Author: Steven Sahiounie

The presidential spokesman, member of the Fatah Central Committee, Nabil Abu Rudeina, today delivered a message from the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, to his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, in the presence of the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Iraq, Ahmed Al-Ruwaidi. During his meeting with the Iraqi President at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, Abu Rudeina conveyed the greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas and voiced his appreciation over Iraq’s steadfast and supportive positions for the Palestinian people and their just cause in all international forums, He further expressed his appreciation for Iraq’s…

Israel released the head of Gaza’s biggest hospital, who had been detained for more than seven months, among dozens of Palestinian prisoners returned Monday to the besieged territory for treatment. His release was confirmed on social media by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and by a medical source inside the Gaza Strip. Al-Shifa director Mohammed Abu Salmiya was detained in November. Successive raids have seen the hospital where he worked largely reduced to rubble since Israel launched its assault on Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel. Salmiya and the other freed detainees crossed back…

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today condemned the decisions and actions of the Israeli government that entrench the occupation of the Palestinian Territory through the legalizing and expanding of colonies. This came in response to Israel’s announcement to legalize five colonial outposts in the occupied West Bank and the issuance of tenders for thousands of new housing units in colonies, in a blatant challenge and violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, most notably Security Council resolution 2334. The Ministry’s official spokesman, Sufyan Qudah, stressed the necessity of stopping the escalating colonial terrorism in the occupied…

Bahrain ‘s official news agency reported that Manama called on the UN Security Council on Saturday to issue a resolution for a ceasefire in southern Lebanon, stating it had been monitoring the developments and military escalation on the Lebanese-Palestinian border, and expressing its concern about the escalation. Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry emphasized “the necessity of avoiding military escalation and preventing the widening of the conflict in the region to preserve Lebanon’s security, while seeking to achieve security, peace, and stability in the region.” Manama also called for “a ceasefire between the two sides and resorting to peaceful solutions through negotiation to preserve the…

UN General Assembly President, Dennis Francis, said in condemnation of ongoing Israeli aggression and killings in Gaza that “Enough is enough.” “Too many civilians have already lost their lives in Gaza. Too many women, too many children, in what was, without a doubt, an avoidable situation, it’s time to bring this to a halt,” he said in an interview with Anadolu. “The cease-fire is important, among other things, because hopefully, it will, in some way, engender a political process that could and should result in the adoption of a two-state solution,” he said. “This cycle of bloodletting, mayhem, destruction is…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The International Criminal Court (ICC), and its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, have come under attack by Israel and its main sponsor, US President Joe Biden and the lawmakers in Washington, after Khan requested on May 20 the court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.Khan said that Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders – Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif – “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The US has a policy of selectively supporting ICC rules when it is in the interests of…

The United Nations Children’s Fund says Israel agreed to restore power to a key desalination plant in southern Gaza. “UNICEF confirms an agreement was reached to re-establish the medium voltage feeder power line for the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant,” said spokesman Jonathan Crickx. Water has become scarce for the Palestinian territory’s 2.4 million residents since war broke out nearly nine months ago. More than two-thirds of Gaza’s sanitation and water facilities have been destroyed or damaged and only an intermittent supply of bottled water has been allowed in since Israel imposed a punishing siege on the territory. The plant in…

Special representative to the Russian President, Deputy Foreign Minister, Michael Bogdanov, discussed on Thursday with Syria’s Ambassador in Moscow, Bashar al-Jaafari, issues related to continuing the gradual development of the multiple Syrian-Russian cooperation. “During the meeting, the two sides exchanged viewpoints on the situation in Syria and the region and the issue of reconstruction,” Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement added that the Russian official underlined his country’s continued support for a comprehensive political process to resolve the crisis in Syria, based on the unconditional respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Source: SANA

Russia and the Republic of the Congo have been able to build good relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the African nation’s leader Denis Sassou-Nguesso. “Dear Mr. President, I am very pleased to welcome you to Moscow. I would like to point out that you visited our country in the Soviet times. We have very good relations, both between our countries and at the personal level,” Putin noted. Putin emphasized that Sassou-Nguesso had done a lot to boost bilateral relations. “You took part in both Russia-Africa summits. You make the necessary efforts to develop cooperation in…

Palestine’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, has urged all UN member states to take decisive steps towards ensuring international protection for Palestinian children in the face of the continuing Israeli genocide in Palestine. The remarks were made during a crucial session focused on the plight of children in conflict zones, prompted by the Secretary-General’s latest annual report on the issue. Ambassador Mansour highlighted the disturbing trend where the United Nations consistently documents significant violations against Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, yet Israel has consistently avoided scrutiny and accountability. “Year after year, report after…