Human Rights

03 Feb 2020; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday stopped cement entering the besieged Gaza Strip and cancelled entry permits issued to hundreds of Gaza traders, Safa news agency reported.

Reporting the Israeli Hebrew newspaper Maariv, Safa said that Bennett ordered the coordinator of the civil affairs in the occupied territories to carry out his directions immediately.

03 Feb 2020; MEMO: US forces are expanding their military presence in the two largest military bases at the Omar and Tal Baydar oil fields controlled by Kurdish units in the north-east of Syria.

The American army recently dispatched military and logistical equipment through Iraq to Syria in order to expand its bases in the oil-rich areas. They thwarted four attempts by Russian forces to advance towards the Rumaila oil field in January.

03 Feb 2020; MEMO: The United States has granted political asylum to Saudi dissident, Abdulrahman Almutairi, after discovering that the Saudi embassy had attempted to return him to the kingdom following his criticism of Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, the Los Angeles Times reported.

03 Feb 2020; MEMO: Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Saeb Erekat, criticised US President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for wanting to “distort the Palestinian leadership’s positions” which categorically rejects the “deal of the century”.

03 Feb 2020; MEMO: The Palestinian president rejected on Saturday the US’ so-called peace plan in the Middle East, saying Palestine had cut all relations with the US and Israel.

In an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo, Mahmoud Abbas said:

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Security has been beefed up in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of anti-CAA protest in the national capital, a day after a man fired two rounds in the air near the venue.

Two layers of barricades have been put up at a distance of 100 metres each and have been placed on both sides of the road leading towards the protest venue, a senior police official said.

Lucknow, Feb 3 (PTI) Police in Uttar Pradesh has arrested 108 members of the Popular Front of India in the last four days for their alleged involvement in protests against the anti-citizenship law, a senior official said on Monday.

The arrests are in addition to the 25 made earlier, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi told reporters.

TEHRAN, Feb 3 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that, Saudi Arabia obstructed an Iranian delegation, from attending the upcoming Jeddah meeting on the U.S. peace proposal for the Middle East.

Despite invitation by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the secretariat of which is located in Jeddah, Saudi officials refrained from issuing visas for Iranian delegation to attend the meeting, to discuss the U.S. plan, Abbas Mousavi, said.

BEIRUT, Feb 3 (NNN-NNA) – Hundreds of protesters demonstrated near the U.S. embassy in Awkar, Mount Lebanon, against the Middle East peace plan announced by U.S. President, Donald Trump.

Protesters chanted slogans against the U.S., saying, the Palestinian cause is the cause of the whole Middle East.

Demonstrators also held the Lebanese and Palestinian flags, while calling upon all Arabs to take to the streets, to revolt against Trump’s announcement.

02 Feb 2020; MEMO: Jordanian King Abdullah II confirmed on Friday his country’s “firm” position on the Palestinian cause, as well as its support for the Palestinian people, Jordanian and official Palestinian media reported.