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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2015
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Israel’s Likud claims vote for left will benefit IS
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party
claims in a contentious new campaign
ad that a vote for the left in Israel’s
March election would benefit jihadists
from the Islamic State group.
The ad drew fire from the left-wing
coalition opposing Likud, the Zionist
Union, which accused Netanyahu of
“colossal” security failures.
The ad features actors portraying
jihadists driving in a white pick-up truck
with two standing in the rear carrying
the black flag of IS, the extremist Sunni
Muslim group that has seized control of
large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The truck pulls up next to a car driven
by an Israeli and one of the “jihadists”
asks: “Which way to Jerusalem brother?”
“Take the left,” the driver answers and
the pick-up drives off, one of the actors
firing an automatic rifle into the air. Two
slogans appear on the screen: “The left
will give in to terrorism” and “It’s us or
them, there is only Likud, only
Netanyahu.”
The Zionist Union, formed in
December as an electoral alliance of
Israel’s Labour Party and the centre-left
Hatnuah, denounced the ad and “the
colossal failure of Benjamin Netanyahu
in the field of security”.
“He freed terrorists with blood on
their hands and strengthened Hamas,
and during his tenure Iran became a
state that has reached the nuclear
threshold,” it said in a statement.
Security will be a key issue in Israel’s
March 17 general election, which was
called early after the collapse of
Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
Recent polls have shown a tight
race between Likud and the Zionist
Union but many voters remain undecided. —AFP
Iraq MPs boycott parliament
after tribal chief killed
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Sunni lawmakers said yesterday they were boycotting parliament
after the killing of a senior tribal leader was
blamed on Shiite militia, sparking fresh tensions between the two communities. The
boycott comes weeks after suspected
Shiite gunmen in January killed three Sunni
clerics in Basra, a majority Shiite southern
province, triggered outrage in a country
mired in sectarian violence.
Sheikh Qassem Sweidan al-Janabi, his
son and seven bodyguards were killed by
gunmen after their convoy was ambushed
late Friday in Baghdad, with most shot in
the head, members of his tribe have said.
Janabi’s nephew, MP Zeid al-Janabi, was
with the group when they were ambushed
but was later released unharmed.
The boycott by Sunni lawmakers-who
hold 73 seats in the 328-strong parliamentwas announced in a statement posted on
the official Facebook page of Sunni parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi.
Representatives of Sunni parliamentary
blocs held “an extraordinary meeting late
Saturday... and agreed to suspend their parliamentary activities”, said the statement
released after an all-night meeting. The
politicians discussed the killings and “insisted on submitting to the government a
draft resolution to ban militias and criminalise sectarianism”, it said.
In Iraq the word “militias” is often used
to refer to armed Shiites who have been
fighting alongside government forces
against the Islamic State group. Sunni MP
Nahida al-Daini told AFP that Sunni lawmakers “began observing from Saturday
night an open-ended” boycott of parliament. They also set up a commission
tasked with holding negotiations with other parliamentary blocs, namely the formation of Shiite Prime Minister Haider alAbadi.
Another Sunni MP, Ghazi al-Kuoud, said
commission would aim “to put pressure on
the prime minister to ban militias” and halt
crime. “We are not prepared to be partners
with a government that cannot protect its
citizens,” he said, calling for Janabi’s killers
to be identified and prosecuted.
Friday’s killings were not claimed by any
group, but Abu Qusay, a cousin of Sheikh
Janabi, accused “armed militias backed by
some sides of the government”-a reference
to Shiite militias.
Shot in the head
On Saturday, officials and security
sources said “gunmen manning a fake
checkpoint stopped the convoy carrying
MP Janabi and kidnapped all who were on
board”.
“They moved them to Sadr City, where
they released the MP, then took the others
and killed them. Their bodies were found
next to Al-Nida’a mosque in northern
Baghdad,” a member of the lawmaker’s staff
said. Sadr City is a vast Shiite neighbourhood in the north of the capital. Abu
Qusay told AFP that Sheikh Janabi had
been shot in the head, like most of his
bodyguards, while his son was killed by a
bullet to the chest. “People who carry
state-issued weapons... and wear stateissued uniforms are behind the assassination,” he said.
Abadi vowed in a statement to strike
with an “iron fist” those who threaten Iraqi
lives and pledged to hunt the killers and
bring them to justice, saying they had
wanted to “fracture” the country’s political
fabric. Sheikh Janabi was a prominent figure in the religiously mixed areas south of
Baghdad, often described as a key player in
efforts to combat sectarianism. He “had a
known history of confronting terrorism,
sectarianism and supporting national reconciliation”, said MP Adnan al-Janabi. Abu
Qusay said Sheikh Janabi had recently
called for Sunni residents to return to Jurf
al-Sakhr, an area south of Baghdad which
government troops backed by Shiite militias retook from IS jihadists in October. In a
report published Sunday, Human Rights
Watch accused Shiite militias of “abuse,
possibly war crimes” against civilians in
Sunni areas which government forces and
the militias recaptured from IS.
“Iraqi civilians are being hammered by
ISIS and then by pro-government militias in
areas they seize from ISIS,” said HRW’s
deputy Middle East and North Africa director Joe Stork, referring to IS by another
name. In October Amnesty International
made similar accusations against the Shiite
militias.
The speaker of parliament has summoned the interior and defence ministers
to address the legislature today.
“Parliament will not remain silent in the
face of acts that might undermine the
authority of the state,” Juburi said. — AFP
Scores dead in intensified
fighting in southern Syria
BEIRUT: Intense clashes in southern Syria
have killed scores of pro-government and
insurgent fighters in the past week, a group
monitoring Syria’s war said yesterday, forecasting even fiercer violence as the weather
clears.
Syria’s army and allied combatants from
Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched a large-scale
offensive in the region last week against
insurgent groups including al Qaeda’s Syria
wing Nusra Front and non-jihadist rebels.
The battle is significant because it is one
of the last areas where mainstream rebels
opposing President Bashar al-Assad have a
foothold. Such groups have lost ground to
hardline Islamist militants in the four-year
conflict.
More than 50 rebels have been killed in
the fighting, the head of the Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Rami Abdulrahman said 43 members of the
Syrian army and allied groups had also
died, including 12 officers.
“Now the weather is better there will be
Syrian air strikes. With the air strikes they
will move forward,” he said.
Abdulrahman, who tracks the war using
sources on the ground, said around 5,000
pro-government troops were taking part in
the offensive which aims to take a triangle
of rebel-held land from rural areas southwest of Damascus to Deraa city to Quneitra.
Sources on both sides of the battlefront
have said the offensive aims to shield
Damascus, the capital a short drive to the
north. The insurgents had made significant
gains in the south in recent months, taking
several army bases.
Syrian state media and Hezbollah’s alManar channel reported on the battles in
the south during the week, saying the army
had been reclaiming territory from “terrorists”. State media said a number of enemy
fighters had been killed. Syrian officials
were not immediately available for comment yesterday.
“ The situation remains hit-and-run
between us and regime forces,” said Abu
Gaiath, spokesman for the rebel Alwiyat
Seif al-Sham group. Its fighters are part of
the “Southern Front” rebel alliance that has
had support from states opposed to Assad.
Speaking via the Internet from inside
Syria, he said fighting had calmed in the
past two days but the military was aiming
to encircle a village northeast of Quneitra
and had captured towns and villages south
of Damascus.
The Observatory’s Abdulrahman said 10
fighters on the government side had been
executed after being accused of passing
information to the enemy. He also said
Nusra Front fighters had been killed in battles but exact numbers were not known.
Winter weather had limited fighting in
the past few days and prevented air strikes,
one of the army’s most potent weapons
against insurgents. Abdulrahman said the
army and allied groups planned to involve
10,000 fighters in the offensive. —Reuters
GAZA: Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair (R) stands next to Palestinian unity government Minister of Work, Mamoun Abu Shahla (C), during his visit to Gaza City yesterday. Blair is in Gaza for meetings with officials about the reconstruction of the territory which has been devastated by a 50-day summer war between Israel and
Hamas militants. —AFP
ADEN: Yemeni supporters of the separatist Southern Movement gather in the southern city of Aden yesterday, during a protest against the
Shiite Huthi militia which seized power in the country last September. Shiite militiamen who overran the capital Sanaa vowed to defy “threats”
as the UN Security Council prepared to adopt a resolution calling on them to step aside or face consequences. — AFP
Yemeni militia stands
defiant ahead of UN vote
Ban Ki-moon calls for Hadi’s reinstatement
SANAA: Shiite militiamen who seized power in
Yemen vowed to defy “threats” as the UN
Security Council prepared to adopt a resolution
yesterday calling on them to step aside or face
consequences.
Yemen is a traditional US ally in the fight
against Al-Qaeda, but the impoverished Arabian
Peninsula country has descended into chaos
since the militia known as Huthis overran the
capital in September.
Another city they captured last year, Ibb in
central Yemen, was the scene of violence yesterday when Huthis fired live rounds to disperse
hundreds of protesters, wounding several of
them.
Following their seizure of Sanaa and Ibb, matters worsened when they ousted the government and dissolved parliament on February 6,
tightening their grip after Western-backed
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi resigned in
protest at their advance.
UN Secretar y General Ban Ki-moon has
warned Yemen is falling apart and called for
Hadi’s reinstatement. Citing security concerns,
nine Arab and Western countries shuttered their
embassies in Yemen last week and evacuated
diplomats. The Security Council is expected to
adopt a resolution yesterday calling on the militia to withdraw their forces from government
and security institutions “immediately and
unconditionally”.
It also urges the Huthis to “engage in good
faith in the UN-brokered negotiations” led by
special envoy Jamal Benomar and to release
Hadi, his Prime Minister Khalid Bahah, as well as
other officials and activists under de facto house
arrest or in detention.
UN’s first resolution
According to Western diplomats, Russia,
which is already under US and European sanctions over its annexation of Crimea and backing
of rebels in eastern Ukraine, was reluctant to
vote for sanctions.
The text marks the Security Council’s first resolution on Yemen since the Huthis ousted the
government and parliament, in a move the
United States and Gulf Arab countries have
described as a “coup”.
At a Riyadh meeting of the Gulf Cooperation
Council on Saturday, Yemen’s neighbours urged
the UN to evoke Chapter Seven of the United
Nations Charter, which allows for economic and
military pressure to enforce Council decisions.
They said they themselves would act if the
rival factions fail to resolve their differences,
without elaborating. Huthi spokesman
Mohammed Abdulsalam, quoted Sunday by the
official Saba news agency which is under the
Shiite militia’s control, insisted that “the Yemeni
people won’t cede power in the face of threats.”
Abdulsalam said Yemenis were “engaged in a
process of self-determination free of any (foreign) tutelage”.
Huthis denounce ‘blackmail’
He denounced as “provocative blackmail”
demands for the Huthis to relinquish power and
criticised the withdrawal of ambassadors.
In their bid to establish authority across
Yemen since sweeping down from their mountainous northern stronghold in September, the
militiamen have tried to stifle opposition and
have been accused of detaining and torturing
opponents.
They announced a ban on anti-Huthi protests
last week, unless authorised by the interior ministry under their control, and have repeatedly
fired live rounds to disperse demonstrations in
Sanaa as well the central city Ibb, which they
overran last year.
The family of a demonstrator detained by the
Huthis last week at a protest against their
takeover said he had died late Friday of torture
wounds suffered in captivity.
Another two protesters who were held with
him have been hospitalised after being found
wounded and left on a street. Yesterday, several
protesters were wounded in Ibb when the
Huthis fired live rounds to disperse hundreds
who took to the streets demanding the release
of activist Ahmed Hazzaa, witnesses said.
Hazzaa, a leader of the anti-Huthi Rafdh
(rejection) Movement, was detained on Saturday
in Ibb by Shiite militiamen, members of his
group told AFP. The Huthis are accused of
receiving support from Shiite-dominated Iran
which had criticised the “hasty action” of closing
embassies in Sanaa, and insisted the Huthis were
fighting “corruption and terrorism”.
Among the countries that have closed their
embassies and pulled out their staff are Britain,
France, Germany and the United States. Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have taken
similar action. — AFP
Netanyahu urges Jews to move to
Israel after Copenhagen attacks
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
yesterday urged European Jews to move to Israel after a
Jewish man was killed in an attack outside Copenhagen’s
main synagogue.
“Israel is your home. We are preparing and calling for
the absorption of mass immigration from Europe,”
Netanyahu said in a statement, repeating a similar call
made after attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris last month
that killed 17 people, including four Jews.
Two police officers were also wounded in yesterday’s
attack, one of two fatal shootings in the normally peaceful
Danish capital on the weekend. In the first attack on
Saturday a 55-year-old man was killed at a panel discussion
about Islam and free speech attended by a Swedish cartoonist behind controversial caricatures of the Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH).
“Extremist Islamic terrorism has struck Europe again...
Jews have been murdered again on European soil only
because they were Jews,” Netanyahu said in the statement.
The Israeli prime minister said his government was to
adopt a $45 million (39.5 million euro) plan “to encourage
the absorption of immigrants from France, Belgium and
Ukraine”.
“To the Jews of Europe and to the Jews of the world I
say that Israel is waiting for you with open arms,”
Netanyahu said. He had made a similar call after three days
of bloodshed in Paris that started with the January 7 attack
on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo where 12 people were
gunned down, followed the next day by the shooting
death of a policewoman just outside the city.
On January 9, the gunman who killed the policewoman
took hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris and four
Jews were killed during a police commando raid.
The bodies of the four were later flown to Israel where
they were buried. Officials in Copenhagen described the
weekend attacks as an act of terror and said the man
believed to be behind the shootings was shot dead after
opening fire on police at a rail station. — AFP
BEIRUT: Kurdish supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as PKK, with
their hands chained together hold portraits of the jailed Turkish Kurdish guerrilla
leader Abdullah Ocalan, during a demonstration demanding his release, in Beirut,
Lebanon, yesterday. — AP