Amnesty International accuses Israel of committing apartheid crimes against Palestinians

London : The UAE was subjected to a Houthi attack with missiles and drones while Herzog was in Abu Dhabi.

An official source in Herzog's entourage confirmed that he would continue his visit as planned, despite the missile attack. The competent Emirati authorities informed the Israeli president of the details of the incident, and that there was no danger to his life or his entourage.

Herzog's visit also coincided with a report by Amnesty International accusing Israel of committing apartheid crimes against the Palestinians.

In a report due to be published today, Tuesday, under the title “The Israeli Apartheid Regime Against the Palestinians: A Cruel System Based on Domination and a Crime against Humanity,” Israel is involved in a “large-scale attack directed against the Palestinians that amounts to the crime of apartheid against humanity.”

The organization, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977, had previously condemned Israel's policies in the occupied West Bank and accused it of committing war crimes during 2014 in the Gaza Strip, but this is the first time the organization has officially used the term "apartheid" to describe it.

The visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Abu Dhabi, the day before yesterday, sparked widespread condemnation from Emirati activists and opponents, who described the visit as "betrayal and a free fall into the abyss."

Herzog had arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday at the official invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. It seems that Herzog decided to grow a beard after his new friend, Mohammed bin Zayed.

Herzog met with Mohammed bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and other officials. Herzog and his wife visited the Zayed Mosque.

Emirati human rights activist Ahmed Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi commented on the visit, saying: “Oh God, we absolve you of those who desecrated the land of the Emirates with the criminals who kill our brothers in Palestine and desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Oh God, we entrust you with the land and people of the Emirates, so do not make the unjust criminals have authority over it.”

Emirati activist Abdullah Al-Taweel described the normalization with the entity as a “free fall into the abyss.”

And he added in a tweet on Twitter: "The Emirati regime is doing everything in order for Zionism to be integrated into the depths of the Arab world."

The opposition, Hamid Al-Nuaimi, tweeted that "the president of the Israeli occupation, whose hands are stained with the blood of the Palestinians, is visiting the Emirates, which is continuing to support this entity to enable it to create a new Middle East draped in blue, so that the Zionist right becomes the new culture targeted for the entire region through the Emirates gate."

Emirati dissident Muhammad Saqr Al Zaabi tweeted: “They do not deny the sincerity, strength and honesty of Al-Sadiq, but they are afraid of the impact of the right in his hands on the survival of their king, their authority, and their thrones with which they are oppressed, stolen and oppressed.”

As for the Emirati League Against Normalization, it said in a statement that the visit comes “within one of the steps that the UAE authorities are working to take to get closer to the Zionist entity, which is achieved by abandoning the Palestinian cause and betraying its people.”

The association pointed out that the Israeli president "has a track record of crimes and attacks against the Palestinians, in addition to desecrating the Holy Land and Judaizing its neighborhoods." The association considered that "this visit can be included in the file of normalizing shame, which gives the Zionists the right to be present in the Emirates," considering that "Herzog's presence inside the Emirates constitutes a major scandal for the authorities in the country."

She called on Emirati citizens to be wary of responding to this visit in any way, as it is a coup against the UAE's principles of support for Palestine. During his visit to the "Expo Dubai 20", he expressed his hope that other Arab countries would follow the UAE's example and join the pace of normalization with Israel.

Injuries in an anti-French protest in Lebanon

A number of wounded were injured during a vigil organized by activists in the city of Sidon, in southern Lebanon, to demand the release of a Lebanese detainee in French prisons, and to refuse to interfere in the country's affairs.

A number of wounded were injured during a protest vigil on Monday organized by activists in the city of Sidon, in southern Lebanon, to demand the release of a Lebanese detainee in French prisons, and to refuse to interfere in the country's affairs.

In 1984, Georges Abdallah was arrested in France, and after 3 years he was sentenced to life imprisonment, on charges of complicity in "terrorist" acts and participating in the assassination of an Israeli and an American diplomat.

The vigil was organized by dozens of civil society activists, in conjunction with a visit by the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Greu, to Sidon, according to eyewitnesses.

The witnesses indicated that the sit-in was organized in front of the Seville cinema in the city, where the French ambassador, Anne Greu, was inside, and they demanded the release of Abdullah.

They stated that the army intervened and worked to secure the exit of Ambassador Greu from the cinema, after she had been inside for about an hour.

As a result, clashes took place between the protesters and the security forces, which led to injuries among the demonstrators, according to witnesses.

Today, the French ambassador toured Sidon, where she met a number of political officials and representatives of some NGOs.

In his speech, one of the officials responsible for organizing the vigil denounced the visit and the reception of the ambassador in Sidon.

He denounced, "It is shameful that an ambassador came to teach us about democracy and how to administer elections, while France, which glorifies freedom and democracy, has arrested a Lebanese activist for 37 years."

He added, "Today's stand consisted of a two-item message. The first item is the demand for Abdullah's release, and the second item includes a categorical rejection of foreign interference in Lebanese affairs, especially the electoral campaigns."

No statement was issued by the French embassy or by the security forces about the incident until 17:19 GMT.

It is worth noting that in 1999, the prison term of the Lebanese man, Abdullah, expired, and in 2003 he obtained a sentence of conditional release and deportation to Lebanon, but the French Public Prosecution filed an appeal, and he has not been released so far.

After the report was released, will the Downing Street concerts topple the British Prime Minister?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologized again in Parliament, vowing to fix things, amid calls for his resignation following the release of the Sue Gray report.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday expressed his regret to Parliament after an official report was released about parties in Downing Street that violated the general closure measures imposed to contain Covid-19, vowing to fix things.

These parties shocked the United Kingdom, which was then subject to strict restrictions to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and plunged Johnson into a serious crisis threatening his survival in office, with calls for his resignation, even from within his conservative camp.

"I'm sorry for the things we didn't do right, and sorry for the way this was handled," the prime minister said. "I understand that and will fix things."

Refusing to respond to new voices calling for him to resign after the report was released, Johnson pledged to change the way things are done in Downing Street.

"Yes, we can be trusted that we will achieve that," he added, stressing his agenda for the post-Brexit era and the action against Russia over its threats to Ukraine.

Chief Government Officer Sue Gray admitted she was limited to what she could say about her long-awaited report, after the City of London Police launched their own investigation into the scandal.

But in her 12-page report, Gray denounced "excessive alcohol consumption" on multiple occasions in Downing Street, when the public was under strict social restrictions.

"There have been failures of leadership and judgment from several people in Downing Street and the prime minister's office at various times, and some incidents should not have been allowed," said the report, which was received by the prime minister on Monday.

Johnson has been accused by his opponents of misleading Parliament by insisting that the events in Downing Street were compliant with the rules at the time and were business meetings.

Ministers found to have misled Parliament are usually asked to resign.

After fierce debate in the House of Commons, Johnson urged all sides to wait for the results of the London police investigation.

Opposition leader Keir Starmer called the police's involvement in the case a "disgrace", describing the prime minister as a "shameless man" and calling on Johnson's partners in government to oust him rather than "support further misconduct, cover-up and deception".

For weeks, British media revealed leaked documents, photos and emails, which indicated that there had been repeated violations of the rules of social separation that the government had imposed.

Among the events organized were a party in May 2020 in Downing Street Gardens, Christmas celebrations and a party on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral in April.

That party included bringing a bag full of alcoholic drinks and dancing until dawn, which sparked outrage, given the complete observance of the rules of social distancing that prevailed in the burial ceremony.

In stark contrast to the Downing Street parties, Queen Elizabeth II sat alone in the chapel of Windsor Castle for her husband's farewell for the day.

The government later issued a statement of apology to the royal family.

The Downing Street party scandal poses the biggest threat to Johnson's fate since he took office in 2019, buoyed by overwhelming support for his Brexit-related projects.

Financial Times: Putin's victory in confrontation with the West will increase the range of admirers of his bullying style

London : Under the headline “Putin’s International Group/Quit.” The Financial Times published an opinion piece by commentator Jadon Rechman in which he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s victory in his war against Ukraine means attracting new followers to his “thug” style. He said the Western world is divided over how to deal with Putin , but we agree on one thing: The Russian president is the bad guy in this drama.

And there is nothing more depressing and bad than having a cult/Cult Putin. His fan club includes countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, meant something when he said in 2018, "there is a demand in the world for sovereign and decisive leaders...and Putin Russia was the starting point."

In a world where democratic values ​​are under threat, Putin appears to be the man who foresaw the future of world politics rather than a man from the past. The Russian leader has won admirers and imitators for his willingness to resort to violence and his display of strength in challenging “political politeness” and his tyrannical style of leadership.

When Putin first emerged as Russia's leader in 1999-2000, he looked like an anomaly, a strong nationalist in a world dominated by technocratic globalists. Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor, once described Putin as trying to apply 19th-century tactics in a different era. In a world where democratic values ​​are under threat, Putin looks more like the man who predicted the future of world politics than the man from the past.

The Russian leader won admirers and imitators for his willingness to resort to violence and his show of force in challenging "political civility" and his tyrannical style of leadership. As Russian political analyst Dmitry Trenin described last week, "Putin is a pre-communist leader, a czar."

Rechman warned of the dangers of the current crisisIn Ukraine, which is Putin's victorious exit from it, which gives his leadership style a high distinction and pushes others to imitate him around the world.

And what is implied in his model of government of land theft, threats of military force, lies and assassinations, which will be seen as the methods of the victor. Putin became a model for a new generation of authoritarians and neo-populists, in Europe and the United States. Donald Trump was shy about talking about his admiration for the Russian president, not his openly-spoken aides. After his annexation of Crimea in 2014, former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rodeo Giuliani praised Putin, saying: “He makes the decision and implements it quickly, and this is what you call a leader.” In the current crisis with Ukraine, Tucker Carlson, the most important anchor on "Fox News", was clear in his support for Putin.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Urban and a champion of liberal values ​​in Europe will visit the Russian leader this week. Urban has in the past called on the European Union to recognize that " Putin has made his country great again." Like Putin, Urban has positioned himself as a champion of the minority in Ukraine, in this case the Hungarian minority there.

Putin's fan class in the West includes British politician Nigel Farage, who advocated and promoted Britain's exit from the European Union. So does Italian extremist Matteo Salvini, leader of the Northern League and former deputy prime minister. "The way he played the Syria game was clever," Farage commented on Putin's dispatch of his forces to the Middle East. As for Salvini, he was photographed on Red Square in Moscow, wearing a T-shirt with the image of Putin.

Putin's fan club extends to the Middle East and Asia. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been accused of supporting death squads during his presidency. When asked which world leader he admires, he replied, "My favorite hero is Putin." Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli prime minister and a man who wore the garb of a powerful ruler, has long enjoyed visits to Moscow to discuss geopolitical issues with Putin. In his 2019 re-election campaign, a picture of him shaking hands with Putin was shown with the caption "Incomparable man". Putin has strengthened his ties with powerful Middle Eastern leaders. He presented Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Al-Sisi, whose security forces killed hundreds of protesters in Egypt, seemed happy with the gift. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, is one of the region's leaders who have expressed their admiration for Putin. As he rose to power, a British adviser to him noted that Mohammed bin Salman was astonished by Putin, saying, "He was fascinated by him and admired what he did." Putin was the first to welcome bin Salman to the club of world leaders at the G-20 summit, after he was in danger of becoming a pariah leader in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, where he greeted him. The Russian president later accused himself of trying to poison his political opponent, Alexei Navalny. The enthusiastic handshake between Putin and bin Salman indicates the heart of the group of admirers, or “tired” Putin. His admirers often share his use of force and contempt for human rights.

That is why the confrontation between Putin and the West is far beyond Ukraine's independence, despite its importance. The outcome of the confrontation will determine the pace of world politics. And if Putin stood up to the Western democracies, the thug strongman model would be the wave of the future. The Russian president later accused himself of trying to poison his political opponent, Alexei Navalny. The enthusiastic handshake between Putin and bin Salman indicates the heart of the group of admirers, or “tired” Putin. His admirers often share his use of force and contempt for human rights.

That is why the confrontation between Putin and the West is far beyond Ukraine's independence, despite its importance. The outcome of the confrontation will determine the pace of world politics. And if Putin stood up to the Western democracies, the thug strongman model would be the wave of the future. The Russian president later accused himself of trying to poison his political opponent, Alexei Navalny. The enthusiastic handshake between Putin and bin Salman indicates the heart of the group of admirers, or “tired” Putin. His admirers often share his use of force and contempt for human rights.

That is why the confrontation between Putin and the West is far beyond Ukraine's independence, despite its importance. The outcome of the confrontation will determine the pace of world politics. And if Putin stood up to the Western democracies, the thug strongman model would be the wave of the future.