Category: 2. World

LONDON: Politics often gives rise to unexpected partnerships, which might at first glance seem illogical — even outright irrational. But for those who broker them, there is usually some inherent logic. In the case of the partnership between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, however, they can also be twisted and destructive.

The relationship between Netanyahu and Hamas, which began long before the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, is a prime example of a complete misreading by the Israeli prime minister of the true intentions of this fundamentalist organization, which would have tragic repercussions for both peoples.

What brings Netanyahu and Hamas together is that neither appear to have any interest in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a compromise that could lead to a two-state solution. For the longest-serving Israeli prime minister in the country’s history, averting an end to the conflict based on ending the occupation and agreeing to a two-state solution is his life’s mission.

James Dorsey of the Middle East Institute believes Netanyahu has developed a symbiotic relationship with the hardliners on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide as a tool for sabotaging any progress toward a peace process — let alone a successful conclusion.

One telling instance came soon after Netanyahu was first elected as prime minister in 1996 and Israel unexpectedly dropped the request made by his predecessor, Shimon Peres, for Hamas political bureau member Mousa Abu Marzouk to be extradited from the US, where he was a resident, against the advice of the security establishment.

This enabled a major Hamas figure to continue his advocacy for armed resistance freely from outside Gaza after his deportation to Jordan.

One might think that a right-wing leader, at a time when other Hamas leaders were in Israeli jails, including its founder, Sheikh Ahmad Yasin, would be keen to put someone with Abu Marzouk’s history behind bars.

That is unless Netanyahu already saw the potential in Hamas, with its total resistance to Israel’s existence, of keeping him in power, allowing him to become increasingly authoritarian, and leaving the two-state solution as an eternally hypothetical option.

In the symbiotic relationship between the two, Netanyahu needed Hamas and Hamas needed Netanyahu, because they justified each other’s existence in convincing their respective constituencies that they are each other’s antidote.

Preserving the relevance of Hamas in Palestinian politics and the conflict with Israel have become key instruments in Netanyahu’s strategy of preventing Palestine from becoming a state, mainly by maintaining divisions within Palestinian society.

The victory of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council election against the governing Fatah movement played into the hands of Netanyahu. He further relished the violent split in Gaza a year later between Fatah and Hamas, which left Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, in control of the West Bank and Hamas in control of Gaza.

With the Palestinian polity divided politically and territorially, and bad blood between the two factions, Netanyahu saw more than ever the opportunity to divide and conquer.

He is not the only one in Israeli politics to harbor this Machiavellian approach. Bezalel Smotrich, now Israel’s finance minister and one of the most extreme representatives of the settlers’ movement in the cabinet, told the Knesset Channel in 2015: “Hamas is an asset and Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) is a burden.”

Speaking to Israeli media outlet Makor Rison in 2019, one of Netanyahu’s closest advisers, Jonathan Urich, praised the Israeli prime minister for succeeding “in achieving severance” between Gaza and the West Bank and “effectively smashed the vision of the Palestinian state in those two regions.”

One of the ploys to keep the Palestinian political system divided and paralyzed, many times with the unfortunate helping hand of Palestinian factions themselves, is to make it impossible to conduct free and fair elections. Such elections would offer the victor both domestic and international legitimacy, allowing them to advocate with enhanced credibility for an end to Israeli occupation.

On the rare occasion that holding elections seemed to be possible, as was the case in the spring of 2021, Israel created obstacles, such as ignoring the EU’s request to access the Palestinian occupied territories to observe the elections, in violation of the Oslo accords, and refusing to allow for East Jerusalemites to vote, knowing that without their participation, no Palestinian leader would agree to hold elections.

Elections, therefore, have not been held for nearly 20 years. This democratic deficit is constantly exacerbated, allowing Israel under Netanyahu to maintain that neither the leadership of Gaza or the West Bank are legitimate or credible entities with which to conduct peace negotiations, and question why it should negotiate with one faction while the other might reject any agreement anyway.

It is hardly an honest argument for an Israeli prime minister who has undermined every attempt at reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Worse for him and Israel, it served to maintain the apparent status quo, which imploded in the deadliest day in Israel’s history on Oct. 7, 2023.

In Netanyahu’s world, it is impossible to separate between what serves him personally and his political creed. Still, the leitmotif of opposing the two-state solution goes back to the Oslo accords. His name is closely associated with incitement against the agreement and those who signed it. It propelled him to his first term as prime minister and five subsequent terms.

When he expressed support for a two-state solution, it was for tactical reasons, under US pressure, or because he tried to form a coalition with more centrist elements in Israeli politics, but without conviction or the intention to ever make it happen.

When he returned to power in 2009, Netanyahu was more determined than ever to weaken the Palestinian Authority and its president, Abbas, with measures such as downgrading the cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security forces in their fight against Hamas.

Years later, in 2018, when Abbas decided to entirely halt the transfer of money to Gaza, leaving the Hamas-led government teetering on the brink of collapse, Netanyahu was the one who came to its rescue, with the ill-advised idea of encouraging a flow of cash from Qatar, literally in suitcases, into the hands of Hamas.

It was alleged that $30 million passed through the Rafah crossing into Hamas coffers every month until October 2023. In addition, under the current Netanyahu government, Israel sanctioned more work permits than it had ever allowed prior to Hamas winning power.

While it improved the dire economic situation in Gaza, it provided Hamas with the resources to build tunnels and purchase weapons.

It has gradually transpired that Netanyahu was warned by security chiefs in the months leading up to the Oct. 7 attack that Hamas was preparing for another round of violence with Israel. At that point, however, he was too invested in the paradigm that Hamas had been pacified and had no interest in rattling the Israeli cage that might risk its hold on power.

A future independent state commission of enquiry into the Oct. 7 attack will have to address the folly of Netanyahu in propping up Hamas and how it enabled this major security lapse to occur.

 

The United States Department of State has announced the first foreign citizens to be subject to bonds of up to $15,000 should they visit the country on tourist visas.

On Tuesday, Zambia and Malawi, both African countries, were the inaugural entries on a list of countries that the State Department will subject to visa bonds.

The idea, announced earlier this week, is to impose bonds on countries whose citizens have high rates of overstaying their US visas.

Tourists from those countries would have to pay an amount ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 at the time of their visa interview to enter the US. Then, if the tourist departs on or before their visa’s expiration, that amount would be refunded to them.

The money would also be returned if the visa were cancelled, if the travel does not occur, or if the tourist is denied entry into the US.

Should a tourist overstay their visa — or apply for asylum or another immigration-related programme while in the US — the federal government would keep the money.

More countries, in addition to Malawi and Zambia, are expected to be added to the list. The bond requirement is slated to take effect for those two countries starting on August 20.

“This targeted, common-sense measure reinforces the administration’s commitment to US immigration law while deterring visa overstays,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump has taken a hardline approach to immigration since his return to office in January for a second term.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order called “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”, which denounced the “unprecedented flood of illegal immigration” into the US.

It pledged to forcefully execute US immigration laws. That executive order was ultimately cited as the basis for the new visa bonds.

The bonds are part of a pilot programme announced on Monday, slated to last 12 months.

“This [temporary final rule] addresses the Trump Administration’s call to protect the American people by faithfully executing the immigration laws of the United States,” a filing to the Federal Register reads.

Every year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) releases a report about visa overstays in the US.

The most recent report, released in 2024, found that there were 565,155 visa overstays for fiscal year 2023. That amounted to only 1.45 percent of the total non-immigrant admissions into the US.

“In other words, 98.55 percent of the in-scope nonimmigrant visitors departed the United States on-time and in accordance with the terms of their admission,” the report explains.

In its breakdown of country-by-country overstay rates, the report indicated that both Malawi and Zambia had relatively high visa overstay rates, at 14.3 and 11.1 percent, respectively.

But Zambia and Malawi are both smaller countries with relatively few tourism- or business-related arrivals in the US.

According to the report, only 1,655 people arrived from Malawi in fiscal year 2023 for business or pleasure. Of that total, 237 overstayed their visas.

Meanwhile, 3,493 people arrived from Zambia for tourism or business during the same time frame. Of that total, 388 surpassed their visa limits.

Those numbers are dwarfed by the sheer numbers from larger, more populous countries with larger consumer bases. An estimated 20,811 Brazilians stayed in the US longer than their tourism or business visas allowed, for instance, and 40,884 overstays were from Colombia.

Critics have also pointed out that the newly imposed bonds put travel to the US — already a pricey prospect — further out of reach for residents of poorer countries.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group, was among those that denounced the new bond scheme as discriminatory. It described the system as a form of exploitation — a “legalised shakedown” — in a statement on Tuesday.

“This is not about national security,” said Robert McCaw, CAIR’s government affairs director. “It’s about weaponising immigration policy to extort vulnerable visitors, punish disfavored countries, and turn America’s welcome mat into a paywall.”

Citizens of countries that are part of the US’s visa waiver programmes are not subject to the visa bonds unveiled this week.

Pakistani students earned top honours at the 2nd International Nuclear Science Olympiad (INSO-2025) in Kuala Lumpur, taking home a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals — a proud achievement that highlights the country’s growing strength in nuclear science education.

Organised under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the competition featured participants from 19 countries, including China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Türkiye, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Representing Pakistan, Muhammad Tayyab Bukhari of Beaconhouse School Abbottabad clinched the gold medal, while Ammar Asad Warraich from Siddique Public School Islamabad secured silver. 

Bronze medals were awarded to Rawah Javed, also from Siddique Public School, and Tatheer Aima Naqvi from Chenab College Jhang.

The team was mentored by Dr Sajjad Tahir of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) and Dr Muhammad Maqsood from the Directorate of Education, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

This accomplishment reflects the growing emphasis on scientific education in Pakistan and the role of institutions like PIEAS and PAEC in nurturing young talent.

 It also underscores the country’s increasing participation in global scientific forums and its commitment to promoting peaceful applications of nuclear science across education, healthcare, agriculture, and industry.

A French minister has said she is taking legal action against an unidentified man who was filmed lighting a cigarette from a memorial flame at a major Paris war monument.

The video of a man stooping to light a cigarette from the fire at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, before walking calmly away watched by tourists, caused indignation when it was widely shared on social media.

“I am filing a case immediately with the Paris state prosecutors so that this man will be found and sanctions imposed to make an example of him,” Patricia Miralles, the minister for veterans and remembrance, wrote on X.

“You cannot ridicule French remembrance and get away with it.”

The tomb, under the arch at the top of the Champs-Élysées avenue, contains the remains of a soldier killed in the first world war and is laid there as a tribute to France’s war dead.

“This flame does not light a cigarette, it burns for the sacrifice of millions of our soldiers,” said Miralles.

“This is an insult to our dead, to our history and to our nation.”

AFP was not able to determine the origin of the video.

Le Figaro newspaper reported that it was filmed by a Latvian tourist on the evening of 4 August and first posted on TikTok.

A torrent of mud from a flash flood has smashed into a town in India’s Himalayan region, tearing down a mountain valley before demolishing buildings and killing at least four people, with about 100 others missing.

Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away blocks of flats in the tourist region of Dharali in Uttarakhand state.

Several people could be seen running before being engulfed by the dark waves of debris that uprooted buildings.

The Indian defence minister, Sanjay Seth, told the Press Trust of India news agency: “It is a serious situation … We have received information about four deaths and around 100 people missing. We pray for their safety.”

The Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said rescue teams had been deployed “on a war footing”.

A senior local official, Prashant Arya, said four people had been killed, with other officials saying that the number could rise.

India’s army said 150 troops had reached the town, helping to rescue about 20 people who had survived the wall of freezing sludge. “A massive mudslide struck Dharali … triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,” the army said.

Images released by the army, taken from the site after the main torrent had passed, showed a river of slow-moving mud.

A swathe of the town was swamped by deep debris. In places, the mud lapped at the rooftops of houses.

“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with all available resources being deployed to locate and evacuate any remaining stranded persons,” an army spokesperson, Suneel Bartwal, said.

The prime minister, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences, and said that “no stone is being left unturned in providing assistance”.

Dhami said the flood was caused by a sudden and intense “cloudburst”, calling the destruction “extremely sad and distressing”.

The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning for the area, saying it had recorded “extremely heavy” rainfall of about 21cm (8in) in isolated parts of Uttarakhand.

Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say the climate crisis, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said last year that more intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” for what is to come as climate breakdown makes the planet’s water cycle ever more unpredictable.

Bangladesh will hold its first elections since protests toppled its former prime minister next February, the country’s interim leader said on the anniversary of her overthrow.

Muhammad Yunus made the announcement at the end of a day of celebrations for what some have called the country’s “second liberation”.

Sheikh Hasina fled to India on 5 August last year, following weeks of student-led protests, bringing an end to 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule.

Nobel laureate Yunus was brought in to head a caretaker government days later, promising reforms which some say he has struggled to deliver amid continuing political turmoil and a struggle to maintain law and order.

Among the issues dividing the country’s politicians has been the date of the election. Yunus initially suggested June 2026 as a potential date.

However, representatives of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as well as the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party and the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), all joined Yunus on stage in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday.

Later, Yunus said he would write to the Election Commission to request the vote be held “before Ramadan in February 2026”.

“For many years, none of us have been able to vote,” the 85-year-old said in a televised broadcast. “This time, we will all vote. No one will be left out. Let us all be able to say, ‘I cast my vote to set the country on the path to building a new Bangladesh’.”

Tuesday also saw Yunus reiterate promises on widespread reform, reading out the “July Declaration”, which seeks to recognise the student-led protests which toppled Hasina in the constitution.

Hasina’s time in office was marked by widespread allegations of human rights violations and the murder and jailing of political rivals. Members of the Awami League government ruthlessly cracked down on dissent. The BBC has spoken to numerous people who were “disappeared” into a network of secret jails across the country.

But it was the student-led protest against a civil service jobs quota system which escalated into calls for the government to stand aside in July and August 2024 that eventually prompted Hasina to flee.

The government collapsed, and the Awami League has since been banned. Analysts note hundreds of Awami League supporters have been detained without trial over the last 12 months.

As part of the declaration read on Tuesday, those who were killed in the uprising will be recognised as “national heroes”, Yunus said.

The document – which also promises a democratic state that would uphold the rule of law and moral values, as well as a justice process for those who engaged in violence during Hasina’s rule – is seen by advocates as the basis of institutional reform, although critics say it is largely symbolic and without power.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Bangladesh’s citizens on Monday, Hasina argued she had not actually stood aside, describing the events of 2024 as a “coup”.

“Despite claims to the contrary, I never resigned from my duties as your prime minister,” she wrote.

“I believe in you. I believe in Bangladesh. And I believe that our best days are yet to come.”

Hasina is currently on trial in absentia in Bangladesh, having refused to return to face charges which amount to crimes against humanity, related to the deadly crackdown on protesters which left hundreds dead. She denies the charges.

LONDON: Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab discussed various topics with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Yerlikaya, during his official visit to Ankara this week.

The two ministers explored ways to strengthen security cooperation and coordination, in addition to supporting and developing Syrian security institutions.

Khattab highlighted the status of Syrian nationals who sought refuge in Turkiye during the civil war, calling for continued cooperation with Ankara to ensure their safe return home, the SANA agency reported.

Yerlikaya wrote on X that his meeting with Khattab focused on providing essential support to the security and related units of the Syrian Interior Ministry.

“(We discussed) sharing experience and providing an intensive training program and cooperating on the return of Syrians under temporary protection in our country,” he said.

“Strengthening security in Syria is vital for the consolidation of internal peace, economic development and social welfare,” he added, affirming Turkiye’s support of Syria’s stability.