The requirement for military entry permits reportedly began at the beginning of 2013. However, not everyone is required to obtain the special pass – and no information has been published surrounding the selection process. Clerics from the US reportedly had to sign a declaration at Ben-Gurion International Airport recently, promising not to enter Area A without permits from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). Area A includes all Palestinian cities and their surrounding areas, with no Israeli settlements. The area is fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority. COGAT is a military office which coordinates civilian issues between the Israeli government, the Israel Defense Forces, international organizations, diplomats, and the Palestinian Authority. “I understand that in the event that I enter any area under the control of the Palestinian Authority without the appropriate authorization all relevant legal actions will be taken against me, including deportation and denial of entry into Israel for a period of up to ten years,” the English-language version of the declaration reads. The clerics signed the document, but were not told how they could obtain the special permission. The clerics told Haaretz that they had been sent from their church to work with Christian communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. But their mission ended before it ever began because they were not told how to obtain the military entry permit. One of the clerics sought help from the US Consulate in Jerusalem – but none of the employees were aware of the restictions. The spokesman for the US consulate declined to answer whether Israel had informed the American authorities about the obligation to sign a statement, and did not explain the viewpoint of the US Department of State. According to Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Population, Immigration and Borders Authority, the Entry into Israel Law authorizes the interior minister to decide on the entry of foreigners to the State of Israel. In the case of Judea and Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces chief of general staff makes the determination with a permit from the coordinator’s office. “When a tourist or foreign national arrives at the international border crossings and it is believed that he wants to enter Judea and Samaria, he should be informed [of the procedure] and asked for his promise to receive a permit from the coordinator’s office before his entry – a permit that constitutes an essential condition [of entry to the Palestinian Authority controlled areas],” she said. But there is no mention of the existence of such a procedure on COGAT’s English website. The spokesman for the coordinator’s office said the matter of the procedure and the form is being examined. Meanwhile, lawyers are questioning the legality of the declaration. According to the Oslo Accords, citizens of countries which have diplomatic ties with Israel need only an entry permit for Israel and a valid passport to enter Palestinian Authority territories, Attorney Adi Lustigman said. The declaration “is not legal because it was formulated for an improper purpose – isolating the occupied territories – and in an improper manner. It makes the assumption that people who arrive in Israel as tourists, as clerics and for other purposes want to act in contradiction to the law, which may not have been explained to them clearly,” Lustigman said.“If there really is such a procedure, it should be publicized in a simple, clear and accessible manner…it seems there is no operative procedure, nor any procedure for submitting a request. We are left only with a prohibition, which, as we have mentioned, is invalid,” she added. The practice of requiring tourists to sign such declarations was first reported seven years ago, but was reportedly discontinued and renewed only at the beginning of this year. Several years ago, the Interior Ministry also began to limit the freedom of movement of tourists with work and family ties in the West Bank, in order to prevent their entry into Israel by means of a permit with the stamp “For the territories of Judea and Samaria only.” … Read More
US weakens fracking rules
The US Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Thursday released its proposed update to hydraulic fracturing regulations, which would be the first update in three decades.The proposal would require companies to have a water-management plan for fluids that flow back to the surface. Fracking companies would be required to prevent toxic chemicals from leaking into groundwater.Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced the new rules, calling them an initiative of a pro-energy Obama administration policy.“As the president has made clear, this administration’s priority is to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production,” Jewell said in a BLM press release. “In line with that goal, we are proposing some commonsense updates that increase safety while also providing flexibility and facilitating coordination with states and tribes.”The 171-page document requires companies to verify that wells are drilled properly so that groundwater does not become contaminated, submit plans for managing drilling wastewater, and disclose injected chemicals.But environmental groups quickly accused federal officials of creating weak rules that contain dangerous loopholes that may be a risk to water supplies across America.“The rules protect industry, not people,” Natural Resources Defense Council president Frances Beinecke told the Denver Post. “This draft is a blueprint for business-as-usual industrialization of our landscapes.”The proposed regulations allow fracking companies to keep some of their chemicals exempt from disclosure, calling them ‘trade secrets’. Environmentalists have criticized the BLM for this, arguing that fracking companies could use dangerous chemicals near local communities that could pose an unknown risk, without having to report what they use. They also fail to require an evaluation of the security of cement barriers in individual wells. Oil and gas companies need only to have one of their wells tested for safety, and the government then assumes that the other wells are similar. “After reviewing the draft rules, we believe the administration is putting the American public’s health and well-being at risk, while continuing to give polluters a free ride,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, told EcoWatch. “The draft BLM rules ignore the recommendations of the president’s own shale gas advisory committee, which called for transparency, full public chemical disclosure, environmental safeguards, and pollution monitoring.”Environmentalists are particularly concerned about the potential contamination of drinking water across the US, and have criticized Secretary Jewell for letting them down.The federal government last year proposed a set of rules that called for full disclosure of fracking chemicals, but these rules were heavily criticized by Republicans and the fracking industry. By taking away the provision requiring full disclosure, the rules have a better chance of going into effect, but they don’t address the most serious concern held by environmentalists.“Comparing today’s rule governing fracking on public lands with the one proposed a year earlier, it is clear what happened: the Bureau of Land Management caved to the wealthy and powerful oil and gas industry and left the public to fend for itself,” Jessica Ennis of Earthjustice told EcoWatch.“Our public lands – and the people who live near them – deserve the highest level of protection,” she added. “Today’s rule could have set the gold standard. Instead the BLM is settling for shoddy protections peddled by the oil and gas industry.” … Read More
Bahraini activist granted asylum in Britain
Ali Abduleman, who resurfaced in London, said he was “forced into hiding because of the brutal regime we have in Bahrain.”The former IT specialist, who founded a prominent online blog in 1998, did not go into details of his life in hiding so as not to endanger his family who were are still in Bahrain, he told the IB Times UK at the Oslo Freedom Forum in London. However, Thor Halvorssen, the president of the Human Rights Foundation and founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum, described Ali’s spectacular escape route to the UK, which involved being smuggled out of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia in the secret compartment of a car, from where he made it to Kuwait, sailed to Iraq with the help of fishermen, from where he flew to London. “I have to thank Great Britain which gave me asylum very fast, but I request they put more pressure on the regime in Bahrain. Supporting such a regime is not helping to solve the issue, just creating problems,” Ali said. He also described spy software, used by the Bahraini government to spy on dissidents, as produced by UK company Gamma International.“More than 16 tweeps (Twitter followers) have been arrested in Bahrain with the use of Gamma tools because of their activities,” he said. The UK campaigning group Privacy International has asked HM Revenue and Customs, the government department which overseas exports, to investigate Gamma International’s breach of the export control regime last November.Ali was first arrested in 2005 on charges that included inciting hatred against the regime and publishing false information. He was released but was arrested again in September 2010 along with 22 other activists as part of a government crackdown on protestors.Authorities accused him of seeking to topple the “political regime through illegal means ” and of being part of a“terrorist network”. Britain’s Home Office doesn’t comment on individual asylum applications but the Bahraini interior ministry denied that Ali had been arrested because of his political views but because of his “involvement with senior members of a terrorist network.” After his arrest, the next his family heard of him was a news story from a government news agency that reported he was being questioned and had been receiving funding from a London-based ‘terror mastermind.’Ali says he was routinely tortured while in jail. However, in a bizarre paradox, just as the pro-democracy protests erupted onto the streets in February 2011 he was pardoned by King Hamad and the day after his release was taking part in the protests at Manama’s Pearl Roundabout, which has been dubbed Bahrain’s ‘Tahrir Square.’When a few days later police raided his house Ali decided to go into hiding, this was the last time he saw his wife and children.“I feel pain because I am not in my homeland. I did not choose this. I did not want this, ” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the London conference. … Read More
Sharif wins in Pakistan but doubts over clean vote erupt
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Pakistan election campaign draws to a close 10/05/2013 08:56 CET
Khan’s injury shakes up Pakistan election campaign 08/05/2013 19:05 CET
Although many are seeing the election in Pakistan this weekend as a milestone, with one elected government succeeding another for the first time in the nation’s history, that is not how supporters of former cricketer Imran Khan’s PTI party are seeing it.
They have been crying foul, and alleging that massive vote-rigging and fraud have ruined the poll.
“This was not fair, nor transparent. Our demand is for a re-election. Recounting will not solve the problem because bogus votes have already been cast,” said PTI supporter Saira Sheikh.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looks set to return to office for a third time as his Muslim League, although it is unlikely to have a majority on its own, will be the largest party and direct coalition talks. 42 people celebrating victory
Sharif is already talking to independents and small parties on working together should he fail to get the 137 seat absolute majority. Turnout was around 60%, up on 2008’s 44%.
More about: General election, Pakistan, Politics
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‘Usual suspect’: Turkey accuses Syrian govt of targeting refugees
The investigations into the bombings has almost been completed, Turkish interior minister Muammer Güler told local press, announcing that the perpetrators were “linked to the Syrian regime and intelligence agency” and had nothing to do with the Syrian opposition and the refugees.Five people were arrested following the blast, three of whom were said to be Syrian nationals. Top Turkish government officials, including Prime Minister Erdogan, were quick to place the blame with Syria, despite lacking any evidence at the time.The “usual suspect” in such a horrific attack is Syrian government, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc announced after the blasts pledging to do “what is necessary” if Assad regime’s guilt is proven.”We know that the people taking refuge in Hatay have become targets for the Syrian regime,” he said. “We think of them as the usual suspects when it comes to planning such a horrific attack.” Turkey reserves the right to take “every kind of measure” but so far is not planning to call an emergency NATO meeting, said foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, while Prime Minister Erdogan announced that Turkey will take “all retaliatory measures it deems necessary.”Provocation to disrupt Syria peace talks?Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu called the attacks a “provocation,” saying that the timing of the blasts was not coincidental, referring to the recently proposed peace talks sponsored by Russia and the US. “Such provocation can [come to mind] in such a critical transition phase regarding Syria. It is not a coincidence that this happened when diplomatic traffic is intensifying. We invite our citizens to be prudent,” Davutoğlu told reporters during his visit in Germany on Saturday.Russia has raised concerns that groundless accusations and any subsequent adventurous third-party action could be disruptive.“In the terrorist attack in Turkey, Syria was accused again – as it is always blamed for everything. Someone wants to disrupt the peace conference and to push ahead with the use of military force,” Alexei Pushkov, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia’s Duma stated on Twitter.The deadly blasts could even be an inside job, in the hope of encouraging international military action against Assad’s government, according to Marcus Papadopoulos, an editor for the UK’s Politics First magazine.“Turkey has been pushing for intervention in Syria, Western military intervention. It’s been pushing for a no-fly zone over northern Syria,” Papadopoulos said. “Given that Turkish generals a couple of years ago were planning to provoke a war with Greece, why is it implausible that Turkish generals or members of Turkish intelligence services wouldn’t be doing the same today, to try and provoke a war against Syria and thereby bringing in NATO,” he told RT.Border town protests Turkey’s policy on Syria, violence spilloverSaturday’s twin car bombs exploded outside the city hall and post office, killing 43 and injuring a further hundred people and destroying local buildings in the country’s deadliest attack in more than a decade.A third explosion was later reported in the same city. However, local press later reported that the incident was unrelated.Police reinforcements were dispatched to the city after the bombs ripped through the streets of Reyhanli, which is home to thousands of Syrians who have fled the conflict. Some 300,000 are now resident in Turkey overall. Their presence has caused some tension in the city on the Syrian border, especially among those unhappy with the influx of migrants.Following the blasts approximately a hundred of the city’s residents took to the streets outside Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Erdogan and accusing him of a failed policy towards Syria which they believe led to the assault.Some locals have also blamed Syrian residents for bringing violence over the frontier, resulting in attacks against refugees. “We heard that there were some reactions from local Turkish people against Syrian cars and Syrian people. Police reinforcements have been sent to prevent that sort of thing,” an anonymous Turkish government official told Reuters.Some 60 people also marched in Ankara, Turkey’s capital following the blasts. The demonstrations were quickly dispersed. … Read More
Egyptian security forces thwart Al-Qaeda embassy bombing – interior ministry
“The interior ministry was able to direct a qualitative blow to a terrorist cell which was planning to carry out suicide attacks against vital, important and foreign establishments,” declared Ibrahim, who did not specify which country was to be targeted by the attack. He did, however, say that the extremists planned to use either a car stuffed with explosives, or a remotely detonated home-made device to carry out the terrorist act.Ibrahim said the three suspects were captured with 10 kilograms of ammonium nitrate – an ingredient in explosives – and a computer containing bomb-making instructions.The minister told journalists at a Cairo press conference that the radical Islamists had been in contact with Al-Qaeda in Algeria, Pakistan and on the Syrian-Turkish border, where their contact is monitoring the inflow of jihadists into the war-torn country. Ibrahim claimed one of the suspects also traveled to combat training camps in Iran and Pakistan.A lawyer for the three men has told local Al-Ahram website that the charges against them were “fabricated.”Ibrahim stated that the men shared the same contact, a man called Kurdi Dawud al-Assadi, as the ‘Nasr City Cell’ – another group of suspected terrorists currently on trial. Al-Assadi reportedly told the men to contact members of the cell, who are accused of involvement in the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi on September 11 last year, as well as preparing a host of embassy attacks.Ibrahim denied that the spate of arrests constituted a systematic Al-Qaeda presence in the country whose security apparatus has been weakened through the upheaval of the past two years. Nonetheless, radical Islamist attacks in the deserted region of Sinai have occurred intermittently over the past months. The Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists there also launched two rockets at the Israeli city of Eilat from their base on the peninsula last month.The authorities also failed to maintain security, when the US embassy in Egypt was breached and the US flag burnt by a crowd protesting the ‘Innocence of Muslims’ video last year.The current leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri, is himself an Egyptian by birth (though has spent large stretches of his life outside the country) and has masterminded previous attacks in his homeland. … Read More
Turkmenistan – RFE/RL correspondent held arbitrarily for past four days
Reporters Without Borders calls on the authorities to explain why they have been holding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Rovshen Yazmuhamedov in the northeastern city of Turkmenabat since 6 May. “Yazmuhamedov’s unexplained detention for the past four days is completely arbitrary and represents a gross violation of his constitutional rights and the international conventions ratified by Turkmenistan,” Reporters Without Borders said. “What is he accused of, and on what basis? When (…) … Read More
