Israeli minister orders mass demolition of Palestinian homes in al-Quds during Ramadan

Bengaluru, Nov 17: Karnataka Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan has landed in controversy saying that the Congress made a Muslim -- U T Khader -- Speaker of the Legislative Assembly before whom the 'best-of-the-best' BJP leaders salute and say ‘Sahab Namaskar’.

During an election campaign in poll-bound Telangana, the Housing, Wakf and Minority Welfare Minister pointed out that no Muslim had ever become the assembly speaker in Karnataka's history, but Congress gave that respect to a person from the community this time.

"No one (from the Muslim community) in the history of Karnataka had become the Speaker of the assembly. Congress party made U T Khader the Assembly Speaker. Today the best-of-the-best BJP leaders stand before Khader saying ‘Sahab Namaskar’. Who made him? It’s Congress,” Khan told a gathering.

The minister said nine Muslims were elected to the Karnataka assembly in the May elections of 17 who were given tickets. Of these nine, five have been given 'power', he said.

As the minister's statement drew sharp criticism from various quarters, he said he had spoken only about the respect given to the Muslim Community by the Congress party and did not insult legislators of any party.

A statement issued by his office said that being a star campaigner in the Telangana Assembly polls, Khan has not spoken in an insulting manner against any individual or the party legislators.

“In Karnataka, the Congress party has given the highest respect for the Muslim community and given the post of speaker for the first time in the history of the state. In the legislative assembly, all the Congress, BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs will address the Speaker as honourable speaker. The Congress party had given that opportunity to rise to such a top post,” the statement read.

Khan also said the Karnataka BJP unit President B Y Vijayendra and others have read his statement 'wrong' and are trying to rake up a controversy.

Mangaluru, Nov 18: Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader has played down the controversy triggered by Housing and Minorities Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan saying Speaker’s post is beyond the jurisdiction of caste and religion. 

"I am a Speaker for all. This post cannot be seen from the perspective of political, caste, and religious backgrounds. It is a constitutional position. All respect should be directed not to me but to the post of Speaker," Mr Khader told media persons in Mangaluru.

"Those who occupy the chair of the Assembly Speaker should protect its honour. I don't want to react to Zameer Ahmed Khan's statement. I was not made Speaker based on caste or religion; the position was accorded according to my merit. I will carry out this responsibility by respecting all. I wish to see the post of the Assembly Speaker beyond the political party,” Mr clarified.

Zameer Ahmed Khan, while campaigning in Telangana, claimed that leaders of the saffron party bowed down before a Muslim Speaker in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, thanks to the opportunity given by the Congress.

A senior health official in Gaza has raised the alarm over the dire situation of hospitals in the northern part of the besieged enclave despite a truce, describing it as “catastrophic” amid lack of medicine and fuel.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra made the remarks on Tuesday, saying health facilities in Gaza are bearing the brunt of Israel’s brutal assault on the blockaded territory.

“The health situation in the northern Gaza Strip is currently catastrophic because of the inaccessibility of medical aid and fuel to the hospitals in the north," Qudra said.

“Above that, the situation in the southern Gaza Strip is not at the best level, since limited supplies of medical aid and fuel reach it but are unable to get to the North," he added.

The Palestinian official also noted that only three hospitals are still operating in Gaza, warning that they cannot cover the health requirements inside the strip as they are small and are serving some 900,000 people.

He went on to say that hospital beds are completely full and wounded and sick people are lying on the ground, calling for a “guaranteed mechanism” to move hundreds of wounded on a daily basis to the hospitals in Egypt and other countries of the world.

Qudra further stressed the need to boost the health system in Gaza, calling for allowing the flow of medical aid and fuel to the strip while demanding large numbers of specialized medical teams to enhance hospital staff in the besieged enclave.

He also denounced the arrest of Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, as “inhuman and illegal”, urging the international community to pressure the Israeli regime to release him and other medical staff.

Salmiya was arrested last week along with five other medical staff from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Ministry of Health while they were evacuating patients from the hospital as part of a United Nations mission.

Israeli military spokesperson Doron Spielman said on Saturday that Abu Salmiya was being questioned following the regime’s allegations that the hospital houses a “command center” belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Tel Aviv has long accused Hamas of using hospitals for housing Palestinian resistance fighters and their equipment and as an alleged launchpad for directing military operations against the occupying regime.

Under such pretexts, the regime has been targeting hospitals in the besieged enclave since the beginning of its war on Gaza last month.

Hamas has dismissed Israel’s allegations, saying it runs a vast network of underground tunnels and doesn’t need to use hospitals in any manner.

The Palestinian resistance group has called on the UN to form an investigative team in order to debunk Tel Aviv’s allegations.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

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.

A four-day truce took effect on Friday to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza after seven weeks of unrelenting bombardment. The regime and Hamas agreed to extend it for two more days on Monday.

According to the Gaza-based health ministry, so far over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, most of them women and children.