GCC, Turkey blast UN inaction in Syria

October 14, 2016

Riyadh, Oct 14: Foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council states and Turkey on Thursday called for urgent intervention of the UN in Syria to stop the killing of innocent people.

GCC

They strongly advocated the need for the speedy implementation of the UNSC resolution, calling for the unimpeded and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all Syrian cities.

The GCC and Turkish ministers met in Riyadh within the framework of the GCC-Turkey Strategic Dialogue.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, and held talks with them on bilateral and regional issues.

The Turkish ministers later attended the ministerial meeting at the GCC General Secretariat.

In a major development, the GCC foreign ministers designated the network led by US-based cult leader Fethullah Gulen as a terrorist organization. The ministers also condemned “indiscriminate” airstrikes on Syria’s Aleppo and expressed “deep regrets” at the inability of the UN and the international community to stop the raids.

They expressed concerns over the large-scale offensive coordinated by Russian and Syrian warplanes, which have ruthlessly attacked rebel-controlled Aleppo.

Addressing a joint press conference with Cavusoglu after the GCC-Turkey ministerial meeting, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir called on “Iran and Iraq to refrain from promoting sectarianism in the region.”

A joint communique issued by the GCC General Secretariat after the meeting stressed “the need to dry up funding to terrorism, as well as their commitment to combat radical ideology of the terrorist groups.”

The statement also supported the French initiative and international efforts aimed at “settling the Palestinian issue and establishing the independent sovereign state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

On the urgent need to restore peace and security in the region, the communique underlined the importance of making the Middle East, including the Gulf region, a WMD-free zone, including nuclear weapons.

“The ministers emphasized the right of countries of the region to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and ensure that Iran sign all nuclear safety treaties,” it added.

Strategic Dialogue

The GCC and Turkish foreign ministers, who met here at the GCC General Secretariat within the framework of the “GCC-Turkey Strategic Dialogue,” also reaffirmed “their complete rejection of the use of Iraqi territory as a safe haven for terrorist groups to carry out terror attacks including smuggling of weapons and explosives.”

The ministers expressed grave concern about “Iraq’s move to involve sectarian militia forces, which perpetrated revenge attacks, mass killings and abuses against the local populations of the liberated areas, in the imminent Mosul operation, which might compromise the sustainable success of the operation and trigger sectarian conflict.”

Al-Jubeir urged Iran not to meddle in the affairs of Arab countries.

The GCC ministers called on Iran to respond positively to the efforts of the UAE to resolve the issue of the three islands — Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa — through negotiations or recourse to the International Court of Justice.

The ministers condemned the attack on the UAE civilian vessel Swift near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait while it was on a regular trip transporting humanitarian aid and evacuating injured civilians for treatment in the UAE. They described the incident as a terrorist act threatening international navigation in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, as it contravenes all international navigation laws and undermines international and regional efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Yemen.

Referring to the bloodbath in Syria, the ministers condemned the escalation of military operations in Aleppo by the regime and its supporters through indiscriminate air raids against the civilian population and infrastructure. The ministers called on the international community to condemn such crimes against the people of Aleppo, and against civilians across the country. They also expressed their deep regret for “the inability of the UN Security Council to make decision to stop the air campaign and the bombing of civilians in Aleppo.”

The ministers also expressed their rejection of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (JASTA) law, affirming that “it is inconsistent with the principles of international law, particularly against the principle of equal sovereignty among countries provided for in the UN charter.” They expressed hope that the legislation would be reconsidered as it would have an “adverse impact on the relations between countries including the US.”

Referring to the deplorable situation in Yemen, the ministers reaffirmed that the formation of the so-called political council in Yemen between the Houthis and Ali Abdullah Saleh’s supporters, and the formation of the so-called national salvation government constitute violations of Yemen’s internationally recognized constitutional legitimacy and impede reaching a political agreement.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian Information Center said.

Among the victims are 15 people, including four women and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of Mosbeh, north of Rafah.

Media reports also said that fighting on the ground continued unabated.

That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favor of it.

After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution “would be unforgivable.”

Palestinian resistance movements have welcomed the resolution, but Israel’s minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant said Israel will not stop its attacks in Gaza. 

“We will operate against Hamas everywhere – including in places where we have not yet been,” Gallant said.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said in a post on X that the attacks will continue until all the captives taken by Hamas during its October 7 blitz are released.

Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 32,300 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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A Palestinian woman has recounted terrifying incidents after Israeli military forces raided al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City last week, saying the occupying regime’s soldiers are raping Palestinian women before killing them.

Jamila Al-Hisi, an eyewitness who was besieged in the medical complex and managed to finally get out, said on Saturday that women have been subjected to rape, starvation, torture, and extrajudicial execution, adding that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is doing nothing.

She went on to say that Israeli troops have “forced 65 families to leave the area around the al-Shifa Medical Complex whilst burning and killing entire families,” noting that they have burned a building where Palestinian civilians were taking shelter.

“We don’t even have water to break our fast, and we don’t know where to go,” Hisi said, stressing that the displaced people in the compound have not found food or water for six days.

She further called on the Red Cross to provide water for the children and the sick who are being forced to drink dirty water and eat rotten food.

Palestinians are being forcibly displaced by Israeli occupation forces from the area surrounding al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, Hisi said, adding, “We are trapped amid continued Israeli shelling.”

The latest development comes as the Israeli military continues to carry out air strikes and artillery shelling in and around the al-Shifa Hospital for the seventh day in a row.

On Monday, heavily armed Israeli forces stormed the al-Shifa hospital using tanks and drones, claiming that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas is using the facility to “conduct and promote terrorist activity.” Later that day, Israel said that “terrorist forces” were firing at Israeli troops.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said at the time that about 3,000 people were inside al-Shifa seeking refuge and that those attempting to leave were being targeted by snipers and fire from helicopters.

Ever since the Israeli military raided the hospital last week, reports have suggested unspeakable atrocities being carried out against the doctors, nurses, and general staff as well as the thousands of displaced people there.

Israelis have admitted to executing 140 people inside al-Shifa, including paramedics, patients and wounded whilst the siege is still ongoing after seven days with mass arrests.

Meanwhile, a group of Palestinian activists have circulated a shocking story about the Israeli soldiers raping a pregnant woman in the al-Shifa hospital, alongside Hisi’s revelation.

Watan-Palestinian activists quoted the husband of a woman who was raped by Israeli forces as saying that “They ordered her to undress and began to beat her… She told the military she was five months pregnant, not to beat her, but they continued to beat her.”

“After hours, they took out all the women except the pregnant woman, and her children… They took her in front of her husband and children and raped her, ordering the men not to close their eyes or they would be shot.”

Israel waged the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories in response to the occupying regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 32,226 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured another 74,518 individuals.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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The leader of Yemen’s Houthis has said that the Yemeni armed forces will continue their retaliatory operations against Israeli-affiliated commercial vessels, preventing the passage of the ships even through the Indian Ocean and through the Cape of Good Hope.  

About 34 Houthi fighters have been killed since the Yemeni armed forces began to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with the people of Palestine under attack in Gaza by Israel, Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday.

Yemeni forces have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against Israeli and Israel-bound ships since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's war on Gaza.

Al-Houthi said 73 ships have been targeted in Yemeni operations in support of Gaza so far, adding rarely does any ship associated with the Israeli enemy pass through Bab al-Mandab.

“This week, support operations included 12 operations targeting ships and barges, executed with a total of 58 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden,” he said.

“Our operations this time reached unprecedented ranges, with 3 operations reaching the Indian Ocean, by the grace of Allah,” he added. “The total number of targeted ships and barges reached 73.”

Al-Houthi said that the operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege on Gaza persist.

The United States and Britain began striking Yemen in January in order to dissuade the country from targeting Israeli ships which carry arms and logistics for the onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Al-Houthi said the Americans and the British have received “painful blows” from the Yemeni armed forces in retaliation.

The American-British “aggression will not affect the escalating course of our operations in terms of range, momentum, precision, and strength,” said Al-Houthi.  

“What can stop the Yemeni military’s maritime operations is only the cessation of aggression and siege on Gaza,” he noted.

The American stubbornness and escalation of aggression result in only one outcome: the expansion of the conflict, the widening of the circle of war and events, and the tension of the situation at the regional level in general, he stated.

He went on to say that the Yemeni armed forces will continue and effectively expand the range of the operations to reach areas and locations that the enemy never expected.

Al-Houthi said what insures the navigation security in the Red Sea is for any country not to participate in the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

He said the Americans and those who drag the United States towards the militarization of the Red Sea are the ones who undermine international navigation.

“By the grace of Allah and His assistance, we aim to prevent the passage of ships associated with the Israeli enemy even through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he stated.

“For this important, advanced, and significant step, we have begun to implement our operations related to it through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he said.

There is absolutely no choice for the American and the British but to stop the aggression on Gaza and stop starving the people in Gaza, he declared.

“Our human conscience, our religion, our morals, our dignity, our pride, our belonging to Islam, prohibit us from watching the oppression of Palestine or remaining silent about it,” said Houthi.

He added that the Yemeni military is in continuous development of capabilities and in constant expansion of the stance in its range, effectiveness, and impact.

“The American's actions this week, involving aerial bombings and naval shelling, amounted to 32 bombing raids and strikes, which, as usual, were unsuccessful,” he revealed.

“The impact of the American raids and bombings is negligible regarding our missile and drone capabilities and in terms of continuing operations effectively to counter it, and in preventing ships associated with the Israeli enemy,” he stated.

He concluded by saying that the Yemeni armed forces are continuously escalating, and increasing capabilities to attack enemy ships. “No matter what the Americans do, they will not be able to stop us from supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they won’t stop retaliatory strikes.

The maritime attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

Tankers are instead adding thousands of miles to international shipping routes by sailing around the continent of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal.

Since the start of Israel's genocidal war following Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Gaza-based resistance movements on October 7, 2023, more than 31,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have lost their lives.

The Israeli military offensive has left a trail of destruction in Gaza, leaving hospitals in ruins and displacing around half of its 2.4 million residents.

Israel has additionally enforced a comprehensive blockade on the coastal sliver, severing the supply of fuel, electricity, sustenance and water to the population residing there.

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