Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday warned his successor that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would threaten Australia’s relationship with Indonesia.
Following a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a global conference, Turnbull advised Prime Minister Scott Morrison who deposed him as leader of the governing Liberal Party in August that Widodo expressed “serious concern” about the plan to move Australia’s Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“There is no question, were that move to occur, it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia.
“This is after all the largest Muslim-majority country in the world,” Turnbull told reporters on Tuesday.
Morrison declared he was “open” to the idea of moving the embassy in the lead-up to the by-election in Turnbull’s former seat of Wentworth.
More than 12 per cent of voters in Wentworth are Jewish and would be more likely to support the move.
If the move was to go ahead, Australia would become the second country in the world to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s capital after the U.S. did so.
During a 40 minute meeting with Widodo, Turnbull said the Indonesian President “expressed to me, as he has done to Prime Minister Morrison, the very serious concern held in Indonesia about the prospect of the Australian embassy in Israel being moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”
With Indonesians headed to the polls for a general election in 2019 Widodo has been working to secure the support of the nation’s conservative Islamic majority who oppose recognising Jerusalem as an Israeli city.
Widodo’s objection to Morrison’s announcement raised doubt over whether a free trade agreement between Indonesia and Australia, which took eight years to negotiate, would go ahead but Turnbull dismissed that notion.
“I have no reason to believe it won’t.
“Of course, it then has to be ratified through the Indonesian parliamentary system in the normal way,” he said.
Tag: Israel
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Recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel will threaten Australia’s relationship with Indonesia – Ex PM
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Biafra: How I escaped to Israel, survived assassination attempts by Nigerian Army – Nnamdi Kanu
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has explained how he escaped being assassinated by operatives of the Nigerian Army and flew from Nigeria for safety.
Kanu, who spoke in an interview with an Isreali TV Station posted on YouTube on Monday, said his relatives helped him out of the country.
“Nigerian Army came to my house to kill me,” Mr Kanu said of the military exercise carried out in Abia State just before his disappearance.
“They killed 28 people in the process,” he alleged.
“My people evacuated me before they could get to me and they smuggled me out of Nigeria. I would say, I ’m relieved that I managed to make it to the only place that I feel safe in the whole world.”
Kanu, who also has a British passport, claimed he would have loved to go to England but would not feel safe there.
The separatist leader, who by fleeing out of the country violated his bail conditions, claimed there were tens of millions of Igbo Jews in Nigeria who Israel must defend.
“Israel has to live up to their obligation to defend Judaism and Jewish faith all over the world,” he said. “We are being persecuted. We are suffering as a people and I believe it is the responsibility of Israel to make sure that Biafra stands as an independent entity in Africa.”
“Biafra has over 70 million people scattered all over the world . They have called us the wandering Jews of Africa. Those that identify themselves with their Jewish heritage are about 50 million people,” he said.
When asked how the ‘millions’ of Nigerian Jews he said exists practice their religion, Mr Kanu said they practice Judaism in “terms of their prayers, in terms of the Torah that they read.”
“A significant number of the population practise Judaism as we do in IPOB. When Christianity came with colonialism, a lot of our Jewish practices were suppressed. We were made to feel ashamed of our Jewishness. We want to go back to the way we were before the British came. Most of our problems were basically made by the British.
“We want an independent Jewish State, a Biafra that is absolutely independent of anything that has to do with Nigeria, for the simple reason that we were independent before the British came. There is a paranoia that, should Biafra get closer to Israel, 70 million people would somehow flock to the land of Israel, but that is not the case…”
“When I got to Nigeria in 2015, I was arrested and sued. I was asked to be freed twice in court. We are seeking Biafra, so we can get and return to Biafra.”
Mr Kanu has been at the limelight demanding an independent Biafran country from the Nigerian state through referendum. He is facing charges of treasonable felony at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He was arrested alongside three others on October 14, 2015 in Lagos and was granted bail by Justice Binta Nyako on April 25 on health grounds. The judge adjourned the matter to November.
The army and IPOB clashed before the adjourned date. The judge has since frowned at his disappearance and blamed his sureties for jumping bail.
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Israel pledges to assist Nigeria to tackle cyber crimes, security
Israel on Wednesday pledged to assist Nigeria in tackling cyber crime and Homeland Security (HLS) internal insecurity using modern technology.
Mr Nadav Goren, Head of Mission, made this known at the one-day seminar on Israel’s HLS and cyber 2018 been organized by the Embassy of Israel to Nigeria in Abuja.
Goren “as a leader in the area of technology, I believe we have to assist and help other countries and it is a social change of win-win situation.
“Israel technology can confidently be exported other countries like to Nigeria industries and companies and enable the nations to leverage on that and enhance capability of their work force.
“Security threats have become more complex and hard to keep ahead of it alone; the threats we had 20 years ago cannot be compared to the ones we have today.
“Nigeria has to be ahead; must have the best technology, knowledge and that is what we want to come and teach and Nigeria will benefit from this.
“So, HLS and cyber technology are areas where we can build a bridge and both sides will benefit from it.”
He said that plans were on ground to organize a four-day international conference in Israel on HLS and cyber on today’s technology, to further promote best practices in beefing-up security globally.
The conference which would hold from November 12 to 15 is designed for stakeholders in the security sector.
Speaking, Mr Bala Sanga, Commissioner for Justice in Adamawa, gave account of the Nigerian perspective on financial and cyber technology, noting that the call for collaboration is apt.
Sanga, former Chief of Staff of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said that measures had been put-up to correct such negative impression about Nigeria in the outside world.
According to him, , although Nigeria is seen as place ‘‘419’’ known as obtaining by false pretense thrived, from the point of view of cybercrimes, it is not representation we have.
“I have not liked that fact that we are described as people who invented 419, which is basis for cybercriminal activities.
“We do have a reputation for it and it is something that Nigerian as a country has worked on significantly.
“There are many areas we could collaborate on, such as border security to tackle smuggling and bunkering.
In separate video presentations on Israel’s innovation on HLS and cyber technology, some experts said that partnership between Nigeria and Israel would help both countries achieve target.
Marco Aviad, Senior Director, Business Development and Marketing of Israel’s Airspace Industry (IAI) said that cyber technology could pose security threats if not well managed.
According to him, cyber system of technology has become dangerous, because anyone can steal your identity and even project as you when he or she is not.
“It can be controlled when you have the right people that are well trained on cyber technology.
“What makes cyber complex is because the information is immense and everything is based on internet connection and the operators are key to find solution,” Aviad said.
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Israel demolishes family home of Palestinian attacker
The Israeli military on Tuesday demolished the family home of a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank who killed an Israeli in a Jewish settlement a month ago and was shot dead in the attack.
Footage distributed by the military showed an armoured bulldozer tearing into the one-storey structure in the village of Kauber, north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
Mohammed Youssef, 17, broke into the settlement of Adam on July 26, and stabbed three people, killing Yotam Ovadia, 31.
One of those wounded in the assault fatally shot the Palestinian, the military said.
Youssef’s uncle, Khaled Ayyoush, said the youth’s parents, two brothers and two sisters had lived in the house razed in the night-time operation.
The family, he said, had known nothing of his intention to carry out an attack.
“Why are they at fault? Israel’s continued policy of collective punishment is merciless,” Abu Ayyoush said.
Israel’s Supreme Court has upheld the demolition policy, which Israeli officials have termed both punitive and a deterrence to potential attackers.
In a statement, the military said dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks, firebombs and pipe bombs at troops who deployed in the village and that they responded with “riot dispersal means”.
It said none of the soldiers was hurt.
There were no immediate reports of any Palestinian injuries.
“We entered tonight to close a circle and we destroyed the terrorist’s home,”
Lt.-Col. Liron Appleman, a battalion commander, said at the scene in the video clip provided by the military.
Although stabbings and car-rammings carried out by Palestinians since late 2015 have become less frequent in the West Bank, tensions have remained high in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December.
Palestinians seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, and say Israel’s expansion of settlements in occupied territory could deny them a viable and contiguous country.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.
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Soldier, policeman, lecturer, 97 other Nigerians abscond during pilgrimage in Israel
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Tor Uja, has said 100 Christian pilgrims absconded during the 2017 pilgrimage to Israel.
Uja, who made this known while receiving security report of the 2017 pilgrimage on Monday in Abuja, said that no pilgrim absconded in Rome and Greece.
The NCPC boss said that the 100 pilgrims who absconded were from five states in Nigeria, adding that a serving soldier, a police inspector and a lecturer were among the absconders.
He, however, did not disclose the states and names of the absconders, but tagged the states as “red flag”.
He said pilgrims absconded during pilgrimage as a result of their colonial mindset.
He explained that as part of the efforts of the commission to check pilgrims from absconding, the commission has decided to increase the security surveillance during pilgrimage.
Uja said that Nigeria was a nation of future while explaining that the coming together of Nigeria was beyond what the colonialists conceived.
He said the coming together was an act of God.
He stressed that one of the major responsibilities Nigerian government has for its citizens was to provide adequate security.
As a part of the commission’s strategy to check defection of pilgrims while in the Holy Land, he explained that NCPC would intensify its screening mechanism to bring defection to an end.
Uja revealed that the commission has come up with stringent measures that would discourage pilgrims from absconding, such measures as black listing states with penchant for abscondment, publishing the names of absconders and their guarantors in national newspapers, and prosecuting them eventually.
He urged Nigerians and particularly the youth to have confidence in the country.
He explained that Christian pilgrimage under his leadership is focused on three aspects which are enhancing the spiritual content of pilgrimage, using pilgrimage to showcase the great beauty and capacity that Nigeria has and using Christian pilgrimage to promote national development.
He said the forum would make Christians go on pilgrimage and come back as better persons.
“It is time to build this country and to give it foundation; it is time to give this country a character; it is time to give this country a vision and a hope.
“It is time to make Nigerians to know that our land is a land of great opportunities.
“We have more opportunities in Nigeria than in America and in Israel.
“We have better land than anywhere else, what we are going to get is a revitalisation to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ afresh and to have a revamping of our spiritual lives.
Uja commended the security committee for a job well done, adding that he would invite them to educate the commission on its observations and recommendation.
He called on the church in Nigeria to be steadfast in prayers for the nation and to provide leadership.
Earlier, Emmanuel Nega, a major general and chairman of the committee, said security is the most important aspect of the commission.
Nega said that the committee was inaugurated to ensure the security of pilgrims to the holy land.
He said the committee has documented its recommendations that would assist the commission in terms of security and to prevent pilgrims from absconding.
According to him, the committee consist of 18 members made up of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Airforce, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service, Department of State and Security and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.
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Hamas says ceasefire reached with Israel after Gaza flare-up
Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday said it has reached a ceasefire with Israel.
This statement came after the most severe exchange of fire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups since a 2014 war between Hamas and Israel.
Palestinian militants fired dozens of mortars and rockets into Israel and the Israeli army retaliated by bombing dozens of military sites in the coastal enclave.
The flare-up came amid ongoing tensions along the Gaza border, with over 100 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in recent weeks.
Khalil al-Hayah Deputy Chief of Hamas in Gaza, said it was agreed to resume the former ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.
“We will be committed to these understandings as long as the occupation is committed to it,’’ he said in a statement, referring to Israel.
Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group in Gaza which claimed responsibility for the projectile fire along with Hamas, already declared a ceasefire on Tuesday.
Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a member of the security cabinet, has denied that there is a ceasefire or informal understanding.
According to Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus, quiet will be met with quiet and hostility and violence will be met with appropriate measures.
Three Israeli soldiers were injured during the unrest; no Palestinian injuries have been reported.
The U.S. on Tuesday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over rocket attacks from Gaza.
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Pope condemns Gaza killings, says Mideast needs justice, peace
Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the killing of Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border, saying the deaths would only lead to more violence, and appealed for dialogue to bring justice and peace to the Middle East.
“I express my great pain for the dead and wounded and I am close in prayer and affection to all those who are suffering,” he told tens of thousands of people at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
“I repeat that the use of violence never leads to peace. War begets war and violence begets violence.”
Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border on Monday during demonstrations against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, in the bloodiest day in Gaza in years.
Francis, who visited Israel and Palestinian territories in 2014, asked both sides and the international community to redouble efforts “so that dialogue, justice and peace prevail”.
In December 2017, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced the decision to move the embassy, Francis called for Jerusalem’s “status quo” to be respected, saying new tension in the Middle East would further inflame world conflicts.
Speaking earlier in the audience to a group of Polish World War Two veterans, he said: “We never learn.”
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Israel to send 16,000 African migrants to Western countries under new UN deal
Israel said on Monday it has scrapped a plan to deport African migrants to Africa and reached an agreement with the U.N. refugee agency to send more than 16,000 to Western countries instead.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named Canada, Italy and Germany as some of the nations that will take in the migrants.
Other migrants, many of whom are seeking asylum, will be allowed to remain in Israel, which they entered illegally on foot through the border with Egypt, for at least the next five years.
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Israeli govt. probes into Facebook user’s data scandal
Israel’s Justice Ministry said on Thursday that an investigation has been launched into Facebook’s leak of personal information of Israeli users.
The ministry said the investigation was opened following media reports that data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested information about Facebook users.
“The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority informed Facebook today, that it had opened an investigation into its activities, following the publications on the transfers of personal data from Facebook to Cambridge Analytica.
Also the possibility of other infringements of privacy law regarding Israelis,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
Under the Israeli Privacy Law, personal data may only be used for the purpose for which it was given, with the consent of the individual.
The Privacy Protection Authority will “investigate whether personal data of Israeli citizens were illegally used in a way that infringes upon their right to privacy and the provisions of the Israeli Privacy Law,” the statement said.
Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting company, was accused of harvesting data of up to 50 million Facebook users without permission and using the data to help politicians including U.S. President Donald Trump and the Brexit campaign.
On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the “major breach of trust,’’ saying the company would take measures to protect personal data.
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Palestine may abandon autonomy, return responsibility to Israel – Presidential Aid
Palestinians may decide to dissolve the existing self-governing bodies and return the responsibility over the territories and its large population to Israel, Nabil Shaath, the foreign affairs adviser of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.
In accordance with existing agreements, the bulk of the Palestinian population of the West Bank live in the so-called Areas A and B, where the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is responsible for providing all civilian services.
Shaath told Sputnik: “yes, I think it’s an option we are discussing … But do you know what it will cost Israelis?
“My God! They control us and we pay for it. Now we pay for security, we pay for education, we pay for roads, we pay for health.
“We pay for everything and they are controlling it.”
Shaath, when asked about the possibility of the PNA’s dissolution, said that Palestinians realise that the existence of the Palestinian self-rule makes Israel’s burden of being an occupying power relatively cheap and comfortable, however, it had not been initially designed this way.
“Yes, but that was not the object of that, of course. The object was that it is an interim period that will last at best for three years.
“And then two years of permanent status negotiations. So at most after five years we will have a totally independent state. This never happened.
“We are still living in the first two years of the Gaza-Jericho agreement which is a very interim status and even it is violated,” Shaath said.
Israel and Palestine are locked in a decades-long dispute over borders and sovereignty.
Israel seized Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six Day War in 1967 and declared the city its capital.
Palestine seeks to establish East Jerusalem as its own independent state’s capital.
In early 1993, secret Palestinian-Israeli talks were launched in Oslo.
The parties eventually managed to finalise an agreement that would end the conflict between the the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel.
The agreement called for the withdraw of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and for the establishment of a limited Palestinian National Authority.
In addition, the Palestinian side renounced past calls for the destruction of the State of Israel as part of the agreement.
In 1995, the parties signed the Oslo II agreement on the principles for organising temporary self-governance in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The West Bank was divided into three administrative units: Areas A, B and C.