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RAMALLAH: Two teenagers from Tel Aviv have been arrested for firebombing the Sayedna Ali Mosque in Herzliya in January.
Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet said on Friday that Liad Ohana, 19, and a 16-year-old boy, who was not named, had been indicted on multiple charges, including committing terrorist acts, arson and the use of weapons for terrorist purposes.
It said the pair had also initially planned to lynch an Arab citizen, “but they abandoned the idea and decided to attack a mosque.”
The statement said there had been an increase in nationalism in the wake of the terrorist attacks by settlers in Hawara in February, which “constitutes a threat to the state’s security.”
“During the investigation conducted by the Shin Bet, it became clear that the two suspects were involved in the crime attributed to them and the evidence collected revealed that the attempt to burn the mosque was motivated by nationalism,” Shin Bet said.
It added that after looking at mosques in the Tel Aviv area, the teenagers decided to target one in the abandoned village of Haram, near the city of Herzliya.
According to the arrest request submitted by the public prosecution to the court, the two suspects manufactured “incendiary Molotov cocktails to implement the plan to arson the mosque.”
“If the defendants’ plan had been fully implemented and the mosque caught fire, this would have led to an escalation of severe acts of violence in Israeli society,” Shin Bet said.
Jalal Banna, a political analyst, told Arab News that statements made by Israel’s Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had emboldened Jewish extremists to commit terrorist attacks against Arabs.
“This gives them legitimacy to take revenge on the Arabs and it becomes part of the policy of the Israeli government that the extremists are leading,” he said.
Banna referred to a petition submitted by hawkish deputies from the Knesset on Thursday to Defense Minister Yoav Galant demanding the release of Jewish extremists who burned Palestinian homes and vehicles in Hawara on Feb. 26.
Israeli Arabs were living in fear of retaliation during the upcoming month of Ramadan, he said.
Yousef Jabarin, a former Arab member of the Israeli parliament, told Arab News that the comments made by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich against Arabs had encouraged Jewish extremists to carry out terrorist acts with impunity.
“There are dozens of terrorist crimes committed by Jewish extremists against Arabs, including burning vehicles and trees, attacking holy places and physical assaults without the security services arresting them and bringing them to trial,” he said.
AMMAN: Jordan on Monday summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest over the behavior of an Israel minister who spoke at a podium that had an Israeli flag with expanded borders that incorporated the kingdom and the Palestinian territories.
Earlier Amman condemned the ultra-nationalist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s move saying it was a provocative move by an “extremist” and “racist” minister that violated international norms and Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel.
More to follow…
BRUSSELS: The European Union and international donors on Monday pledged seven billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of the neighboring countries last month.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU’s executive arm, said 3.3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) of the total amount will be raised by the 27-nation bloc.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6 killed more than 52,000 people — the vast majority in Turkiye. Nearly 300,000 buildings in Turkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, according to the country’s president.
“We have shown to the people in Turkiye and Syria that we are supporting those in need,” Von der Leyen said, adding that the global pledge included 1.1 billion euros from the EU’s executive arm, and 500 millions from the European Investment Bank, backed by the EU budget.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the conference via videolink and described some of the reconstruction challenges, including deadly floods that hit parts of the earthquake zone last week.
“Some of the aftershocks have been going on for a while and they are of equal magnitude to a separate earthquake,” he said. “We have been fighting against the flood disasters and challenging weather conditions.”
Erdogan said some 298,000 buildings across 11 provinces affected by the earthquake were destroyed or left unfit for use.
“No single country can fight against such a disaster, regardless of its level of economic development,” he said, putting the cost of reconstruction at $104 billion. “Your contributions made at this conference will contribute to the healing of wounds and wipe clean the traces of this disaster.”
The conference hosted by the European Commission and Sweden — which holds the rotating presidency of the EU — was attended by NGOs, G-20 countries and UN members as well as international financial institutions.
Survivors of the earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country’s 12-year war. The EU said 15.3 million Syrians of a population of 21.3 million already required humanitarian assistance before the earthquake struck.
The bloc has been providing humanitarian aid to Syria since 2011 and wants to step it up. But it does not intend to help with reconstruction in the war-torn country, with EU sanctions against the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad in place due to its continued crackdown against civilians.
Von der Leyen said the Commission pledged an additional 108 million euros ($115.8 million) in humanitarian aid for Syria on Monday.
“All together we managed to raise with our partners 950 million euros ($1 billion) for the people in Syria,” she said. “This is just the first step.”
The International Rescue Committee, an aid group responding to humanitarian crises, had urged donors to ensure that the UN’s appeal for Turkiye and Syria — calling for $1 billion and $397 million respectively — is fully funded.
“The people affected by this devastating earthquake are relying on donors meeting in Brussels to step up this week,” said Tanya Evans, the IRC’s Country Director in Syria. “They need to ensure that funding is available for life-saving items including food, shelter, warm clothes and clean water, as well as support to the already weak health care system including the provision of medicines and medical equipment. If they fail to do so, the most vulnerable will pay the price,” she added.
LONDON: The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were the happiest Arab countries from 2020 to 2022, according to the World Happiness Report, which was published on Monday.
Lebanon, suffering from economic malaise and a political crisis, was the unhappiest Arab state and second-last out of the 137 countries measured in the study.
The report, titled “World Happiness, Trust and Social Connections in Times of Crisis,” surveyed respondents from around the world for the three years spanning the COVID-19 pandemic.
It measured well-being through three main indicators: life evaluations, positive emotions and negative emotions. Happiness rankings were based on a three-year average of life evaluations.
Several variables were also considered in the study, including gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption.
“Only at the extremes do country rankings for life evaluations differ significantly from all others — Finland at the top and Afghanistan and Lebanon at the bottom,” the report said.
Out of the 137 countries measured, the top three Arab countries were the UAE at 26, Saudi Arabia at 30 and Bahrain at 42.
The three Gulf states were the only Arab countries out of the 13 listed that were in the top third of the global list.
Nine Arab countries were not listed: Djibouti, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The bottom half of the rankings included Algeria (81), Iraq (98), Palestine (99), Morocco (100), Mauritania (103), Tunisia (110), Egypt (121), Jordan (123), Comoros (130) and Lebanon (136). The only country listed behind Lebanon was Afghanistan.
The World Happiness Report highlighted several surprising findings, including that the number of benevolent acts in 2022 measured about a quarter higher than before the pandemic.
The gathered data appeared to confirm a range of studies showing that higher public trust led to more successful pandemic responses in countries around the world.
“The benefits of high trust were especially great for those in conditions of adversity, including ill-health, unemployment, low income, discrimination and unsafe streets,” the report said.
It added that its life evaluation metric “continued to be remarkably resilient,” with global averages throughout the pandemic measuring “just as high as those in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”
LONDON: A UN aid organization on Monday appealed for $16.2 million to help Palestine refugees affected by the recent devastating earthquake in Syria.
Officials of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) made their plea for funds during the International Donors’ Conference in Brussels, Emirates News Agency reported.
Part of the agency’s 2023 Syria-Lebanon Flash Appeal, the money was urgently required to meet the humanitarian and early recovery needs of the refugee group following the quake that rocked the north of Syria in February.
Nearly 47,000 Palestine refugees in Syria are estimated to have been affected by the disaster with more than 2,300 still displaced.
The agency has already provided hygiene kits and blankets, psychosocial support for children, telemedicine help for vulnerable individuals, and cash assistance to families.
UNRWA schools have also reopened with catch-up classes and child psychosocial sessions.
While UNRWA has pledged to continue providing critical aid to Palestine refugees in the aftermath of the quake, it has stated that it cannot do so alone.
LONDON: The Global Media Congress, in partnership with the Emirates News Agency and trans-Atlantic think tank the Henry Jackson Society, published on Monday a white paper on the future of the media industry.
The launch ceremony, which was held in London, gathered more than 60 media leaders, politicians, and academics from across the industry, WAM reported.
The event held a panel discussion featuring WAM Director-General Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi; Lord James Bethell, a former parliamentary undersecretary of state in the UK; and Chiyo Robertson, a senior business editor. The discussion was moderated by Marc Sidwell, a director of research for the Henry Jackson Society.
The release of the white paper follows the conclusion of the Global Media Congress held in Abu Dhabi last November. It drew on discussions from the event’s roundtable debates on the resilience of news organizations in an age of rapid technological change, and the spread of disinformation.
The impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the demand for people-centric news, the growth of the metaverse, and Gen Z consumption habits are among the central themes explored. Four expert insights from leading media practitioners are also included in the white paper.
Al Rayssi said: “It is my hope that this white paper will serve as a reference point for the global media industry as we work together to sustainably reform for the future. It is something we intend to update and publish annually.”