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Hamas Lashes Out at Abbas’s ‘Unilateral’ Designation of New PM
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appoints Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in Ramallah, in the West Bank March 14, 2024 in this handout image. Photo: Palestinian president office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
The Islamist terrorist group Hamas on Friday criticized the “unilateral” designation by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of an ally and leading business figure as prime minister with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA) and rebuild Gaza.
Mohammad Mustafa’s appointment comes after mounting pressure to overhaul the governing body of the Palestinian territories and improve governance in the West Bank where it is based.
Hamas said the decision was taken without consulting it despite recently taking part in a meeting in Moscow also attended by Abbas’ Fatah movement to end long-time divisions weakening Palestinian political aspirations.
“We express our rejection of continuing this approach that has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on our people and our national cause,” Hamas said in a statement.
“Making individual decisions and engaging in superficial and empty steps such as forming a new government without national consensus only reinforces a policy of unilateralism and deepens division.”
At a time of war with Israel, Palestinians needed a unified leadership preparing for free democratic elections involving all components of their society, it added.
In the West Bank, Fatah fired back at Hamas’ criticism of Abbas, blaming it for what had befallen Gaza since it unilaterally carried out “the Oct. 7 adventure.”
“Has Hamas consulted the Palestinian leadership as it is negotiating with Israel now and offering the concessions, in a bid to secure guarantees of its leaders’ personal safety in return?” said the Fatah statement.
FOREIGN DEMANDS
As president, Abbas remains by far the most powerful figure in the Palestinian Authority, but the appointment of a new government showed willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.
Mustafa, who helped organize the reconstruction of Gaza following a previous conflict, was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the area, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, and reform Palestinian Authority institutions, according to the designation letter.
He replaces former Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh who, along with his government, resigned in February.
Arab and international efforts have so far failed to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, which makes up the backbone of the PA, since the Hamas 2007 take over of Gaza, a move that reduced Abbas’s authority to the West Bank.
Palestinians want both territories as the core of a future independent state.
Hamas said any attempt to exclude it from the political scene after the war was “delusional.”
In a recent warning, a security official told a Hamas-linked news website that attempts by clans or community leaders to cooperate with Israel’s plans to administer Gaza would be seen as “treason” and met with an “iron fist.”
But the group denied media reports it killed some local clan leaders in recent days for meddling with aid distribution.
The post Hamas Lashes Out at Abbas’s ‘Unilateral’ Designation of New PM first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Treasure Trove: How the State of Israel prepared for the announcement of its independence
The ceremony at which the State of Israel was proclaimed started at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 14, 1948—the British Mandate was ending at midnight between Friday and Saturday, a final shot to the Jewish community, necessitating that the new state be declared before sundown. The ceremony took 32 minutes. It was only on the […]
The post Treasure Trove: How the State of Israel prepared for the announcement of its independence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final
2023 Eurovision Song Contest winner Loreen performs on stage during the rehearsal of the Grand Final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, in Malmo, Sweden, May 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Thousands of people protested in Malmo on Saturday against Israel‘s participation in Eurovision Song Contest, with the Israeli military campaign in Gaza casting a shadow over the final of the glitzy contest.
Eurovision organizers, who always bill the annual event as non-political, have resisted calls to exclude Israel, but requested that the lyrics of its entry be changed to remove what organizers called references to the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the war.
A large crowd of protesters gathered on the central square of the Swedish host city before marching towards the contest venue, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Eurovision united by genocide” – a twist on the contest’s official slogan “United by music”.
“It’s important to show, like, we are going to stand on the right side for everyone. This could be any other country and we would still be standing here because this is about children, men and women who have been occupied for so many years,” said one protester on Saturday, Maryam, who gave only her first name.
Police estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people joined the demonstration.
The final, the culmination of the festival of catchy songs, gaudy costumes and tongue-in-cheek kitsch, kicks off at 1900 GMT.
In Malmo, French singer Slimane halted his rehearsal act on Saturday to say it had been a childhood dream of his to sing for peace.
“We need to be united by music,” Slimane said, referring to the official Eurovision slogan, followed by cheering from the crowd in the auditorium.
More than 10,000 anti-Israel campaigners, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, staged a non-violent protest ahead of the semi-final on Thursday.
A smaller group of pro-Israel supporters, including members of Malmo’s Jewish community, also staged a peaceful demonstration on Thursday, defending Israeli solo artist Eden Golan, 20, and her right to take part in the contest.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have complained of double standards as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that organizes the contest banned Russia from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will not stop the war until Hamas is eliminated.
DUTCH FANS DISAPPOINTED
In another Eurovision controversy this year, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was expelled on Saturday from the competition final after a complaint by a member of the production crew, the EBU said.
“While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him (Joost) to continue in the Contest,” the EBU said in a statement.
A representative for Klein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Klein was filmed despite clearly made agreements, just after getting off stage after his performance at Thursday’s semi final.
“This wasn’t respected,” AVROTROS said in a post on social media platform X, adding “This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera.”
Klein did not touch the camerawoman, according to AVROTROS, who said it found the artist’s penalty “very heavy and disproportionate.”
A Dutch fan, Frank Zwarthoed, said, “We are very, very, very disappointed… And it’s not good for the for the joy, we have in all the Dutch fans here that are present.”
Dutch viewers will still be allowed to vote for other contestants and the Dutch jury result will still be included in the final, the EBU has said.
Bookmakers have Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, real name Marko Purišić, 28, with “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” as front-runner to win the contest, followed by Israel‘s Golan, with her song “Hurricane.”
Some booing was heard from the crowd before, during and after Golan’s performance in the semi-finals on Thursday, but there was also applause and Israeli flags being waved, according to a Reuters journalist in the auditorium.
The post Eurovision Song Contest Faces Anti-Israel Protests Ahead of Final first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Islamic Hardliners Cement Grip Over Iran’s Parliament After Election Runoff
An Iranian woman casts her vote during parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo
i24 News – Iran’s hardliner Islamist on Saturday won the bulk of the remaining seats in an election run-off to claim full control of the Islamic Republic’s parliament.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has hailed the people’s participation in the parliamentary runoff election in the country, saying that he hopes the vote will help form a strong parliament. pic.twitter.com/BvuyemTAV4
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) May 10, 2024
The result, tallied with that of the previous vote in March, gives hardliners 233 of the 290 seats in Iran’s parliament.
Hardliners seek more repressive restrictions in line with Islamic sharia, including demanding that women don veils in public. They are also defined by enmity toward the West, particularly the United States, and virulent antisemitism.
Those politicians calling for change in the country’s government, known broadly as reformists, have been for the most part barred from running in the election.
Vote counting began after the ballots closed late Friday, with the election authority publishing the names of the winners the day after.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated the election saw “good participation,” without elaborating. “All elected people have had a relatively good and acceptable” number of votes, he said.
The parliament in Iran plays a secondary role in governing the country though it can intensify pressure on the administration when deciding on the annual budget and other important bills. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say in all important state matters.
The post Islamic Hardliners Cement Grip Over Iran’s Parliament After Election Runoff first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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