world news
Lebanon blames Israel for exacerbating climate crisis
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asserted on Saturday that Israel was responsible for exacerbating a climate crisis in the country through bombings and the deployment of white phosphorus.
He was speaking at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), the United Nations climate conference, where several countries condemned the Israel-Hamas conflict and called for an immediate ceasefire.
“The severe environmental deterioration in Lebanon is one of the effects of the Israeli aggression,” Mikati said.
“The Israeli use of indiscriminate weapons, such as white phosphorus weapons, causes the irreparable damage of more than 5,000 square kilometers of agricultural land and forests, which is destroying the livelihoods and revenue sources of our people,” the prime minister claimed, stressing the need to “recognize the disastrous consequences of war on the environment.”He also appealed for Arab support in reconstructing a sustainable green economy in Lebanon, according to a statement issued by Lebanon’s Council of Ministers.
On October 31, Amnesty International accused Israel of firing artillery shells containing white phosphorus in operations along Lebanon’s southern border between October 10 and 16. Israel denied the claim.
The Foreign Ministry told The Jerusalem Post it had no comment on Mikati’s statements, which were made a day after President Isaac Herzog left Dubai and the climate conference to return to Israel.
Herzog stood in the traditional “family photo” with other world leaders, but did not give his scheduled address on Friday.
No other Israeli ministers attended COP28 this year in light of the ongoing war against Hamas.
Comments from Arab leaders
During his less than two days in the United Arab Emirates, which began late Thursday evening, Herzog convened a series of strategic meetings with the primary objective of facilitating the safe return of the remaining hostages from Gaza to Israel.
The president started his meetings Thursday night with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Herzog pleaded with the sheikh to employ his total political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages, according to his office.
The next day, Herzog met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar has used its influence to help secure the release of the majority of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas and other terrorist groups on October 7 – while harboring some of the terrorist group’s leaders within its borders.
The president also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Britain’s King Charles III. In his meetings, Herzog emphasized the humanitarian duty of releasing the hostages and appealed to world leaders to join this effort. He also said it is Israel’s “right and duty” to defend itself against the security threat posed by Hamas to bring safety back to Israel.
Silva told Herzog that he had spoken with the leaders of South American nations and called on them to support the return of the hostages.
All the leaders Herzog engaged with unequivocally denounced the act of terror perpetrated by Hamas against the Israeli people on October 7. However, with the collapse of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the weekend, certain world leaders leveraged their platforms at COP28 on Friday to advocate for an immediate end to the ongoing war.
The war’s prominence in speeches at the Dubai event highlighted international divisions over the bloodshed and presented a distraction for a summit where nations try to find consensus on the shared threat posed by climate change.
“While discussing the climate crisis, we cannot ignore the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Palestinian territories right beside us,” Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan told leaders during his formal speech at the COP28 conference.
“The current situation in Gaza constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity; those responsible must be held accountable under international law,” he said.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa echoed the sentiment.
“South Africa is appalled by the cruel tragedy that is underway in Gaza. The war against the innocent people of Palestine is a war crime that must be ended now,” he said in his address.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said it was difficult to focus on global warming while the fighting was going on.
“This year’s conference of the parties must recognize even more than ever that we cannot talk about climate change in isolation from the humanitarian tragedies unfolding around us,” he said.
Iran’s delegation left the Leaders’ Summit on Friday in protest of Israeli officials’ presence, state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian said the participation of Israeli representatives was “contrary to the goals and aims of the climate-change conference,” IRNA reported.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid also called to end the war.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro linked environmental issues with the war.
“If Palestine could be free today, then tomorrow, humanity will escape alive out of the throes of the climate crisis,” he said.
Although before October 7, Israel had deemed 2023 the year to deal with the climate crisis and had plans to invest NIS 9 million ($2.42m) in a pavilion and top-level delegation at COP28, the country ultimately sent only around 20 ministry professionals. A handful of climate-tech companies from Israel’s South also joined the official delegation.
Reuters contributed to this report.
The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel,” Biden said in the memo.
“While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States.”Increased attacks since Oct.7
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military assault in Gaza.
The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
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Preparing for war: Haifa mayor describes city’s infrastructure changes tensions in North escalate
Haifa mayor Yona Yahav spoke this past Monday with Lior Rosenfeld on Radio North 104.5FM about the escalation of the war in the North and his entry into political office amidst the security situation.
Yahav began, “I cannot speak on behalf of the North as I don’t know exactly what’s happening there. No one updates me, as if we are not the largest and most important city in the North. Tomorrow, the Home Front Command is coming to see us for the first time, and we will see what they have to say. We are doing everything to ensure that the city itself and our residents are safe and know what to do in case, God forbid, missiles fall on us. They are more accurate than those in 2006.”
Yahav also discussed the city’s preparations for a war in the North.
“We are now changing the entire method of building public structures,” Yahav said. “We are preparing them for prolonged stays. The minimum will be four consecutive days in shelters and such buildings, which require preparation. For example, installing toilets, which we don’t have today, and we have given instructions to build them in places close to where new houses are being built. This has been fully understood, and developers have begun to understand that the talk about evacuation and reconstruction has undergone drastic changes in light of the security situation. For example, road width needs to be maintained for the sake of evacuating residents on these roads. These are things that were not considered until now and must now be taken into account.”
Yahav’s plans for the success of Haifa’s future
Yahav then discussed his appeal to the transportation minister to stop the Highway 23 Carmel Tunnels’ toll charge.
“We called on the transportation minister to stop the discrimination. Haifa and the North are always discriminated against compared to central Israel, and there’s no reason for this. There are huge tunnels dug in Jerusalem that do not cost residents any money to pass through. There’s no reason why the tunnels dug in Haifa should include a toll. I speak on behalf of Haifa residents, and we are preparing to petition if we do not receive an answer.”
Regarding his entry into his mayoral role about three months ago, Yahav said, “I found a completely ruined city. They destroyed the municipality, and it’s very difficult to move things around. I don’t understand how residents sat idly by and kept quiet. We are trying to go to government offices to fix relations, to get funds, to move projects to bring in fees – and we are doing all this in a short time.
“The ministers are acting openly and with the goodwill to help. I am now waiting for the money on the table. The casino building in Bat Galim will be a luxurious hotel on the Bat Galim seashore. This neighborhood will undergo a complete transformation and will be the most beautiful neighborhood in the country. It will also be the only neighborhood facing a recognized beach. We came to make a change, and we will succeed.”
In conclusion, he touched on the issue of wild boars: “You won’t be able to follow them because soon you won’t see them anymore.”
world news
‘Psychological operation’: Turkey condemns FM Katz social media post depicting toddler Erdogan
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Sunday condemning a social media post made by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in which Katz presented Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a toddler on the lap of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Katz, in a Sunday post on X, wrote “Erdogan @RTErdogan finances and arms terrorist organizations of Hamas to carry out attacks and murder against Israelis. The General Security Service captured a squad of students from Bir Zeit who were employed by the Hamas headquarters in Turkey to carry out murder attacks in Israel, through training and weapons and tens of thousands of dollars provided to them.
“Erdogan turned Turkey into a state that supports terrorism and subjects Turkey to the Iranian axis of evil in the name of extreme ideology and blatant anti-Semitism.”
Katz’s comments were made in reference to a recently thwarted terror attack planned by the student Hamas cell in Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. The attempted attack, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said, was directed by Hamas’s base in Turkey.ארדואן @RTErdogan מממן ומחמש ארגוני טרור של החמאס לביצוע פיגועים ורצח נגד ישראלים. שירות הביטחון הכללי לכד חוליית סטודנטים מביר זית שהופעלו ע”י מפקדת החמאס בטורקיה לביצוע פיגועי רצח בישראל, באמצעות אימונים ונשק ועשרות אלפי דולרים שסופקו להם.ארדואן הפך את טורקיה למדינה תומכת טרור… pic.twitter.com/R0SCjYdngN
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 21, 2024
Turkey condemns the social media post
The Turkish ministry responded “The Israeli Foreign Minister is trying to hide Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians behind a series of lies, slander and disrespect.
“Israel’s dirty propaganda targeting Türkiye and President Erdoğan, and psychological operation attempts will not bear fruit.
“The members of the Netanyahu Government, who have killed nearly forty thousand Palestinians in Gaza and are now trying to start a regional war in order to stay in power, will be tried in international courts and held accountable for their crimes.
“Türkiye will continue to speak the truth and defend the right of the Palestinian people to live in justice and peace.”
The ministry cited data provided by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Additionally, Turkey has repeatedly asserted that it does not categorize Hamas as a terrorist organization – despite its western allies acknowledging it as such and its proven attacks on Israeli civilians.
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