Source: Sky News
Security & Justice
Captured Hezbollah Operative May Have Been Israeli Double Agent, Report Suggests
The alleged senior Hezbollah operative abducted by Israeli special forces last week in Batroun may have been operating as a double agent, according to a report by The Telegraph.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Lebanon’s Probe into Israeli Raid Expected to Take Days as Security Officials Weigh Theories
Lebanese authorities are ramping up investigations into an Israeli commando raid last week in the northern coastal city of Batroun, during which Imad Amhaz, a Hezbollah official, was snatched.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Wednesday 17 November 2021 13:13:17
Israel: Hollywood Stars Sign Letter Criticising Labelling of Palestinian Charities as Terror Organisations
More than 100 celebrities have signed an open letter criticising Israel's decision to designate six prominent Palestinian charities as terrorist organisations.
The signatories include Hollywood stars Richard Gere, Claire Foy, Tilda Swinton and Susan Sarandon; director Ken Loach, musician Jarvis Cocker, the band Massive Attack, and authors Philip Pullman, Colm Tobin and Irvine Welsh.
The joint letter describes the recent move as "an unprecedented and blanket attack on Palestinian human rights defenders".
It says that "the designations target six of the most eminent Palestinian human rights defenders engaged in critical human rights work and cover all aspects of civil society in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
Between them, the six charities provide legal aid to Palestinians and document alleged human rights abuses by Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. They also promote the rights of women, farmworkers, and children.
Israel, though, has accused them of funnelling donor aid to militants and of being connected to a left-wing organisation that has a history of planning and carrying out attacks in Israel.
Asked to comment on the letter, the Israeli government referred Sky News to a statement given by the defence ministry at the time, which claimed the charities used "forgery and deceit" to get funds from European countries and multinational organisations.
The statement accused the groups of hiding behind human rights activism "but in practice [they] belong and constitute an arm" of the Popular Front, "the main activity of which is the liberation of Palestine and destruction of Israel".
The designations authorise Israeli authorities to close the groups' offices, seize their assets and arrest their staff in the West Bank, watchdogs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint statement last month.
The United Nations has criticised the move as "the latest development in a long stigmatizing campaign against these and other organizations, damaging their ability to deliver on their crucial work".
