Day: June 13, 2021

The new Israeli government headed by Naftali Bennett on Sunday won a vote of confidence, 60-59, in the Knesset to become Israel’s new government.

Bennett, 49, has become known over the past decade as a hardline far-right politician who strongly backs illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories and for his hate speech against Palestinians, and for loudly rejecting the concept of a Palestinian state.

Bennett entered politics in 2005 as a deputy of Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, and since then held many positions, including top roles in the defense, economy, and education ministries.

Bennett argues that Israel should annex parts of the occupied Palestinian regions in the West Bank.

In 2012 he was elected leader of the Jewish Home party, then moved on to form the right-wing Yamina party in 2020 and took part in the coalition led by Netanyahu. His party won seven seats in the general elections this March.

Under a coalition agreement between Naftali’s Yamina party and seven other Israeli parties, Bennett, represented by seven lawmakers in parliament, will assume the premiership for the first two years, with Yair Lapid, from the centrist Yesh Atid party, to succeed him in the second two years.

In 2013, he drew controversy for saying that “Palestinian terrorists” should be killed instead of being released.

He also claimed that the West Bank was not under occupation and that there was no such thing as a Palestinian state.

Bennett’s parents were born in the US but he grew up in Haifa, northern Israel, and joined the Israeli army’s elite reconnaissance unit, known as “sayeret matkal.”

“I’ve killed lots of Arabs in my life – and there’s no problem with that,” Bennett, a former Israeli commando, once said.

After Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas last month forged a cease-fire to end attacks by Israel that targeted Gaza and killed 254 Palestinians, Bennett and Lapid agreed to form a coalition.

Bennett is a millionaire thanks to a tech company he built from scratch, and has always appealed to far-right voters in Israel during his political career.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A mortar shell fired by Taliban hit a residence in Afghanistan’s Lagman province killed five civilians, according to Afghan Army.

The 201st Selab Corps of the Afghan National Army said in a statement that Taliban militants’ mortar shell hit a residence in Alishing district of Lagman province.

The mortar shell also injured one civilian, the statement said.

On the other hand, Lagman Provincial Council Chairman Atiqullah Abdulrahimzai also noted that the clashes between Taliban militants and security forces continue in the Alishing district.

Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced that 573 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the statement made on June 5 by the National Security Council of Afghanistan, the Taliban carried out 1,455 attacks in May and most of the casualties in these attacks were civilians.

Source: Anadolu Agency

In the wake of a deadly terror attack on a hospital, Turkey on Sunday hit YPG/PKK terror targets in Syria’s Tal Rifat region and neutralized many terrorists, according to security sources.

Saturday’s hospital attack originated from terrorists in Tal Rifat.

Using Firtina (Storm) Howitzers, Turkish forces destroyed three so-called headquarters buildings, a shelter, and a position used by terrorists, and neutralized many terrorists, said the sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

-14 dead, 32 injured

Saturday’s YPG/PKK attack on a hospital in opposition-held northwestern Syria killed at least 14 civilian patients and injured more than 32, said officials in southern Turkey.

In a statement, the Governor’s Office in Hatay, just across the border, said that grad missile and artillery shells fired by the YPG/PKK from the Assad regime-controlled Tal Rifat region hit the emergency department of the private Shifa Hospital in the center of the Afrin district.

Afrin was largely cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists in 2018 through Turkey’s anti-terror offensive Operation Olive Branch, but the terror group still targets the region to disturb the peace establish by Turkish forces.

The terror group often targets Jarabulus, Azaz, Afrin and al-Bab by attacking from adjacent Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Palestinian government delegation is set to arrive in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian officials on the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip.

The delegation will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Abu Amr, according to the official Wafa news agency.

“The delegation will continue meetings that started with the Egyptian delegation in Gaza on setting the mechanisms for the reconstruction of Gaza,” Local Government Minister Majdi al-Saleh said in statements cited by Wafa.

According to official figures, in the course of Israel’s 11-day bombardment of Gaza last month, 1,447 housing units and 205 buildings were completely destroyed and around 13,000 houses partially damaged, in addition to a wide scale of destruction on Gaza infrastructure.

At least 289 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured in the Israeli attacks that came to a halt under an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire on May 21.

Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip also killed 13 Israelis.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“We condemn in the strongest terms yesterday’s attacks on the al Shifaa Hospital in Afrin, Syria,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

“This barbaric attack took the lives of children, medical staff, and first responders. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, must never be the target of military action,” he added.

The statement said that the hospital’s coordinates have been shared with the UN deconfliction mechanism for Syria.

“This attack is part of a recent escalation of violence in northwest Syria and it must end,” it added.

The US called for an immediate nationwide ceasefire and a de-escalation in the country.

The statement made no mention of the YPG/PKK, a group the US has supported for years, and the group behind the attack.

Turkey has long condemned the terrorist attacks of the YPG/PKK in northern Syria, including in border areas Turkey worked to make safe from terrorists. It has also denounced US support for the terrorist YPG/PKK.

The US statement on the attack came less than a day before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet his US counterpart Joe Biden during a NATO summit in Brussels – their first meeting since Biden took office this January.

The US has claimed it supports the YPG/PKK as an ally to fight Daesh/ISIS, while Turkey argues that supporting one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.

-14 dead, 32 injured

Saturday’s YPG/PKK attack on a hospital in opposition-held northwestern Syria killed at least 14 civilian patients and injured more than 32, said officials in southern Turkey.

In a statement, the Governor’s Office in Hatay, just across the border, said that grad missile and artillery shells fired by the YPG/PKK from the Assad regime-controlled Tal Rifat region hit the emergency department of the private Shifa Hospital in the center of the Afrin district.

Afrin was largely cleared of YPG/PKK terrorists in 2018 through Turkey’s anti-terror Operation Olive Branch, but the terror group still targets the region to disrupt the peace established by Turkish forces.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

Source: Anadolu Agency

Novak Djokovic, the world number one in men’s tennis, on Sunday won the 2021 French Open title, with the Serbian superstar coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.

It was Djokovic’s second Roland Garros title since 2016 and his 19th Grand Slam championship in total.

Top-seeded Djokovic, 34, fought against Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas, 22, to clinch a 3-2 win with 6-7 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 sets in the epic final, which lasted for over four hours in Paris’ Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Apparently frustrated at the cup ceremony, Tsitsipas was awarded the runner-up plate while Djokovic got the championship trophy.

Djokovic on Sunday also became the first man to win all four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open – at least twice in the Open Era

Source: Anadolu Agency

Mohamed al-Menfi, the head of Libya’s Presidential Council, emphasized early Sunday the importance of strengthening relations with Turkey.

Al-Menfi also underscored the importance of improving relations and cooperation with Ankara in a meeting with a Turkish delegation, according to a statement by his office.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu conveyed greetings of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said Ankara supports the unity and stability of Libya, said the statement.

The delegation led by Cavusoglu visited Libya on Saturday and held talks with high-level officials.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey has lowered the vaccine eligibility age to 40, the Turkish health minister announced on Sunday.

“If you are 40 or older, you can make an appointment as of this morning. We expect 100% participation,” Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter.

Turkey administered over 33.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to the Health Ministry data.

More than 19.69 million people have gotten their first doses, while over 13.65 million have been fully vaccinated, according to ministry data.

Turkey reported 6,076 new coronavirus cases, including 503 symptomatic patients, over the last 24 hours on Saturday. The number of new cases on Friday was 6,261.

The country’s overall case tally is over 5.32 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 48,668 with 75 new fatalities.

To contain the virus, Turkey currently has a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Monday to Saturday, and a full lockdown on Sundays.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.79 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 175.6 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Five Turkish artists will donate proceeds from the sale of their artwork to coronavirus-related causes after holding their first in-person show in Istanbul since pandemic restrictions in the country were eased.

“Our ‘Give to Corona Art Show’ is an in-person art show held at Pinelo Art Gallery in Istanbul featuring 20 paintings by five artists,” Selva Ozelli, one of the artists taking part in the show, told Anadolu Agency.

“The artists will donate the sale proceeds from their artwork to coronavirus-related causes. This is an opportunity for art lovers to purchase award-winning artwork and also donate to a cause,” she said.

The exhibit is open through June 17.

“For the past pandemic year, after holding digital art shows at numerous UN events and other leading platforms around the world that spread awareness of climate change, artists Semine Hazar, Fatma Kadir, Selva Ozelli, Ilhan Sayin, and Ismail Soysal are holding their first in-person art show,” she added.

Alongside their in-person art show in Istanbul, the artists are also holding digital art shows at various UN events, including World Environment Day on June 6, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD.Int) Digital Art Shows, World Oceans Day on June 8, the Oceanic Global Art Show, and World Desertification and Drought Day on June 17, she said.

-‘Green recovery from pandemic’

“We are a group of artists who set out to raise awareness of a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through our artwork,” Ozelli explained.

“A sustainable green recovery plan from the pandemic necessitates understanding the links between climate change, health, biodiversity, and inequality, and implementing ambitious climate change policies, which align with the (2015) Paris Agreement,” she said, referring to the landmark treaty to fight global climate change.

The agreement entered into force in 2016 and has been adopted by over 190 parties, aiming to curb global warming compared to pre-industrial levels to well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“The UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. More important than ever, these goals provide a critical framework for a COVID-19 green recovery,” Ozelli said.

The 17 art shows curated by Ozelli for the “Decade of Restoration” campaign reflect these themes. These art shows contain paintings that were acknowledged in numerous UN art competitions and have been exhibited at UN events and conferences around the world,” she added.

Source: Anadolu Agency