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Israel endorses plan to extend Gaza truce as first phase draws to close

Israel endorsed a proposal on Sunday to temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a bridging measure after the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas drew to a close.The first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend without any certainty as to the second phase, which is hoped to bring a more permanent end to the Gaza war.Negotiations have so far been inconclusive, with the fate of hostages still held in Gaza and the lives of more than two million Palestinians hanging in the balance.The extension, which according to the Israeli prime minister’s office was put forward by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would last through Ramadan, due to end late March, and Passover in mid-April.According to the Israeli statement, the extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza released on the day the deal comes into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire.Hamas has previously rejected the idea of an extension in favour of moving on to phase two. “The only way to achieve stability in the region and the return of the prisoners is to complete the implementation of the agreement… starting with the implementation of the second phase,” Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said in a statement given to AFP on Sunday.The standoff over how to proceed with the truce process comes as world leaders and international organisation urge against any resumption of fighting, which after 15 months devastated Gaza, displaced almost the entire population of the coastal strip and sparked a hunger crisis.United Nations head Antonio Guterres warned against a “catastrophic” return to war and said a “permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages are essential to preventing escalation and averting more devastating consequences for civilians”.Meanwhile Washington announced late Saturday it was boosting its military aid to Israel.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was using “emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance,” noting that a partial arms embargo imposed under former president Joe Biden had been reversed.Israeli officials engaged in ceasefire negotiations with Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators in Cairo last week. But by early Saturday there was no sign of consensus as Muslims in Gaza marked the first day of Ramadan with coloured lights brightening war-damaged neighbourhoods. A senior Hamas official told AFP the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase.”Hamas will not be happy to drag on phase one, but it doesn’t really have the capacity to force Israel to go on to phase two,” Max Rodenbeck, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, told AFP.- Hamas hostage video -Under the six-week ceasefire that took effect on January 19, Gaza militants freed 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.The deal, reached following months of gruelling negotiations, largely halted the war that erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.While Hamas on several occasions reiterated its “readiness to engage in negotiations for its second phase”, Israel preferred to secure more hostage releases under an extension of the first phase.A Palestinian source close to the talks told AFP that Israel had proposed to extend the first phase in successive one-week intervals with a view to conducting hostage-prisoner swaps each week, adding that Hamas had rejected the plan.Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 attack, 58 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.Hamas’s armed wing released footage showing what appeared to be a group of Israeli hostages in Gaza, accompanied with the message: “Only a ceasefire agreement brings them back alive”. AFP was unable to immediately verify the video, the latest that militants have released of Gaza captives. Netanyahu’s office called it “cruel propaganda” but Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the Horn family, two of whose members appear in the video, had given permission for the footage of them to be published.Israeli-Argentine Yair Horn was released on February 15 but his brother Eitan remains in captivity in Gaza.”We demand from the decision-makers: Look Eitan in the eyes. Don’t stop the agreement that has already brought dozens of hostages back to us,” the family said.- Netanyahu’s coalition worries -Domestic political considerations are a factor in Netanyahu’s reluctance to begin the planned second stage.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the far-right faction in the governing coalition, has threatened to quit if the war is not resumed.”The Israeli government could fall if we enter phase two,” said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence for risk management consultancy Le Beck International.Israel has said it needs to retain troops in a strip of Gaza along the Egyptian border to stop arms smuggling by Hamas. The Hamas attack that began the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, while the Israeli retaliation has killed 48,388 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, figures from both sides show.

Tunisia opponents to be tried on state security charges amid crackdown

A highly anticipated trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against state security is set to start Tuesday, with critics and rights groups denouncing it as unfair and politically motivated.The case has named around 40 high-profile defendants — including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures — some of whom have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied.Many were detained following a flurry of arrests in February 2023, after Saied dubbed them “terrorists”.The group faces charges of “plotting against the state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”, according to lawyers, which could entail hefty sentences.They include politician Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a former senior figure in the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, a founder of the opposition National Salvation Front (FSN) coalition — all staunch critics of Saied.Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy following the Arab Spring.But in 2021, he staged a sweeping power grab, and human rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms.- ‘Judicial madness’ -The long-awaited case has also charged activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra Belhaj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France.French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy was also named among the accused, as a number of them are suspected of getting in contact with foreign parties and diplomats.Addressing the public in a letter from his cell, Ben Mbarek said the case aimed at “the methodical elimination of critical voices” and he denounced “judicial harassment”.Ben Mbarek was one of the founders of the FSN, which remains the main opposition coalition to Saied.His sister Dalila Msaddek, a lawyer who is part of the defence committee, told AFP the charges were “based on false testimony”.The defence committee has said that judicial authorities decided to hold the trial remotely, without the presence of the detained defendants.Their relatives and rights groups said the move was not fair, calling for all the defendants to stand before the judge.”It’s one of the conditions for a fair trial,” said Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the FSN and himself named in the case.Riadh Chaibi, a former Ennahdha official, said the case had “no reasoning”.”This is a case where the witnesses are secret, the evidence is secret and they want the trial to be secret too,” he told reporters in the capital Tunis.Also a member of Ennahdha, lawyer Samir Dilou called it “judicial madness”.- ‘Arbitrary detentions’ -Ben Mbarek’s father, leftist activist Ezzeddine Hazgui, told AFP he felt “bitter” about voting for Saied in 2019.His son, too, “had fought like a devil” to get Saied elected, according to Msaddek.She said while several people prosecuted in the case are in custody, some remain free pending trial and others have fled abroad.Other critics of Saied have been detained and charged in different cases, including under a law combatting “false news”.In early February, Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi, 83, was sentenced to 22 years in prison — also for plotting against state security, though in a separate case.The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring “an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians”.Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry expressed “astonishment” over the UN’s “inaccuracies and criticisms”.It insisted the cases cited by the UN involved “public law crimes unrelated to political, party or media activities, or the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression”.”Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements,” it added.

High-stakes father-son feud rocks Singapore property giant

A high-stakes father-and-son feud has plunged Singapore property giant City Developments Ltd (CDL) into turmoil, with the private boardroom dispute of one of the city-state’s wealthiest families erupting into public view this week. The battle of words between CDL’s executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his son Sherman Kwek has exposed deep rifts within the Forbes-ranked …

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‘Steadfast’ Gazans begin second Ramadan amongst rubble

A red-covered table stretching several hundred metres carved a path through mounds of rubble in southern Gaza on Saturday, as families gathered to break their fast during the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.As the sun set over a neighbourhood in Rafah, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants has left barely a handful of buildings standing, hundreds of Gazans of all ages dug into their Iftar meal marking the end of the day’s fast.”People are deeply saddened, and everything around us feels heartbreaking,” said Malak Fadda, who had organised the communal meal.”So, we decided to bring joy back to this street, just as it was before the war”. As the crowd sat down to eat, uncertainty loomed over the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire, the first phase of which was drawing to a close on Saturday after largely bringing an end to more than 15 months of fighting.A second stage is supposed to pave the way for a more permanent end to the war, but negotiations have so far been inconclusive.Music wafted from loudspeakers through the crowd in Rafah, who sat on a long row of plastic chairs under bunting, Palestinian flags and lights strung between the broken concrete. The war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has left over 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed.Israeli bombardment or fighting has displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.The truce that took effect on January 19 has enabled greater aid flows into the devastated Palestinian territory, but hundreds of thousands continue to live in tents, with many camped out in the rubble of their former homes. “On the first day of Ramadan, we had hoped to return to our houses to break our fast with our families and be together at our homes,” Rafah resident Umm al-Baraa Habib told AFP.”But this is God’s will, and we remain steadfast,” she added.- ‘Sit among destruction’ -In the northern city of Beit Lahia, dozens defiantly joined together in the fading evening light to break the fast amongst the remnants of half-collapsed buildings.”We are here in the midst of destruction and rubble and we are steadfast despite the pain and our wounds,” said Mohammed Abu Al-Jidyan.”Here we are eating Iftar on our land and we will not leave this place,” he added.United States President Donald Trump has floated an idea for a US takeover of Gaza under which its Palestinian population would be relocated — a proposal met with global condemnation.Before the break of dawn in the southern city of Khan Yunis, fluorescent pink, yellow and blue lights illuminated a largely war-destroyed neighbourhood where a small crowd had gathered for the Suhur meal, eaten ahead of fasting.A mural reading “Ramadan brings us together” with a crescent moon was painted onto one of the walls left standing.The day before young people had hung colourful Ramadan lanterns, flags and decorations between the rubble, while vendors displayed balloons and toys for children. But the usual joy of the Muslim holy month has brought little hope to many of Gaza’s war displaced.”My children sometimes ask me for clothes and food, but I can’t provide for them because I have been out of work for a year and a half,” said Omar al-Madhoun, a resident of the hard-hit Jabalia camp in north Gaza.”We sit among the destruction, not knowing how to manage our lives. We also fear that the war will return, bringing even more destruction,” he told AFP on Friday, the day the start of Ramadan was announced.Hamas’s attack on Israel that began the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.Israel’s retaliation has killed 48,388 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory whose figures the UN has deemed reliable.The first phase of the truce has seen Hamas free 25 living hostages and return the bodies of eight others to Israel in exchange for more than 1,700 Palestinian prisoners. 

PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after 40 years of armed struggle

Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed the peace process initiated by a close nationalist ally, warned Turkey would pursue anti-PKK fight unless the group kept their pledge to disband.”In order to pave the way for the implementation of (Ocalan’s) call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK executive committee said, quoted by the pro-PKK ANF news agency.It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after Ocalan this week called for the dissolution of the group and asked it to lay down its arms.”We agree with the content of the call as it is and we say that we will follow and implement it,” said the committee, which is based in northern Iraq. “None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it added.The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency since 1984.Its original aim was to carve out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey’s 85 million people.More recently however, the group has called for more autonomy, and cultural and linguistic rights, rather than independence. Since Ocalan was jailed in 1999 there have been various attempts to end the bloodshed, which has cost more than 40,000 lives. – ‘Iron fist ready’ -After several meetings with Ocalan at his island prison, the pro-Kurdish DEM party on Thursday relayed his appeal for PKK to lay down its weapons and convene a congress to announce the organisation’s dissolution. The PKK said on Saturday it was ready to convene a congress but “for this to happen, a suitable secure environment must be created” and Ocalan “must personally direct and lead it for the success of the congress”.The group also said Ocalan’s prison conditions must be eased.He “must be able to live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants”, said the group.Hours after the PKK declared a ceasefire, Erdogan warned: “If the promises given are not kept … we will continue our ongoing operations.” He was speaking from Istanbul at a meal to break the Ramadan fast.There was nothing, he said, “that would disturb the sacred spirits of our martyrs” killed by the PKK.Turkey would be the winner, he insisted.”We always keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left hanging in the air or bitten,” he added, in what appeared to be a warning to the PKK.Erdogan on Friday described Ocalan’s appeal as “a historic opportunity”. -‘More stable Syria’-Analysts say establishing a truce with the PKK would help both Turkey and Syria, where strongman Bashar al-Assad was ousted late last year. “A peace deal with the PKK is likely to make it easier to reunify and establish a more stable Syria,” Anthony Skinner, director of research at Marlow Global, told AFP.”This is a key objective for the Turkish government which has had to contend with the ongoing threat of cross-border mass migration and terrorism.” Turkey’s army, which has troops deployed in northern Syria, regularly attacks areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces it considers “terrorists” linked to the PKK.Analyst Bayram Balci, of Sciences Po Paris university, said the PKK was well aware that the regional context had changed.Syria’s Kurdish fighters “no longer have the support of Assad, they may no longer have the strong support of the Americans,” he said. “The threat of Daesh still exists, but it is not as strong as before. And then there is also a kind of fatigue,” he added, referring to the IS group. – ‘Positive and important’ -Iraq has welcomed Ocalan’s call as “a positive and important step towards achieving stability in the region”.The PKK’s presence in Iraq has been a recurrent source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara.The group holds positions in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where Turkey also maintains military bases and often carries out ground and air operations against Kurdish militants.After the last round of peace talks collapsed in 2015, no further contact was made with the PKK until October when hardline nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli offered a surprise peace gesture if Ocalan rejected violence.burs-fo/jj