Rumeysa Ozturk released from custody
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The National
7 hours ago
- The National
Saudi Arabia and Jordan denounce Itamar Ben-Gvir's 'provocative' visit to Al Aqsa Mosque
Saudi Arabia has condemned 'provocative' practices by Israeli officials at Al Aqsa Mosque compound, after Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the holy site on Sunday. 'Such practices fuel conflict in the region,' the kingdom's Foreign Ministry said. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the act as a 'flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, an unacceptable provocation, and a condemned scalation', stressing that Israel holds no sovereignty over Al Aqsa Mosque. Under a delicate decades-old status quo arrangement with Muslim authorities, the compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but may not pray there. The Waqf, the foundation that administers the complex, said Mr Ben-Gvir was among another 1,250 who ascended the site and who it said prayed, shouted and danced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to the visit that: 'Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will remain unchanged.' New anger erupted in Israel after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released two videos of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, as efforts to get a ceasefire deal stall and the country's far-right government appears to favour continued fighting to a ceasefire. PIJ released a six-minute video on Thursday showing distressed hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, which it said was recorded days before contact was lost with his captors. The next day, Hamas released a video of emaciated Evyatar David in a tunnel, part of which filmed him digging a hole that he said he thought would be his grave. The video was published as Steve Witkoff, US Middle East envoy and a pivotal figure in ceasefire negotiations, was visiting relatives of Israeli hostages. The footage caused rage in Israel, as well as the Israeli government. Mr Braslavski's mother said: 'Don't cry over the children in Gaza – cry for Rom,' according to The Times of Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a post on X: 'Let every government member watch Evyatar's video tonight before going to sleep and try to fall asleep while thinking of Evyatar trying to survive in a tunnel.' Protesters also blocked a motorway in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning, calling for a hostage deal in solidarity with the hostages. Polling consistently suggests that Israelis also oppose the war, with the majority concerned for the well-being of hostages and Israeli soldiers. Concern over the war's effects on Gazan civilians remains low, with 74 per cent of Israeli Jews saying 'they are not distressed by the humanitarian situation in Gaza', according to a poll published on Sunday by Israeli think tank INSS. The continuing opposition to the war inside Israel comes as many ministers double down on the necessity of continuing the conflict. Far-right Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu said on Wednesday that releasing hostages should not be the main goal of the war. '[Hostages] should be called 'prisoners of war … and 'prisoners of war' are dealt with at the end of the war,' he added. Mr Ben-Gvir, who leads the Otzma Yehudit party to which Mr Eliyahu belongs, said on Sunday that the 'only way' to return hostages and win the war against Hamas was by sending the message that 'we are already occupying all of the Gaza Strip, declaring sovereignty across the entire Gaza Strip, eliminating every Hamas member and encouraging voluntary emigration'. Mr Ben-Gvir made the comments at the flashpoint Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem where he also prayed, challenging rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Hamas called its attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, 'Al Aqsa Flood' and said they were in part response to the breaches of the mosques status quo, including by ministers in Mr Netanyahu's government.
Middle East Eye
8 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Ben Gvir Al-Aqsa visit an 'escalation of aggression': Hamas
Israeli far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led a march of Israeli settlers through occupied East Jerusalem to Al-Aqsa Mosque from late Saturday into early Sunday. Shortly after, Ben Gvir renewed his calls for the Israeli government to 'conquer' all of Gaza in a post on X. Hamas condemned the move as 'an escalation of aggression against our Palestinian people' and 'a provocation of the feelings of Muslims everywhere'. The Palestinian movement further warned that the march represents a direct threat to "regional and international peace and security", and urged the international community to take "urgent steps" to stop what it described as "systematic violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque". A spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the move "crossed all red lines", and called for "immediate international intervention". Jordan's foreign ministry also issued a statement condemning the march "in the strongest terms" as a 'flagrant violation of international law'.
Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Israel PM says in 'profound shock' over hostage videos
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "profound shock" over videos showing two emaciated hostages in Gaza, with the EU also denouncing the clips on Sunday and demanding the release of all remaining captives after nearly 22 months of war. Over the past few days, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released three videos showing two hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The images of Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David have sparked strong reactions among Israelis, fuelling renewed calls to reach a truce and hostage release deal without delay. A statement from Netanyahu's office late Saturday said he had spoken with the families of the two hostages and "expressed profound shock over the materials distributed by the terror organisations". Netanyahu "told the families that the efforts to return all our hostages are ongoing", the statement added. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of people had rallied in the coastal hub of Tel Aviv to urge Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining captives. In the clips shared by the Palestinian Islamist groups, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli dual national, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished. There was particular outrage in Israel over images of David who appeared to be digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave. The videos make references to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned a "famine is unfolding". EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the images "are appalling and expose the barbarity of Hamas", calling for the release of "all hostages... immediately and unconditionally". 'Hamas must disarm' Kallas said in the same post on X that "Hamas must disarm and end its rule in Gaza" — demands endorsed earlier this week by Arab countries, including key mediators Qatar and Egypt. She added that "large-scale humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need". Israel has heavily restricted the entry of aid into Gaza, which was already under blockade for 15 years before the war began. UN agencies, humanitarian groups and analysts say that much of the trickle of food aid that Israel allows in is looted or diverted in chaotic circumstances. Many desperate Palestinians are left to risk their lives under fire seeking what aid is distributed through controlled channels. On Sunday, Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed nine Palestinians who were waiting to collect food rations from a site operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near the southern city of Rafah. "The soldiers opened fire on people. I was there, no one posed any threat" to the Israeli forces, 31-year-old witness Jabr Al Shaer told AFP by phone. There was no comment from the military. Five more people were killed near a different GHF aid site in central Gaza on Sunday, while Israeli attacks elsewhere killed another five people, said civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal. 'Emaciated and desperate' Israeli newspapers dedicated their front pages on Sunday to the plight of the hostages, with Maariv decrying "hell in Gaza" and Yedioth Ahronoth showing a "malnourished, emaciated and desperate" David. Left-leaning Haaretz declared that "Netanyahu is in no rush" to rescue the captives, echoing claims by critics that the longtime leader has prolonged the war for his own political survival. Braslavski and David are among the 49 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack who are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Most of the 251 hostages seized in the attack have been released during two short-lived truces in the war, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said one of its staff members was killed in an Israeli attack on its Khan Younis headquarters, in southern Gaza. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "not aware of a strike" in that area. Media restrictions and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by various parties. An AFP journalist aboard a French army plane airdropping aid on Saturday saw widespread destruction at the Gaza City port and elsewhere in the territory's north, with entire neighbourhoods levelled. 'Provocation' In Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem on Sunday, firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said in a filmed statement that "the response to Hamas's horror videos" should include Gaza's occupation and plans for the "voluntary emigration" of its people. The video was taken at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, though they are barred from praying there under a long-standing convention. Jordan, which acts as the site's custodian, condemned the minister's latest visit there as "an unacceptable provocation", while Hamas called it "a deepening of the ongoing aggression against our Palestinian people". Netanyahu's office said in a statement that "Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change".
