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ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of ten countries across Europe, South America and Asia have strongly condemned renewed Israeli interceptions of the Global Sumud Flotilla and demanded the immediate release of detained activists.&nbsp;More than 50 boats departed last week from the Turkish port of Marmaris on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and draw attention to the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians, the Global Solidarity Flotilla said. The Israeli military intercepted several vessels off the coast of Cyprus on Monday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 874px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2056577918520988130&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F5985%2F&sessionId=85363305a5447e1d6fe618b5ca1670f77e9231a8&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives and Spain expressed &ldquo;serious concern&rdquo; for the safety and security of civilian participants and called for &ldquo;full respect&rdquo; for their rights and dignity.&nbsp;The ministers recalled previous Israeli interventions against flotillas in international waters and condemned continued &ldquo;hostile acts targeting civilian vessels and humanitarian activists.&rdquo;&nbsp;They said such actions &mdash; including attacks on vessels and the arbitrary detention of activists &mdash; amount to &ldquo;blatant violations of international law and international humanitarian law.&rdquo;&nbsp;The statement urged the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities to protect civilians and humanitarian missions, and to take concrete steps to end impunity and ensure accountability for these violations.&nbsp;&ldquo;We call for the immediate release of all detained activists and for unfettered respect for humanitarian efforts seeking to alleviate civilian suffering,&rdquo; the ministers said.

Middle East

Asia

Europe

Ten countries of the world, including Pakistan, condemn the Israeli assaults against the Global Sumud Flotilla, a peaceful civilian humanitarian initiative aimed at drawing international attention to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people.

Pakistan, 9 nations condemn Israeli interception of Gaza-bound global flotilla

RAMALLAH: The son of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas won a seat on Fatah&#39;s top decision-making body on Sunday, as initial results emerged from the Palestinian movement&#39;s first congress in a decade. The congress came as Fatah faces existential challenges in the wake of the Gaza war. Yasser Abbas, 64, a businessman who spends most of his time in Canada, secured a place on the central committee after being appointed around five years ago as his father&#39;s &quot;special representative,&quot; a role that marked his emergence on the political scene. With several existing members retaining their seats, the congress&#39;s outcome was already drawing criticism. &quot;There is a failure to present a political, economic and cultural vision for the problems we are suffering&quot; in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, said Ali Jarbawi, political science professor at Birzeit University. &quot;It looks as if it was all about merely replacing some individuals with others.&quot; Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader held in Israeli prison since 2002, topped the preliminary results, retaining his seat on the committee with the highest number of votes, according to figures seen by AFP. Jibril Rajoub was reelected as the secretary-general of the committee, keeping the seat he has held since 2017, while Palestinian vice president Hussein Al-Sheikh was also reelected. Among the newcomers was Zakaria Zubeidi, 50, a former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who was freed from Israeli prison last year under a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. The three-day congress, held simultaneously across Ramallah, Gaza, Cairo and Beirut, drew 2,507 voters &mdash; a turnout of 94.64%, organizers said. Fifty-nine candidates competed for 18 seats on the central committee, while 450 vied for 80 seats on the revolutionary council, the party&#39;s parliament. Counting for the revolutionary council was still underway, and final results were expected on Monday. Abbas retains control The congress opened on Thursday, with Abbas being reelected as head of the movement. In his opening address, he vowed to pursue reforms and hold long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections. Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are under mounting international pressure to implement reforms and hold elections, amid widespread accusations of corruption and political stagnation, which have eroded its legitimacy among Palestinians. US President Donald Trump has demanded sweeping reforms of the PA as a condition for it to play any meaningful role in post-war Gaza. Fatah has historically been the dominant force within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole representative of the Palestinian people in international forums. It groups most Palestinian factions but excludes fighter movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In recent decades, Fatah&#39;s popularity and influence have dwindled amid internal divisions and growing public frustration over the stagnation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The sense of disappointment led to a surge in support for rival Hamas, which won the last legislative elections held in 2006, before going on to expel Fatah from the Gaza Strip after a bout of factional fighting. Fatah&#39;s central committee is expected to play a decisive role in the post-Abbas era, with key figures already jostling to succeed the 90-year-old veteran leader, with Rajoub and Sheikh among the frontrunners. Jarbawi, meanwhile, said that Yasser Abbas&#39;s election to the committee alone does not put him on a clear path to the presidency. &quot;It is not enough to guarantee him advancement to the presidency,&quot; said Jarbawi. &quot;This may be seen as the beginning of a phase &mdash; if not of hereditary succession, then of securing a position in the future.&quot; Jarbawi said the elder Abbas remained firmly in command, with the congress failing to clarify who would lead the movement after him. &quot;He is still in control of the reins of power, and his reelection reflects his dominance over Fatah,&quot; Jarbawi said, while acknowledging that several committee members harbor their own leadership ambitions.

Yasser Abbas secures place on central committee after being appointed around five years ago as his father's "special representative," a role that marked his emergence on the political scene.

Palestinian president's son elected to top Fatah leadership body

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Palestinian people as the country joined the international community in commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, describing the continued suffering of Palestinians as a grave challenge to justice, international law and human dignity. Observed annually on May 15, Nakba, Arabic for &ldquo;catastrophe,&rdquo; marks the mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.&nbsp; More than 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their homes and villages, an event that remains central to the Palestinian national identity and refugee crisis.&nbsp; For Palestinians and many countries supporting their cause, the Nakba is not viewed solely as a historical event, but as an ongoing reality shaped by occupation, displacement, statelessness and denial of fundamental rights. In separate messages issued on International Nakba Day, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s longstanding position in support of Palestinian self-determination and statehood, while calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and renewed international efforts toward a just and lasting resolution of the Palestine issue. President Zardari said the Nakba represented &ldquo;the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands, leading to their prolonged suffering.&rdquo; &ldquo;For the Palestinian people, the Nakba is not a closed chapter of history. It remains a continuing reality marked by occupation, displacement, dispossession and denial of rights,&rdquo; the president said. He emphasized that Pakistan had &ldquo;consistently stood by the Palestinian people&rdquo; and continued to advocate for their &ldquo;legitimate and inalienable rights&rdquo; at the United Nations and other international forums. Pakistan&rsquo;s support for Palestine has remained a central pillar of its foreign policy since independence, rooted in its support for anti-colonial struggles and the principle of self-determination. Islamabad has consistently backed resolutions supporting Palestinian rights at the United Nations, opposed Israeli occupation policies, and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. President Zardari urged the international community to ensure continued support for Palestinian refugees and uphold their Right of Return under United Nations Resolution 194. &ldquo;The Right of Return of Palestinian refugees, as affirmed in Resolution 194, remains unfulfilled and must be upheld,&rdquo; he said. The president also reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s call for &ldquo;an immediate, unconditional and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza,&rdquo; unrestricted humanitarian access, and accountability for &ldquo;Israel&rsquo;s actions.&rdquo; &ldquo;The only viable path to a just and durable peace is the realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, through the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian State on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,&rdquo; he added. PM Sharif, in his message marking the occasion, said Pakistan stood in &ldquo;unwavering solidarity&rdquo; with Palestinians enduring decades of occupation and displacement. &ldquo;As our Palestinian brethren mark the 78th solemn anniversary of Nakba, we remember the enduring suffering and displacement of the Palestinians from their homeland since 1948,&rdquo; the prime minister said. &ldquo;Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters,&rdquo; he said. &quot;We demand an immediate end to the oppression, occupation, and violence being perpetrated by Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinians.&rdquo; At the United Nations, Pakistan&rsquo;s Permanent Representative Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the Nakba continued to define Palestinian reality nearly eight decades later. &ldquo;Seventy-eight years ago, more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced and uprooted from their homes. Entire cities that had flourished for centuries were emptied, occupied, and renamed. This tragedy came to be known as the Nakba &mdash; the catastrophe,&rdquo; he told a special meeting convened by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP). &ldquo;Tragically, for the Palestinians, the Nakba is not a closed chapter of history. It is a continuing reality marked by occupation, displacement, dispossession and denial of rights,&rdquo; he added. Referring to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Ambassador Ahmad said the territory had witnessed &ldquo;its most devastating contemporary manifestation&rdquo; of the Nakba. &ldquo;For two years, Gaza endured devastating Israeli attacks with over 70,000 Palestinians killed, majority of them women and children. The overwhelming majority of Gaza&rsquo;s population has been forcibly displaced multiple times, with nowhere safe to turn,&rdquo; he said. He also voiced concern over developments in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, citing &ldquo;illegal settlement expansion, settler violence, forced displacement, arbitrary restrictions and collective punishment.&rdquo; &ldquo;The condemnable storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli extremists is the most recent manifestation of the policy, where illegality and nefarious objectives are evident to alter the demographic and geographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory,&rdquo; he said. Ahmad underscored the importance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), calling it &ldquo;indispensable for millions of Palestinian refugees&rdquo; and urging sustained international political and financial support for the agency. &ldquo;On this solemn anniversary, remembrance alone is not enough. The Nakba must not be allowed to continue into another generation. It must end through justice, accountability, and vacation of occupation,&rdquo; he said. Reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s position, the ambassador said: &ldquo;Support for Palestine is etched in Pakistan&rsquo;s own independence struggle. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine and their just struggle for self-determination, freedom, and dignity.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan reaffirms support for Palestinians on Nakba anniversary, calls for Gaza ceasefire and independent state based on pre-1967 borders

On Nakba anniversary, Pakistan reaffirms unwavering support for Palestinians

JERUSALEM: Dozens of Israeli peace activists gathered on Thursday to show solidarity with Palestinians ahead of annual rallies marking Israel&#39;s capture of East Jerusalem, with the thousands-strong marches known for descending into nationalist anti-Palestinian violence. Jerusalem Day, as the occasion is known, commemorates Israeli forces taking East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, to be its indivisible capital. The international community, however, does not recognize this. Every year, thousands of Israeli nationalists, many of them religious Jews, march through Jerusalem and its annexed Old City, including in predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods, waving Israeli flags, dancing and sometimes accosting residents. Under the blazing morning sun on Thursday, dozens of Israeli peace activists wearing white T-shirts and carrying colorful flowers descended the stone steps towards the Old City&#39;s Damascus Gate. One elderly woman stood handing out yellow flowers to Palestinians crossing through the gate, while another greeted them with &quot;good morning&quot; in Arabic. Clutching white flowers in his hands, 52-year-old Ilan Perez said he wanted to &quot;show my sympathy and love with flowers&quot;. &quot;It was important for me to come in order to show some solidarity with the local community and say that as a Jew, as a Zionist, as someone who wants a Jewish state here, I want them to be part of it and be part of the nation with equal rights,&quot; said Perez, who works in the tech industry and had come from the city of Raanana, near Tel Aviv. Palestinian shops shuttered&nbsp;Inside the Damascus Gate, a Palestinian man was busily cellotaping a padlock shut on his storefront in anticipation of the violence expected to erupt later in the afternoon. Shops along the march&#39;s route were shuttered, and Israeli police stood stationed behind metal barriers. Authorities sometimes order Palestinian shops in the Old City to shut for the march, which ends at the Western Wall -- the last remnant of the Second Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray. Near the city&#39;s Via Dolorosa, a handful of activists from the Israeli-Palestinian grassroots movement Standing Together were preparing to perform so-called protective presence, a tactic normally used to deter Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. &quot;This day, thousands of basically settlers and right-wing fascist young and older people will be roaming the streets chanting very racist things, trying to destroy places owned by Palestinians and just terrorizing the whole place,&quot; said Rula Daoud, co-director of Standing Together. &quot;Our presence is to just protect people from being attacked, places from being vandalized. And we try to de-escalate this day. So we are not here to protest,&quot; she said, adding that Standing Together had around 300 activists stationed in the Old City, alongside others from different peace organizations. Daoud said the march was becoming more violent every year, particularly after Hamas&#39;s October 7 attacks on Israel, and accused the police of not intervening to curb the violence. Around midday, a group of dozens of revelers waving large Israeli flags and wearing stickers with the slogan &quot;Israel is forever&quot; streamed through Damascus Gate singing and playing loud music.

Israeli peace groups hand flowers to Palestinians near Damascus Gate as shops closed and police deployed ahead of Jerusalem Day marches, often marked by racist chants and violence.

Peace activists gather ahead of Jerusalem Day rallies known for violence

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed on new sanctions on Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians, as a change of government in Hungary ended months of blockage. &quot;It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery,&quot; EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said in announcing the green light. &quot;Extremisms and violence carry consequences.&quot; French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU was &quot;sanctioning the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank, as well as their leaders&quot;. &quot;These most serious and intolerable acts must cease without delay,&quot; he wrote on social media. The move in response to rising violence and settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank had been stalled by Hungary&#39;s former prime minister Viktor Orban. But the ouster of the nationalist leader and Israel ally by Peter Magyar now appears to have paved the way for the veto to be lifted. EU officials said seven settlers or settler organizations would be blacklisted.&nbsp; Israel condemned the new sanctions. &quot;As Israel and the US are &#39;doing Europe&#39;s dirty work&#39; by fighting for civilization against jihadist lunatics in Iran and elsewhere, the European Union exposed its moral bankruptcy by drawing a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists,&quot; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s office said on its official X account. Israel&#39;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the European Union as &quot;antisemitic&quot;, saying the EU was &quot;trying to tie the hands of those who defend themselves&quot;. &quot;The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis,&quot; Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X. &nbsp;Proposals&nbsp;The occupied West Bank has been gripped by almost daily violence involving Israeli troops and settlers since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. There has been a surge in deadly West Bank attacks by Israeli settlers since the start of the Iran war on Feb 28, Palestinian officials and the United Nations have said. While the EU is moving ahead with the sanctions on Israeli settlers, there remains no consensus yet among member states to take further steps against Israel, such as curbing trade ties. Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels discussed calls to ban products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Italy&#39;s Antonio Tajani said that the EU&#39;s executive would now make a proposal on the move, and then the bloc would see if it had enough backing from member states. &quot;This is an issue that has been discussed, but no decision has been taken, pending the proposals that will come,&quot; he said. Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians. In 2025, the expansion of Israeli settlements reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking data, according to a UN report.

FILE: Palestinian farmers speak with Israeli soldiers after being attacked by Israeli settlers while farming their land in Salem village east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on November 28, 2024 [Zain Jaafar/AFP]

European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed on new sanctions on Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians, as a change of government in Hungary ended months of blockage.

EU agrees long-stalled sanctions on Israeli settlers

AMMAN: A new group of wounded or ill Palestinian children from Gaza have arrived in Jordan to receive medical care, the kingdom&#39;s army said on Tuesday.&nbsp;They are the 26th group of children transported to Jordan since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.&nbsp;The 81 children, accompanied by 108 family members, arrived through the King Hussein, or Allenby, border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, the army said in a statement.&nbsp;It is part of the &quot;Jordanian medical corridor&quot; initiative that King Abdullah II agreed to following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in February 2025.&nbsp;Under the initiative, around 2,000 children will be transported to Jordan to receive medical care.&nbsp;Since March last year, more than 716 children have been transferred in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the majority of them suffering from fractures, major wounds or cancer.&nbsp;&quot;The children will be treated in a number of Jordanian hospitals, as part of the kingdom&#39;s ongoing medical and humanitarian efforts to provide healthcare and medical support to our brothers and sisters in the Gaza Strip,&quot; the army said.&nbsp;A ceasefire has largely held in Gaza since last October, but some violence has persisted.&nbsp;

Jordan received 81 wounded or ill Palestinian children from Gaza with 108 family members for treatment. They are the 26th group since October 2023, under a plan to bring around 2,000 children for care.

Dozens of Gaza children arrive in Jordan for medical care

ISLAMABAD: An investigation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed confessions from Israeli soldiers describing the killing of unarmed civilians in Gaza and what they portray as a broader pattern of normalized violence during the war. The report, published on April 17, cites multiple testimonies from soldiers who said they returned from Gaza suffering from what they described as &ldquo;moral injury,&rdquo; a form of psychological distress linked to actions that violated their ethical boundaries. Several soldiers admitted to participating in or witnessing the killing of civilians, while others described an environment in which such actions were tolerated or even encouraged. One soldier told Haaretz he was welcomed home as a hero but internally &ldquo;felt like a monster.&rdquo; Another, quoted by digital outlet AJ+ citing the Haaretz investigation, said: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no forgiving what I&rsquo;ve done. No atonement.&rdquo; The findings form part of a growing body of testimony suggesting systematic abuses during Israel&rsquo;s military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli veterans&rsquo; group Breaking the Silence said it has collected hundreds of accounts from soldiers, pointing to practices such as the demolition of civilian homes and the creation of so-called &ldquo;kill zones,&rdquo; where anyone crossing an unmarked boundary was reportedly shot dead, regardless of whether they were armed. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/d0e9ebcc-49b2-462f-bfe5-3120cacfe3b6.png" style="width: 527px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">UN (OCHA): Reported impact snapshot: Gaza Strip According to Anadolu Agency, citing earlier Haaretz reporting, soldiers described the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land cutting through Gaza, as &ldquo;the line of dead bodies,&rdquo; where corpses were left unrecovered. &ldquo;One of these missions was to create a &lsquo;buffer zone&rsquo; inside the Gaza Strip, which in practice meant razing the area to the ground&hellip; Through widespread, deliberate destruction, the military laid the groundwork for future Israeli control of the area,&rdquo; one soldier said. Separate reporting by Al Jazeera said Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 11 Palestinians across Gaza and the occupied West Bank in recent incidents, underscoring continuing violence on the ground. Palestinian state news agency WAFA said Israeli media reports, while exposing some abuses, offer &ldquo;only a glimpse into the extensive crimes committed by the occupation.&rdquo; The revelations come amid mounting international scrutiny of Israel&rsquo;s war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 170,000 injured as of April 2026, according to the United Nations citing the Gaza Ministry of Health. Together, the testimonies and casualty figures are intensifying criticism of Israel&rsquo;s conduct in the war, raising fresh questions about accountability and the human cost of a conflict that continues to expand across the region.

The Israeli military confirms the withdrawal of troops from southern Gaza but says that one brigade remains on the ground [File: Israeli Army/AFP]

In an investigation by Haaretz, Israeli soldiers describe killing unarmed civilians and witnessing widespread abuses in Gaza, as testimonies point to normalized violence and mounting evidence of systematic misconduct during ongoing military operations.

Israeli soldiers admit killing civilians, critics cite systemic Gaza abuses: Report

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank on Saturday, in the latest deadly attack on the occupied territory. Ali Majed Hamadneh, 23, died after settlers opened fire during a raid on the village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah, the ministry said. &quot;He was brought to the Palestine Medical Complex in a critical condition&quot; and later succumbed to his wounds, the ministry said on Telegram. Palestinian official news agency Wafa also reported the incident. &quot;Armed colonists, under the protection of Israeli forces, attacked Deir Jarir from its western entrance and opened fire toward residents in the area,&quot; Wafa reported. There was no immediate response from the Israeli police or military. There has also been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Iran war on Feb 28, Palestinian authorities and the United Nations have said. Prior to Saturday&#39;s attack, at least six Palestinians were killed since then in settler attacks, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures. Recent surge has prompted criticism from influential rabbis, settler leaders, and even Israel&#39;s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who called the attacks &quot;morally and ethically unacceptable&quot;.

A 23-year-old died after settlers opened fire during a raid on Deir Jarir near Ramallah, officials said, as escalating violence draws criticism; Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, called the attacks "morally and ethically unacceptable".

Palestinians say Israeli settlers kill man in raid on village 

ISLAMABAD: In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, T&uuml;rkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) condemned and rejected the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem, the foreign office (FO) of Qatar said on Tuesday. &ldquo;These continued Israeli measures constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as of the legal and historical status quo, and represent an infringement on the unrestricted right of access to places of worship,&rdquo; the Qatari foreign office said in a statement. Israel restricted Muslim worshippers from accessing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/eight-muslim-states-including-pakistan-condemn-israels-continued-closure-of-alaqsa-mosque" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Al-Aqsa Mosque</a>&nbsp;/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. Muslim countries reaffirmed their rejection of Israeli restrictions targeting Muslims and Christians, including preventing Christians from freely accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform religious rituals, and urged Israel to immediately reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque, remove restrictions on access to Jerusalem&rsquo;s Old City, and refrain from obstructing worshippers. They called on Israel to immediately reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque, remove restrictions on access to Jerusalem&rsquo;s Old City, and refrain from obstructing worshippers. The statement stressed the need to respect the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites, adding that Israel, as the occupying power, holds no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem. The ministers also condemned the continued closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshippers for 30 consecutive days, including during the holy month of Ramadan, describing it as a serious violation of international law and Israel&rsquo;s obligations as an occupying power. They warned of the risks such measures pose to regional and international peace and security. Earlier, Pakistan condemned Israel&#39;s continued closure of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslim worshippers, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan. Last month, Israel imposed restrictions on Palestinian worshippers from the occupied West Bank attending weekly Friday prayers at the mosque, and capped the number of worshippers at 10,000 during Ramadan. Israeli police also deployed around the mosque in force. The ministers reaffirmed that Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims, and that the Jerusalem Awqaf Department under Jordan&rsquo;s Ministry of Awqaf is the legal authority responsible for its administration and regulating access. The foreign ministers also urged the international community to take a firm stance to compel Israel to end its violations and unlawful practices against Islamic and Christian holy sites.

Muslim countries reaffirm their rejection of Israeli restrictions targeting Muslims and Christians, including preventing Christians from freely accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to perform religious rituals.

Pakistan, 7 Muslim nations condemn Israel restrictions on worship in occupied Jerusalem

SYDNEY: A leading Australian arts festival apologized Thursday for disinviting a Palestinian author, retracting claims her attendance would be &quot;culturally insensitive&quot; following a mass shooting targeting Jews at Bondi Beach. The Adelaide Festival was forced to cancel its popular writers&#39; week on Tuesday as scores of participants pulled out over the treatment of author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah. With many questioning whether the backlash might spell the end of the event for good, organizers changed tack and apologized. &quot;We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah&#39;s invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers&#39; Week in 2027,&quot; festival organizers said in a statement. Australia&#39;s premier annual cultural event, which lures artists from around the world, unleashed the storm last week when it told Abdel-Fattah it did not &quot;wish to proceed&quot; with her appearance. &quot;We stated that this was because it would be culturally insensitive to allow her to participate,&quot; organizers said. &quot;We retract that statement. We apologize to Dr Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm the Adelaide Festival Corporation has caused her.&quot; Abdel-Fattah said she accepted the apology. &quot;I accept this apology as acknowledgement of our right to speak publicly and truthfully about the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people,&quot; she said. Abdel-Fattah has faced criticism over past statements, including a post on X in October 2024 saying: &quot;The goal is decolonization and the end of this murderous Zionist colony.&quot; Some 180 participants, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, boycotted the festival after it canceled Abdel-Fattah. Writers&#39; week director Louise Adler resigned in protest, saying the board had been swayed against her advice by the &quot;extreme and repressive efforts of pro-Israel lobbyists.&quot; Father-and-son gunmen allegedly killed 15 people in an ISIS-inspired attack targeting a Jewish festival at Sydney&#39;s Bondi Beach on December 14.

Australasia

Abdel-Fattah accepts apology; some 180 participants, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, boycott festival after it canceled the Palestinian writer.

Articles tagged with "Palestine"

Pakistan, 9 nations condemn Israeli interception of Gaza-bound global flotilla

Palestinian president's son elected to top Fatah leadership body

On Nakba anniversary, Pakistan reaffirms unwavering support for Palestinians

Peace activists gather ahead of Jerusalem Day rallies known for violence

EU agrees long-stalled sanctions on Israeli settlers

Dozens of Gaza children arrive in Jordan for medical care

Israeli soldiers admit killing civilians, critics cite systemic Gaza abuses: Report

Palestinians say Israeli settlers kill man in raid on village

Pakistan, 7 Muslim nations condemn Israel restrictions on worship in occupied Jerusalem

Australian festival apologizes for cancelling Palestinian author

Pakistan, 9 nations condemn Israeli interception of Gaza-bound global flotilla