Palestinians mourn toddler Ali Dawabsheh killed by Israeli settlers

Ali Dawabsheh

Mourners carry the body of 18-month-old Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh, who was killed after his family's house was set to fire in a suspected attack by Jewish extremists in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus 

Palestinian toddler burned to death in arson attack by Israeli settlers

A relative holds up a photo of a one-and-a-half year old boy, Ali Dawabsheh, in a house that had been torched in a suspected attack by Jewish settlers in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 31, 2015

Mourners carry the body of 18-month-old Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh, who was killed after his family's house was set to fire in a suspected attack by Jewish extremists in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus 

Palestinian toddler was burned to death and three other Palestinians severely injured on Friday morning when their house in the occupied West Bank was set on fire by Israeli settlers, Maan Palestnian news agency reported on Friday.

According to Maan, the settlers smashed the windows of two homes in the village of Duma near Nablus and threw Molotov cocktails inside the buildings. Eighteen-month old Ali Saad Dawabsha died after sustaining serious burns as a result of the attack.

The parents of the toddler, Riham and Saad, and their other son Ahmad, were severely injured and were taken to hospital.

The settlers also sprayed slogans "revenge" and "long live the messiah" on both homes, according to local media reports.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, called the attack "an act of terrorism in every respect" and ordered security forces to hunt down the attackers.

A few days earlier Netanyahu controversially approved 300 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said it held Netanyahu's government "fully responsible" for the death of  the toddler, saying that it was a direct consequence of decades of impunity for settler terrorism, AFP reported.

On Twitter, pro-Palestine activists denounced the attack and blamed the Israeli administration and the mainstream media for their poor coverage of the incident.

"If God forbid, an Israeli infant burned to death in an arson attack, it would be the top headline of every newspaper tomorrow," commented Joe Catron, a Gaza-based US activist, on Twitter.

#ArabLeague final draft resolution calls for Arab joint force

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, center, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, preside over a meeting of Arab heads of state, in Sharm el Sheik, South Sinai, Egypt, Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Arab League's final draft resolution calls for establishing a Joint Arab force to counter growing security threats. However, the statement left the decision to participate in these forces to each and every country in accordance to its will.

The force will intervene to meet challenges that threaten the security and safety of any Arab League member at the request of the concerned state; a decision over which Iraq reportedly voiced reservations.

The final statement, which is expected to be issued later on Sunday, backed military operations carried out in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, urging the Houthi rebels to carry out "an immediate withdrawal from the capital Sanaa and government institutions and to surrender their weapons to the legitimate authorities."

The resolution stressed the need for an urgent response to Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's call for a conference in Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The League summit, held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, called for Arab countries to support Palestine's budget for one year starting next April, and also supported the Palestinian Central Council's resolutions calling for a review of political, economic and security relations with Israel to put pressure on Tel Aviv to respect the signed agreements and international legitimacy resolutions.

Iraq reiterated its objection to any military intervention in any other country, and called for dialogue as a means to resolve problems. As for Lebanon, it stressed the need for any move to be based on Arab consensus.

The resolution called on Arabs to provide full political and logistic support to the legitimate government in Libya, including the national army.

Arab leaders urged the UN Security Council to quickly lift the embargo on arms imports to the Libyan government, as it is the sole legitimate authority, and to assume its responsibilities in preventing the flow of arms to terrorist groups.

The resolution called on the internationally-recognised government to exert more effort to control borders with neighboring countries, a decision over which Qatar voiced reservations. Algeria said items related to lifting the arms embargo and arming the Libyan army fall within the political context of the solution.

The summit urged the Security Council to take full responsibility for dealing with the Syrian crisis, and called for the Arab League Secretary-General to continue his contacts with the UN Secretary-General to reach a common plan of action to come to an agreement on the Syrian crisis, according to the "Geneva I Conference on Syria."

Arabs voiced their absolute backing for the United Arab Emirates sovereignty over its three islands near the Strait of Hormuz, calling on the Iranian government to enter into direct negotiations with the United Arab Emirates or to go to the International Court of Justice to find a peaceful solution to the issue of the islands occupied by Iran since 1971.

Arab League to push for new Palestinian UN resolution

The Arab League said on Thursday it will seek to shore up international support for another attempt to obtain a UN resolution on ending Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.

The decision at a gathering of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo came after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked them for another chance following the UN Security Council's rejection of his last bid in December.

Those at the meeting gave several Arab countries the task of undertaking "the necessary communications and consultations to submit a new Arab proposal to the Security Council," a statement said.

After last month's failed UN bid, the Palestinians were granted a request to join the International Criminal Court, in a move paving the way for them to pursue Israeli leaders for war crimes.

In response, Israel froze the transfer of 106 million euros (about $126 million) in taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinians, and threatened legal counter measures against the Palestinian leadership.

An Arab-backed resolution on ending the Israeli occupation by the end of 2017 was rejected at the Security Council on December 30, with the United States and non-permanent member Australia voting against it.

China, France and Russia were among eight countries that backed the resolution, just one vote short of the nine required for adoption.

Five countries seen as having a more pro-Palestinian stance began their term at the Security Council this month -- Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.

Israel says Swedish FM not welcome

The Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallström

Israel said Thursday that Sweden's foreign minister was not welcome for an official visit in the country, with relations strained over Stockholm's recognition of Palestine.

The minister, Margot Wallstroem, last week postponed a trip to Israel indefinitely, with Israeli media reports suggesting that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not want to meet her.

Sweden officially recognised the state of Palestine in October, becoming the first western EU member to do so. This decision infuriated Israel, which temporarily recalled its ambassador to Stockholm.

Sweden's decision in October to recognise the state of Palestine -- the first major EU nation to do so -- infuriated Israel, which temporarily recalled its ambassador to Stockholm.

"Do not wait to travel to Israel until the Swedish foreign minister comes here, because that could take a long time," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told public broadcaster Swedish Radio.

"The Swedish foreign minister would not have been given any official meetings in Israel if she had travelled here. What Sweden did was an utterly unfriendly action," Nahshon added.

Wallstroem considered making the trip without official meetings but would have been without a security detail during the commemoration of Swedish Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg and other events, the radio said, without giving sources.

"It is basically an insult," Per Joensson, an editor with the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, told AFP.

"That is not a way to treat a sovereign foreign minister, unless you really want to punish her."

Despite the furore, Sweden said Wallstroem would visit Israel after the March 17 election there.

"It's in everybody's interest to have good diplomatic ties and we respect that there is an election campaign in Israel now and that there is a heightened debate," foreign ministry spokeswoman Annika Soeder told Swedish Radio.

According to the Palestinian Authority, around 135 countries have recognised the state of Palestine including several that are now EU members.

«فلسطين» تنتفض لإسقاط «حماس» بـ«ثورة 15 ديسمبر»

دعت حركة تمرد فلسطين لبدء الحشد لإسقاط حكم حركة حماس فى غزة واستنفار كافة القوى الثورية والشعبية ضدها 15 ديسمبر المقبل في الثانية عشر ظهرًا بالتجمع في ساحة الجندي المجهول.

وأكدت الحركة وأعضاؤها بأن فعاليات 15 ديسمبر ستكون أولى الفعاليات الحقيقية لإسقاط حكم الحركة الإرهابية حماس التى تمثل جماعة الإخوان المسلمين الغير مرغوب بها فى غزة.

وناشد خالد عصام جودة المتحدث الرسمي باسم الحركة جموع الغزاوية بالنزول شباب ورجال ونساء فى ذلك اليوم والمشاركة فى إسقاط حركة حماس الإرهابية . 

مرة اخرى تحت شعار ناقصات عقل: الفلسطينية إقبال تدخل "جينيس" كأصغر طالبة طب فى العالم-Again under the banner of lacking mind: Palestinian Iqbal the intervention of "Guinness" youngest medical student in the world

استطاعت طفلة فلسطينية الخروج عن المألوف، والتحقت بكلية الطب وهى فى سن لم تتجاوز الـ 14 سنة من عمرها.

ودخلت الفتاة الفلسطينية إقبال محمود الأسعد موسوعة "جينيس" للأرقام القياسية العالمية، بوصفها أصغر طالبة طب على مستوى العالم، إثر السماح لها بالالتحاق بكلية طب "وايل كورنيل" فى قطر.

تقول "إقبال": "أنهيت مراحل الروضة فى عام واحد، واختصرت صفوف الابتدائى الستة بثلاث سنوات فقط، فى حين درست المرحلة الإعدادية فى عامين، ثم الثانوية فى عامين كذلك"، مضيفة "عندما أتيحت لى فرصة الدراسة الجامعية لم أتردد فى اختيار الدراسة فى كلية طب وايل كورنيل، كونها واحدة من أفضل جامعات العالم".

وتميزت "الطفلة المعجزة"، كما يطلق عليها، ونجحت بتفوق وتم تكريمها من قبل القيادات اللبنانية، وأكدت "أنها ستعود إلى فلسطين بالعلم لا بالسلاح".