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday for a one-day rare visit to Turkey in an effort to mend fractured ties between the two countries.

    Erdogan described the Israeli president’s visit as “historic” and “a turning point” in Turkish-Israeli relations. He said the country is ready to cooperate with Israel in the energy sector, revealing that the Turkish foreign and energy ministers will soon visit Israel.

    In a statement in Hebrew, Herzog said it is a great honour for both countries to lay the foundations of developing friendly relations between them.

    It is pertinent to mention that Ankara has close ties with Hamas. Despite the rare visit, Turkey has ruled out abandoning its commitment to supporting Palestinian statehood.

    Talking about Palestine, Erdogan said, “I underlined the importance we attach to the historical status of Jerusalem and the preservation of the religious identity and sanctity of Masjid Aqsa.” In response, the Israeli president said, “We must agree in advance that we will not agree on everything, that is the nature of relations with a past as rich as ours.”

    This is the first visit of the Israeli president to Ankara since 2007. In 2018, Ankara recalled its diplomats and ordered Israel’s envoy out of the country.

    The visit was made after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s interview in which he called Israel a “potential ally” of the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a “potential ally” of Riyadh, in an interview with a United States (US) monthly magazine, The Atlantic.

    “But we have to solve some issues before we get to that,” he added.

    “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” the prince said. Talking about the Palestine-Israel issue, he said that Riyadh hopes that the conflict between them is solved.

    Interestingly, the prince also opened up about Iran, he said, “They are neighbours. Neighbours forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us.”

    “Hopefully, we can reach a position that’s good for both countries and is going to create a brighter future for them and Iran,” he added.

    About the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, the prince said that he was unfairly blamed for it.

    “Why would I do it?” he asked, saying that accusations that he ordered the killing “hurt me a lot”. He claimed that he never read a Khashoggi article in his life.

    “In any case, if that’s the way we did things, Khashoggi would not even be among the top 1,000 people on the list,” added the prince.

    The Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but the two countries are believed to have ties. In 2020, Israel’s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia raised speculations.

    Under Mohammed bin Salman, a series of progressive developments have been made in Saudi Arabia, women were allowed to drive for the first time in 2018 in the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • Turkish President Erdogan says open to fix ties with Israel

    Turkish President Erdogan says open to fix ties with Israel

    After years of a fraught relationship, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated mending ties with Israel.

    A joint pipeline to bring eastern Mediterranean Sea gas to Europe was started by Turkey’s rival Greece and Israel which was backed by then-President Donald Trump’s administration. At the time, Turkey strongly opposed the project but last week it was reported that Washington no longer backed the pipeline project.

    Following this, Erdogan said he was in talks with Israel on an old idea to bring Mediterranean gas to European clients via Turkey. “We can still do that,” he said.

    This is not the first time that Turkey has expressed the desire to be on good ties with Israel. In 2020, the President said the country would like to have better ties with Israel but it is impossible to accept their Palestine policies.

    In recent years, Ankara has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians.

    Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu have often exchanged angry remarks, but both countries continue to trade with one another.

  • India’s Harnaaz Sandhu becomes Miss Universe amidst controversies

    India’s Harnaaz Sandhu becomes Miss Universe amidst controversies

    Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu was given the title of Miss Universe 2021 in the 70th edition of the annual pageant, held in Eilat, Israel on Monday. Several participants took part in the event despite the pressure to boycott in support of Palestinians. This is the first time the pageant was held in Israel. The event has faced several complications due to the covid pandemic as well.

    Nadia Ferreira from Paraguay took the first runner-up position and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane filled the second-runner up spot.

    Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts of South Africa had stressed upon its participant to stay away from Eilat due to “atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians.”

    South Africa also withdrew their support from its participant Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane but she took part in the event.

    The grandson of Nelson Mandela, Mandla Mandela also supported the call to boycott the annual pageant.

    Miss Universe 2017, Sarah Idan, who belong to Iraq tweeted, “All I can say is how dare you? How dare you as a man try to tell an organization for women, and women empowerment what to do.”

    The other groups for Palestinian advocacy also requested to avoid the event to voice out the atrocities of Israel against Palestine.

    The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote: “We urge all participants to withdraw, to avoid complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime and its violation of Palestinian human rights.”

    Contestants from Muslim majority countries also participated in the pageant which includes Morocco and Bahrain who have normalized their diplomatic ties with Israel last year.

    Miss Universe 2020, Andrea Meza from Mexico also emphasised that the annual pageant should be away from politics and religion. She said that it is only for women and what they can contribute to society.

    Muslim majority, Malaysia and Indonesia nations which have no diplomatic ties with Israel, did not send their participants due to complications of the covid pandemic and not because of any political grounds.

    The United Arab Emirates, UAE which also normalised the ties with Israel last year has not sent its contestant due to time constraints in the selection of a national winner.

    Participants of the pageant have also faced criticism on cultural appropriation when candidates wore robes with traditional Palestinian embroidery while rolling grape leaves.

    Ines Abdel Razek of the advocacy group the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy. tweeted, “Colonialism, racism, cultural appropriation, patriarchy, whitewashing, all in one place.”

  • Video: Mother protects son’s grave as Israel demolishes Muslim graveyard

    A Palestinian woman on Monday resisted Israeli police trying to push her from her son’s tombstone, located at the Al-Yusufiye cemetery in East Jerusalem, as she tried to hug it, reports Anadolu Agency.

    In the video, Alaa Nababta can be seen throwing her body on the ground near her son’s grave and crying.

    “Bury me here,” cried Nababta.

    “You will only exhume my son over my dead body,” she told the Israeli police who were unable to stop her from reaching her son’s grave.

    Nababta while talking to Anadolu Agency said that the Israeli authorities are after Palestinians in the city “whether they are alive or dead.”

    “Here is our cemetery, where else do we bury them?” asked Nababta.

    She added: “Every day we come here fearing that the grave will be bulldozed.”

    “As a mother, what do you think my feelings will be when I watch them try to raze my son’s grave? Pain, pain, and heartbreak.”

    On Monday, the Israeli municipality crews in Jerusalem and the Israeli Nature Authority, to establish a Jewish national park, renewed razing a part of the Al-Yusufiye cemetery, located near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

    Dozens of Palestinians whose family members have been buried in the area for centuries arrived in the cemetery, fearing that the graves of their relatives will be razed.

  • Kabul’s last Jew fearing Taliban divorces wife to be in Israel

    Kabul’s last Jew fearing Taliban divorces wife to be in Israel

    Zebulon Simentov, who is known as the last Jew of Kabul, divorced his wife over a Zoom call so that he can be allowed to enter his Holy Land, reports Dawn.

    Under Jewish religious law, a husband must agree to grant his wife divorce, which Simentov had refused to do for many years. But last month, he finally agreed to avoid any legal procedures from his wife, who lives in Israel.

    Simentov fled Afghanistan last month after the Taliban takeover and landed in Turkey on Sunday on what his rescuers say is a final stop before travelling to Israel.

    Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, whose non-profit group Tzedek Association funded Simentov’s journey, said he had spent the last few weeks living quietly in Pakistan.

    “We are relieved we were successful in helping Zebulon Simentov escape from Afghanistan and now into safety in Turkey. His life was in danger in Afghanistan,” said Margaretten.

    He said his group had looked into bringing Simentov to the United States (US) but decided that Israel was a better destination as he has many relatives, including five siblings and two daughters, already in Israel.

    Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in the Islamic States, greeted Simentov at the airport in Istanbul upon his arrival.

    He said he had an appointment to take Simentov to the Israeli consulate to arrange his entry to Israel. Under Israel’s “Law of Return”, any Jew is entitled to Israeli citizenship.

    Simentov was born in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1959 and used to run a kebab shop.

  • Israeli officers kill Palestinian woman after alleged stabbing, open fire on medical help

    Israeli officers kill Palestinian woman after alleged stabbing, open fire on medical help

    Israeli officers fatally shot a Palestinian woman who allegedly tried to stab the officers in one of the streets leading to Al Aqsa mosque, which is considered Islam’s third holiest site.

    An Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist heard the gunshots and found her body on the ground.

    The alleged attempted attack did not result in any casualties. Later, police opened fire at medical forces who arrived at the scene of her death.

    The police claimed that the 30-year-old deceased woman was leaving the Al Aqsa compound when she approached them [officers].

    In the West Bank, Israeli forces also killed a man by opening fire on him during an operation conducted by Israeli troops and border police. No Israeli forces were wounded in this incident.

    “During the operation, an armed [male] fired at the forces who were operating in the village during a riot,” police said.

    “Border police forces responded with gunfire and neutralised him,” they said, confirming his death to AFP.

    A total of five Palestinians were killed on Sunday after an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank which sparked gunbattles with Hamas fighters.

  • Our own people were involved in drone attacks says PM Khan

    Our own people were involved in drone attacks says PM Khan

    Addressing an election rally in Kotli, Azad Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, “Our ally, the one we considered our friend used to do drone attacks on our country. Drone attacks used to occur in Pakistan both during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, Nawaz Sharif, and former President, Asif Ali Zardari’s time.

    They both used to condemn the attacks but deep with they had permitted for the attacks to occur. Why doesn’t any drone attack happen in my [PM Imran Khan] term.”

    “You should not blame the United States for the drone attacks, our own people were involved,” added the prime minister.

    PM Khan asked the people to question the Opposition as to what did they do for the betterment of their people while they were in power

    “Both PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) both had five years in power, how much did these two parties advocate for the people of Kashmir internationally?” questioned PM Khan.

    Khan reiterated that ever since the Indian Prime Miniter Narendra Modi’s party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power, the people of Kashmir have gone through the most turmoil.

    “The ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) being practiced by Modi is that of the Nazism, ‘borrowed by the German Nazi’,” said the PM.

    “India has the strongest lobby with Israel and our Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) was busy inviting Modi to weddings for his own benefit.

    Earlier during the day, Prime Minister Imran Khan had rubbished talk of him “wishing to turn Azad Jammu and Kashmir” into a new province of Pakistan.

    “I do not know where all this talk has sprung from,” he said, dismissing any notion of such an idea.

    “But what I want to make clear now, is that in 1948, there were two United Nations Security Council resolutions which granted the people of Kashmir the right to decide their own future. According to the UN resolutions, the people had to decide whether they want to join Hindustan or Pakistan.

    “I want to clarify to all of you today. InshaAllah, a day will come, when all the sacrifices made by the people of Kashmir, will not be wasted. God will grant you that right. There will be a referendum, InshaAllah.