‘We try to find life from death’: The volunteer lifesavers of Jenin
Jenin, occupied West Bank, Palestine – On April 4 last year, Ahmad Nobane was trying to reach an injured person in the Jenin refugee camp to administer first aid. He had received messages on his mobile phone giving him the location of the victim and driven as far as he possibly could along the city’s narrow, destroyed streets. He had to get out and walk the final 300 metres (1,000ft) to reach the man lying on the ground. Then he felt the shot. Nobane, 22, had been hit by an Israeli sniper in the right side of his chest. Taking cover, he put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding – as he had been trained to do for others. His colleagues were able to reach him and help him into an ambulance. But the vehicle was stopped by the Israeli military, and soldiers fired warning shots at the ambulance. When the ambulance was finally allowed to move, Nobane was taken to the Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital, the facility raided by undercover Israeli operatives who targeted and killed three Palestinians inside it in January. He stayed for two days. It took six months of follow-up treatment to recover. Nobane is one of 23 young men and women who have trained as voluntary first responders in Jenin, and that incident was a year and a half ago, before the war on Gaza began and Israeli forces stepped up violent raids on towns and cities in the occupied West Bank. These days, the experience of coming under fire is all in a night’s work. Ahmad Nobane, 22, is a university student and a paramedic volunteer of the Jenin refugee camp’s first responders [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] Using tuk-tuks as makeshift ambulances Nobane was just a newborn when his father was killed during the second Intifada in 2002, fighting the Israeli forces who were attacking their refugee camp in Jenin. Two years ago, he decided to join the volunteers in the camp who are dedicated to trying to save lives by training as first responders. After he recovered from the gunshot wound, he resumed his work as a volunteer as best as he could. “We try to find life from death,” Nobani tells Al Jazeera. A first aid kit used by the paramedic volunteers in the Jenin camp [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] These days in Jenin, it’s hard to know exactly how many people may need their assistance on any given night. About 24,000 people are registered as living in this camp. But the frequent raids by Israeli forces have stepped up since the war in Gaza began in October, destroying homes and forcing many to flee. Since then, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed 536 Palestinians, including 131 children, in the West Bank and injured more than 5,500, including 800 children – more than one-third of them by live ammunition – according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Jenin alone, at least 148 Palestinians have been killed, 320 wounded and 540 detained by Israeli forces since October 7, according to local journalist Ali Samoudi, one of those trying to keep count amid the chaos. A bandaging technique is demonstrated at the training centre for first responders in Jenin [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] Our Palestine is making a desperate bid to keep those numbers down. The grassroots organisation was born inside the camp and is led by Nidal Naghnaghiye, 52, a community leader who has spent 17 years in Israeli prisons. It is the group responsible for organising the first aid volunteers. Working closely with the international organisation Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, the first responder volunteer team is headed up by Salah Mansour, 29, a lawyer. He is one of the 15 men and eight women who make up the group – all drawn from different professions and backgrounds and all now trained in first aid and ready to try to reach injured people wherever they might be. It’s important to keep the volunteers equipped and trained, Mansour says, because “we do not limit ourselves to working in the field. We also reach patients’ houses if needed.” “Many times, we have had to stay with a patient for more than two hours until security conditions improve to transport the patient.” One of the tuk-tuks operating as an emergency vehicle to transport patients in the camp [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] Volunteers use MSF-supplied tuk-tuks as makeshift ambulances to transport the wounded, patients and first responders. They have one primary goal: Keep the patients alive for as long as it takes to reach a hospital, such as the Jenin Government Hospital, which is just metres from the Jenin camp but might as well be many kilometres away because of the time it takes to get through Israeli military roadblocks. In December, MSF reported that Israeli forces had shot dead an unarmed 17-year-old inside the hospital compound and were preventing ambulances from leaving it. Paramedics and ambulance drivers were stripped and forced to kneel on the ground, MSF said in a post on X. Ambulance workers, one with a bulletproof vest, wait at the entrance of the Khalil Suleimani Hospital, which is just metres from the refugee camp. But due to Israeli military checkpoints, transport of the injured by first responders is delayed [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] With these sorts of obstacles, it’s all a case of making do inside the Jenin camp. The first aid volunteers work from a large hall that was once used by a civil society organisation but now serves as a training centre where the volunteers receive instruction from MSF on how to stem bleeding, safely move and lift victims and a host of other life-saving techniques. At the moment, all the training centre contains are a few bandages and some other medical supplies while volunteer tradesmen work in the corners carrying out routine repairs. At the moment, the training centre has only a few medical supplies [Mauricio Morales/Al Jazeera] ‘You are
Palestinian teen describes Israeli strike on friends playing in street
NewsFeed Palestinian teenager Radwan al-Baghdadi says he feels alone after an Israeli air strike in Gaza killed his cousin and several of his friends while they played. Published On 25 Jul 202425 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu’s claims before the US Congress: Facts or falsehoods?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed a joint session of the United States Congress as his country conducts a war on Gaza in which more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed. Netanyahu on Wednesday presented a defence of Israel’s war, launched on October 7, the day Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out attacks on Israeli territory in which 1,139 people were killed. The prime minister spoke of a plan for what he termed a “de-radicalised post-war Gaza” but offered few details beyond the assertion that Israel would retain security control over the strip. Outside Congress, meanwhile, protesters called for him to be prosecuted for alleged war crimes as families of some Israeli captives held in Gaza were evicted from the building for demanding answers from the Israeli premier. So what were the key claims Netanyahu made in his speech, and how true were they? Al Jazeera fact-checks the prime minister’s address: On Rafah attacks Netanyahu: “Remember what so many people said? If Israel goes into Rafah, there’ll be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of civilians killed. Well, last week, I went into Rafah. I visited our troops as they finished fighting Hamas’s remaining terrorist battalions. I asked the commander there, “How many terrorists did you take out in Rafah?” He gave me an exact number: 1,203. I asked him, “How many civilians were killed?” He said, “Prime minister, practically none. With the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people, the answer is practically none.” The facts: At least 45 people, including children, were killed in just one attack when Israel fired missiles at a camp housing displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza city in late May. As horrific scenes from the massacre emerged, drawing worldwide condemnation, the United Nations said Rafah was like “hell on Earth”. By then, a majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were crammed into the city and its neighbouring areas after fleeing other parts of the enclave because of the war and Israel’s orders to evacuate. From May 6 to Wednesday, Israel has killed more than 4,300 people in the strip while repeatedly targeting schools and Israeli-designated “safe zones”. Israel also killed dozens, if not hundreds, of people in Rafah in rocket attacks before its forces entered the city. And while Netanyahu said the Israeli military had killed 1,203 Palestinian fighters, there has been no independent verification of the assertion that those described as “terrorists” were indeed individuals belonging to armed groups. An Israeli offensive in #Rafah would mean more civilian suffering & deaths. The consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people@UNRWA is not evacuating: the Agency will maintain a presence in Rafah as long as possible & will continue providing lifesaving aid to people pic.twitter.com/8anQ8Eq6Gv — UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 6, 2024 On aid trucks to Gaza Netanyahu: “Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That’s half a million tonnes of food. And that’s more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren’t getting enough food, it’s not because Israel is blocking it. It’s because Hamas is stealing it.” The facts: At the beginning of the war, Israel implemented a full blockade of the already besieged Gaza, which included a ban on food, water, medicines and other essential supplies. While this was somewhat eased later under global pressure, the facts on the ground – as reported by the UN, Al Jazeera’s own coverage and other independent organisations – are far removed from the picture painted by Netanyahu. Before the war started, Gaza received an average of 500 aid trucks per day. Since the war started, the UN has recorded a total of 30,630 aid trucks — not 40,000 as Netanyahu said. That averages out to 104 trucks per day, only a fifth of the pre-war amount. And contrary to the Israeli prime minister’s claim that there was enough food for the people of Gaza, UN experts in July declared that famine had spread throughout Gaza. On anti-Israel protests Netanyahu: “We recently learned from the US director of national intelligence that Iran is funding and promoting anti-Israel protests in America. They want to disrupt America.” “For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building – not that many, but they’re there – and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots.” The facts: Netanyahu did not provide any evidence that Iran is funding protesters. On July 10, Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, did say that Iran’s government was secretly encouraging American protests in an bid to spark outrage before US elections in November. “Iran is becoming increasingly aggressive in its efforts to influence foreign affairs, aiming to sow discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” Haines said. But Haines did not mention funding. Antiwar protests erupted on college campuses across the US and around the world in April. Tensions escalated when New York police made mass arrests during protests at Columbia University. On targeting civilians Netanyahu: “The ICC [International Criminal Court] prosecutor accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians. What in God’s green earth is he talking about? The [Israeli military] has dropped millions of flyers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way. But at the same time, Hamas does everything in its power to put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. They fire rockets from schools, from hospitals, from mosques.” The facts: As of Monday, the Israeli military had marked 83 percent of the Gaza Strip as unsafe for Palestinian civilians. This portion of the enclave has either been declared a “no-go
UK police officer filmed kicking man in the face
NewsFeed UK police say they are investigating a video of an officer kicking and stamping on a man’s head while he was laying on the ground at Manchester Airport. Published On 24 Jul 202424 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinian weightlifter loses place at Olympics because of Gaza war
NewsFeed A Palestinian weightlifting champion lost his place at the Paris Olympics 2024 because of Israel’s war on Gaza. Published On 24 Jul 202424 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
As US Congress cheered for Netanyahu, protesters gathered to denounce him
Washington, DC – Hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the United States Capitol to deliver a speech to Congress, a woman with a blue scarf concealing her face sat alone on a park bench and waved a Palestinian flag near Union Station in Washington, DC. “We will fight for freedom wherever it’s being denied all over the world. We connect with the Palestinians because we are freedom fighters here in America,” the lone protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. She was one of the thousands of protesters who would ultimately gather across the capital city to demonstrate against the Israeli prime minister’s speech. As US legislators clapped for Netanyahu inside the domed edifice, activists outside called for him to be tried for abuses linked to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many argued that Netanyahu is a war criminal who belongs in jail, not in the halls of Congress. The demonstrators held effigies of a blood-stained Netanyahu, waved Palestinian flags and chanted “free Palestine” as the Israeli prime minister spoke. Top Republican and Democratic legislators in both the Senate and House of Representatives invited Netanyahu to speak before the joint session of Congress. But despite the bipartisan show of support, dozens of lawmakers boycotted the address on Wednesday, echoing concerns voiced by the demonstrators. Irene Ippolito, a protester draped in a red keffiyeh, described the congressional leadership as a “bunch of sycophants” for bringing Netanyahu to Congress. “We need to be out here. We need to say, ‘Not in our name’,” Ippolito told Al Jazeera. “As American citizens, we have to realise that this could not be taking place without our taxpayer dollars sending tonnes of weapons to Israel as it slaughters men, women and children in Gaza.” She added that the atrocities in Gaza are the “most documented genocide in human history”. Security measures Protesters like Ippolito braved searing summer heat, blocked roads and a heavy police presence as they descended on the site of the demonstration, just west of the Capitol. Some even arrived from across the country. As the protest continued, organisers led a march east through the Capitol Hill neighbourhood. Law enforcement agents had cordoned off the Capitol with a metal fence earlier this week. But on Wednesday morning, they enlarged the security perimeter, turning away vehicles and pedestrians that approached the building. Clusters of heavily armed officers and security agents in riot gear could be seen all around the area. Capitol Police said they deployed pepper spray towards activists who had “become violent” without providing further details. Al Jazeera did witness exchanges of harsh words between officers and demonstrators, but no clashes or physical violence. Adam Abusalah, an Arab American activist from Dearborn, Michigan, said it is a “shame” that Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress. “It’s a disgrace that members from both parties have invited him to speak here. It’s a disgrace that Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, will meet with him,” Abusalah told Al Jazeera at an anti-Netanyahu protest near the Capitol. “We are here to say enough is enough. As Americans, we will not stand for that.” Protesters march through the Capitol Hill neighbourhood in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera] Harris — who, as vice president, has the ceremonial role of presiding over the Senate — was at an event in Indianapolis and did not attend Netanyahu’s address at the Capitol. But she is set to meet with him later this week. The vice president is now the likely nominee of the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. The Biden administration has authorised more than $14bn in military aid to Israel to help fund the war effort while offering the US ally diplomatic cover at international forums. ‘He has no right to be here’ Some of the protesters’ anger on Wednesday was directed at the US president. “Biden, Biden you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” they chanted. Karim, a Palestinian American protester who wished to be identified by his first name only, said he would not support Harris for the presidency after she had served as Biden’s vice president. Instead, he said he would vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who spoke at the demonstration. Karim arrived in Washington, DC, on a bus with dozens of demonstrators on Wednesday, and he expressed bewilderment that Netanyahu was invited to speak at the Capitol. “He has no right to be here,” he told Al Jazeera. “We don’t support criminals of war. We don’t support genocidal maniacs.” In his remarks to US lawmakers, Netanyahu defended the Israeli war, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, displaced more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population and brought the territory to the verge of famine. He also pledged to fight until “total victory” despite US-led efforts to secure a ceasefire deal. The Israeli prime minister hit out at antiwar protesters in the US, accusing them of siding with Hamas. “These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves,” Netanyahu said. He also called the protesters outside the Capitol “Iran’s useful idiots”, earning a standing ovation from US legislators. Protesters hold a bloodied effigy of Netanyahu blocks away from the US Capitol on July 24 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera] ‘Hitler number two’ On the streets of Washington, DC, the demonstrators had nothing but contempt for the Israeli leader. Several posters compared him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Protester Sarah Bowls said the top legislators who invited Netanyahu to the US Capitol should be “ashamed” of themselves. “We should be boycotting him. He should be arrested. He should be at The Hague,” she said, referring to the Dutch city where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based. ICC prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Bowls added that she is “sick” of her government continuing to fund and enable “genocide” against Palestinians. Jenny Bennett, who
Georgia probes alleged plot to overthrow government
State intelligence agency claims ‘former officials’ also planned to assassinate governing party head Ivanishvili. Georgia’s state intelligence agency has announced the opening of an investigation into a plot to “violently overthrow” the government. In a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the State Security Service of Georgia said it is “investigating criminal activities” aimed at creating unrest, including a plot to kill Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the governing Georgian Dream party. The statement accused “former high officials” of being behind the plot, with local media reports suggesting links to Ukraine. The announcement came amid heightened tension in Georgia over the introduction of a “foreign influence” law that opponents say illustrates the government is moving closer to Russia. “The aim of the criminal activities is to violently overthrow the state government by destructive forces in the midst of creating unrest in the country and weakening the government,” the statement read. “Active investigations and operative-search measures are underway in which specific persons are sent to the investigative body for questioning,” it added. The security service did not name the suspects. However, Georgian media reported at least six people had been summoned for questioning, most of whom have fought against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Georgia’s authorities have repeatedly accused Ukraine-based Georgians fighting against Russia of plotting a coup. Tbilisi says it opposes Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but has declined to impose sanctions on Russia over its aggression. Georgia also hosts significant numbers of Russians who fled their country in fear of Moscow’s mobilisation efforts. ‘Russian law’ Ivanishvili is the South Caucasus country’s richest man. Founder of Georgian Dream and retaining significant influence over the party, he refutes accusations that he is moving Georgia – which was invaded by Russian forces in 2008 – back towards Moscow. The billionaire insists that the government still hopes to move towards European Union membership. However, Brussels has said repeatedly that the foreign agent law puts that ambition at risk. Formally led by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the ruling coalition overrode a veto by President Salome Zourabichvili on the controversial bill in May amid huge protests, which were violently crushed by the authorities. The new law requires media, nongovernmental organisations and other nonprofit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. The government insisted that the law is needed to stem what it deems to be harmful foreign actors trying to destabilise the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. However, many Georgian journalists and activists argue that the bill’s true goal is to stigmatise them and restrict debate in the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled for October. Opponents have denounced the legislation as “the Russian law” because it resembles measures pushed through by the Kremlin to crack down on independent news media and nonprofit groups. Adblock test (Why?)
The Battle for the Soul of Angkor Wat
People & Power investigates the mass evictions of thousands of residents at the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, or “City of Temples”, is the largest religious structure in the world. A truly spectacular place, it is deeply revered across Cambodia and depicted on its flag as the defining image of the nation. In 1992, UNESCO designated Angkor as a World Heritage Site. The UN agency also affirmed it as a “living” site whose traditional communities were as important as the stones. But now, locals accuse the Cambodian government of the mass forced eviction of thousands of people from those communities, while the government claims each one has voluntarily moved after settling illegally in Angkor. It also says the relocations are at UNESCO’s behest. People & Power went to Cambodia to investigate. Adblock test (Why?)
What is ‘dark oxygen’, found 13,000 feet under the sea?
For decades, scientists have floated theories about dark matter, which is believed to hold galaxies together by its gravitational pull. The enigma of dark matter continues, and now scientists have discovered what they call dark oxygen on the ocean’s floor. A recent study published in Nature Geoscience, a journal dedicated to Earth sciences research, shows oxygen emitted from mineral deposits 4,000 meters (about 13,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The depth is almost half the length of the tallest peak of Mount Everest. The study by Andrew Sweetman, professor at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and team lead of the institution’s seafloor ecology and biogeochemistry research group, provides evidence that there’s an additional oxygen source on the planet apart from the oxygen produced from photosynthesis. Up until now, it has been well understood by scientists that the planet’s only source of oxygen is from photosynthetic organisms like plants and algae that produce oxygen for humans and other animals to breathe. So what is the significance of this newly found dark oxygen, and what questions does it raise about the origins of life on Earth? What is dark oxygen? On the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which spans 4.5 million square kilometres (1.7 million square miles) in the Pacific Ocean, there are coal-like mineral rocks, called polymetallic nodules, which typically contain manganese and iron. Scientists have found that these nodules produce oxygen without the process of photosynthesis. Minerals that produce oxygen in the darkness of the seafloor could possibly change scientists’ view of how life began on planet Earth. “The other implication of this research is it potentially sheds light on where life began on the planet. This discovery has shown that, well, maybe there was another source of oxygen a long time ago and aerobic life or life that breathes oxygen could have persisted before the rise of photosynthesis — and if it’s happening on our planet could it be happening on other planets too,” Sweetman stated in a SAMS video. How did they find the dark oxygen? The discovery comes more than 10 years after the source of dark oxygen itself was found. The 2013 research mission was aimed at understanding how much oxygen was consumed by organisms on the CCZ seafloor. Landers, mechanical platforms that can free-fall to the bottom of the seafloor, were sent down 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) to track how oxygen levels in the water decreased over with depth. However, what researchers discovered was that oxygen levels increased at the ocean bed. This surprised Sweetman and his team. Until now, scientists believed that the oxygen available in the deep ocean comes from the upper ocean and land, produced by plants, plankton and algae using the process of photosynthesis. As a result, oxygen levels usually go down as one goes deeper. Not in this case. Thinking his measuring equipment was faulty, Sweetman got the equipment recalibrated and repeated the experiment several times over many years — with the same results. Through more experiments over the years, they discovered manganese nodules were the source of oxygen production. They brought these nodules back to the ship for testing and noticed they had an electric charge, the equivalent of an AA battery. A process known as seawater electrolysis allows a charge to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. They observed this in their lab experiments. What is the significance of the discovery? Science works on the principles of verification, so these findings will need to be confirmed by other, independent experiments. But the research by Sweetman and his team suggests that some minerals do produce oxygen while not using sunlight. “The fact that we’ve got another source of oxygen on the planet other than photosynthesis has consequences and implications that are utterly profound,” Nick Owens, director of SAMS, said. [embedded content] This discovery also highlights the need to protect environments that self-produce oxygen, according to the researchers behind it. “To power the green economy we need to extract metals from the ground or potentially the deep ocean,” Sweetman said. “So what we have discovered means that we’re going to have to carefully think about if deep ocean mining goes ahead, where that mining should take place because this oxygen is likely being used in whatever quantity that it’s produced by the ecosystem.” In addition, the implications of discovering another deep ocean source of oxygen production open the doors to revisiting how life began on Earth. “The fact that we’ve got another source of oxygen on the planet other than photosynthesis has consequences and implications that are utterly profound,” Owens said. Adblock test (Why?)
Oman mosque attack: What’s ISIL’s game plan?
Near Oman’s mountain-crested capital of Muscat, a rare act of violence last week shook a peaceful country largely bereft of even petty crime. Gunfire rang out, and shouts of “Oh God!” were heard on July 15 in Wadi Kabir, a district east of Muscat, as three gunmen entered the Imam Ali Mosque. Congregants were gathered for a major religious event for Shia Muslims. But the event ended with five people killed – four Pakistani nationals and a policeman – and at least 30 others wounded, according to Omani and Pakistani authorities. In a country known for “exceptional” religious tolerance and a long tradition of coexistence, the real target might have been Oman’s stability, especially given its role as a regional mediator, say analysts. Soon after, ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack – its first ever of an operation in the Gulf nation. But experts said it is unclear if the attack was actually carried out by ISIL. More than a week after the attack, the group has offered no evidence except a video of the three alleged bombers — supposedly brothers — pledging allegiance to ISIL’s leader. With the region and world focused on Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, ISIL — whether or not it was actually behind the attack — may be trying to stay relevant, heightening sectarian divisions, especially in places where virtually none exists, analysts suggest. Sowing discord to divert “It is clear that [ISIL] relies on a strategy of claiming responsibility for attacks even when it had no actual involvement, with the aim of inciting chaos and sectarian strife,” Faozi Algoidi, a research fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera. “By asserting responsibility for incidents that may originally be accidental or socially motivated, the organisation enhances the sectarian and terrorist nature of these events, bringing the issue of sectarian conflict back to the forefront.” ISIL’s goal may be to show that the organisation is still active and capable of striking anywhere, to stir fear and increase sectarian tensions in places of otherwise security and peace, like Oman, he added. This may have been why the attack occurred on the occasion of Ashura, among the holiest times of the year for Shia Muslims, according to Andreas Krieg, a professor at King’s College London and CEO of MENA analytica, a MENA-focused political risk firm. “That’s exactly what [ISIL] wanted to achieve … polarise sectarian dialogue and discourse in a very tolerant and inclusive country, and also across the region,” Krieg told Al Jazeera. “They were looking for an iconic moment where they can have an impact.” The attack also likely occurred at this time because armed groups perceive that the region’s intelligence agencies are focused more on Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, say analysts. “This timing suggests a strategic choice by [ISIL] to exploit perceived vulnerabilities,” Harley Lippman, an adviser at the USAID Partnership for Peace Fund, focused on Middle East peace efforts, told Al Jazeera. The attack in Oman follows similar acts in Russia and Iran. In March, the group said it was behind an attack that killed more than 140 people at a concert hall near Moscow, and in January it claimed responsibility for two explosions in Kerman that killed nearly 100. The number of operations claimed by ISIL this year compared with last year has doubled, further indicating a hidden agenda to divert attention in the region from the situation in Gaza, said Algoidi. Why Oman? Beyond its stability, Oman may have been singled out for the attack due to its role as a frequent regional mediator, say analysts. In the conflict in Yemen, in particular, Oman has been trying to bridge a gap between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-backed government. “The fact that the Omanis are trying to create cohesion, consensus in Yemen and trying to solve the conflict is something that [ISIL] disagrees with,” said Krieg. “They need conflict in Yemen to thrive.” Oman’s ties with Iran may have also embittered the group. ISIL views Tehran as an “archenemy”, Krieg added. An ISIL network existing in Oman is highly unlikely, Krieg said, and the incident rather points to the work of a cell with links to Yemen. The group’s cell structure means “lone wolf” ISIL-linked groups can launch operations even without membership within ISIL itself, he explained. He believes it is a single, isolated event and not a resurgence of the group — at least not in the Gulf region. “This can happen literally in any country. It can happen in the UK,” said Krieg. Adblock test (Why?)