Posted on

Israel claims West Bank land for possible settlement use, draws U.S. rebuke

By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel announced on Sunday a land appropriation in the occupied West Bank that an anti-settlement group termed the biggest in 30 years, drawing Palestinian condemnation and a U.S. Some 400 hectares (988 acres) in the Etzion Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem were declared “state land, on the instructions of the political echelon” by the military-run Civil Administration. “We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision,” a State Department official said in Washington, calling the move “counterproductive” to efforts to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel Radio said the step was taken in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teens by Hamas militants in the area in June.

Posted on

Protesters call to free ‘Prisoners of Opinion’ – Detained activist on hunger strike – Rights group slams arrest

Protesters gather at Irada Square holding placards calling to free detained activists and bloggers

Protesters gather at Irada Square holding placards calling to free detained activists and bloggers

KUWAIT: A small demonstration was held for a second night at Irada Square opposite the National Assembly yesterday in protest against the arrest of well-known human rights activist Mohammed Al-Ajmi and other detained bloggers. Former opposition MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Abdulrahman Al-Anjari, Hamad Al-Matar and Khalid Shukhayyar were present among the handful of protesters.

Meanwhile, Ajmi entered a second day of hunger strike in protest against his detention. Ajmi, known by his popular Twitter handle @abo3asam, was arrested Aug 27 for a Twitter post deemed “in contempt of religion”. The post was in Arabic, and its translation cannot be republished here.

The Department of Criminal Investigation ordered his detention for a period of 10 days pending investigation. Ajmi is a member of the National Committee for Monitoring Violations, a blogger and human rights observer. He was also arrested July 6 while monitoring a demonstration in Kuwait and released the same day.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) issued a statement in support of Ajmi, noting that it “believes that his arrest and detention is solely related to his legitimate and peaceful work in the field of human rights and in particular his work as an observer of human rights violations by security forces during peaceful marches. The GCHR expresses concern that fabricated charges may be brought against the defender aimed at stopping his human rights activities.”

The post Protesters call to free ‘Prisoners of Opinion’ – Detained activist on hunger strike – Rights group slams arrest appeared first on Kuwait Times.

Posted on

IS beheads Lebanese soldier

BEIRUT, Aug 31, (Agencies): At least 42 children have been killed in government air strikes and shelling across Syria in the last 36 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Sunday. The Britain-based Observatory said 25 c…