Day: June 25, 2024

Rabat – A Palestinian academic delegation visited Mohammed V University of Rabat on Monday, where perspectives of cooperation were reviewed to manage the progressive return to formal education in Palestine.

In an address on this occasion, Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Ashraf Al Aawar indicated that the delegation’s visit to Mohammed V University was an important opportunity to inform Morocco of the current conditions in Palestinian universities and the challenges they face.

For his part, the President of Al-Quds University, Imad Abu Kishk, emphasized the importance of academic cooperation for Palestinian universities in general, and for universities in the Holy City in particular.

Morocco is at the forefront of supporting Palestinian universities by offering scholarships to Palestinian students, both those based in Palestinian territories and those pursuing their studies in Morocco, he further noted. The Kingdom had already launched scholarships for innovation and research at the level of Al-Q
uds University.

For his part, Mohammed V University Acting President Farid El Bacha highlighted the University’s commitment to the Moroccan efforts to provide all forms of support to Palestinians, whether in the Gaza Strip or in other Palestinian territories, calling for the annual Morocco-Palestine Forum to become a sustainable framework for cooperation and partnership between the two parties.

El Bacha also praised the honorable contribution of Al-Quds University in strengthening the role of the Palestinian elite in defending the inalienable and legitimate rights of Palestinians.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

Occupied Jerusalem, The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested -in the past 24 hours- at least 25 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, including an injured civilian and freed captives.

In a joint statement, Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said that most of the arrests took place in Nablus Governorate, while the others spread across the governorates of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqilya. These arrests are regularly accompanied by sabotage and destruction of Palestinian homes, as well as severe beatings practiced on detainees and their families, added the statement.

Since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli genocide on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, the number of arrests in the occupied West Bank has risen to at least 9,385, the statement added, indicating that these arrests included those who were arrested from homes or through military checkpoints, as well as those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and
those who were held hostage.

The IOF continues to implement systematic arrests, as one of the most prominent established policies, which escalated in an unprecedented manner after Oct. 7, 2023, not only in terms of the level of the number of detainees, but also in terms of the level of crimes committed.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Moscow, The Sultanate of Oman and Russia on Tuesday held a political consultation session in the Russian capital, Moscow .

The Omani side was headed by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Harithi, while Russian side, was headed by Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy of the Russian President to the Middle East and African countries.

During the political consultations, the two sides exchanged views on a number of current regional and international issues and developments, most notably the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the Ukrainian issue.

The two countries also reviewed areas of bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Source: Qatar News Agency

New York, The United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Interim Classification (IPC) initiative has warned that the risk of famine is still very present throughout the Gaza Strip in light of the continued aggression against the Gaza Strip and the continued restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

The initiative explained in a report on Tuesday that more than 495,000 people, or about a quarter of Gazas population, face catastrophic levels of food insecurity, the most dangerous.

The initiative noted that the increase in food deliveries and food services to the northern Gaza Strip during March and April reduced the severity of hunger in the area where the initiative expected famine to occur.

It added that the Israeli attack in the vicinity of Rafah city, south of the Gaza Strip, since early May, and other hostilities and displacement, led to renewed deterioration over the past few weeks.

The toll of the Israeli occupation aggression against the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7 has risen
to 37,658 martyrs and 86,237 wounded, the majority of whom were children and women, as thousands of victims were still under the rubble.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Geneva: The State of Qatar has reiterated its commitment to continuing its full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stemming from its steadfast and supportive stance of the legitimate rights of the fraternal Palestinian people, foremost among them their right to establish the independent State on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. And lauded the unwavering efforts of all UNRWA staffers that spanned over 75 years, in pursuit of protecting and helping the Palestinian people.

This came in the statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN Office in Geneva Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah during the regular meeting of the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom), within the framework of the 56th session of the Human Rights Council.

Her Excellency affirmed that since its establishment in 1949, as an organization with humanitarian and development mandate to provide assistance and protection to the Pale
stinian refugees, pending accomplishment of just and enduring solution for their plight, UNRWA has been coming under numerous and gratuitous attacks and polemics that primarily aim to undermine the agency and end its operations in the pursuit of liquidating the issue of the Palestinian rights and their right to return back to their regions and homes under international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly the resolutions of the UN General Assembly 194 and 237.

HE Dr. Al Muftah pointed out that the temptations of targeting UNRWA and limiting its abilities of undertaking its mandate and functions in the Gaza Strip are unprecedented, given the ongoing war being launched by the Israeli occupation army since Oct. 7, 2023. She stressed that these temptations come under flimsy justifications.

Her Excellency highlighted that the number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza enclave surpassed 120,000 people, with the number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) reaching over 2 million, due to the
genocidal crimes, policies of starvation and forced displacement being practiced by Israel as the de facto occupier, along with the intentional targeting of civilians, humanitarian aid workers and civic facilities, primarily the hospitals, as well as UNRWA’s schools and facilities that harbor tens of thousands of IDPs, mostly women and children, in addition to killing 193 of UNRWA’s personnel, with many of them being exposed to threats, arrest and torture.

HE Dr. Al Muftah underlined that the State of Qatar underscores the importance of discriminating between UNRWA as a UN agency with deep-rooted values and traditions and the claims that targeted many of its staffers who are being interrogated, denouncing the practices of punishing an entire humanitarian agency due to accusations against some of its staffers.

Her Excellency pointed out that the State of Qatar welcomes the contents of the Independent Review Group assigned by the United Nations, vindicating UNRWA following the allegations that targeted its op
erations in the Gaza enclave. She reiterated that the need for maintaining UNRWA to continue to discharge its functions, as a core pillar for regional stability, is still in place, stressing that originally the UNRWA was not an option, but rather operating due to the international community’s failure to end the Israeli occupation and find a just, durable and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian question and Palestinian refugees, in accordance with the international legitimacys resolutions.

HE Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah emphasized the importance of constantly providing support to UNRWA, affirming that the State of Qatar welcomes the declaration of some donors to resume their support for UNRWA, adding that the State of Qatar has called on all states and donors to resume their support and funding for UNRWA. And stressed the importance of establishing a mechanism to ensure sufficient and continuous support, such as direct funding of UNRWA from the United Nations budget so as to enable UNRWA to carry ou
t its noble humanitarian mission in providing assistance and protection to roughly 6 million Palestinian refugees.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Nairobi, A fire broke out inside the Kenyan Parliament in the capital, Nairobi, after demonstrators stormed the building while discussing a draft law imposing new taxes. A fire also broke out in the office of the governor of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, hundreds of meters away from Parliament, due to the anti-demonstrations.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of the Kenyan capital and several other cities on Tuesday to protest the 2024 Finance Bill, which stipulates an increase in taxes, which angered a wide segment of Kenyan citizens.

Many demonstrators were shot, while the Kenya Human Rights Commission announced the killing of one person at the hands of the police.

For his part, Kenyan Minister of the Interior Kithor Kindiki stressed that the security institutions will remain neutral but firm in respecting the rule of law, recalling the need for the demonstrators to disperse no later than six oclock in the evening, local time.

In conjunction with these protests, representatives continued to d
iscuss the draft Finance Law 2024 in the parliamentary committee, and approved most of the amendments made to it.

Meanwhile, the opposition decided to withdraw all of the amendments it had presented, considering that keeping them might lead to legitimizing the text that it completely opposes.

Source: Qatar News Agency