Has Israel realised that it can’t ‘eradicate’ Hamas?
In early January, Israel announced that it was withdrawing some of its forces from northern Gaza after “dismantling” Hamas’s military activities in the region. Three months had passed since the start of its war on Gaza, more than 20,000 Palestinians had been killed and Israel had increasingly turned its attention to central and southern Gaza, here it has surrounded and targeted the city of Khan Younis in particular. But on January 16, Hamas launched 25 rockets from the northern Gaza strip at the southern Israeli city of Netivot. While no civilians were killed, the attack punched holes in the Israeli claim that it was on its way to destroying Hamas, even after more than 100 days of war. Since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that it wants to “eradicate” the Palestinian armed group. At the time, many analysts warned that destroying the group was an unrealistic aim that would only compound the costs imposed on Gaza’s civilian population. Now, the fresh signs of Hamas regaining the ability to target Israel from northern Gaza further bolster those predictions. “I think [the rocket attacks] sends a message to Israelis at large that their goal at eradicating Hamas is failing,” said Omar H Rahman, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the Middle East Council on Global Affairs think tank. “If you can still fire rockets and if you can still attack troops – in the north of all places where Israel has laid siege for 112 days – then [the war aim of destroying Hamas] is failing,” he told Al Jazeera. Eliminating the tunnels? Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas’s vast tunnel network under Gaza. But so far, Israel has failed to substantially impede the movement of Hamas fighters underground, according to Oren Ziv, an Israeli commentator and a journalist with +972 magazine, a publication based in Tel Aviv. “I would estimate that Israel doesn’t have the full picture of where the tunnels connect from and how. And the fact we still see attacks from northern Gaza means that the tunnel system is still operating,” Ziv told Al Jazeera. According to Israeli military officials, as well as previous statements by Palestinians in Gaza and official statements by Hamas, the tunnels in the Gaza Strip are hundreds of kilometres long. For decades, they have been used to smuggle all sorts of civilian supplies, as well as weapons from Egypt. Hiding the captives Hamas has used the tunnels for other means, including to ambush Israeli troops in Gaza and hide many of the 240 captives its fighters captured on October 7. Many of the captives were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a short pause in fighting brokered in November. Israel believes that about 100 captives remain inside the tunnels and estimates that 25 have been killed in captivity – possibly as a result of its own heavy and indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Despite the danger that Israel’s war tactics pose to the captives, the Israeli military has tried to blow up a number of tunnels in Gaza and flood some with water from the Mediterranean. But released captives fear that this strategy could drown the Israelis still down there, according to conversations between them and Netanyahu, which were leaked to the press. “The Israeli government continues to oversell what it can accomplish through military means. It said that it can release Israeli hostages through military means, but with the exception of one hostage that has not proven to be the case,” said Hugh Lovatt, an expert on Israel-Palestine relations with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Military action has actually killed hostages,” he told Al Jazeera. Human cost Despite the ordeal captives face, Palestinian civilians have borne the brunt of Israel’s loosely defined and unrealistic war aims, said Lovatt. He said that Israel claims to have killed 9,000 Hamas fighters out of a total of more than 25,000 Palestinians killed in the enclave, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. However, 70 percent of the victims are believed to be women and children. “My feeling is that Israel is treating every dead male [in Gaza] as Hamas,” Lovatt told Al Jazeera. Lovatt said he doubted the Israeli figure of 9,000 Hamas fighters killed so far. But “even if we take that number as accurate”, he said, that still leaves the vast majority of the armed group’s personnel alive and ready to fight. According to the CIA, Hamas has about 35,000 fighters in Gaza alone, Lovatt pointed out. “That shows there are still a lot of fighters in Gaza that will outlast Israel’s military operations.” While analysts agreed that Hamas won’t be “eradicated”, they acknowledged that the group’s military capabilities have been downgraded and risk being further reduced. But they stressed that Israel’s war tactics will ultimately embolden – not destroy – Hamas. “Israel is capable of reducing Hamas’ military capacity, but its collective punishment on Gaza’s civilian population is feeding the generational drivers of resistance in every way possible,” Rahman, from the Middle East Council for Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera. “And when it comes to capacity, that is one thing that can always be rebuilt.” Adblock test (Why?)
Pacific island Tuvalu votes as ties with Taiwan in spotlight
Poll in nation threatened by climate change closely watched as China and the United State vie for influence in region. The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has voted in a national election that is being closely watched by China, Taiwan, the United States and its ally Australia, amid a tussle for influence in the region. There are only a little over 6,000 registered voters in the country of about 11,200 people. Polls have closed and the results from Friday’s election are expected later in the day. Tuvalu, where the population is spread across nine islands, has campaigned at international conferences for greater action to help low-lying nations address climate change as scientists have warned that its capital, Funafuti, risks being inundated by tides by 2050. Most of Tuvalu is forecast to be flooded by high tides by 2100, says the United Nations Development Programme, which is working with Tuvalu to bolster its coastline. A contest for influence in the Pacific between China and the US has seen Tuvalu courted, with Washington recently pledging to connect its remote population by undersea cable to global telecommunications for the first time. Tuvalu is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan after Nauru severed ties with Taipei this month and resumed diplomatic relations with China, which pledged more development support. Fight for influence Taiwan on Thursday said China was trying to influence the Tuvalu election and “seize our diplomatic allies”. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and not entitled to diplomatic ties. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claim. Contenders for Tuvalu’s leadership have all advocated for climate change action on the world stage, but differ in approaches to ties with Taiwan, a diplomatic ally since 1979. Tuvalu’s Finance Minister Seve Paeniu, who has secured a seat in the new parliament as one of only two candidates for the Nukulaelae island electorate, told the Reuters news agency that he expects Taiwan ties to be reviewed after the election. The new government should decide whether Taiwan or China can best respond to Tuvalu’s development needs, he said. Prime Minister Kausea Natano has told Taiwan he continues to support relations. Enele Sopoaga, overthrown as prime minister by Natano at the 2019 election, and former Foreign Minister Simon Kofe have previously pledged support for Taiwan. There are no political parties, and two lawmakers will be chosen by voters in each of eight island electorates. After the votes are counted, government boats collect the new lawmakers from the islands and bring them to Funafuti, a journey that can take up to 27 hours. The prime minister is chosen by the newly elected lawmakers. Natano and Kofe are running for the Funafuti seat. Kofe attracted global headlines in 2021 when he delivered a speech to the United Nations climate change summit standing knee-deep in water to highlight the plight of the low-lying nation. Tuvalu signed a security and migration agreement with Australia in November that allows Canberra to vet security ties. Sopoaga has rejected the Australia deal, while Kofe said some aspects should be revised. Adblock test (Why?)
Mali’s military rulers scrap peace deal with separatist rebels
Military leaders say Algiers Accord cancelled with ‘immediate effect’ due to signatories not upholding commitments. Mali’s military rulers have announced the cancellation of a 2015 peace deal with separatist rebels after months of fighting in the West African nation. Military authorities said late on Thursday that the so-called Algiers Accord had ended with “immediate effect” due to other signatories not keeping their commitments and hostility by chief mediator Algeria. In a speech broadcast on state television, the military government spokesperson Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said there had been an “increasing number of unfriendly acts, instances of hostility and interference in Mali’s internal affairs” by Algiers. Algeria had led efforts to restore peace to Mali after the signing of the so-called Algiers Accord between Bamako and armed groups predominantly made up of the semi-nomadic Tuareg ethnic group. Last month, Mali summoned the Algerian ambassador over “interference” and “unfriendly acts” related to claims the envoy held talks with Tuareg separatists without involving Bamako. The rebel alliance group CMA said it was not surprised by the decision. “We have been expecting it since they brought in Wagner, chased out MINUSMA [the UN peacekeeping group] and started hostilities by attacking our positions on the ground,” CMA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency. “We knew that the aim was to terminate the agreement.” The Algiers Accord began to fray in August as fighting between separatists and government troops escalated amid the gradual winding down of a 10-year UN peace mission in the country. In June, Mali’s military government, which seized power in 2020, demanded the departure of the UN mission despite suffering frequent attacks by armed groups in the Sahel region. Since the coup, Mali’s military leaders have severed ties with former colonial power France, while seeking closer relations with Russia and the private army Wagner Group. Mali has been racked by violence since 2012 when Islamist armed groups seized on a Tuareg uprising driven by accusations of government neglect and demands for greater autonomy. Adblock test (Why?)
Families of Israeli captives deny leaking Netanyahu Qatar tape
In leaked audio, Israeli PM is heard criticising Doha in its role in negotiating the release of captives held by Hamas. Families of Israelis held captive in Gaza have said denied they were behind the leak of audio in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Qatar’s role in talks with Hamas over the release of the captives. “All conversations that take place in meetings with the Prime Minister are recorded by his office and his associates present at the meeting,” Haim Rubinstein, a spokesperson for the families, said on Thursday in a statement cited on Israeli media. “The families participating in the meeting had their phones taken at the entrance,” he said, adding that the leak was a “grave issue that indicates a loss of control”. His comment came a day after the prime minister’s office blamed one of the family members for the leak. Israeli media outlet Walla on Thurdsay reported that the prime minister’s office doubled down on blaming the families, saying that it has evidence in the form of a text message from one of their members present at the meeting. “The girl next to me had a phone, it’s a shame I didn’t tip her off,” the message reads, according to Walla. In the audio that triggered the controversy, which was aired on Tuesday by Israeli Channel 12, Netanyahu is heard saying that Qatar’s involvement in the release of captives was “problematic”. He also blamed Qatar for financing Hamas and said he was upset at a decision by the United States to extend the presence of a military base in the Gulf state. Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, responded to the remarks saying he was “appalled”. About 240 people were taken captive by Hamas fighters as they launched an unprecedented attack into southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics. Israel responded with a devastating bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, which has displaced more than 80 percent of the population and reduced much of the territory to rubble. Palestinian officials say at least 25,700 people have been killed and more than 63,000 wounded in the Israeli assault. Following lengthy negotiations led by Qatar and the US, more than 100 of those captured were freed in late November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails as Israel and Hamas observed a weeklong truce. The Gulf state remains involved in talks aimed at securing a new deal for the release of roughly 130 captives still being held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. Al-Ansari said Netanyahu’s leaked comments were detrimental to those efforts. “If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli prime minister would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritising saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 702
As the war enters its 702nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, January 26, 2024. Ilyushin-76 plane crash Russia and Ukraine traded accusations on the circumstances surrounding the crash of a Russian military transport plane over the southern region of Belgorod. Russia claimed Ukraine shot down the Ilyushin-76, which it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) as well as nine Russians, and Kyiv had been given 15 minutes’ notice of the flight. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which opened a “terrorism” investigation, said it had recovered the plane’s flight recorders and released a 39-second video of the scene that mainly showed aerial shots of a large blackened stretch in a snow-covered field with some damaged trees. The video also showed one block of twisted metal and wires, a hand and an arm. Ukraine said there had been no Russian request for secure airspace in the area where the plane crashed. Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said that a list of the supposed POWs on board being circulated in Russian media included discrepancies and soldiers who returned home in earlier exchanges. He demanded that international experts from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be given access to the site. Kyiv opened a criminal investigation into the crash. The crash site of the Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane near the village of Yablonovo in Russia’s Belgorod region [Russian Investigative Committee/Handout via Reuters] The UN Security Council met at Russia’s request to discuss the crash. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council the UN was not in a position to verify the circumstances of what had happened. “What is clear is that the incident took place in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war,” she said. “To avoid further escalation, we urge all concerned to refrain from actions, rhetoric or allegations that could further fuel the already dangerous conflict.” Fighting Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 14 attack drones and five missiles on the southern Black Sea regions with air defence systems destroying 11 of the drones. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine said six people were injured in the historic city of Odesa and residential buildings and a warehouse were damaged. Ukrainian security sources said they orchestrated a drone attack on an oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse, about 240 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. The attack caused a major fire, but there were no reports of casualties. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told the Associated Press news agency that Nepal had asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who had been recruited to fight against Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who had died in the conflict. The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepali nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 have died there, Saud said. Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre said it had seen “mercenaries from Malaysia, accompanied by a translator” at Russian military training camps in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. It warned that anyone fighting alongside the Russians against Ukraine was a “military target”. Malaysia did not respond to requests for more information on the alleged presence of Malaysian nationals. Several major Ukrainian state organisations, including the state-run energy firm Naftogaz, the post office and transport safety agency, reported major cyber attacks that a source close to the government blamed on Russian intelligence. Politics and diplomacy A court in St Petersburg jailed antiwar activist Darya Trepova for 27 years after finding her guilty of “terrorism” in the killing of a prominent ultra-nationalist blogger Vladlen Tatarsky last year that Russia said was orchestrated by Ukraine. Trepova told the court she thought the package she gave Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, contained a covert listening device and did not realise it was rigged with explosives. A Moscow court jailed prominent nationalist and former rebel commander Igor Girkin for four years for “inciting extremism”. Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly criticised the Kremlin for its war strategy in Ukraine. Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was concerned that Ukrainian journalists investigating corruption were coming under increasing pressure, noting recent acts of intimidation against Yuriy Nikolov, Iryna Hryb and the staff of Bihus.info. Weapons The White House urged senators in the United States to reach a deal linking vital military assistance for Ukraine to US border security, after reports that former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, was trying to torpedo any agreement in an attempt to deprive US President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, of a political victory. Adblock test (Why?)
These Filipinos paid thousands for a job in Poland. Now they feel cheated
This is the first article in a two-part series about alleged exploitation of Filipino domestic workers. Hong Kong, China – The sizzling of chicken adobo – a sweet and savoury Filipino dish – fills the air of a high-rise apartment in Doha. It is Sunday, Andrea’s only day off, and she is preparing dinner before another long work week begins. After more than five years in the Qatari capital, Andrea* has long been tired of her sales job and living conditions in the city, where she shares a flat with three fellow Filipinos. So when a friend moved to Poland for work last year, Andrea seized the chance to apply with a recruitment agency that promotes mostly factory jobs in the European country. But after transferring about 2,500 euros (US$2,700) to agents, she is yet to receive her plane ticket. “I am so stressed because of the big amount of money I already paid,” she told Al Jazeera. “I keep thinking how I can get [it] back.” Andrea is not alone. Al Jazeera interviewed 10 Filipino workers and saw written statements from 20 others who claim they were promised jobs in Poland that never materialised, after falling prey to a network of agencies and individual agents working together across multiple countries. Despite having paid thousands of dollars in fees, they fear they won’t ever reach the European country. Andrea said she was told her application would be completed in about six months and cost 3,500 euros ($3,820). But the last she heard from her Poland-based agency was that she needed to pay an additional 500 euros ($550) because her work permit had expired while she was waiting for a visa appointment with the Polish embassy. “They are asking [for] just money and not processing the applications properly,” Andrea said. Stronger rights, higher salaries Filipino workers, both in the Philippines and in popular migrant worker destinations such as Qatar and Hong Kong, are being drawn to Poland through a mixture of word of mouth and social media accounts promoting jobs. For many, the prospect of living and working in Europe seems like a dream come true. In the Philippines, millions have struggled with soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while many migrant workers in Gulf countries and elsewhere in Asia face low salaries, poor conditions and meagre protections. “Here in Qatar, even if I work for 50 years, I won’t be able to become a permanent resident,” Andrea said. Andrea doesn’t believe she would ever be allowed to bring her family from the Philippines to Qatar, which in 2018 became the first Gulf country to start granting foreign residents permanent residency, no matter how hard she works or how long she stays. Instead, she sees a factory job in Poland as a ticket to greater opportunities for her and her family. Filipino workers in three different locations – Qatar, the Philippines and Hong Kong – told Al Jazeera they were led to believe they would find higher salaries in Poland, although they were rarely informed would also face significantly higher taxes. Other touted perks include the chance to bring one’s family to Poland, despite that not being a straightforward process for low-income workers, and access to other European countries. The number of Filipino workers in Poland has grown rapidly in recent years. Poland issued 22,557 work visas to Filipinos in 2022, compared to just 2,057 in 2018, according to data from the Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. Between 2015 and 2022, Filipinos were among the top five fastest-growing groups to enrol in the country’s social insurance program. A spokesman for Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the need for Filipino workers in Poland is a combination of a number of factors related to the dynamic growth of the Polish economy in recent years as well as demographic challenges”. Filipino migrant workers are being drawn to Poland through a mixture of word of mouth and social media accounts promoting jobs [Dan Archer/Al Jazeera] According to migrant workers and labour experts, unscrupulous agents are taking advantage of the country’s growing allure. Most workers said they were asked to make payments in three instalments. The total amounts varied from about $3,500 to $5,000, well above the legal maximum amount in the Philippines. Poland prohibits employment agencies from charging placement fees outright. Workers also reported hidden charges, a lack of regular updates, and sometimes even verbal intimidation from agents. Victoria* has lost all hope of a future in Europe. After her food business went bankrupt in the Philippines, she felt she had no option but to leave her home country. Then, last year, Victoria found the Facebook page of an agency that posted videos and photos of Filipino workers who had taken jobs in Poland. “They encouraged me to work there,” she told Al Jazeera, recalling the first online exchanges with agents. Victoria said that Poland’s lack of language restrictions and the prospect of becoming a permanent resident were major draws. “I want [my son] to be a doctor. That’s why I want to go to Poland,” she said. Victoria said she sent about 162,000 Philippine pesos ($2,880) via Western Union to recruiters with a Poland-based agency. But then they requested an additional 1,500 euros ($1,635) as an “assurance fee” – a payment supposedly intended to dissuade workers from abandoning their job in Poland, which is often solicited on the understanding it will be refunded after six months to a year. Victoria, a single mother who remortgaged her house and borrowed money from an acquaintance to cover her application, couldn’t afford the payment. She said she was mocked by the recruitment firm after sharing her dire financial situation and told there were no refunds. “Every day, I cannot sleep,” Victoria said, calling for workers to be compensated and agents “to be punished”. Victoria filed complaints with Filipino authorities against the Polish agency. To date, no one has been punished and she has not received a refund
Why is Canada asking Palestinians to list scars on Gaza visa applications?
Montreal, Canada – Abdallah Alhamadni knows the clock is ticking. Every day, the 51-year-old Palestinian father of three checks to see whether his efforts to bring his relatives in Gaza to safety have advanced. But Alhamadni, a Canadian permanent resident who lives in Milton, Ontario, says he is stuck in a dangerous waiting game, as Israel continues to wage war on the Gaza Strip. “We feel paralysed, depressed, frustrated, crying,” he told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes we feel we need to be strong to support them because we are the only hope for them. It’s a lot of things coming together, and we are alone.” Originally from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Alhamadni is trying to bring 61 relatives, including 27 children, to Canada through a new temporary visa programme for Palestinians affected by Israel’s military offensive. Unveiled last month, the scheme allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply to bring extended family members from Gaza to the country, where they will be granted a temporary residency visa for up to three years. But the process has prompted criticism from applicants and human rights advocates. Alhamadni called it confusing and time-consuming. Gaza remains under heavy Israeli fire and faces regular electricity and internet outages, so Alhamadni has struggled to reach his relatives and obtain the information necessary to complete the applications. The amount of personal details Palestinians are being asked to provide has also come under scrutiny, with Canadian immigration lawyers saying the process goes beyond what is typically required. Alhamadni’s brother, Suhail Alhamadni, and Suhail’s daughter Miral stand amid bombing wreckage in Gaza in October [Courtesy Abdallah Alhamadni] One form (PDF) asks people to provide a detailed employment history going back to age 16, as well as links to social media accounts and a list of all their in-laws. It also asks applicants to detail any scars or injuries that required medical attention, including how they sustained them. “They are putting all [these] impossible conditions on top of our heads,” said Alhamadni, who told Al Jazeera that his relatives have been displaced multiple times since the war in Gaza began. “I’m trying [to do] whatever I can.” The programme Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced the opening of the temporary resident visa programme on January 9, three months after the war in Gaza began. The move came amid public calls for the Canadian government to do more to help residents of the besieged enclave. At least 25,900 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza since the start of the war on October 7. Top United Nations officials have repeatedly called for a ceasefire as the territory reels from the mass displacement of its residents, a crippled healthcare system, and a lack of water, food and other humanitarian supplies. “The situation on the ground in Gaza is challenging and volatile,” Miller said in a statement announcing the Canadian visa programme. “These new measures provide a humanitarian pathway to safety and recognize the importance of keeping families together given the ongoing crisis.” But Ottawa faced immediate criticism when it revealed it only planned to issue up to 1,000 temporary visas to Palestinians from Gaza — a cap that rights advocates said was too low. Miller later said there was no strict limit on the number of applications that would be accepted. In an email to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the programme “expires once 1,000 applications have been accepted into processing or one year after the public policy comes into effect, whichever comes first”. “IRCC continues to be flexible as we assess the situation, including the volumes of applications received and the ability to facilitate eligible family members to leave Gaza and reach a safe third country,” the spokesman said. As of January 16, Canada was processing 144 applications, though none had been finalised, the spokesman added. The government also said there is no guarantee that applicants will be able to leave Gaza, which is under a strict Israeli siege. Egypt has also limited departures through the Rafah crossing at Gaza’s southern border, as part of a long-running blockade. “If people are able to leave Gaza, the security assessment will be completed in the third county where IRCC will be able to collect biometrics,” the IRCC spokesperson said. “IRCC will then finalize the [temporary resident visa] application and render a decision on whether [the] individual is approved to come to Canada.” Bureaucratic ‘cruelty’ According to Naseem Mithoowani, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, the Canadian government has failed to provide adequate information and clear communication about the visa programme, fuelling confusion in the Palestinian community. “People are anxious about the cap and whether that’s going to be expanded; how applications are being assessed in terms of their place in the queue; [and] why some people getting further ahead than others despite applying at the same time,” Mithoowani told Al Jazeera. “There’s a lack of transparency around the process itself.” She said Palestinian Canadians have also expressed concern about some of the programme requirements, including being able to provide financial support for their relatives from Gaza. They also have asked who will see the information provided in the applications and whether it will be shared with other countries. “The Palestinian community has lost a lot of trust in our government, and so that’s part of, I think, the increased anxiety levels or the increased need for communication in this particular case,” Mithoowani said. Yameena Ansari, an immigration and refugee lawyer in Calgary, also said that, while the programme initially provided a “ray of hope” for many Palestinians in Canada, “their hopes were quickly dashed” when they understood its limited scope and requirements. “We have been informed that these very invasive questions that are being asked are coming from Canada. They’re not coming from Israel or Egypt,” she told Al Jazeera. Security checks are an ordinary part of the immigration process, Ansari explained. But “the idea of throwing that many
Former Trump aide Navarro sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress
Peter Navarro is the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges. Former US President Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has been sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress after refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House January 6 committee. He pledged to appeal Thursday’s verdict and said he could not cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. A judge banned him from making that argument during trial, finding that he did not show that Trump had invoked it. Navarro said in court before his sentencing that the House committee investigating the January 6 attack had led him to believe that it accepted his invocation of executive privilege, which shields some presidential records and communications from disclosure. “Nobody in my position should be put in conflict between the legislative branch and the executive branch,” he told the judge. He added that there was “no reason for the harsh punishment” prosecutors were seeking. But US District Judge Amit Mehta refuted his claim and said, “You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution”. “These are circumstances of your own making,” he added. Former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party in Nashua, NH, as Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott and Eric Trump laugh [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP] Federal prosecutors in Washington had asked Judge Mehta to give Navarro a six-month sentence and a $200,000 fine, arguing that he chose to be loyal to Trump over the rule of law. “The defendant brazenly defied Congress,” prosecutor John Crabb said. Prosecutors also said that Navarro tried to “hide behind claims of privilege” even before he knew what the committee wanted, showing a “disdain” for the committee. His sentencing came after a judge rejected his bid for a new trial after his lawyers argued that jurors might have been influenced by protesters outside the courtroom when they took a break from deliberations. Navarro, 74, advised Trump on trade issues during his presidency and became a vocal supporter of Trump’s false claims of widespread voting fraud in the 2020 election. Trump backers looked to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory during a clash with police and rampaging through the Capitol. Navarro is the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges, after former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who also got a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal. The judge presiding over Thursday’s sentencing also criticised Navarro for his past statements that Biden and other prominent Democrats are behind his conviction. “Joe Biden is not responsible for your prosecution,” the judge told Navarro. “It’s those kinds of statements from somebody who knows better than that contributes to why our politics are so corrosive.” Adblock test (Why?)
Hamas blasts Israel’s plan to create buffer zone in Gaza as a ‘crime’
Israel’s efforts to create a buffer zone along its border with Gaza constitute a “crime” and act of “blatant aggression” against the Palestinian people, Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said, following media reports suggesting such a plan is under way. Hamdan, who is based in Lebanon, told reporters on Thursday that Israel was “looking to establish a security belt along the borders of the Strip by levelling entire residential blocks and by bulldozing farms and civilian infrastructure”. “This is a crime and a blatant aggression against our land and our holy places,” he said, adding that “our people and our resistance will foil these attempts.” Hamdan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “delusional” and said Gaza would become the “cemetery” of his plans. He also blasted the United States for “feeding” the Israeli military machine and for its complicity in crimes against Gaza. Israel’s media on Wednesday reported that its military was aiming to create an informal buffer zone about a kilometre (half a mile) wide to prevent attackers from reaching Israeli communities near Gaza. Two TV channels ran footage showing what appeared to be a controlled demolition of several structures on the Gaza side of the border, which the broadcasters said was done in the area of an attack that killed 24 Israeli soldiers on Monday, inflicting the military’s biggest loss of life in a single attack since October 7. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken last Saturday, a day before the attack, appeared to show the uniform destruction of buildings and agricultural fields in the area. Military spokespeople have not used the term “buffer zone”, but say troops are uprooting infrastructure near the border to provide security for Israeli communities on the other side. The general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative party, Mustafa Barghouti, said the real intention behind such a move is to diminish Gaza’s size. If executed, Barghouti told Al Jazeera, it could only be perceived as an act of “ethnic cleansing” while also signalling a recognition of the failure of Israel’s military goals in Gaza. ‘Unjustified’ under international law Geoffrey Nice, a former United Nations war crimes prosecutor, told Al Jazeera Israel has no grounds legally to create a “buffer zone” in Gaza by destroying Palestinian homes and confiscating agricultural land. “If you want to a demilitarised zone that you’re going to fill with landmines, why not have it on the Israeli side and stop people crossing it?” he asked. “What they’re proposing, effectively and in anyone’s interpretation, is occupation.” He noted the fertile farmland Israel is eyeing to take over is “crucial to Gaza’s economy”. “But the process has already started. A large number of buildings have already been flattened. It is unjustified, by any view, under international law,” said Nice, proposing sanctions by powerful nations against Israel to stop the landgrab. The US, which has staunchly supported what it says is Israel’s right to self-defence, said it is opposed to any attempt by Israel to shrink Gaza’s territory or to occupy it militarily. The US and much of the international community have proposed a post-war plan that includes the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the conflict, a possibility that Netanyahu rejected. Barghouti said that if the US was serious about its opposition to the buffer zone, it would tell Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza. “The United States is a participant, unfortunately, in this war, and as long as they don’t support a ceasefire, they become the participant in the war crimes that are happening in Gaza,” he said. Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington DC, said Israeli plans to create a buffer zone in Gaza are not going down well at the White House. “This is just another example of a growing rift between the [US President Joe] Biden administration and the Israeli government,” she said. “There is some scope for a transitional arrangement on a buffer zone, but the worry… is that historically, transitional arrangements have become permanent.” Adblock test (Why?)
What’s nitrogen hypoxia? Alabama prepares for Kenneth Smith’s US execution
Alabama, a US state with 165 people on death row, is on Thursday night expected to attempt the first-ever execution by an untested method known as nitrogen hypoxia. Only two years after a botched execution attempt on him, Kenneth Eugene Smith will once again be made to face death, this time through an experimental technique that pumps pure nitrogen gas into a person’s lungs instead of the regular air that has the oxygen humans need to breathe. Smith’s execution in the United States is moving forward despite criticism from rights groups, some doctors and the jury for the case itself voting against the death penalty. What’s the case about, how does the nitrogen hypoxia method work, and what are lawyers and rights groups saying about it? Who is Kenneth Eugene Smith and what did he do? Smith, 58, is one of two men convicted for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett, 45, on March 18, 1988. Smith and John Forrest Parker were each paid $1,000 to kill Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, Charles Sennett Sr, who was in debt and wanted to collect insurance money from her death. Parker was executed by lethal injection in 2010 while Sennett Sr committed suicide after he became a prime suspect in the case, according to court records. Smith claims that while he was present at the site of the killing, he did not take part in the attack. He has been on death row since 1996. The 58-year-old is the first-ever person to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia [File: Alabama Department of Corrections via AP Photo] Why is this the second time Smith is facing a death sentence? Smith suffered a failed execution attempt via lethal injection in 2022. The attempt was called off at the last minute because authorities struggled to insert an intravenous line that would have transmitted deadly drugs through his veins. Smith’s lawyers have argued that a second execution attempt would exacerbate the psychological trauma he has been experiencing since the first attempt. When is Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution? His execution is set to take place within a 30-hour time frame beginning at 12am local time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday and expiring at 6am (12:00 GMT) the following day. Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who has argued against the death penalty in several countries including the US, points out that executions are commonly held only in the middle of the night. “And that’s because we’re basically ashamed of what we do,” he told Al Jazeera. Stafford Smith has had to watch the executions of six of his clients in the US. “And each time I’ve come out of the execution chamber, I look up at the stars and say to myself, honestly, can we say that this makes the world the most civilised place?” What is nitrogen hypoxia and how does it work? Nitrogen hypoxia is a method of execution where a respirator mask is placed over the inmate’s face, and their breathing air is replaced with pure nitrogen gas. This deprives the individual of oxygen, leading to unconsciousness in a few seconds, and ultimately causing death in several minutes. Smith’s lawyers have raised concerns over the untested nature of the method that could go awry. For instance, the mask may not be airtight enough and cause Smith to choke on his own vomit. Alabama Solicitor General Edmund LaCour said that such claims are speculative, and suggested that he could opt “to have his last meal earlier in the day, or the day before the planned execution”, to minimise such a risk. LaCour also told federal judges that nitrogen hypoxia is “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.” According to Stafford Smith, the lawyer, nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method originated from a television programme 15 years ago, featuring former British Member of Parliament Michael Portillo seeking alternatives to US execution methods. Portillo discovered that the Royal Netherlands Air Force was experimenting with low nitrogen in the air for its pilots. He claimed it was a more humane way to execute people than lethal injection — he described a sort of euphoria before he drifted into unconsciousness when he tried breathing in nitrogen himself. An industrial mask will be used to pump nitrogen gas into Smith’s breathing air [File: Eraldo Peres/AP Photo] How does lethal injection work? Protocol suggests that inmates must go through a “three-drug procedure” where they are first given an anaesthetic to make them unconscious. Most states use “barbiturate” for this step, which has become difficult to obtain in the US. Next, a substance is given to paralyse muscles, and then a final drug is given in a dose that stops the heart. Several US states, including Alabama since 2013, have switched over to a “one-drug procedure” where only barbiturate or its alternative is given in a lethal dose. In either case, the entire process up until death can last up to five minutes. However, botched lethal injections have sometimes taken more than two hours before death. The procedure also requires the inmate to be strapped to a gurney. Smith suffered a botched execution attempt in 2022, after 26 years on death row [File: Dave Martin/Photo] Does Smith get to choose how he is executed? After Smith suffered the botched execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022, he appealed against a repeat. Enter the US judicial system. Two US Supreme Court judgements have determined that if convicts on death row claim that a particular method of execution is unacceptable to them because it is too cruel, they are required to choose another method that is available in that state. Alabama, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, has also approved the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative to the lethal injection. That meant that when Smith said he did not want a second stab with a lethal injection, he was in effect also forced to accept nitrogen hypoxia as the method of his execution. California, Texas, Florida and Alabama are