Opinion
European High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Brussels, Belgium on January 22, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman.
JNS.org – Seventeen years ago, in 2004, a European Parliament visiting delegation to Israel asked me to brief them on EU funding for Palestinian and Israeli political NGOs operating under the banners of human rights, peace and other worthy causes. Although the budgets were small then (“only” a few million euros), these NGOs did major damage. But before I could speak, an EU official tried to prevent my presentation, declaring that I was about to reveal state secrets. His face turned redder when I pulled out the numerous brochures from the NGO grantees bearing the EU logo.
World reacts after Israeli forces wound hundreds in Al-Aqsa raid Al Jazeera English
Reactions have poured in from around the world after days of unrest in Jerusalem, where hundreds were wounded and dozens arrested on Monday after Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Palestinians had over the past couple of weeks staged a series of sit-ins in the area and parts of occupied East Jerusalem to denounce Israel’s attempt to forcefully expel residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to make way for Jewish settlements.
Responding to the crackdown, Hamas, the group that controls the Gaza Strip, issued an ultimatum to Israel, saying it had until 6pm (15:00 GMT) to withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site which is also revered by Jews.
Nine killed in Gaza Strip after Hamas fires rockets towards Jerusalem iwradio.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iwradio.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 10, 2021
Turkey’s efforts to mend ties with Israel have been derailed by the ferocious crackdown by Israeli forces on Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, with Turkish leaders relapsing into well-worn verbal salvoes against the Jewish state amid heightened religious sensitivities during Ramadan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to Twitter over the weekend to air his fury in Turkish, Arabic and Hebrew. He called Israel a “cruel terrorist state” and said Muslim nations needed to take effective steps to stop the violence. Those who remained silent were “a party to the cruelty there.”
Erdogan spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to convey his support, while his foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, vowed that Turkey would continue to be the voice “of our Palestinian brothers and sisters and defend their rights.” Erdogan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, chimed in with tweets of his own,