https://arab.news/j9s3s
GAZA CITY: Christians in the Gaza Strip hope to celebrate Christmas each year and reunite with their families, but Israeli restrictions on movement are preventing thousands from taking part in the occasion.
Israel has been accused of strictly limiting permits to pray in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to a limited number of worshipers.
The Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority — the body responsible for communicating with Israeli officials at Erez crossing — said that Israel rejected more than 260 applications.
An anonymous source told Arab News that the authority received approval for only about 640 people from the more than 900 applications submitted.
A senior Israeli security official told journalists in a phone briefing that about 200 people were denied access to Israel after being denied security clearances.
About 1,100 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, according to statistics issued by the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza.
The number of Christians in Gaza has fallen in past years as a result of migration, owing to the dire economic situation, siege and successive Israeli offensives.
Many have moved to the West Bank or emigrated abroad.
“We feel very sorry that not all Christians were granted the necessary permits,” Kamel Ayad, director of public relations at the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza, told Arab News.
“It is our right as Christians to witness Christmas celebrations in the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem as it is available to all Christians of the world to travel to,” said Ayad.
Ayad added that the usual practice every year was to send a list of the names of Christians who wish to obtain a permit to travel during the Christmas period.
In most cases the issuance of permits is random, meaning that only some members of Christian families can visit Bethlehem, said Ayad.
The YMCA in Gaza lights up a large Christmas tree each year at the association square with participation of Christians and Muslims.
Israel has imposed a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control of the area by the armed force in mid-2007.
Hani Farah, secretary-general of Gaza’s YMCA, said that Israel “practices all forms of repression and violations against the Palestinians, regardless of their religion or gender.”
He added: “Just as Israeli bombs and missiles do not differentiate between the Palestinian and the Palestinian, the blockade and its repressive measures do not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian. We are all trapped in Gaza and we share pain and suffering.”
Sanaa, a Gaza Strip Christian, received approval for a permit, but her husband and her three children did not.
She said: “What should I do with the permit alone without my family?”
Sanaa told Arab News: “The spirit of Christmas is for all family members to gather in one place. I cannot attend the Christmas celebration in Bethlehem alone. This happens every year. One or two members of the family only get a permit.”
Israel controls the entry and exit of Palestinians through the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, and grants permits only to humanitarian cases and several thousand daily workers, in addition to some aid workers in international organizations.
Hamas condemned the Israeli ban of Christians from traveling to the West Bank during Christmas.
“We condemn the Israeli occupation’s banning of Christian Gazans from accessing sacred places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem on religious holidays,” said a statement.
“As the Israeli move restricts the Palestinian Christians’ access to holy places, we deem it a flagrant violation of the right to worship.”
JUBA: The dire humanitarian crisis in Sudan, stemming from the prolonged conflict, has left millions of people in desperate need of assistance. However, relief efforts face significant challenges.
Funding shortages, security constraints, and bureaucratic obstacles imposed by local authorities have hindered the delivery of essential aid. And gaining access to conflict-affected areas has posed additional difficulties due to the disregard for humanitarian laws.
According to the UN, more than $3 billion is urgently required from international donors to support the humanitarian response in Sudan and the neighboring countries hosting large numbers of refugees.
However, during a pledging conference held in Geneva last week, donors only committed half of the required amount.
Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, said the significant funding gap presented a major obstacle to scaling up the response.
She noted her frustration with the international and regional communities for not providing adequate support and highlighted the need for self-reliance.
Aid groups are currently facing difficulties in distributing the limited resources available. While nearly 3 million people have received aid since April, the absence of safe humanitarian corridors to conflict-affected areas has forced individuals to heavily rely on neighbors and mutual aid networks.
In addition to funding shortages, relief organizations face bureaucratic hurdles imposed by local authorities. Visa complications, supply import restrictions, and withheld permits have hampered the timely delivery of aid.
These measures, ostensibly for security purposes, have been seen as attempts to tighten control over humanitarian operations. Such bureaucratic obstacles have further exacerbated the suffering of those in need and limited the involvement of international agencies with the expertise and resources to address the crisis effectively.
Mukesh Kapila, a former UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for the Sudan, highlighted the unique challenges of delivering aid.
He told Arab News: “The nature of the conflict renders fighters on both sides indifferent to the rules of humanitarian law, making aid delivery dangerous and unpredictable. Foreign workers evacuated swiftly when violence erupted, and regaining access is difficult.
“Implementing smuggling operations on a larger scale might help, by strategically transporting aid to conflict areas to prevent targeting by looters and fighters. Local individuals, such as activists familiar with the ground realities, should take the lead in these efforts.”
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society, described as the country’s largest humanitarian responder, has also found security to be the main obstacle to its operations.
Barakat Faris Badri, the organization’s operations director, said that although they recently delivered supplies from the World Food Programme to the residents of Khartoum, the demand for assistance was far greater. The distribution of more food and increased action was urgently needed, he added.
The looting of humanitarian warehouses and offices has further compounded the challenges faced by aid agencies. To ensure the safety of their operations, organizations have been forced to close their Khartoum headquarters and relocate to the eastern city of Port Sudan, situated along the Red Sea.
Both the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army have been accused of involvement in the looting and diversion of aid, undermining their earlier commitments to facilitate humanitarian assistance following recent mediation efforts in Saudi Arabia.
William Carter, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan, told Arab News: “To improve the situation, we are considering engaging with Chadian authorities to establish an operating base in Chad. This would facilitate the delivery of aid to Darfur.
“Additionally, obtaining consent from the Sudanese government and the Rapid Support Forces for cross-border assistance would be crucial.”
Carter pointed out the organization’s efforts in initiating an education and protection program, with a special emphasis on traumatized children.
He said: “The NRC is actively working with collective shelters for displaced people from Khartoum, and by supporting these locally led initiatives, we can ensure that the assistance provided is tailored to the specific needs of the communities.
“As we continue our work in Sudan, we are looking into expanding our relief efforts and exploring the possibility of implementing cash-based programs. This approach can provide affected individuals with the flexibility to get the items they need the most.”
JUBA: The dire humanitarian crisis in Sudan, stemming from the prolonged conflict, has left millions of people in desperate need of assistance. However, relief efforts face significant challenges.
Funding shortages, security constraints, and bureaucratic obstacles imposed by local authorities have hindered the delivery of essential aid. And gaining access to conflict-affected areas has posed additional difficulties due to the disregard for humanitarian laws.
According to the UN, more than $3 billion is urgently required from international donors to support the humanitarian response in Sudan and the neighboring countries hosting large numbers of refugees.
However, during a pledging conference held in Geneva last week, donors only committed half of the required amount.
Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, said the significant funding gap presented a major obstacle to scaling up the response.
She noted her frustration with the international and regional communities for not providing adequate support and highlighted the need for self-reliance.
Aid groups are currently facing difficulties in distributing the limited resources available. While nearly 3 million people have received aid since April, the absence of safe humanitarian corridors to conflict-affected areas has forced individuals to heavily rely on neighbors and mutual aid networks.
In addition to funding shortages, relief organizations face bureaucratic hurdles imposed by local authorities. Visa complications, supply import restrictions, and withheld permits have hampered the timely delivery of aid.
These measures, ostensibly for security purposes, have been seen as attempts to tighten control over humanitarian operations. Such bureaucratic obstacles have further exacerbated the suffering of those in need and limited the involvement of international agencies with the expertise and resources to address the crisis effectively.
Mukesh Kapila, a former UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for the Sudan, highlighted the unique challenges of delivering aid.
He told Arab News: “The nature of the conflict renders fighters on both sides indifferent to the rules of humanitarian law, making aid delivery dangerous and unpredictable. Foreign workers evacuated swiftly when violence erupted, and regaining access is difficult.
“Implementing smuggling operations on a larger scale might help, by strategically transporting aid to conflict areas to prevent targeting by looters and fighters. Local individuals, such as activists familiar with the ground realities, should take the lead in these efforts.”
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society, described as the country’s largest humanitarian responder, has also found security to be the main obstacle to its operations.
Barakat Faris Badri, the organization’s operations director, said that although they recently delivered supplies from the World Food Programme to the residents of Khartoum, the demand for assistance was far greater. The distribution of more food and increased action was urgently needed, he added.
The looting of humanitarian warehouses and offices has further compounded the challenges faced by aid agencies. To ensure the safety of their operations, organizations have been forced to close their Khartoum headquarters and relocate to the eastern city of Port Sudan, situated along the Red Sea.
Both the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army have been accused of involvement in the looting and diversion of aid, undermining their earlier commitments to facilitate humanitarian assistance following recent mediation efforts in Saudi Arabia.
William Carter, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan, told Arab News: “To improve the situation, we are considering engaging with Chadian authorities to establish an operating base in Chad. This would facilitate the delivery of aid to Darfur.
“Additionally, obtaining consent from the Sudanese government and the Rapid Support Forces for cross-border assistance would be crucial.”
Carter pointed out the organization’s efforts in initiating an education and protection program, with a special emphasis on traumatized children.
He said: “The NRC is actively working with collective shelters for displaced people from Khartoum, and by supporting these locally led initiatives, we can ensure that the assistance provided is tailored to the specific needs of the communities.
“As we continue our work in Sudan, we are looking into expanding our relief efforts and exploring the possibility of implementing cash-based programs. This approach can provide affected individuals with the flexibility to get the items they need the most.”
DUBAI: Pope Francis said he rejected the authorization of the burning of the Qur’an in an interview with UAE’s newspaper al-Ittihad on Monday, adding that such acts made him angry.
“Any book considered holy should be respected to respect those who believe in it,” the pope said. “I feel angry and disgusted at these actions”
The remarks are considered the first statement by the head of the Catholic Church about incidents of burning copies of the Quran in Sweden.
“Allowing this is unacceptable and condemned,” he said, stressing that freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse to offend others.
“Our mission is to transform the religious sense into cooperation, fraternity, and tangible acts of goodness.”
A man tore up and burned a Qur’an in Sweden’s capital Stockholm last week, resulting in strong condemnation from several countries.
While Swedish police have rejected several recent applications for anti-Qur’an demonstrations, courts have over-ruled those decisions, saying they infringed freedom of speech.
On Sunday, an Islamic grouping of 57 states said collective measures are needed to prevent acts of desecration to the Qur’ran and international law should be used to stop religious hatred.
(with Reuters)
An Iranian appeals court has jailed for five years prominent activist and journalist Golrokh Iraee who has been held since her arrest at the onset of a protest movement, supporters said Sunday.
Iraee had refused to take part in the appeals court hearing over her sentence for taking part in illegal gatherings and violating national security, saying she did not recognise the legitimacy of the court, rights groups have said.
She was arrested last September in a police raid on her home at the start of the protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini who had been detained for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women.
“Golrokh Iraee, who been in Evin prison for 280 days, was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment” by the Tehran court, according to a Twitter account in her name run by supporters.
The court of first instance initially sentenced her to seven years in April.
Well known for her campaigns on issues including stoning sentences and prison conditions, Iraee is the wife of activist Arash Sadeghi who was also arrested during the protest movement but has now been released.
Some activists arrested during Iran’s crackdown on the protest movement have been released over the past few months as the protests abated in intensity.
But prominent women campaigners remain behind bars including the prize-winning Narges Mohammadi, labour rights activist Sepideh Gholian and environmental campaigners Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani.
Meanwhile, the two women journalists who did most to expose the case of Mahsa Amini — Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, also both held since September — are on trial in Tehran on national security charges.
JERUSALEM: Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least four Palestinians were killed.
Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp early Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers – including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.
Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. According to Palestinian media reports, the operation disrupted life for local residents, with electricity cut off in some parts and a military bulldozer seen driving through narrow streets – another reminder of Israel’s incursions during the last uprising. The Palestinians condemned the violence.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesman, said the operation began just after 1 a.m. with an airstrike on a building used by militants for planning attacks. He said the goal of the operation was to destroy and confiscate weapons.
“We’re not planning to hold ground,” he said. “We’re acting against specific targets.”
He said that a brigade-size force – roughly 2,000 soldiers – was taking part in the operation, and that military drones had carried out a series of strikes to clear the way for the ground forces. Although Israel has carried out isolated airstrikes in the West Bank in recent weeks, Hecht said Monday’s series of strikes marked an escalation unseen since 2006 — the end of the Palestinian uprising.
While Israel described the attack as a pinpoint operation, videos on Palestinian social media showed a large tuft of white smoke billowing from a crowded area, with a mosque minaret nearby. Other videos showed a wounded man was brought into a hospital on a stretcher, while another was carried in by a group of men.
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the military blocked roads within the camp, took over houses and buildings and set up snipers on rooftops. The agency also said the military cut off electricity in large areas of the camp and that army bulldozers caused damage to property.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least three Palestinians were killed and 13 injured early Monday, three of them critically. Hecht said as many as seven militants were believed dead.
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.
“Our Palestinian people will not kneel, will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, said in a statement.
The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated since the spring of 2022. Jenin has long been a bastion for armed struggle against Israel and was a major friction point in the last Palestinian uprising.
In 2002, days after a Palestinian suicide bombing during a large Passover gathering that killed 30 people, Israeli troops launched a massive operation in the Jenin camp. For eight days and nights they fought militants street by street, using armored bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been booby-trapped.
Monday’s raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin and after the military said a rocket was fired from the area last week, which landed in the West Bank..
“There has been a dynamic here around Jenin for the last year,” Hecht said, defending Monday’s tactics. “It’s been intensifying all the time.”
But there also may have been political considerations at play. Leading members of Israel’s far-right government, which is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters, have been calling for a broader military response to the ongoing violence in the area.
“Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist who recently called for Israel to kill “thousands” of militants if necessary, tweeted. “Praying for their success.”
Monday’s deaths bring the death toll of Palestinians killed this year in the West Bank to 132, part of more than a yearlong spike in violence that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in that area in nearly two decades.
The outburst of violence escalated last year after a spate of Palestinian attacks prompted Israel to step up its raids in the West Bank.
Israel says the raids are meant to beat back militants. The Palestinians say such violence is inevitable in the absence of any political process with Israel and increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers. They see the intensifying Israeli military presence in the area as an entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year open-ended occupation of the territory.
Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and also people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.
Palestinian attacks against Israelis since the start of this year have killed 24 people.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.