Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium on Friday for a “harsh rebuke” following comments by the leaders of the two countries about Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry responded by temporarily calling Israel’s ambassador to his government’s “false and unacceptable” accusations against the Spanish prime minister, AFP reported.
Visiting the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Friday, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that “the Israeli operation must respect foreign humanitarian law” and denounced the destruction in the Gaza Strip as “unacceptable. “
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez echoed his view, saying the “indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians” in the Palestinian territory is “totally unacceptable. “
Both leaders are calling for a permanent ceasefire in the war-torn territory.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen “gave the order to summon the ambassadors of those countries to severely reprimand them,” he said in a statement, accusing the two leaders of supporting “terrorism. “
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “strongly” condemned the European leaders’ statements.
The statement issued through his office criticized them for failing to “attribute to Hamas full responsibility for the crimes against humanity it has perpetrated: the bloodbath of Israeli citizens and the use of Palestinians as human shields. “
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on state television that he had summoned the Israeli ambassador to lodge a formal protest against the Israeli government’s accusations.
The retaliatory measures came on the first day of a four-day truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, after nearly seven weeks of bitter war.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hailed Hamas’ release of a first hostage organization, assuring the families of French captives held in the war-torn Gaza Strip of his “determination” to secure their release.
No French citizens were among the first organizations to publish on Friday an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement that regulates Gaza, AFP reported.
“I welcome the first hostage organization. . . Special attention to the French hostages and their families. You can count on our determination,” Macron said on X, formerly Twitter.
“We remain mobilized together with the mediators to unload all the hostages,” he added.
The French government remains “mobilized for the release of the French hostages within the framework of the agreement that is being implemented lately. . . and we are working tirelessly to unload it,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Several hundred mourners gathered outside a mosque in Istanbul on Friday to mourn the deaths of two Turkish men, who the militant organization Hamas says were killed earlier this week in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
A total of nine other people were killed in Tuesday’s attacks, in addition to two journalists, two other civilians and five Hamas operatives, as well as a senior Hamas operative.
Hamas said the two Turks were in a car carrying five people, all of whom were killed. The Lebanese government has commented on the deaths of the Turks or the circumstances in which they arrived in Lebanon.
About 400 people, many of them waving white Hamas flags, joined the funeral prayers of the two Turks, Seyfullah Bilal Ozturk and Yakup Erdal, in front of the Beyazit mosque in the center of Istanbul’s historic district.
“The blood of the martyrs will drown Israel,” read a banner held among some of the participants.
Some wept and others celebrated what they called the martyrdom of the two men, singing, “We will follow the trail of the martyrs. “
“I’ve known Bilal since I was young. They were other lovely people who dedicated their lives to this path,” said Ramazan Ileri, an acquaintance of Özturk’s.
“God willing, may God bless his martyrdom. They gave their lives for this cause and they are setting an example for us. “
The U. S. -Canada border crossing at Niagara Falls, the scene of a fatal car explosion, reopened Thursday, officials said.
The day before, a speeding car crashed into a checkpoint at Rainbow Bridge and exploded into flames, prompting border closures and a major security alert on the eve of a public holiday.
The FBI’s regional office concluded that the explosion, which occurred about 640 kilometers northwest of New York, does not resemble an act of terrorism, AFP reported.
“Normal operations have resumed for passenger traffic at the Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge Port of Entry, which experienced a disruption of service,” the Canada Border Services Agency said.
The incident occurred on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest days in the United States, when millions of Americans travel by road and plane.
Rainbow Bridge, one of the busiest crossings between Canada and the U. S. It has 16 committed vehicle lanes and is open 24 hours a day.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there was debris in 14 lanes after the incident.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country’s recent release of a spy satellite was an exercise of its right to self-defense, as Pyongyang marked the occasion as if it looked like it could attack anywhere in the world, the news reported. state media.
North Korea announced Tuesday that it has launched its first spy satellite into orbit, drawing condemnation for violating U. N. resolutions banning the use of ballistic missile programs.
Kim visited the National Aviation Technology Administration (NATA) to applaud scientists and technicians in the area, saying Tuesday’s release was an “eye-opening event” in the face of “dangerous and aggressive” moves through hostile forces, KCNA news agency reported.
“He said that the ownership of a reconnaissance satellite is a full exercise of the right of self-defense, which the DPRK armed forces can neither grant for a moment nor prevent for a moment,” said KCNA, the North Korean spokesman. The official’s initials are the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Reuters reported.
North Korea held a reception to celebrate the launch on Thursday, with Prime Minister Kim Tok Hun saying the satellite would allow the North Korean military to become “the most productive army in the world, with the ability to strike the entire world. “
State media photographs showed members of Kim’s family circle joining the leader in celebrating the launch.
Kim’s daughter sat next to him at the banquet, wearing a T-shirt with the NATA logo, along with Kim’s wife, sister, rocket scientists and engineers, state media photos showed.
This week’s satellite launch was the North’s third attempt this year after two blunders and came after Kim’s rare vacation to Russia in September, in which President Vladimir Putin pledged to help Pyongyang build satellites.
South Korean officials said the most recent release maximum likely concerned Russian technical assistance as part of a developing partnership that has seen Pyongyang supply Russia with millions of artillery shells.
Russia and North Korea have denied that the arms deals have promised deeper cooperation.
South Korea said the North Korean satellite was most likely to have entered orbit, but it would take time to assess whether it is functioning normally.
The European Parliament on Thursday condemned what it called “brutal killings” violations of women’s rights in Iran.
In the joint solution reached with 516 votes in favour, 4 against and 27 abstentions, MEPs denounced “the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran and the brutal killings perpetrated by the Iranian authorities, adding the winner of the 2023 Sakharov Prize Mahsa Amini”. . »
Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in police custody in September last year after being arrested on allegations of wearing hijab.
Amini’s death sparked widespread street protests against Iran’s religious and political leaders, which security forces brutally repressed. Hundreds more people were killed or executed during the crackdown, and thousands were arrested.
In October, the European Parliament awarded the European Honour of Rights, the Sakharov Prize, to Amini and to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” motion that emerged after Amini’s death.
In their non-binding resolution, MEPs called for the swift release of the human rights defenders, adding that Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for continuing her fight against “the oppression of women” in her country despite arrests and spending years behind bars.
They also condemned the ongoing judicial harassment of Sakharov Prize winner Nasrin Sotoudeh and called for all charges against her to be dropped.
Sotoudeh, 60, a prominent human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist, was arrested on 29 October in Tehran while attending the funeral of 17-year-old Armita Garavand, who died after barely a month in a coma.
On October 1, Garavand was allegedly harassed in the Tehran subway by Iran’s so-called “morality police. “
The European Parliament suggested that the Iranian government “immediately end all discrimination against girls and boys, adding mandatory headscarves” and “repeal all discriminatory laws. “
They also condemned Iran’s “hostage diplomacy,” in which many foreigners have been jailed in Iran for what Western activists and governments see as a tactic to extract concessions from the West or from Iranians imprisoned abroad.