Page 7 - Palestine

Highlights: Echoes of Operation Sindoor's success heard across the globe, says PM Modi

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Campus protests flare on smaller scale but with higher stakes this time

Campus activism has flared as the academic year winds down, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations leading to arrests at several colleges. Compared with last spring, when more than 2,100 people were arrested in campus protests nationwide, the demonstrations have been smaller and more scattered. But the stakes are also much higher. President Donald Trump's administration has been investigating dozens of colleges over their handling of protests, including allegations of antisemitism, and frozen federal grant money as leverage to press demands for new rules on activism. Colleges, in turn, have been taking a harder line on discipline and enforcement, following new policies adopted to prevent tent encampments of the kind that stayed up for weeks last year on many campuses. What are protesters demanding? More are pushing for the same goal that drove last year's protests an end to university ties with Israel or companies that provide weapons or other support to Israel. Protesters who took

Australian prime minister names new Cabinet that drops Israel critic

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his new Cabinet on Monday after former minister Ed Husic blamed his demotion on his own criticism of Israel's war in Gaza. Albanese named the 30 lawmakers who will fill Cabinet and outer-ministry positions after his centre-left Labor Party won a landslide victory in the May 3 elections. Labor has claimed 92 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties need a majority to form government. As vote counting continues, Albanese said his government could hold as many as 95 seats. Labor had never held more seats since the first Parliament sat in 1901, he said. I'm deeply humbled by the trust that was put into my government with the election and we certainly won't take it for granted, Albanese told reporters at Parliament House. While Labor prime ministers allocate the ministerial portfolios, the party's factional leaders pick the 30 lawmakers who will get them based on the proportion of seats each fact

Freed Palestinian student accuses Columbia University of inciting violence

A Palestinian student arrested as he was about to finalise his US citizenship accused Columbia University on Thursday of eroding democracy with its handling of campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Mohsen Mahdawi, 34, who led anti-war protests at the Ivy League school in New York in 2023 and 2024, spent 16 days in a Vermont prison before a judge ordered him released on April 30. He spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, a day after pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with campus security guards inside the university's main library. At least 80 people were taken into custody, police said. Mahdawi said instead of being a beacon of hope," the university is inciting violence against students. Columbia University is participating in the destruction of the democratic system, Mahdawi said in the interview. They are supporting the initiatives and the agenda of the Trump administration, and they are punishing and torturing their students. A spokesperson for Columbia University, .

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with security guards at Columbia univ

Pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and keffiyehs clashed with security guards Wednesday after staging a protest inside Columbia University's main library. Videos and photos shared on social media showed dozens of protesters pushing past campus security officers and racing into the building. The group then hung Palestinian flags and other banners on bookshelves in an ornate reading room. Some also appeared to have scrawled "Columbia will burn" across framed pictures. Other videos showed campus security officers barring another group of protesters from entering the library, with both sides shoving to try and force the other group aside. University officials said in a statement that the protest is so far isolated to one room in the library. They say protesters were asked for identification and ordered to disperse, but none immediately complied. "They have been told that failure to comply will result in violations of our rules and policies and possible arrest," the officials said

Desperate children, adults in Gaza scramble for food as Israel blocks aid

Screaming in anguish as the desperate crowd crushes them against a barrier, young children and adults frantically wave pots and pans at charity workers, begging for a portion of some of the last food aid left in Gaza: Rice. The chaos at the community kitchen in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Friday was too overwhelming for Niveen Abu Arar. She tried and tried, but the 33-year-old mother of eight didn't get to the front of the crowd in time. She left with her pot empty, and her eyes full of tears. Until when will life be like that? We're slowly dying. We haven't eaten bread for a month and a half. There is no flour. There is nothing, said Abu Arar, whose ninth child, a 1-year-old boy, was killed in an Israeli strike near their home at the start of the war in 2023. We don't know what to do We don't have money. What do we get for them? She cradled a toddler in her lap as she spoke. With no milk to provide, she poured water into a baby bottle and pressed it into her youngest daughter'

Israeli jets strike Beirut's southern suburbs for 3rd time since ceasefire

Israeli jets struck Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November. A huge plume of smoke billowed over the area after the strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties. In the warning, the Israeli military said that it was targeting Hezbollah facilities in the Hadath area and urged residents to move at least 300 meters from the site before the strike. Two warning strikes followed. Fighter jets were heard over parts of the Lebanese capital before the strike near the Al-Jamous neighbourhood, where gunfire was shot into the air to warn residents and urge them to evacuate, as families fled in panic. During the last Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli drones and fighter jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has wide influence and support. Israel views the area, where it has assassinated several of Hezbollah's top leaders, including chief

US reverses longtime stance, says UN Palestinian refugee agency can be sued

The Trump administration has decided that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is not immune from being sued, reversing the US government's longstanding position that the organisation was protected from civil liability. The Justice Department revealed its new stance in a letter it filed in federal court in New York on Thursday as part of a lawsuit that aims to hold the agency, known as UNRWA, accountable for the Oct 7, 2023, deadly attack on Israel by Hamas. The change in position underscores the hardened perspective toward the agency under the Trump administration following allegations by Israel that some of the agency staff was involved in the Hamas rampage. The lawsuit, filed by families of some of the victims of the massacre, alleges that UNRWA had aided Hamas by, among other things, permitting weapons storage and deployment centres in its schools and medical clinics and by employing Hamas members. Lawyers for UNRWA have called the lawsuit absurd and have said in court filing

West Asia latest: Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 28 people

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 28 people, mostly women and children, the territory's Health Ministry said on Thursday. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground war over a month ago. It has sealed off Gaza's 2 million Palestinians from all food and other imports since the beginning of March to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 captives, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages. Most have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say

Palestinian president slams Hamas as 'sons of dogs', urges hostage release

Palestinian President Abbas demands release of Israeli hostages, disarmament, and Gaza handover to Palestinian Authority amid deepening factional rift

Israeli probe finds 'professional failures' in Palestine medic killings

An Israeli probe into the killings of Palestinian medics in Gaza says it has found professional failures and a deputy commander will be fired. The findings issued on Sunday come after the killings of 15 medics last month by Israeli forces. Israel at first claimed that the medics' vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked. Cellphone video recovered from one of the medics contradicted Israel's initial account of the shooting. The military investigation found that the deputy battalion commander, due to poor night visibility, assessed that the ambulances belonged to Hamas militants. Video footage obtained from the incident shows the ambulances had lights flashing.

Ready to release all remaining hostages to end Gaza war, says Hamas

Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas's Gaza chief and lead negotiator, said the group seeks a comprehensive deal including a full ceasefire, release of Palestinian prisoners, and Gaza's reconstruction

News highlights: CBI conducts searches at residence of former AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak

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Gaza 'annexation' part of military strategy, says Israeli defence minister

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military will continue to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza in order to pressure Hamas to surrender

Palestinian activist expecting US citizenship interview arrested by ICE

A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalising his US citizenship, his attorneys said. Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said. The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country. "The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional," attorney Luna Droubi said in an email. According to the court filing, Mahd

EU pledges $1.8 bn aid package to Palestinian Authority to rebuild Gaza

The European Union on Monday unveiled a financial aid package of up to 1.6 billion euros (USD 1.8 billion) to support the beleaguered Palestinian Authority and fund projects in the West Bank, Jerusalem and war-ravaged Gaza. The offer came as Israel expanded its offensive across Gaza over the weekend. More than a third of the money, to be provided over two years, will come as direct budget support to the Palestinian Authority and it's aimed at improving financial sustainability, democratic governance and services to help the private sector develop. Our programme aims to support the Palestinian people in building a sustainable future," said EU Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka uica. It's about the governing capacity. It's about advancing economic recovery. It's about strengthening the resilience of the private sector. Speaking to reporters after talks in Luxembourg with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, she said "a well-functioning and reformed Palestinian Authority must

Immigration judge rules Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil can be kicked out of the US as a national security risk, an immigration judge in Louisiana has found during a hearing over the legality of deporting the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The government's contention that Khalil's presence in the United States posed potentially serious foreign policy consequences was enough to satisfy requirements for his deportation, Immigration Judge Jamee E Comans said at the conclusion of a hearing in Jena on Friday. Comans said the government had established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable. Lawyers for Khalil said they plan to keep fighting and will seek a waiver. And a federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred Khalil's deportation. Khalil, a legal US resident, was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, the first arrest under President Donald Trump's promised crackdown on student

Highlights news: India, US finalise terms of reference for first phase of trade deal

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Pro-Palestinian protesters at Stanford charged with felony offences

A dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were arrested at Stanford University last year after they occupied and allegedly caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a campus building are now facing charges. The twelve people, current and former Stanford students, have been charged with felony vandalism and felony conspiracy to trespass, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Thursday in a news release. Those charged range in age from 19 to 32, the DA's office said. They will be arraigned later this month at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. A student journalist, who was arrested with the protesters but was not accused of participating in the vandalism, was not charged. The Stanford takeover began around dawn on June 5, 2024, the last day of spring classes at the university in California's Silicon Valley. Some protesters barricaded themselves inside the building, which houses the university president's office. Others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily

France could recognise Palestinian state in coming months: Emmanuel Macron

Macron expressed his intention to push for Palestinian statehood at a conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia