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France bans pro-Palestinian rallies as antisemitic incidents spike
(JTA) — France’s interior minister instituted a ban on all pro-Palestinian demonstrations in response to the over 100 local antisemitic incidents recorded since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Saturday.
Gérald Darmanin said Thursday that given the context, such demonstrations “are likely to generate disturbances to public order.” He added that protest organizers could face arrest.
“Given the heightened anxiety among our Jewish community, especially with a worship-filled weekend on the horizon,” Darmanin told Radio France, “it’s imperative to act.”
Authorities around the world have reported hate speech heard at pro-Palestinian rallies, from Germany to Australia. In Sydney, some out of a group of 1,000 were heard chanting “gas the Jews” at a rally outside the city’s famed opera house on Monday night.
Darmanin told France Inter radio that antisemitic incidents have spiked online and offline, the latter manifesting as “mainly tags and swastikas … but also insults … and people arrested with a knife at the entrance of a school or synagogue … and a drone flying over a Jewish place of worship.”
“The Palestinian cause is an absolutely respectable one, France has always considered that we need two states, an Israeli one and a Palestinian one … but if it is a demonstration of support for Hamas … it’s no,” he said.
Several French cities had so far blocked individual planned rallies, but some protests were held despite the bans, such as ones held Wednesday night in Nantes, Nîmes and Bordeaux, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.
Another two at the Place de la République in Paris were held on Thursday evening despite bans set down by the Paris Administrative Court, which cited “proven risks of the export of this violence … on national soil.”
Several hundred people gathered, and some chanted “Israel assassin, Macron accomplice” and “Zionists, Zionists, you are terrorists” while carrying Palestinian flags, as reported by TV5 Monde.
France has increased security at Jewish institutions, including schools and synagogues, since Saturday’s attacks.
While a first specially chartered flight to bring French citizens home from Israel returned Thursday night, the French Foreign Ministry has disclosed that 12 French nationals are among the casualties of the conflict. President Emmanuel Macron, in a meeting at the Elysée Palace, said that four of the 17 French citizens currently unaccounted for in Israel and Gaza are children.
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240 Arrested as IDF Dismantles Hamas HQ Inside Kamel Adwan Hospital
Illustrative. Smoke rises following Israeli strikes in Gaza, October 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
i24 News – Israeli forces concluded an operation to dismantle a Hamas terror headquarters in Gaza’s Kamel Adwan Hospital. Some 240 terror suspects were arrested, including the hospital’s director and some 15 terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacre.
The post 240 Arrested as IDF Dismantles Hamas HQ Inside Kamel Adwan Hospital first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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IAF Downs Two Gazan Rockets Fired Towards Jerusalem
Illustrative. Rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel, in Gaza May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammd Salem
JNS.org – The Israeli Air Force on Saturday downed two rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip towards Jerusalem.
The attack triggered air-raid sirens in the capital, the Western Negev and the the Judean Foothills (the Shfela).
There were no reports of injuries.
Following the rocket fire, the military again called on Palestinians to evacuate parts of the northern Strip.
“Urgent warning to all those who have not yet evacuated the area specified in the map, and the Beit Hanun area [in the Strip’s northeast] in particular,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, posted to X.
“This area has been warned many times in the past. The IDF is operating in this area with force. You must evacuate the area immediately and move south towards Salah El Din Road. Moving via another road exposes you to danger,” he added.
On Dec. 11, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired four rockets at southern Israel, setting off sirens in several towns and villages along the border. The Israel Defense Forces intercepted two of the rockets, with the others impacting in open areas, causing no damage.
On Dec. 3, the IAF intercepted one rocket fired from northern Gaza.
The IDF’s year-plus-long offensive against Hamas in the enclave has greatly curbed rocket fire from the Strip, although Palestinian terrorists still intermittently target the Jewish state.
The post IAF Downs Two Gazan Rockets Fired Towards Jerusalem first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for what he said represented a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday.
Flight J2-8243 crashed in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was traveling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the Kremlin said.
The post Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash first appeared on Algemeiner.com.