Palestinian detainee dies in Israel custody

Israeli soldiers detain blindfolded Palestinian men in a military truck in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2023. (AFP file photo)
Israeli soldiers detain blindfolded Palestinian men in a military truck in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2023. (AFP file photo)
Short Url
Updated 13 October 2024

Palestinian detainee dies in Israel custody

Palestinian detainee dies in Israel custody
  • Israel currently detains more than 9,600 Palestinians — including more than 5,000 who were arrested after Oct. 7, 2023, following the outbreak of war in Gaza

RAMALLAH: Two Palestinian organizations that monitor the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails announced on Sunday the death of a detainee in an Israeli hospital.
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that Israeli officials had informed Palestinian officials about the “martyrdom of prisoner Mohammed Munir Moussa from Bethlehem at Soroka Hospital in Israel.”
Moussa, 37, had been detained by Israel since April 2023 and had been suffering from diabetes before his arrest. Until now, there was no information available about the circumstances of his death, according to the two Palestinian organizations.
Israel currently detains more than 9,600 Palestinians — including more than 5,000 who were arrested after Oct. 7, 2023, following the outbreak of war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel — according to data provided by Palestinian officials.
The head of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees, Qaddura Fares, accused Israel of taking “revenge” on Palestinian detainees after the Hamas attack.
His agency is part of the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank.
With the death of Moussa, the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody has risen to 41 since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian officials.
Of those, 24 were from Gaza.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, 278 Palestinians are known to have died in Israeli prisons, according to these organizations.
The issue of detainees in Israel has become a central point in the war between Israel and Hamas, with the Palestinian movement demanding the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages taken captive during the attack that began the war.
Out of 251 people taken hostage by militants on Oct. 7 last year, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.


Iran suspends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran suspends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
Updated 5 sec ago

Iran suspends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran suspends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
  • The war between Iran and Israel has intensified tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency

TEHRAN: Iran on Wednesday formally suspended its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, a measure drawn up in the wake of unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.
The war between Iran and Israel, which broke out on June 13 and lasted for 12 days, has intensified tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On June 25, a day after a ceasefire took hold, Iranian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill to suspend cooperation with the agency.
State media said on Wednesday that the legislation had cleared the final hurdle and was in effect.
The text, published by Iranian media, states that the legislation aims to “ensure full support for the inherent rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran” under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and “especially uranium enrichment.”
The issue of enrichment was at the core of disagreements between Washington and Tehran in nuclear negotiations that had been derailed by the war.
Israel and some Western countries had for long accused Iran of seeking to quire nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.
The text of the law did not specify concrete moves linked to the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA, whose inspectors have had access to declared nuclear facilities.
Following the parliament vote, the bill was approved by the Guardian Council, a body tasked with vetting legislation, before a final ratification from the presidency.
Iranian President “Masoud Pezeshkian promulgated the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” state TV said on Wednesday.
Iranian officials have sharply criticized the IAEA for what they described as the agency’s “silence” in the face of the Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
Tehran has also lambasted the UN agency for a resolution adopted on June 12 that accuses Iran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.
Iranian officials said the resolution was among the “excuses” for the Israeli attacks.
On Wednesday, senior judiciary official Ali Mozaffari said that IAEA director Rafael Grossi should “be held accountable” for what he called “preparing the groundwork for the crime” against Iran, referring to Israel’s air raids.
Mozaffari accused Grossi of “deceptive actions and fraudulent reporting,” according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Iran has rejected a request from Grossi to visit nuclear facilities bombed during the war, and earlier this week Pezeshkian decried his “destructive” conduct.
Iran has said Grossi’s request to visit the bombarded sites signalled “malign intent” but insisted there were no threats against him or against inspectors from his agency.
France, Germany and Britain have condemned unspecified “threats” against the IAEA chief.
Iran’s ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper has recently claimed that documents showed Grossi was an Israeli spy and should be executed.
On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the parliament vote to halt cooperation with the IAEA reflected the “concern and anger of the Iranian public opinion.”
The 12-day war began when Israel launched a major bombing campaign on Iran and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, with Tehran responding with waves of missiles and drones launched at Israel.
On June 22, Israel’s ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
More than 900 people were killed in Iran, according to the judiciary.
Iran’s retaliatory attacks killed 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.
US President Donald Trump said the US attacks had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, though the extent of the damage was not clear.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has admitted “serious” damage to nuclear sites.
But in a recent interview with CBS Evening News, he said: “One cannot obliterate the technology and science... through bombings.”


Turkish police seize 825 kg of heroin: interior minister

Turkish police seize 825 kg of heroin: interior minister
Updated 51 min 41 sec ago

Turkish police seize 825 kg of heroin: interior minister

Turkish police seize 825 kg of heroin: interior minister

ISTANBUL: Police have seized 825 kilogrammes of heroin and arrested 30 people in a string of raids largely in southern Turkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Wednesday.
Straddling Asia and Europe, Turkiye lies on several major smuggling routes and is the main entry point for heroin on the European market.
“In operations across seven provinces, centered in (the southern city of) Adana.. we seized 825 kilogrammes (1,818 pounds) of heroin and arrested 30 suspected drug traffickers,” he wrote on X.
In a simultaneous operation, police raided 38 different addresses in Adana, Hakkari, Hatay, Istanbul, Van, Diyarbakir, and Mersin, seizing unlicensed weapons and “a large quantity” of digital material, he said.
Heroin continues to be the most commonly used illicit opioid within the European Union and “increasingly relies on maritime routes and in particular the use of global container traffic and ferries” departing from Turkiye, Europol’s 2024 analysis of the EU drug market said.
The report said Turkish criminal networks continue to dominate the wholesale trafficking of heroin to the European market.


Israel FM says opportunity to free Gaza hostages ‘must not be missed’

Israel FM says opportunity to free Gaza hostages ‘must not be missed’
Updated 02 July 2025

Israel FM says opportunity to free Gaza hostages ‘must not be missed’

Israel FM says opportunity to free Gaza hostages ‘must not be missed’

JERUSALEM: Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar on Wednesday said any opportunity to free hostages held in Gaza should not be missed, after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire.

“A large majority within the government and the population is in favor of the plan to free the hostages. If the opportunity arises, it must not be missed!” Gideon Saar wrote on X.


China says Premier Li to visit Brazil for BRICS summit and Egypt

China says Premier Li to visit Brazil for BRICS summit and Egypt
Updated 02 July 2025

China says Premier Li to visit Brazil for BRICS summit and Egypt

China says Premier Li to visit Brazil for BRICS summit and Egypt
  • Beijing and Moscow have hailed the BRICS club as a counterweight to what they see as Western hegemony on the world stage

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Brazil for a meeting of BRICS countries and then Egypt next week, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“Li Qiang will attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 5 to 8,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

Beijing and Moscow have hailed the BRICS club as a counterweight to what they see as Western hegemony on the world stage.

A loose grouping of countries named after founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, its members pledge to boost trade and cooperation, though it is not a trade pact and has few institutional ties.

The Kremlin said last week, however, that President Vladimir Putin would not travel to Brazil for the upcoming summit due to the outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on the Russian president.

Following his visit to Brazil, Li will then “pay an official visit to Egypt from July 9 to 10,” Beijing said.

Beijing has sought to frame itself as a mediator in the Middle East, facilitating a 2023 rapprochement between and Iran and portraying itself as a more neutral actor in the Israel-Palestinian conflict than its rival the United States.


US bombing “seriously damaged” Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, FM says

US bombing “seriously damaged” Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, FM says
Updated 02 July 2025

US bombing “seriously damaged” Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, FM says

US bombing “seriously damaged” Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, FM says
  • President Donald Trump has said the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program

The US bombing of Iran’s key Fordow nuclear site has “seriously and heavily damaged” the facility, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with CBS News.

“No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,” Araqchi said in the interview broadcast on Tuesday.

“The Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran... is currently undertaking evaluation and assessment, the report of which will be submitted to the government.”

Intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government.

President Donald Trump has said the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, but US officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the US military strikes last weekend.