World
Netanyahu gives Israelis ‘green light to shoot Palestinians’
An increase in violence in opposition to Palestinians within the occupied West Financial institution and East Jerusalem is feared following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to make it simpler for Israelis to amass firearms.
On Saturday, Netanyahu mentioned he would expedite gun permits for Israeli residents and to step up efforts to gather “unlawful weapons”.
His workplace additionally promised new steps to “strengthen” unlawful Israeli settlements within the occupied West Financial institution.
The bulletins have been made after a gathering of Netanyahu’s safety cupboard – crammed with hardline politicians – over two shootings that included an assault in occupied East Jerusalem.
Seven individuals have been killed within the capturing outdoors an East Jerusalem synagogue on Friday.
The shootings happened in direction of the top of a month of rising confrontation and comply with an Israeli raid within the occupied West Financial institution metropolis of Jenin that killed 9 Palestinians and exchanges of fireplace between Israel and Gaza. In all, Israeli forces have killed 32 Palestinians this month.
The brand new Israeli authorities, inaugurated final month, is essentially the most right-wing within the nation’s historical past and has sparked fears for Palestinians dwelling underneath unlawful Israeli army occupation within the West Financial institution and in Israel correct, in addition to left-wing Israelis.
A part of the brand new authorities are nationwide safety minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, each outspoken about their intention to develop unlawful settlements within the occupied West Financial institution and the annexation of Palestinian land, and are infamous for inciting violence in opposition to Palestinians.
Each are settlers dwelling deep contained in the occupied West Financial institution.
“You have got the minister of nationwide safety who has made it very clear that he believes in killing Palestinians, you’ve gotten a minister of finance who has made it clear that [Palestinians] are right here solely quickly,” Haifa-based analyst Diana Buttu informed Al Jazeera.
“And also you even have a first-rate minister who’s making it clear that individuals ought to be armed and so they’re going to do nothing to cease the killing of Palestinians. You possibly can see the recipe is that an increasing number of Palestinians are going to be killed.”
In response to the Palestinian Authority’s well being ministry, greater than 200 Palestinians have been killed in 2022. The United Nations mentioned it was the deadliest 12 months for Palestinians in 16 years.
Amongst these killed was Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Whereas reporting, she was shot lifeless by Israeli forces with a bullet to the pinnacle throughout a army raid within the occupied West Financial institution metropolis of Jenin in Could.
Final month, Al Jazeera Media Community submitted a proper request to the Worldwide Prison Courtroom (ICC) to analyze and prosecute these accountable.
“In none of these situations [of killed Palestinians] – not one – was there an investigation opened that led to fees, not even in Shireen’s case, in all probability essentially the most investigated homicide we’ve ever seen,” Buttu mentioned, including that in additional than 90 % of assaults that settlers perpetrate in opposition to Palestinians, “the police does nothing, the military does nothing, they simply shut off the file, there aren’t any fees which might be laid”.
Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, mentioned Netanyahu’s plans to approve extra gun permits for Israeli residents come as Israeli police have been additionally encouraging these with present licenses to hold their weapons.
“Whereas Netanyahu is urging Israelis to not take the regulation into their very own palms, he’s additionally placing extra weapons into these exact same palms,” mentioned Bays, who went on to explain the measures as “collective punishment” and “a transparent breach of human rights”.
Yara Hawari, senior coverage fellow at assume tank Shabaka, informed Al Jazeera the announcement is “a worrying escalation that may little doubt result in extra assaults and extra extrajudicial killings of Palestinians”.
“With this transfer, Netanyahu is giving the inexperienced gentle for all Israelis to inflict violence upon Palestinians with full impunity,” mentioned Hawari.
Buttu added that Israel is already “armed to the enamel” and “capturing at Palestinians is quite common”.
“It’s by no means unusual to see Israeli settlers strolling round with not simply handguns however with assault rifles,” mentioned Buttu. “It’s fairly frequent whether or not it’s on the mall, on the bus, on the prepare, in spiritual locations to see individuals carrying weapons.
“The issue right here is that it’s not only a query of arming individuals. It’s that this authorities has all the time given Israelis a inexperienced gentle to go forward and shoot at Palestinians”, whether or not it’s on the extent of the police or military, she mentioned.
As a part of the punitive measures in opposition to Palestinians, Netanyahu additionally mentioned that the properties of suspected assailants shall be sealed forward of demolition “with a view to actual a further worth from those that assist terrorism”.
His workplace mentioned social safety advantages for the households of attackers may also be cancelled.
Buttu mentioned the federal government is “not simply attempting to arm individuals, however attempting to extract punitive measures not simply in opposition to people, however in opposition to their households”.
“Now it’s additionally taking it a step ahead, of attempting to strip them of their citizenship, attempting to strip them of any nationwide rights.”
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Terry Carter, McCloud and Original Battlestar Galactica Star, Dead at 95
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Paris Charles de Gaulle airport unveils new baggage handling system ahead of Olympics
Officials at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday unveiled a new security baggage system and a dedicated baggage handling area ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The new equipment includes a revamped scanner system to allow a more detailed scan of passengers’ baggage, so that travelers won’t have to remove items such as electronic devices, aerosols or liquids from their bags.
STOWAWAY FROM ALGERIA FOUND BARELY ALIVE AT PARIS AIRPORT
“If we have doubts about a piece of luggage, the luggage won’t leave,” said Edward Arkwright, CEO of Aéroports de Paris Group, the body that runs Paris’ airports. “We prefer an athlete to leave without their luggage rather than leaving (with something) questionable.”
As the first gateway to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, Charles de Gaulle Airport expects to process over 114,000 baggage from delegations and the media and will receive an estimated 47,000 pieces of sports equipment.
The airport also unveiled the “baggage factory,” a dedicated space covering 10,000 square meters to process equipment and luggage of the athletic delegations leaving the airport following the closing ceremony.
“The biggest challenge is the oversized luggage,” said Sébastien Malaussene, the airport’s project manager. “Athletes travel with all their sports equipment and they are not your average passenger bringing up to four, five bags. They have sports items, many of which are oversized.”
World
Five takeaways from day two of Trump’s New York hush money trial testimony
The second day of arguments in former United States President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial has concluded with the prosecution’s questioning of former tabloid publisher David Pecker dominating much of the proceedings.
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in connection to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is accused of mislabelling reimbursements made to his lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence over an alleged affair. Trump has denied that affair took place.
For the felony charges to hold, prosecutors must persuade a jury that the falsifications were done with the intent to commit another crime. They have so far focused on alleged malfeasance to influence the 2016 presidential election, which Trump eventually won. Trump’s defence has maintained he did nothing wrong.
On Tuesday, prosecutors focused on a “catch and kill” agreement between Pecker and Trump, in which the publisher would buy negative stories about Trump but not publish them in the National Enquirer.
Here are five takeaways from the trial:
Pecker says he agreed to be “eyes and ears” of Trump campaign
While describing a relationship with Trump that dated back to the 1980s, Pecker told prosecutors that Trump and Cohen pressured him to “help the campaign” at an August 2015 meeting, roughly 15 months before the 2016 presidential election.
Pecker said he agreed to be the campaign’s “eyes and ears” and to notify Cohen when people were trying to sell unflattering stories about Trump to the National Enquirer.
Cohen, in turn, would regularly call Pecker to ask him to run negative stories on Trump’s challengers for the Republican nomination, including primary opponents Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
Pecker initially said stopping negative stories about Trump from running benefitted both the tabloid and Trump’s campaign but later acknowledged that the strategy only benefitted the Trump campaign.
‘Catch and kill’ scheme detailed
Much of Tuesday’s proceedings involved Pecker elaborating on the process that he, Trump and Cohen called “catch and kill”.
He described how American Media, which owns the National Enquirer, paid a doorman $30,000 for his story alleging that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. The agreement included a clause that said the doorman would be liable for $1m if he still went public with the claim.
Pecker called it “basically a lever” over the doorman to assure his compliance.
He also described how model Karen McDougal had approached the National Enquirer about her alleged affair with Trump. The information prompted a call from Trump directly and several subsequent calls from Cohen, who seemed to be under “a lot of pressure”, Pecker said.
The National Enquirer ended up buying the story for $150,000 to kill it.
Pecker describes decades-long relationship with Trump
Prosecutors may have focussed on the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, but Pecker’s testimony was a reminder that Trump had been a tabloid darling long before he was a political candidate.
Pecker said he met Trump in the 1980s when he worked on the Trump Style magazine. He said the two men enjoyed “a great relationship” and he considered him a friend until 2017.
When Trump was the host of The Apprentice reality show, Trump would tip him off to events on the show before they aired, Pecker said.
Prosecutors accuse Trump of violating gag order
Judge Juan Merchan prohibited Trump from making public comments about witnesses involved in the trial, but prosecutors began Tuesday’s proceeding by accusing the former president of “willful violations” of that gag order.
They pushed Merchan to hold Trump in contempt of court.
In sometimes tense exchanges, Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche argued that the social media posts in question were not direct attacks, but responses to comments made about Trump.
Merchan seemed sceptical about the argument with particular focus on Trump’s liability for images and sentiments he reposts on social media.
At one point, Merchan warned Blanche, “You’re losing all credibility.” However, he did not make any determination regarding the gag order on Tuesday.
Trump remains defiant on social media
Even with the hearing on the gag order, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to criticise Merchan and the trial.
During a break, he wrote: “Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I am not allowed to defend myself? This is a kangaroo court; the judge should recuse himself.”
Speaking to reporters after the day’s proceedings ended, he again called the gag order “unconstitutional”.
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