Russia's Putin holds phone call with Netanyahu, Interfax says
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Arab News
8 minutes ago
- Arab News
Saudi crown prince receives Kuwaiti PM at NEOM Palace
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at NEOM Palace on Monday. The two officials reviewed the historic relations between their countries, aspects of bilateral cooperation, and ways to enhance and develop it in various fields. They also exchanged views on a number of topics of common interest, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Arab News
38 minutes ago
- Arab News
Why the delay in judging Israeli war crimes?
The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem released a comprehensive report on July 27 describing the Israeli war on Gaza as genocide. However, the delay in publishing such an indictment is troubling and adds to an existing problem of politically motivated decision-making processes that have, in their own right, prolonged Israeli war crimes. The report accused Israel of committing genocide, a conclusion reached after a detailed analysis of the military campaign's intent, the systematic destruction of civilian life, and the government-engineered famine. This finding is significant because it adds to the massive body of legal and testimonial evidence affirming the Palestinian position that Israel's actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. Moreover, the fact that B'Tselem is an Israeli organization is doubly important. It represents an insider's indictment of the horrific massacres and the government-engineered famine in Gaza, directly challenging the baseless argument that accusing Israel of genocide is an act of antisemitism. Western media were particularly interested in this finding, even though numerous firsthand Palestinian reports and investigations are often ignored or downplayed. This double standard continues to feed into a chronic media problem in its perception of Palestine and Israel. Claims by Palestinians of Israeli war crimes have historically been ignored by mainstream media or academia. Whether the Zionist militia's massacre of Tantura in 1948, the actual number of Palestinians and Lebanese killed in the massacres of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982, or the events resulting in the Jenin massacre in the West Bank in 2002, the media has frequently ignored the Palestinian account. It often gains a degree of validation only if it is backed by Israeli or Western voices. The latest B'Tselem report is no exception. But another question must be asked: Why did it take almost two years for B'Tselem to reach such an obvious conclusion? Israeli rights groups, in particular, have far greater access to the conduct of the Israeli army, the statements of politicians, and Hebrew media coverage than any other entity. Such a conclusion, therefore, should have been reached in a matter of two months, not two years. This kind of intentional delay has so far defined the position of many international institutions, organizations, and individuals whose moral authority would have helped Palestinians establish the facts of the genocide globally much earlier. For example, despite the International Court of Justice's historic ruling on Jan. 26, 2024, that determined there are plausible grounds for South Africa's accusation of Israel of committing genocide, the court is still unable, or unwilling, to produce a conclusive ruling. A definitive ruling would have put significant pressure on Israel to end its mass killing in Gaza. Instead, for now, the ICJ expects Israel to investigate itself — a highly unrealistic expectation at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises his extremist ministers that Israel will encourage the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. The same indictment of intentional and politicized delays can be attributed to the International Criminal Court. While it issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Nov. 21, 2024, no concrete action has been taken. Instead, it is Karim Khan, the ICC's chief prosecutor, who finds himself attacked by the US government and media for having the courage to follow through on the investigation. Individuals, too, especially those who have been associated with 'revolutionary' politics — the likes of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, among others — have been reluctant to act. On March 22, 2024, Ocasio-Cortez refused to use the term genocide in Gaza, going as far as claiming that while she saw an 'unfolding genocide,' she was not yet ready to use the term herself. Sanders, on the other hand, who has spoken out repeatedly and strongly against Netanyahu, describing him in an interview with CNN on July 31 as a 'disgusting liar,' has had repeated moral lapses since the start of the war. When the term genocide was used by many far less 'radical' politicians, Sanders doubled down during a lecture at a university in Ireland. He said that the word genocide 'makes him queasy,' and he urged people to be 'careful about it.' Delays born of political calculation and fear of retribution have given Israel the critical space it needed to carry out its genocide. Dr. Ramzy Baroud These are not simply lost opportunities or instances of moral equivocation; they have had a profound and direct impact on Israel's behavior. The timely intervention of governments, international institutions, high courts, media, and human rights groups would have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the war. Such collective pressure could have forced Israel and its allies to end the war, potentially saving thousands of lives. Delays born of political calculation and fear of retribution have given Israel the critical space it needed to carry out its genocide. Israel is actively exploiting this lack of legal and moral clarity to persist in its mass slaughter of Palestinians. This must change. The Palestinian perspective, their suffering, and their truths must be respected and honored without needing validation from Israeli or other sources. The Palestinian voice and their rights must be truly centered, not as an academic cliche or political jargon, but as an undeniable, everyday reality. As for those who have delayed their verdict regarding the Israeli genocide, no rationale can possibly absolve them. They will be judged by history, and by the desperate pleas of Gaza's mothers and fathers, who tried and failed to save their children from the Israeli killing machine and the world's collective silence or inaction.
Arab News
38 minutes ago
- Arab News
Zelensky says ‘mercenaries' from China, Pakistan and other countries fighting for Russia
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukrainian troops in northeastern Ukraine were fighting foreign 'mercenaries' from various countries including China, Pakistan and parts of Africa, and vowed a response. Zelensky has previously accused Moscow of recruiting Chinese fighters for its war effort against Ukraine, charges Beijing denied, while North Korea has also provided thousands of its own troops in Russia's Kursk region. 'We spoke with commanders about the frontline situation, the defense of Vovchansk, and the dynamics of the battles,' Zelensky wrote on X after visiting a frontline area in the northeastern Kharkiv region. 'Our warriors in this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war. We will respond.' Reuters contacted the embassies of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in Kyiv to request comment. Russia did not immediately comment publicly on Zelensky's comments.
