A senior Palestinian official said on Thursday that European moves toward recognising an independent Palestine would bring them in line with global public opinion, ahead of a symbolic British parliament debate on the issue set for 13 October. The UK vote comes as Sweden’s new centre-left government is set to officially recognise Palestine and a spokesman for the French foreign ministry said this week that recognition would be a positive step at some point but still advised peace talks. Palestinians believe it is the best way to achieve a state.
“International public opinion is way ahead of many governments. There is a strong solidarity movement, there is a strong network of people speaking out when governments are much more timid and reticent,” Hanan Ashrawi, an official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation told reporters at her office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
One hundred and thirty-eight countries approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 but most European Union countries, including Britain, have yet to give official recognition.
PALESTINIAN PM, HANIYEH DISCUSS GAZA RECONSTRUCTION
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, on a visit to the Gaza Strip, on 9 October met with the deputy chief of the Political Office of Palestinian faction Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, to discuss the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, a leader of the movement said. “The meeting focused on preparations for and mechanisms of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as well as reopening Gaza’s crossings to ease the entry of construction materials into it,” Essam al-Daalis was quoted by the pro-Hamas Al-Rai news agency as saying. This was the first weekly meeting the Palestinian unity government held since being drawn up in June.
Hamdallah and the ministers of the Palestinian national unity government paid their first meeting to the Gaza Strip since the formation of the government in June. Al-Daalis said Hamdallah’s meeting with Haniyeh also discussed means of pursuing Palestinian reconciliation to the end and finding solutions to workers employed by the former Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. He said meeting figures had reached positive results that would contribute to boosting the work of the national unity government, especially as far as the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip is concerned.
IN EGYPT, NO LOGIC, JUSTICE OR RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: OSAMA MORSI
Osama Morsi, son of Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, said the coup regime is unable to face a confrontation between supporters of the January 25 Revolution and supporters of the military coup, a report said on 7 October. Earlier, in televised statements, Osama Morsi said: “There is a complete absence of trial guarantees of all forms and types. We, in Egypt, are outside the scope of logic, justice and respect for human rights. Trials faced by the President and all of his aides and supporters were unconstitutional. They had nothing to do with democracies or constitutions of the world.”
SAVE AKEF FROM DEATH, URGES AISHA AL-SHATER
The former Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Mahdi Akef’s health condition has deteriorated, Aisha Al-Shater, daughter of Khairat Al-Shater, the Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, was reported as saying on 9 October. On her Facebook page, Aisha wrote a post saying: “I just heard from Akef’s family that his health condition in the prison they call a hospital is deteriorating,” noting that he is “imprisoned in an entire ward by himself and is heavily guarded.”
She added: “I am astonished that this regime is afraid of an ill elderly man. I wonder if we will find anyone who will speak about this man who is suffering in the hospital while others suffer in prisons. Will they talk about his deteriorating health? Despite all of this, the regime not only insists on imprisoning him, but also on depriving him of his basic rights, such as being accompanied by his wife or any of his relatives.”
ENNAHDA READY FOR A COALITION WITH OLD REGIME OFFICIALS
Tunisia’s main party is ready to form a coalition government with rivals including former officials who worked with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before he was toppled in 2011, the party’s chief said. Tunisians go to the polls later this month for legislative elections in one of the last steps to full democracy after approving a new constitution last year and ending a political crisis.
Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Ennahda, said the North African country still needed a consensus to keep its fragile transition on track following the parliament vote on 26 October. A presidential ballot follows in November.
YEMEN’S NEW PM QUITS AFTER HOUTHIS CALL MASS PROTEST
Yemen’s new Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak quit his post early on 9 October hours after the Houthi militia called for mass protests against the “foreign interference” they said was behind his appointment. Mubarak said in a post on Facebook just 33 hours after his appointment was announced by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi that he had turned down the post in his first meeting with presidential advisers.
He did not refer directly to the criticism of his appointment by the Houthis, who seized the capital last month, but said he was aware of the pressure Hadi was under and praised the president for his handling of the country’s political crisis.
CAMPAIGN FOR SOLIDARITY WITH MUSLIM WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA
Growing oppression of Muslims in general, and particularly women in Australia brought a social media campaign in its wake. The aim of the campaign “to encourage women to take a photo of themselves wearing a headscarf to show support for Muslim women” and give rise to thought of religious freedom. The campaign, Women in Solidarity with Hijabs (WISH), began ten days ago and has already attracted almost 18,000 “likes” in Facebook, reported ABC, in its website.
Mariam Veiszadeh, a lawyer who started to campaign, says that everybody, especially Australian Muslim women appreciate the campaign and are happy with the responses. “It’s bringing it back to basics and saying we have a lot more in common than we have differences.” she said. It’s also said that during the nine days of campaign about 100 images have been shared as part of it and some known figures, including a television reporter, are joining the campaign.
MOSQUES OPEN DOORS TO NON-MUSLIMS IN GERMANY
Muslims in Germany opened the doors of their mosques to non-Muslims on 3 October with the hope of eliminating prejudices against Muslims and encouraging cultural exchange. “Unfortunately we are witnessing a growing fear of Islam and growing hostilities against Muslims in the German society,” Ender Cetin, the chairman of the Sehitlik Mosque Association in Berlin, told journalists during the “Open mosque day” event.
“Our German guests here are often asking us questions on violence and terrorism and whether they have any root in Islam. We are telling them the real values of Islam, informing them about our activities against extremism. We are trying to reduce prejudices against Muslims,” Cetin said.
‘SO-CALLED’ RADICALS MISUSING ISLAM: OIC
A senior figure from the world’s second-largest intergovernmental group after the U.N. has told an Istanbul audience that strategies are needed to challenge “so-called radical groups” misusing the name of Islam. Elshad Iskandarov, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s youth forum, was addressing delegates at major conference for young people in Turkey’s largest city.
Iskandarov noted that the progress of radical groups in the Syrian town of Kobani was pressing bodies like the OIC into adopting major strategies to stop extremists converting young people to their ideologies. “But how should we, the policy makers and experts reject this? In this particular area the four groups are: revenge seekers; adventure seekers; the self-identity seekers; and the ideology seekers. We should develop strategies to deny these so-called radicals,” Iskandarov said.