DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN ( 500 million DEAD )
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye chil dren of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
AS OF JUNE 13,20-THERE ARE 411,588 DEATHS OF THE 7,254,140 COVID-19 CASES WORLDWIDE.
Cars set alight over Jaffa plan to build homeless shelter on Muslim burial site-The Times of Israel-Municipality building also damaged in reported firebombing; city vows to go ahead with construction-By TOI staff-june 13,20-Today 300pm
A number of vehicles were set on fire and a building was firebombed in Jaffa overnight Friday-Saturday, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, as the unrest continued over plans to build a homeless shelter on land discovered to have been an old Muslim burial site.According to the news site N12, 13 incidents of vandalism were recorded overnight including cars and trucks set on fire and a building belonging to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality hit with a Molotov cocktail.Responding firefighters put out the fires at around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, according to the report.The municipality issued a statement condemning the attack, saying that “the perpetrators of these acts were part of a small group that does not represent most of the residents of Jaffa, who have a great deal of trust in the municipality.” The city said these acts would not affect plans to build the homeless shelter and that these would go ahead “as the court has approved.”Police said officers were working to identify the perpetrators, whose “bullying behavior disturbs the daily routines of residents, endangers human lives and damages property.”Israeli police officers at a demonstration against the decision by the Tel Aviv Municipality to demolish an old Muslim burial ground which was discovered after plans had been made to build a new homeless shelter and commercial space at the site. June 12, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Friday’s was the third protest over the building plans this week alone.On Wednesday, dozens of protesters took to the streets in Jaffa, clashing with police, setting trash cans on fire and throwing stones at officers. Four people were arrested.The demonstrations were smaller than those that erupted Tuesday when some 300 protesters clashed with police. A video released by police showed a Tel Aviv city bus with shattered windows stopped by the side of the road and riot police using stun grenades to disperse the rioters near Jaffa’s iconic clock tower. Police said the demonstrators also burned trash cans and some cars. Some reports said the violence started when police blocked the marchers and tried to disperse them with force.The dispute is over a site, known in Arabic as Maqbarat al-Is’aaf, Tel Aviv’s only known Muslim graveyard. According to court filings, the cemetery had gone unnoticed for many years before the Tel Aviv Development Fund decided to demolish an Ottoman-era one-story home which the nonprofit Gagon was using as an improvised homeless shelter.Litigants fought in court for over a year over whether or not the planned demolition would go forward; the city hoped to build a new and improved three-story shelter in place of the old one.Muslim citizens pray prior to a protest on June 12, 2020, against a decision by the Tel Aviv Municipality to demolish an old Muslim burial ground amid plans to build a new homeless shelter and commercial space at the site. June 12, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Once bulldozers demolished the house, though, the bones of at least 30 people were discovered to have been buried in the structure. The Antiquities Ministry determined that the cemetery contained bones from the Ottoman period all the way back to the Hellenistic period. The Islamic Council built tombstones over each of the graves.Negotiations between the Council and the city over the site proved unsuccessful. The High Court of Justice subsequently ordered the construction halted so the matter could be adjudicated in court.The battle ended in January 2020, when a Tel Aviv court rejected claims by the Council to preserve the space. Judge Avigayil Cohen stated in her decision that the cemetery had not been used by the community for at least 100 years, and had been a public space since at least the 1940s without any legal objections. Moreover, none of the plaintiffs could claim a personal or familial connection to the remains.“The project’s construction is a response to public need, and uses land which has not be used as a cemetery for over 100 years, and the Muslim community never before treated it as possessing holiness or having a religious affinity,” Cohen wrote.Cohen’s arguments, however, do not seem to have convinced some Jaffa residents, who objected strongly to the destruction of the structure from the start.“The Muslim community in Jaffa in general and all of the city’s residents have no problem with the homeless project, and it’s appropriate to find a physical location for it, but not over a Muslim cemetery,” Tel Aviv city council member Amir Badran told the Haaretz daily.Sheikh Kamal Khatib, the deputy chief of the banned Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, addressed demonstrators at the protest.While the movement’s southern branch is seen as relatively moderate, the Northern Branch is understood to have ties to terrorist groups such as Hamas. The Northern Branch was outlawed in 2015, and Khatib has been arrested numerous times by police for incitement to violence.“Our battle for this cemetery is no different than our battle for al-Aqsa,” Khatib said at the protest, referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. “For almighty God in his wisdom made of this whole land a waqf,” or holy site.
ICC must up its game to survive after US onslaught, activists say-The Times of Israel-Criminal law professor says court’s future lies in prosecuting ‘powerful countries like the US, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom’By Jan Hennop and Charlotte Van Ouwerkerk-june 12,20-Today, 3:19 pm
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court must step up to ensure its survival after US President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against the tribunal over an Afghan war crimes probe, experts said Friday.Trump’s administration on Thursday unleashed an unprecedented onslaught against what it branded a “kangaroo court,” subjecting ICC officials to asset freezes and travel bans if they target US personnel.The move escalates longstanding US opposition to The Hague-based court, which is battling its own poor track record of convictions, lack of support from the world’s largest powers and internal disputes over pay.But analysts and rights groups urged the under-fire ICC — set up in 2002 to prosecute the world’s worst crimes — to continue its work with renewed vigor if it wants to cement its legitimacy.“I believe that the future of the court depends on its willingness to prosecute the ‘hard cases’ involving powerful countries like the United States, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom,” William Schabas, international criminal law professor at Leiden University, told AFP.“For too long its work has been directed at developing countries and pariah states. Delivering equal justice for all means that it can tackle the strong as well as the weak.”‘Unprecedented’ measures-The United States — like Russia, China, Israel, Syria and a number of other countries — is not a member of the ICC, and its opposition to the court is longstanding.In 2002 the US Congress even passed the so-called Hague Invasion Act allowing the US president to authorize military force to free any US personnel held by the ICC — in theory making an invasion of Dutch shores a possibility.But the Trump administration has now gone further, preemptively targeting the court over any attempt to prosecute US personnel over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, or its ally Israel over the situation in the Palestinian territories.US Attorney General Bill Barr said Thursday’s steps were just the first against a “corrupt” institution that he accused, without giving evidence, of being manipulated by Russia.Personal sanctions by Washington are “unprecedented,” said Carsten Stahn, program director at Leiden University’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in The Hague.“They may complicate the investigations and seek to discredit not only individuals but the institution as such. It is thus important that other states speak up clearly to support the independence of the court,” Stahn told AFP.Rights groups, too, have called on the ICC’s 123 member states to reaffirm its support for the tribunal, a court of last resort for war crimes and crimes against humanity if countries were unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects themselves.“It is now upon ICC member states to translate their statements of support into action,” said Amal Nassar, the International Federation for Human Rights’ representative at the ICC.“This includes full cooperation with the court in its investigations, adequate resources, and a clear signal that ICC staff, their families, human rights defenders and legal professionals can count on their support and protection,” Nassar said.‘Wave of solidarity’But the virulent US opposition against the ICC might have a counter-productive effect, Stahn said.“Curiously, the US political attacks may backfire in the sense that they may create a new wave of solidarity at a time where the ICC is undergoing internal reform efforts,” he said.Its governing body, the Assembly of States Parties, in particular “is now asked more than ever to reaffirm the core principles of the ICC,” said Stahn.Stahn, however, said he did not believe the sanctions would threaten the court’s existence.The ICC has started a new set of prosecutions which included the surrender of Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed militiaman accused of war crimes committed in Sudan’s Darfur region in 2003-2004.“In some situations, ICC investigations may also serve US interests,” he said.
Iconic Haifa oil refinery tower collapses-The Times of Israel-Environment minister says fall of cooling tower a ‘significant symbol’ of new beginning for Israel’s most polluted city-By TOI staff-june 12,20-Today, 2:46 pm
One of Haifa’s iconic oil refinery towers collapsed on Friday morning, taking a chunk out of the coastal hub’s industrial skyline in what the environment minister said was a symbol of a new start for Israel’s most polluted city.The BAZAN Group, the crude oil company that owns the refinery, said in a statement that the pair of cooling towers had not been used since 2009 and that the collapse of one took place after an internal wall fell down a day earlier.The group said it was “taking all steps, including consulting with engineering and planning experts, to study the event.”No injuries were reported.Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel tweeted that the incident was a “significant symbol of the beginning of the end” for the factories that have polluted the Haifa Bay area for decades.“This collapse happened accidentally but next time it will be deliberate,” Gamiel vowed, saying that “Haifa’s residents deserve a healthy environment.”
UN says Iran arms used in attack on Saudis, Tehran may have breached 2015 deal-The Times of Israel-anian weapons, missile parts seized by US in recent months may have been moved ‘in manner inconsistent’ with resolution endorsing nuke deal-By Edith M. Lederer-Today, 7:48 amt in a September 14 missile and drone attack blamed on Iran. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says it has determined that Iran was the source for several items in two arms shipments seized by the United States and for debris left by attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations and an international airport, according to a new report.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some of the items seized by the US in November 2019 and February 2020 “were identical or similar” to those found after the cruise missiles and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in 2019.He said in a report to the UN Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press that some items seized by the US in international waters off Yemen are not only Iranian but may have been transferred “in a manner inconsistent” with the council resolution that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.The secretary-general was reporting on the implementation of the 2015 resolution enshrining the nuclear agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It includes restrictions that took effect on Jan. 16, 2016, on transfers to or from Iran of nuclear and ballistic missile material as well as arms.The Security Council is scheduled to discuss the resolution’s implementation on June 30, and the US is expected to press for the UN arms embargo against Iran, which is part of it, to be extended indefinitely before it expires in October.In this September 20, 2019, file photo, taken during a trip organized by the Saudi information ministry, workers fix the damage in Aramco’s oil separator at a processing facility after the September 14 attack blamed on Iran in Abqaiq near Dammam in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)-Iran’s UN Mission responded to the report Friday saying: “Iran categorically rejects the observations contained in the report concerning the Iranian connection to the export of weapons or their components that are used in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Iranian origin of alleged US seizures of armaments.”Its statement said the UN “lacks the capacity, expertise, and knowledge to conduct such a sophisticated and sensitive investigation,” adding that the report reproduces exact claims by the United States. “In essence, the US is sitting in the driver’s seat to shape the so-called ‘assessment’ regarding the Iranian connection to the attacks,” Iran said.President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed US sanctions that had been eased or lifted. American officials contend Iran is working to obtain nuclear-capable missiles, which the Iranians deny.US President Donald Trump signs a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, on May 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)-The nuclear agreement is still supported by the five other parties — France, Britain, Russia and China, which are all veto-wielding Security Council members, and Germany, which is currently serving a two-year term on the council.According to Guterres report, the arms shipments seized by the US were assessed by the UN Secretariat to include parts of anti-tank guided missiles from Iran with 2016, 2017 and 2018 production dates as well as thermal weapon optical sights with design characteristics similar to those produced by an Iranian company, and a computer keyboard with Farsi markings associated with an anti-ship missile.Guterres said UN experts also assessed that sections and components of cruise missiles recovered by the US from the sites of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in June and August 2019 and on Saudi Aramco oil facilities at Abqaiq and Khurays in September 2019 “are of Iranian origin.”Illustrative: The Saudi military displays what they say are an Iranian cruise missile and drones used in recent attacks on its oil industry at Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)-As for the delta-wing drones used in attacks on Saudi oil facilities in May and September 2019, Guterres said, “the Secretariat assesses that the un-crewed aerial vehicles and/or parts thereof used in the two attacks are of Iranian origin.”The report also links Iranian material from the US seizures and the Saudi attacks.Guterres said the UN is also reviewing information in an Israeli letter last month on imagery of four Iranian anti-tank guided missiles “being employed in Libya” and information provided last month by Australia on its June 2019 seizure of arms from a dhow in international waters off the Gulf of Oman.The UN’s atomic watchdog agency said earlier this month that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium above limits in the agreement and remains in violation of its deal with world powers.In his report, Guterres reiterated strong support for the Iranian nuclear agreement and expressed regret for the US withdrawal and Iran’s actions since July 2019 to stop performing its nuclear commitments. He urged all countries “to avoid provocative rhetoric and actions that may have a negative impact on regional stability.”The secretary-general said the Trump administration’s imposition of sanctions on Iran since 2018 remains “contrary to the goals” in the nuclear deal and the UN resolution endorsing it, and may also impede Tehran’s ability to implement some provisions of the agreement and the resolution.Illegal weapons seized by the US Navy in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 9, 2020. (US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael H. Lehman)-He urged Iran to return to the agreement’s requirements and to “urgently address” concerns raised by the United Kingdom, Germany and France in relation to the 2015 resolution.The three countries urged Guterres in a letter in December to inform the Security Council that Iran’s ballistic missile activity is “inconsistent” with a provision in the resolution calling on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”The provision does not require Tehran to halt such activity, and the Iranian government insists all its missile activities are legal and not nuclear-related.On Jan. 14, France, Germany and the UK announced that they had referred Iran’s actions violating limits in the nuclear agreement to the deal’s dispute resolution mechanism.Guterres urged all parties to the agreement “to resolve all differences” within that mechanism.
Iran asks France to analyze Ukraine flight black boxes, probe officials say-Accident agency denies it has been contacted, but says it is ‘ready to look at any request’; Canada has urged Tehran to hand over black boxes to Ukraine or France for analysis-By AFP-june 13,20-Today, 4:06 am
Iran has asked France to decrypt the black boxes from downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, sources close to the investigation said Friday.The Iranian envoy to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal said the Islamic Republic had enlisted the help of France’s BEA air accident agency to download and read the data on the flight recorder, the sources said.BEA denied to AFP that it had been asked — but added that it was “ready to look at any request” from Iran.Iran has admitted that it mistakenly shot down the Kiev-bound jetliner on January 8, killing 176 people.The disaster unfolded as Iran’s defenses were on high alert in case the US retaliated against Iranian strikes hours earlier on American troops stationed in Iraq — which were themselves in response to the US assassination of a top Iranian commander.The black boxes are expected to contain information about the last moments before the aircraft was struck by a ground-to-air missile and crashed, shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport.Many of the passengers were Canadians.For months, Ottawa has been calling on Iran, which does not have the technical capabilities to extract the fight data, to hand over the black boxes to Ukraine or France for analysis.The Iranian official news agency IRNA reaffirmed at the beginning of June that authorities were prepared to do so, but warned that the badly damaged devices may not advance the investigation.
Persecution of Bahai in Iran escalates as 77 imprisoned over religious beliefs-[The Telegraph]-Abbie Cheeseman-June 13, 2020
Iranian authorities have escalated their persecution of the Baha’i community, targeting at least 77 individuals across the country in recent weeks, despite a potential second wave of coronavirus infections hitting the country, according to a global organisation representing the faith.At least 77 Baha’is across eight Iranian provinces have been arrested, summoned to court, tried, sentenced and imprisoned in the last month “under baseless accusations and for no reason other than a deep-seated antagonism to the Baha’i Faith”, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) said.The Baha’i faith, which was originally founded in Iran, is seen as heretical by the Islamic Republic. Baha’i shops and cemeteries have been vandalised and some of its followers blocked from universities and jobs.“Bahai’s are used to persecution, however, this is almost unprecedented numbers in the matter of a month,” Bani Dugal, Principal Representative to the United Nations for the BIC, told the Telegraph.While dozens of religious and political groups have been hurt by the Islamic Republic’s 41-year rule of Iran, the Baha’is are widely considered to be one of the most persecuted as they are not officially recognised as a religious minority.Dozens of Baha'is were killed or jailed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution in 1979. Billions of dollars worth of land, houses, shops were seized in the following years by various Iranian organizations, including Setad, the organisation overseen by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.“In March, 20 Baha’is were released in the wake of coronavirus," said Ms Dugal. "We wanted all of them released as they are there purely for political reasons."Now they’re resummoning a number of people to return to prison despite the situation not improving in terms of the virus. There’s absolutely no justification for these arrests - it’s just another means of harassing the Bahai’s.”New infections in the Islamic Republic averaged at more than 3,000 a day in the first week of June.“When they are summoned they have to travel on public transportation, which is subjecting them to greater risk,” she added.The prospect of imprisonments is prompting health concerns from the group as Iran is facing a severe uptick in coronavirus infections. According to Ms Dugal, some of those who have been sentenced are elderly and at great risk if imprisoned.Iran has also recently ramped up a public defamation campaign, according to the group, with an “increasingly coordinated spread of disinformation about their beliefs” across state media.
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye chil dren of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
AS OF JUNE 13,20-THERE ARE 411,588 DEATHS OF THE 7,254,140 COVID-19 CASES WORLDWIDE.
Cars set alight over Jaffa plan to build homeless shelter on Muslim burial site-The Times of Israel-Municipality building also damaged in reported firebombing; city vows to go ahead with construction-By TOI staff-june 13,20-Today 300pm
A number of vehicles were set on fire and a building was firebombed in Jaffa overnight Friday-Saturday, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, as the unrest continued over plans to build a homeless shelter on land discovered to have been an old Muslim burial site.According to the news site N12, 13 incidents of vandalism were recorded overnight including cars and trucks set on fire and a building belonging to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality hit with a Molotov cocktail.Responding firefighters put out the fires at around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, according to the report.The municipality issued a statement condemning the attack, saying that “the perpetrators of these acts were part of a small group that does not represent most of the residents of Jaffa, who have a great deal of trust in the municipality.” The city said these acts would not affect plans to build the homeless shelter and that these would go ahead “as the court has approved.”Police said officers were working to identify the perpetrators, whose “bullying behavior disturbs the daily routines of residents, endangers human lives and damages property.”Israeli police officers at a demonstration against the decision by the Tel Aviv Municipality to demolish an old Muslim burial ground which was discovered after plans had been made to build a new homeless shelter and commercial space at the site. June 12, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Friday’s was the third protest over the building plans this week alone.On Wednesday, dozens of protesters took to the streets in Jaffa, clashing with police, setting trash cans on fire and throwing stones at officers. Four people were arrested.The demonstrations were smaller than those that erupted Tuesday when some 300 protesters clashed with police. A video released by police showed a Tel Aviv city bus with shattered windows stopped by the side of the road and riot police using stun grenades to disperse the rioters near Jaffa’s iconic clock tower. Police said the demonstrators also burned trash cans and some cars. Some reports said the violence started when police blocked the marchers and tried to disperse them with force.The dispute is over a site, known in Arabic as Maqbarat al-Is’aaf, Tel Aviv’s only known Muslim graveyard. According to court filings, the cemetery had gone unnoticed for many years before the Tel Aviv Development Fund decided to demolish an Ottoman-era one-story home which the nonprofit Gagon was using as an improvised homeless shelter.Litigants fought in court for over a year over whether or not the planned demolition would go forward; the city hoped to build a new and improved three-story shelter in place of the old one.Muslim citizens pray prior to a protest on June 12, 2020, against a decision by the Tel Aviv Municipality to demolish an old Muslim burial ground amid plans to build a new homeless shelter and commercial space at the site. June 12, 2020. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)-Once bulldozers demolished the house, though, the bones of at least 30 people were discovered to have been buried in the structure. The Antiquities Ministry determined that the cemetery contained bones from the Ottoman period all the way back to the Hellenistic period. The Islamic Council built tombstones over each of the graves.Negotiations between the Council and the city over the site proved unsuccessful. The High Court of Justice subsequently ordered the construction halted so the matter could be adjudicated in court.The battle ended in January 2020, when a Tel Aviv court rejected claims by the Council to preserve the space. Judge Avigayil Cohen stated in her decision that the cemetery had not been used by the community for at least 100 years, and had been a public space since at least the 1940s without any legal objections. Moreover, none of the plaintiffs could claim a personal or familial connection to the remains.“The project’s construction is a response to public need, and uses land which has not be used as a cemetery for over 100 years, and the Muslim community never before treated it as possessing holiness or having a religious affinity,” Cohen wrote.Cohen’s arguments, however, do not seem to have convinced some Jaffa residents, who objected strongly to the destruction of the structure from the start.“The Muslim community in Jaffa in general and all of the city’s residents have no problem with the homeless project, and it’s appropriate to find a physical location for it, but not over a Muslim cemetery,” Tel Aviv city council member Amir Badran told the Haaretz daily.Sheikh Kamal Khatib, the deputy chief of the banned Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, addressed demonstrators at the protest.While the movement’s southern branch is seen as relatively moderate, the Northern Branch is understood to have ties to terrorist groups such as Hamas. The Northern Branch was outlawed in 2015, and Khatib has been arrested numerous times by police for incitement to violence.“Our battle for this cemetery is no different than our battle for al-Aqsa,” Khatib said at the protest, referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. “For almighty God in his wisdom made of this whole land a waqf,” or holy site.
ICC must up its game to survive after US onslaught, activists say-The Times of Israel-Criminal law professor says court’s future lies in prosecuting ‘powerful countries like the US, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom’By Jan Hennop and Charlotte Van Ouwerkerk-june 12,20-Today, 3:19 pm
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court must step up to ensure its survival after US President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against the tribunal over an Afghan war crimes probe, experts said Friday.Trump’s administration on Thursday unleashed an unprecedented onslaught against what it branded a “kangaroo court,” subjecting ICC officials to asset freezes and travel bans if they target US personnel.The move escalates longstanding US opposition to The Hague-based court, which is battling its own poor track record of convictions, lack of support from the world’s largest powers and internal disputes over pay.But analysts and rights groups urged the under-fire ICC — set up in 2002 to prosecute the world’s worst crimes — to continue its work with renewed vigor if it wants to cement its legitimacy.“I believe that the future of the court depends on its willingness to prosecute the ‘hard cases’ involving powerful countries like the United States, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom,” William Schabas, international criminal law professor at Leiden University, told AFP.“For too long its work has been directed at developing countries and pariah states. Delivering equal justice for all means that it can tackle the strong as well as the weak.”‘Unprecedented’ measures-The United States — like Russia, China, Israel, Syria and a number of other countries — is not a member of the ICC, and its opposition to the court is longstanding.In 2002 the US Congress even passed the so-called Hague Invasion Act allowing the US president to authorize military force to free any US personnel held by the ICC — in theory making an invasion of Dutch shores a possibility.But the Trump administration has now gone further, preemptively targeting the court over any attempt to prosecute US personnel over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, or its ally Israel over the situation in the Palestinian territories.US Attorney General Bill Barr said Thursday’s steps were just the first against a “corrupt” institution that he accused, without giving evidence, of being manipulated by Russia.Personal sanctions by Washington are “unprecedented,” said Carsten Stahn, program director at Leiden University’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in The Hague.“They may complicate the investigations and seek to discredit not only individuals but the institution as such. It is thus important that other states speak up clearly to support the independence of the court,” Stahn told AFP.Rights groups, too, have called on the ICC’s 123 member states to reaffirm its support for the tribunal, a court of last resort for war crimes and crimes against humanity if countries were unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects themselves.“It is now upon ICC member states to translate their statements of support into action,” said Amal Nassar, the International Federation for Human Rights’ representative at the ICC.“This includes full cooperation with the court in its investigations, adequate resources, and a clear signal that ICC staff, their families, human rights defenders and legal professionals can count on their support and protection,” Nassar said.‘Wave of solidarity’But the virulent US opposition against the ICC might have a counter-productive effect, Stahn said.“Curiously, the US political attacks may backfire in the sense that they may create a new wave of solidarity at a time where the ICC is undergoing internal reform efforts,” he said.Its governing body, the Assembly of States Parties, in particular “is now asked more than ever to reaffirm the core principles of the ICC,” said Stahn.Stahn, however, said he did not believe the sanctions would threaten the court’s existence.The ICC has started a new set of prosecutions which included the surrender of Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed militiaman accused of war crimes committed in Sudan’s Darfur region in 2003-2004.“In some situations, ICC investigations may also serve US interests,” he said.
Iconic Haifa oil refinery tower collapses-The Times of Israel-Environment minister says fall of cooling tower a ‘significant symbol’ of new beginning for Israel’s most polluted city-By TOI staff-june 12,20-Today, 2:46 pm
One of Haifa’s iconic oil refinery towers collapsed on Friday morning, taking a chunk out of the coastal hub’s industrial skyline in what the environment minister said was a symbol of a new start for Israel’s most polluted city.The BAZAN Group, the crude oil company that owns the refinery, said in a statement that the pair of cooling towers had not been used since 2009 and that the collapse of one took place after an internal wall fell down a day earlier.The group said it was “taking all steps, including consulting with engineering and planning experts, to study the event.”No injuries were reported.Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel tweeted that the incident was a “significant symbol of the beginning of the end” for the factories that have polluted the Haifa Bay area for decades.“This collapse happened accidentally but next time it will be deliberate,” Gamiel vowed, saying that “Haifa’s residents deserve a healthy environment.”
UN says Iran arms used in attack on Saudis, Tehran may have breached 2015 deal-The Times of Israel-anian weapons, missile parts seized by US in recent months may have been moved ‘in manner inconsistent’ with resolution endorsing nuke deal-By Edith M. Lederer-Today, 7:48 amt in a September 14 missile and drone attack blamed on Iran. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says it has determined that Iran was the source for several items in two arms shipments seized by the United States and for debris left by attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations and an international airport, according to a new report.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some of the items seized by the US in November 2019 and February 2020 “were identical or similar” to those found after the cruise missiles and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in 2019.He said in a report to the UN Security Council obtained Friday by The Associated Press that some items seized by the US in international waters off Yemen are not only Iranian but may have been transferred “in a manner inconsistent” with the council resolution that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.The secretary-general was reporting on the implementation of the 2015 resolution enshrining the nuclear agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It includes restrictions that took effect on Jan. 16, 2016, on transfers to or from Iran of nuclear and ballistic missile material as well as arms.The Security Council is scheduled to discuss the resolution’s implementation on June 30, and the US is expected to press for the UN arms embargo against Iran, which is part of it, to be extended indefinitely before it expires in October.In this September 20, 2019, file photo, taken during a trip organized by the Saudi information ministry, workers fix the damage in Aramco’s oil separator at a processing facility after the September 14 attack blamed on Iran in Abqaiq near Dammam in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)-Iran’s UN Mission responded to the report Friday saying: “Iran categorically rejects the observations contained in the report concerning the Iranian connection to the export of weapons or their components that are used in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Iranian origin of alleged US seizures of armaments.”Its statement said the UN “lacks the capacity, expertise, and knowledge to conduct such a sophisticated and sensitive investigation,” adding that the report reproduces exact claims by the United States. “In essence, the US is sitting in the driver’s seat to shape the so-called ‘assessment’ regarding the Iranian connection to the attacks,” Iran said.President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement in May 2018 and re-imposed US sanctions that had been eased or lifted. American officials contend Iran is working to obtain nuclear-capable missiles, which the Iranians deny.US President Donald Trump signs a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, on May 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)-The nuclear agreement is still supported by the five other parties — France, Britain, Russia and China, which are all veto-wielding Security Council members, and Germany, which is currently serving a two-year term on the council.According to Guterres report, the arms shipments seized by the US were assessed by the UN Secretariat to include parts of anti-tank guided missiles from Iran with 2016, 2017 and 2018 production dates as well as thermal weapon optical sights with design characteristics similar to those produced by an Iranian company, and a computer keyboard with Farsi markings associated with an anti-ship missile.Guterres said UN experts also assessed that sections and components of cruise missiles recovered by the US from the sites of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in June and August 2019 and on Saudi Aramco oil facilities at Abqaiq and Khurays in September 2019 “are of Iranian origin.”Illustrative: The Saudi military displays what they say are an Iranian cruise missile and drones used in recent attacks on its oil industry at Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais, during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)-As for the delta-wing drones used in attacks on Saudi oil facilities in May and September 2019, Guterres said, “the Secretariat assesses that the un-crewed aerial vehicles and/or parts thereof used in the two attacks are of Iranian origin.”The report also links Iranian material from the US seizures and the Saudi attacks.Guterres said the UN is also reviewing information in an Israeli letter last month on imagery of four Iranian anti-tank guided missiles “being employed in Libya” and information provided last month by Australia on its June 2019 seizure of arms from a dhow in international waters off the Gulf of Oman.The UN’s atomic watchdog agency said earlier this month that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium above limits in the agreement and remains in violation of its deal with world powers.In his report, Guterres reiterated strong support for the Iranian nuclear agreement and expressed regret for the US withdrawal and Iran’s actions since July 2019 to stop performing its nuclear commitments. He urged all countries “to avoid provocative rhetoric and actions that may have a negative impact on regional stability.”The secretary-general said the Trump administration’s imposition of sanctions on Iran since 2018 remains “contrary to the goals” in the nuclear deal and the UN resolution endorsing it, and may also impede Tehran’s ability to implement some provisions of the agreement and the resolution.Illegal weapons seized by the US Navy in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 9, 2020. (US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael H. Lehman)-He urged Iran to return to the agreement’s requirements and to “urgently address” concerns raised by the United Kingdom, Germany and France in relation to the 2015 resolution.The three countries urged Guterres in a letter in December to inform the Security Council that Iran’s ballistic missile activity is “inconsistent” with a provision in the resolution calling on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”The provision does not require Tehran to halt such activity, and the Iranian government insists all its missile activities are legal and not nuclear-related.On Jan. 14, France, Germany and the UK announced that they had referred Iran’s actions violating limits in the nuclear agreement to the deal’s dispute resolution mechanism.Guterres urged all parties to the agreement “to resolve all differences” within that mechanism.
Iran asks France to analyze Ukraine flight black boxes, probe officials say-Accident agency denies it has been contacted, but says it is ‘ready to look at any request’; Canada has urged Tehran to hand over black boxes to Ukraine or France for analysis-By AFP-june 13,20-Today, 4:06 am
Iran has asked France to decrypt the black boxes from downed Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, sources close to the investigation said Friday.The Iranian envoy to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal said the Islamic Republic had enlisted the help of France’s BEA air accident agency to download and read the data on the flight recorder, the sources said.BEA denied to AFP that it had been asked — but added that it was “ready to look at any request” from Iran.Iran has admitted that it mistakenly shot down the Kiev-bound jetliner on January 8, killing 176 people.The disaster unfolded as Iran’s defenses were on high alert in case the US retaliated against Iranian strikes hours earlier on American troops stationed in Iraq — which were themselves in response to the US assassination of a top Iranian commander.The black boxes are expected to contain information about the last moments before the aircraft was struck by a ground-to-air missile and crashed, shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport.Many of the passengers were Canadians.For months, Ottawa has been calling on Iran, which does not have the technical capabilities to extract the fight data, to hand over the black boxes to Ukraine or France for analysis.The Iranian official news agency IRNA reaffirmed at the beginning of June that authorities were prepared to do so, but warned that the badly damaged devices may not advance the investigation.
Persecution of Bahai in Iran escalates as 77 imprisoned over religious beliefs-[The Telegraph]-Abbie Cheeseman-June 13, 2020
Iranian authorities have escalated their persecution of the Baha’i community, targeting at least 77 individuals across the country in recent weeks, despite a potential second wave of coronavirus infections hitting the country, according to a global organisation representing the faith.At least 77 Baha’is across eight Iranian provinces have been arrested, summoned to court, tried, sentenced and imprisoned in the last month “under baseless accusations and for no reason other than a deep-seated antagonism to the Baha’i Faith”, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) said.The Baha’i faith, which was originally founded in Iran, is seen as heretical by the Islamic Republic. Baha’i shops and cemeteries have been vandalised and some of its followers blocked from universities and jobs.“Bahai’s are used to persecution, however, this is almost unprecedented numbers in the matter of a month,” Bani Dugal, Principal Representative to the United Nations for the BIC, told the Telegraph.While dozens of religious and political groups have been hurt by the Islamic Republic’s 41-year rule of Iran, the Baha’is are widely considered to be one of the most persecuted as they are not officially recognised as a religious minority.Dozens of Baha'is were killed or jailed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution in 1979. Billions of dollars worth of land, houses, shops were seized in the following years by various Iranian organizations, including Setad, the organisation overseen by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.“In March, 20 Baha’is were released in the wake of coronavirus," said Ms Dugal. "We wanted all of them released as they are there purely for political reasons."Now they’re resummoning a number of people to return to prison despite the situation not improving in terms of the virus. There’s absolutely no justification for these arrests - it’s just another means of harassing the Bahai’s.”New infections in the Islamic Republic averaged at more than 3,000 a day in the first week of June.“When they are summoned they have to travel on public transportation, which is subjecting them to greater risk,” she added.The prospect of imprisonments is prompting health concerns from the group as Iran is facing a severe uptick in coronavirus infections. According to Ms Dugal, some of those who have been sentenced are elderly and at great risk if imprisoned.Iran has also recently ramped up a public defamation campaign, according to the group, with an “increasingly coordinated spread of disinformation about their beliefs” across state media.
