DW's Limbourg: "Israel must ensure safety of journalists"
They managed to reach safety without physical injuries, but the cameraman's car was severely damaged: a window was shattered and the bodywork was dented.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: "DW condemns this attack on our colleagues who had traveled to Sinjil to cover a planned protest against settler violence. We are relieved that they were not physically injured in the attack and were able to get to safety. There is no justification for this attack. We strongly demand that the Israeli government guarantee the safety of all journalists in the West Bank. Freedom of the press – and therefore the safety of journalists – is an indispensable pillar of any democracy."
Sinjil is located in the Palestinian-administered part of the West Bank. Other journalists, mainly Palestinians, also had to flee. In addition to DW, other international media were on location to report, including AFP, the New York Times and the Washington Post. The DW employees wore press vests and were therefore clearly recognizable as media professionals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Armed Gang Attacks Kenya Human Rights Commission On Eve Of Protests
An armed gang attacked the headquarters of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission on Sunday as it hosted a press conference calling for an end to state violence, an AFP journalist saw. The attack came on the eve of "Saba Saba Day" when Kenyans mark pro-democracy protests from the 1990s, and renewed unrest is expected on Monday. The east African country is once again facing a wave of violent protests over economic stagnation, corruption and repeated acts of police brutality under President William Ruto. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission was hosting a press conference calling for "an immediate end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings" when it was attacked by 20 men, some armed with sticks. "The gate was locked but they forced themselves in. They were attacking and robbing guys, saying: 'You are planning protests here'," said an AFP journalist at the scene. "Armed goons have attacked offices of the Kenya Human Rights Commission," the Women's Collective, which helped organise the meeting, posted on X. At least 19 people were killed and thousands of businesses looted and destroyed in a day of nationwide protests on June 25. The government has been accused of deploying "goons" against protesters and political opponents. Hundreds of men on motorbikes armed with whips and clubs attacked a protest against police brutality in Nairobi on June 17. AFP journalists at the scene said they were operating with the protection of police. Urbanisation, improved education and the spread of social media have fuelled anger over the stagnant economy and poor governance in a country where around 80 percent are trapped in informal, poorly paid jobs. "Kenya feels much more fragile than it would have four or even three years ago," said Declan Galvin, Kenya-based analyst with Exigent Risk Advisory. "We have a much larger, urban, mainly youth population, who do not rely on ethnicity and tribalism" as they did in the past, he told AFP. Politically, Ruto still holds a strong position, having forged an alliance with the main opposition leader Raila Odinga, leaving no clear challenger ahead of the next vote in 2027. But each violent crackdown is fuelling further unrest, said activist Nerima Wako. "Every time people organise a protest, they kill more people, so it just continues to feed off itself," she said. Saba Saba Day marks the uprising on July 7, 1990 when Kenyans demanded a return to multi-party democracy after years of autocratic rule by then-president Daniel arap Moi. Ruto cut his teeth as a youth organiser for Moi when those protests were violently suppressed. His government "seems to be trying to repeat the nineties, but we are not in the nineties," said Gabrielle Lynch, an African politics expert at Britain's University of Warwick. "They don't seem to have realised that the world is different. People are more politically aware, but also the communication environment has dramatically changed with the rise of social media," she added. "People don't have the same in-built fear of the state." At least 19 people died in protests on June 25 AFP Protesters have been calling for an end to police violence AFP
DW
2 hours ago
- DW
Turkey ramps up political influence in the Western Balkans – DW – 07/06/2025
Turkey hopes to expand its influence by investing in infrastructure and religious landmark buildings across the Western Balkans. Building mosques are part and parcel of Ankara's geopolitical agenda, observers say. With a height of 50 meters (160 feet) and space for around 8,000 worshippers, the Namazgah mosque in Albania's capital Tirana is one of the most impressive Islamic places of worship in the Western Balkans. It was partly funded with around €30 million ($34 million) by the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. Its architectural inspiration is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. In October 2024, after a construction period of around ten years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to Tirana for the inauguration of the mosque. While there, he signed an agreement to cooperate with Albania on agriculture and education, and donated a number of Turkish-made drones to the country. Diyanet also secured influence on the board of the new mosque and a Turkish imam was appointed, which was cause for dismay among Albanians. "The Namazgah mosque shows how Turkey is acting as a regional power in the Western Balkans, and working to increase its influence by building places of worship," Nathalie Clayer, a social scientist at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, told DW. The construction of mosques as a means to project soft power is also closely linked with furthering economic, political and military interests, she explained. "But local actors do have room to maneuver, and they use it," Clayer added. However, even if a mosque is built with external funding, the initiative usually begins with local communities, who also cover part of the costs. In the case of representative religious buildings in capital cities, the interests of national and external players are additionally taken into consideration, as Clayer pointed out. "A country's prestige, the needs of the Muslim community, national self-assurances, assertions made with respect to other religions: these are all factors that play a role in the construction of a place of worship and in the choice of architectural models," she told DW. Nowadays, Turkey is the leading nation in terms of funding new mosques in the Western Balkans. However, this was not the case in the first years following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. In 1995, Saudi Arabia was the main sponsor for the reconstruction of mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina that had been destroyed during the war. It was only in the wake of Erdogan's rise to power in 2002 and 2003 that Turkey increasingly took the lead. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has increasingly withdrawn under the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Many Saudi-funded mosque projects have been handed over to local partners. Bin Salman has instead prioritized the restoration of historic mosques in Saudi Arabia, and the preservation of its own cultural heritage. It's all part of his Vision 2030, a set of reforms that prioritizes economic and social changes in Saudi Arabia. Turkey regards itself as the heir of the Ottoman Empire and stresses its claim to regional power. This claim goes beyond religion, as Rebecca Byrant, an expert in cultural anthropology at Utrecht University, explained. According to her, funding the construction of mosques is just one element of Turkish infrastructure policy, not only in the Western Balkans, but also in the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. The construction of mosques must therefore to be viewed in a wider geopolitical context, the expert said. Whether railroad lines, ports, hotels or shopping districts: Turkish investors are on the move in a big way from Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Batumi in Georgia, from Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus and Senegal. The futuristic skyline of Astana, for instance, was mainly realized by Turkish construction companies, according to Bryant. Many tenders went to construction companies with direct ties to Erdogan. Bryant calls this form of political influence "infrastructure imperialism." Mega-projects such as in the Turkish-controlled part of northern Cyprus, where Erdogan inaugurated a complex comprising the presidential palace, parliament building, large hotels and a mosque (which had not yet been completed at the time of the inauguration) in May 2024 are "geopolitical places where Turkey expresses its ideas about the future," as Bryant explained. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In her view, Erdogan is drawing on ethnic, religious or historical similarities and using rhetoric about "a common destiny" that links Turkey with these countries. The projects were intended to signal that "we are the future. We are more modern than the West," Bryant said.
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Hezbollah Chief Says Won't Surrender Under Israeli Threats
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats, despite pressure on the Lebanese militants to disarm. His speech came ahead of a visit expected Monday by US envoy Thomas Barrack during which Lebanese authorities are due to respond to a request to disarm Hezbollah by year's end, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This (Israeli) threat will not make us accept surrender," Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of his supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, during the Shiite Muslim religious commemoration of Ashura. Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah last year that left the Iran-backed group severely weakened have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that sought to end the hostilities. Qassem, who succeeded longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah after an Israeli strike killed him in September, said the group's fighters would not abandon their arms and asserted that Israel's "aggression" must first stop. Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group. Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah's military infrastructure in the south, near the Israeli border. Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier. Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic. Qassem said Israel must abide by the ceasefire agreement, "withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression... release the prisoners" detained during last year's war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin. Only then "will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defence strategy" which includes the issue of group's disarmament, he added. Supporters dressed in black for Ashura marched through Beirut's southern suburbs before his speech, waving Hezbollah banners as well as the Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian flags. Some also carried posters of the slain leader Nasrallah. Hussein Jaber, 28, originally from south Lebanon, said the group's weapons "can't be handed over, not now, not later. Those who think Hezbollah will turn in its arms are ignorant." In his speech, Qassem also said his movement "will not accept normalisation... with the Israeli enemy", after Israel's top diplomat said his government was "interested" in such a move. Lebanon, which is technically still at war with Israel, did not comment. Syria, also mentioned by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, said it was "premature" to discuss normalisation. Shiites in other countries around the region were also marking Ashura, which commemorates the death of the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, in a seventh century battle in modern-day Iraq. Iraq saw the largest commemorations on Sunday, particularly in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. In south Lebanon, hundreds of people participated in commemorations in Nabatiyeh, an area regularly targeted by Israeli strikes. Local resident Ali Mazraani told AFP that there were fewer people than usual "because of the situation in the south and the Israeli strikes that destroyed the market and several areas of the city". In Sunni Muslim majority Syria, several hundred faithful marked Ashura under the protection of security forces at the Sayyida Zeinab shrine south of Damascus, an AFP correspondent said. Syria's Shiite minority has been worried since Sunni Islamists in December toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was backed by Iran. Unlike in previous years, there were no processions in the Sayyida Zeinab area, where pro-Iran groups used to be heavily entrenched before Assad's ouster. "The Syrian state has bolstered its protection at this time," said Jaafar al-Amine, an official at the holy site. "This year, there have been no pilgrims from other countries" like Iran, Iraq or Lebanon, he added.
