German foreign minister heads to Middle East in Gaza truce push

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has set off for a diplomatic tour of the Middle East as efforts continue toward a Gaza ceasefire truce. (File/AFP)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has set off for a diplomatic tour of the Middle East as efforts continue toward a Gaza ceasefire truce. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 04 September 2024
Follow

German foreign minister heads to Middle East in Gaza truce push

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has set off for a diplomatic tour of the Middle East as efforts continue toward truce.
  • Baerbock said the “nightmare” of the conflict must end and called for all efforts needed “toward a humanitarian ceasefire”

BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday set off for a diplomatic tour of the Middle East as efforts continue toward a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war.
Pressure has mounted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to end the fighting, days after Israel’s military recovered six killed hostages from a Gaza tunnel.
Baerbock said the “nightmare” of the conflict must end and called for all efforts needed “toward a humanitarian ceasefire that will lead to the release of the hostages and put an end to the deaths.”
A ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden in May “must now finally be adopted,” Baerbock said.
The trip will be Baerbock’s ninth to Israel and her 11th to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Baerbock set off first for Saudi Arabia, where she was due to meet Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said.
The ministers will discuss “the dramatic situation in the region” and “the ongoing attacks by the radical Islamist Houthi militia from Yemen on international shipping,” Deschauer said.
Baerbock will then head to Jordan and meet her counterpart Ayman Safadi to discuss “in particular the issue of coordinating humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza.”
She will then travel to Israel and meet Foreign Minister Israel Katz before heading to the occupied West Bank, the site of recent heavy clashes.
There she will meet Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohammed Mustafa to discuss “how an imminent escalation of violence in the West Bank can be prevented.”
“Nothing will be gained if a new, young generation becomes radicalized because they have to watch the destruction on their doorstep,” Baerbock said.
“The Palestinians have a right to live in security and dignity.”
The October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians and including hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas since October 7 has killed at least 40,861 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.


Senior Russian official to visit Syria, sources say

Senior Russian official to visit Syria, sources say
Updated 12 sec ago
Follow

Senior Russian official to visit Syria, sources say

Senior Russian official to visit Syria, sources say

DAMASCUS: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov is set to meet Syria’s new rulers this week in Damascus, two Syrian sources said on Tuesday, in the first visit by Russian officials since Moscow’s ally President Bashar Assad was toppled.
The Syrian sources had no further details on Bogdanov’s meetings or how long the visit would last. There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities.
Russia was a longtime Assad ally and intervened militarily to help him recapture territory from rebels during the more than decade-long war that erupted in 2011 after his crackdown of protests against his rule.
But a lightning rebel offensive late last year pushed Assad to flee Damascus in December — first to the Russian-run Hmeimim Air Base in northern Syria then to Moscow.
Days later, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Bogdanov as saying that Russia’s contacts with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham — the Islamist rebel group that spearheaded the offensive that ousted Assad — were “proceeding in constructive fashion.”
Bogdanov said Russia hoped to maintain its two bases in Syria — a naval base in Tartous and the Hmeimim base near the port city of Latakia.
But this month, Syria’s new administration canceled a contract with Russian firm STG Stroytransgaz to manage and operate the Tartous port, according to three Syrian businessmen and media reports.
The contract had been signed under Assad.
Syria’s interim defense minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, told Reuters in an interview in Damascus this month that negotiations were under way with Russia to determine the nature of the future relationship between the two states.
“We as a state are committed to the agreements that were present in the past but there may be some amendments in the negotiations that would achieve Syria’s interests,” Abu Qasra said. 


Turkiye arrests talent manager over trying to overthrow the government

Turkiye arrests talent manager over trying to overthrow the government
Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Turkiye arrests talent manager over trying to overthrow the government

Turkiye arrests talent manager over trying to overthrow the government

ISTANBUL: A Turkish court arrested a well-known talent manager over the charge of attempting to overthrow the government in an investigation connected to nationwide protests in 2013, a court document seen by Reuters showed.
Ayse Barim was initially detained on Friday and eight actors were summoned to give statements to the court as witnesses in her file.
According to her statement to the prosecutor, Barim denied the charges and said she had been to the area of the 2013 protests a few times individually as an observer and to accompany the people she worked with.
Barim denied the charges and said she did not coordinate actors she is working with or request them to support the protests, the court document showed.
“My job as a manager is to manage the career of the actors I work with and represent them in the best possible way. These artists have their own ideas, wills and decisions. I did not organize anything by directing their ideas,” Barim said, according to transcript of her statement.
In 2013, small demonstrations against plans to build a shopping mall in Gezi Park, in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, swelled into hundreds of thousands of people protesting against the government nationwide — and prompted a harsh crackdown.
According to the court, Barim had “intensive communication” with defendants in the Gezi Park trial at the time of the protests. These defendants include businessman Osman Kavala, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole in April 2022.
Kavala has faced various charges, including espionage, financing the Gezi Park protests and involvement in a failed coup against Erdogan’s government in 2016. He has been in prison since November 2017.
Human rights groups say 11 people were killed and more than 8,000 injured in the state response, and more than 3,000 were arrested.
President Tayyip Erdogan’s government said the crackdown was warranted given threats to the state, and he has called the protesters “looters” who were partly funded from abroad, a claim denied by defendants and civil society groups.


Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to

Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to
Updated 28 January 2025
Follow

Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to

Syrian refugees in Jordan camp say they have nothing to go home to
  • Refugees fear the security situation might once again deteriorate after 13 years of civil war
  • In 2012, neighboring Jordan opened Zaatari camp and is now hosting 75,000 Syrians

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan: They have lived for years in Zaatari, the world’s biggest refugee camp for Syrians, but many are unsure they want to return home from Jordan even after the ouster of former president Bashar Assad.
They fear the security situation might once again deteriorate after 13 years of civil war, and some say their homes have been destroyed while others lost their jobs and feel they have nothing to go back to.
In 2012, a year into the war in Syria, neighboring Jordan opened Zaatari camp to host people fleeing the conflict.
It is now home to 75,000 people, according to UN figures.
To begin with, it was a squalid collection of tents dotting an arid landscape, but over time, it grew into a town of prefabricated homes, supplied with free electricity, water, health and schools.
On a street named the Champs-Elysees, after the famed Parisian avenue, 60-year-old shop owner Yousef Hariri told AFP he wanted to stay in Zaatari with his family, where they feel safe.
“I can’t go back. That would mean losing everything and selling the shop would be hard,” said Hariri, whose store sells construction materials.
“The situation in Syria is not good at the moment and it is not clear what will happen. Prices are through the roof and there are armed rebels. Our houses are destroyed.”
The war in Syria, which began with Assad’s crackdown on democracy protests in 2011, forced millions of people to flee the country, with most of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
Tens of thousands have returned since an Islamist-led coalition ousted Assad on December 8, but most refugees have yet to make the journey home.
Most of the refugees in Zaatari came from the south Syrian province of Daraa, near the Jordanian border.
It was, earlier in the conflict, home to 140,000 people.
Refugees in the camp receive cash assistance for food, and they have the right to work outside the camp.
“Where are we going to go back to?” said Khaled Al-Zoabi, 72, who has lived in the camp since 2012, and who cited the destruction wrought by the war.
“The refugees’ finances aren’t good enough for anyone to return, and no one knows what will happen in Syria,” he said.
“We fled the injustice and tyranny of Assad’s gangs in Syria, where human life had no value. Here, I feel I am a human being, and I prefer to stay,” said the shop owner.
To date, there is no financial assistance to help people return.
Radwan Al-Hariri, a 54-year-old father of three, said his contacts in Syria had all advised him to stay put.
An imam at a mosque, the grandfather of 12 children all born in Zaatari said that in Syria, “no one helps you and there is no work.”
According to the Jordanian authorities, 52,000 Syrians have returned home through the Jaber border crossing between the two countries since Assad’s overthrow.
“Insecurity remains a concern. There is still a lot of instability, armed clashes in some parts of the country and an increasing number of civilian casualties due to remnants of war and unexploded ordnance,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson in Jordan Roland Schoenbauer said.
“Every refugee has the right to return to their homeland,” he said. “However, when it is the right time to voluntarily cross into Syria will have to remain their decision.”
The UN says around 680,000 Syrians were registered in Jordan from 2011 onwards, though the kingdom says it welcomed 1.3 million.
Not all Syrians in Zaatari were hesitant to return.
Mariam Masalmeh, 63, said she and her husband have decided to go home, as have their children.
But she said she would be “sad to leave Zaatari, which has become my homeland,” as she showed off her garden of rosebushes and apple trees.
Mohammed Atme, 50, could not wait to go home.
“It is time to go back to my family, I haven’t seen my mother and brothers for 13 years,” he said.
“Here, we were treated with respect and our dignity was preserved. But everyone’s destiny is to go back to their country.”


ICC prosecutor calls for urgent action on Darfur

ICC prosecutor calls for urgent action on Darfur
Updated 28 January 2025
Follow

ICC prosecutor calls for urgent action on Darfur

ICC prosecutor calls for urgent action on Darfur
  • Addressing the UN Security Council, he pleads for more support to help bridge the ‘impunity gap’ and ensure those guilty of crimes against humanity are held accountable
  • He paints grim picture of violence, famine and gender-based crimes that continue to devastate communities in western Sudan, targeting women and children in particular

NEW YORK CITY: The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, on Monday stressed the urgent need for international action to address continuing atrocities in the Darfur region of western Sudan, and pleaded with the UN Security Council for more support to help bridge the “impunity gap.”

He painted a grim picture of a situation in which violence, famine and gender-based crimes continue to devastate communities, targeting women and children in particular.

Khan underscored a severe decline in the situation in the region over the past six months, including growing reports of civilian casualties, the destruction of vital infrastructure, and widespread violations of human rights.

“Famine is present in Darfur. Conflict is increasing. Children are targeted. Girls and women are subject to rape,” Khan said as he described the environment as one of “destruction” and “criminality.”

The country descended into civil war in April 2023 amid a conflict between rival military factions the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. It has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes, and some families have resorted to eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.

In Darfur, ethnic violence has escalated since the war began. The RSF, the origins of which lie in the Arab Janjaweed militia that was responsible for a genocide in the early 2000s that claimed about 300,000 lives, has focused its attacks on the Masalit ethnic group and other non-Arab communities.

This month, the US has accused the RSF of genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as “Hemedti.”

Khan’s latest semi-annual report on the situation in Sudan, published on Jan. 16, noted that his office has gathered sufficient evidence to establish reasonable grounds to believe that a wide range of crimes specified under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, continue to be committed in Darfur. These include killings, pillaging, attacks against internally displaced persons, the indiscriminate targeting of civilian populations, gender-based crimes, and crimes against and affecting children.

Under the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over four types of crime categorized as “international crimes”: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The court is finalizing applications for arrest warrants against individuals allegedly responsible for war crimes in West Darfur, Khan said. He stressed, however, that the applications will only be filed when there is strong evidence that can withstand judicial scrutiny, to ensure the highest chances of convictions and due process for victims.

He warned that international crimes are being committed as weapons of war in Darfur, including reports of widespread gender-based violence.

“This is not an unverified generalization,” he said, adding that the evidence his office has gathered, including witness testimonies and digital resources, is both extensive and credible.

Khan highlighted his office’s collaboration with national authorities in neighboring countries, where they have also been collecting evidence from displaced communities.

He also mentioned ongoing trials taking place at the ICC, in particular the trial of Ali Kushayb, a former militia leader charged with crimes committed in Darfur in the early 2000s, which began in 2022. Khan highlighted the significance of such trials, not only in terms of pursuing historical accountability but also as a beacon of hope for survivors who continue to suffer in Darfur.

“They say that they are not forgotten, they are not invisible,” Khan said, as he reiterated the ICC’s role in keeping the promise of justice alive for victims long denied recognition.

Despite these efforts, Khan acknowledged the deep frustrations arising from the lack of swift progress in Darfur. He pointed to the need for greater cooperation from Sudanese authorities, and said that while there have been some signs worthy of cautious optimism, more support from the UN Security Council is needed to help bridge the “impunity gap.”

Khan called in particular for the transfer of suspects, including Ahmed Harun, a former governor of Kordofan and minister of state who is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in the Darfur conflict.

“We believe we know where Ahmed Harun is,” Khan said as he urged Sudan to honor its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1593, which requires authorities to cooperate fully with the ICC.

Khan invoked the historical significance of ensuring accountability for crimes against humanity, drawing parallels with past genocides, including the Holocaust. He called on the Security Council to prioritize the victims of Darfur over political divisions among council members, and echoed the sentiment that justice must be delivered to those who are suffering in the region.

He urged the council to renew its commitment to the principle of “Never Again,” referencing the outcome of the Nuremberg Trials and global efforts to combat cultures of impunity in post-conflict societies.

“The people of Darfur have a right to justice,” Khan said. “It’s time for us collectively to join hands and deliver on that promise.”

The US has historically backed ICC efforts related to Sudan. However the court faced criticism late last year after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Those warrants, related to charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to Israeli military operations in Gaza since October 8, 2023, sparked a backlash from Washington.


Northern Gaza is shattered. The spirit of returning Palestinians is not

Northern Gaza is shattered. The spirit of returning Palestinians is not
Updated 28 January 2025
Follow

Northern Gaza is shattered. The spirit of returning Palestinians is not

Northern Gaza is shattered. The spirit of returning Palestinians is not
  • Under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians were allowed starting Monday to return north
  • Those returning crossed through the Netzarim corridor, a swath of land bisecting the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces turned into a military zone to seal off the north

WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip: They walked for hours loaded with whatever clothes, food and blankets they could carry. Many smiled, some hugged loved ones they hadn’t seen for months. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians filled Gaza’s main coastal road as they streamed back to homes in the north.
The mood was joyous, even though many knew their homes had been destroyed in Israeli offensives against Hamas that leveled large parts of Gaza City and the surrounding north.
The important thing was to go back, they said, to prevent what many had feared would be a permanent expulsion from their homes.
“By returning, we are victorious,” said Rania Miqdad, who was heading back to Gaza City with her family.
Ismail Abu Mattar returned with his wife and four children to the ruins of their Gaza City home, which was partially destroyed by Israeli bombardment early in the war. Like many others whose houses are damaged, he planned to set up a tent nearby and start clearing the rubble. 

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)


“A tent here is better than a tent there,” he said, referring to the vast, squalid tent camps that arose in central and southern Gaza where he and much of the territory’s population have lived for months.
“We had thought we wouldn’t return, like our ancestors,” said Abu Mattar. His grandparents were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.
A mass return on foot and by car
Under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians were allowed starting Monday to return north. UN officials estimated that some 200,000 people made their way back over the course of the day. The scenes of celebration were a sharp contrast to the misery and fear during the war as more than 1 million people fled south on the same routes to escape Israel’s assaults.
Associated Press photos, videos and drone footage showed huge crowds heading north on foot along Gaza’s main coastal road. On one side was the Mediterranean Sea; on the other stretched a landscape of destroyed buildings and bulldozed land left behind by withdrawing Israeli forces. Armed Hamas fighters were visible in some spots, a sign of the militant group’s continued power in Gaza despite Israel’s vows to eliminate it. 

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP)


Families carried bags of belongings and rolled up blankets. On their shoulders, men carried young children — or sacks of food and metal cannisters of cooking gas. Women balanced infants in their arms with satchels of clothes and jugs of water.
A little girl dressed in teddy-bear pajamas held her younger sister’s hand as they trailed their mother. A teenager strapped a pet carrier to his chest with his cat inside.
Others returned in cars and trucks piled high with mattresses and other belongings via a second route, Salah Al-Din Road.
Many were smiling. A child waved a “V-for-victory” sign. People tearfully hugged relatives and friends they’d been separated from for months.
One old woman being pushed in a wheelchair sang a traditional Palestinian song of perseverance dating back to 1948.
“Stand by each other, people of Palestine, stand by each other. Palestine is gone, but it has not bid you a final farewell,” she sang with a smile on her face. Then she added, “Thank God, we’re returning to our homes, after suffering so much ruin and hunger and disease.”
The joy was tempered by war’s cost and future’s uncertainty
Those returning crossed through the Netzarim corridor, a swath of land bisecting the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces turned into a military zone to seal off the north. The north saw some of the most intense Israeli offensives, aimed at eliminating Hamas fighters operating in densely populated areas.
Throughout the war, Israel repeatedly ordered civilians to evacuate the north – for their safety, it said – but barred their return. Under the ceasefire’s terms, Israeli troops pulled back from the main routes to allow returns and are eventually to pull out completely from the corridor.
For some, the joy of return was blemished by the deaths of loved ones. 

Palestinians, who were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 27, 2025. (Reuters)


Kamal Hamadah was returning to Gaza City, where his eldest son, his daughter and her children were killed by bombardment early in the war. Their bodies were left buried under rubble in the streets, even as the rest of the family fled south, he said.
Then just over a month ago, another of his sons who fled with him was killed.
“When his mother learned we were going back home, she was struck by a great sadness that she was returning without the boy,” he said.
Returning home, Yasmin Abu Amshah had a happy reunion with her younger sister, Amany, who had stayed in Gaza City throughout the war. “I thought it wouldn’t happen, and we wouldn’t see each other again,” the 34-year-old mother of three said.
Her four-story building was damaged but not destroyed, so she and other members of her extended family will stay there.
Those returning face an uncertain future. If the ceasefire collapses, they could face new Israeli offensives. If peace lasts, it’s not clear when Palestinians will be able to rebuild homes, leaving much of the population in temporary housing.
Ibrahim Hammad, his wife and five children walked five hours back to their neighborhood in Gaza City – knowing their house there had been destroyed by an airstrike in December 2023. His family will stay at his brother’s house until he can clear a space in the ruins of his house to set up a tent.
“We had to return, even to the rubble,” the 48-year-old told the AP. “Here we don’t have a house, but our family is here, and we will help each other.”