News and Analysis 6/25/21

Banat’s death at the hands of “PA officers broke into his home and started beating him in the early hours of Thursday morning” has angry Palestinians “calling for the downfall of the regime, and are saying they are under a double occupation. They accuse the PA of being hand in hand with Israel” …

• Palestinians Attend Funeral for PA Critic Nizar Banat in Hebron (Aljazeera)

… a perspective supported by an Amnesty International report:

• Amnesty: ‘Catalogue of Violations’ by Israeli Police Against Palestinians (The Guardian)

On the 14th of June, Egypt’s “highest appeal court” upheld the execution of 12 opponents of the Sisi administration, despite strong criticism from “politicians and diplomats alike”:

• Egypt: Families of Muslim Brotherhood Figures Fear Executions ‘at Any Moment’ (Middle East Eye)

“Instead of recognizing us, they should recognize the suffering of the Yemeni people and try to alleviate it and lift the blockade imposed by the U.S. naval vessels so that there are peaceful solutions” — Nasrullah Amer, head of the Houthi media center:

• Can a Nuanced U.S. Shift on Yemen’s “Legitimate” Iran-backed Rebels Help End a Grueling Civil War? (CBS News)

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrullah “repeated pledges” to import Iranian fuel in the case that shortages continued:

• Lebanon’s Hezbollah Says Logistics Ready For Iranian Fuel Imports (Reuters)

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has met pro-India politicians from disputed Kashmir for the first time since he removed the region’s semi-autonomous status and imposed a widespread crackdown almost two years ago, promising to allow elections:

• What’s Behind Modi’s Surprise Talks with Kashmir Leaders? Pakistan, China and the U.S to Name a Few

The father denies allegations that “the mother had shaken the baby and was not waking up at night to feed the child” and accuses the hospital staff of discrimination because his wife wears a hijab and speaks English instead of French:

• Quebec Father Blames Anti-Muslim Prejudice, Language Barriers After Baby Taken Away (Global News)

An envoy from the UN urged Israel to stop illegal settlements, calling them “a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and international law” …

• UN Urges Israel to ‘Immediately’ Halt Settlement Expansion(Al-Jazeera)

… yet not only are the settlers in Evyatar refusing to evacuate, but they are planning to appeal the evacuation order “with further plans to build another 70 settler homes, a synagogue, daycare centre and a school”:

• Israeli Settlers Refuse to Vacate Illegal West Bank Settlements (Al-Jazeera)

After five of the 38 families in his village responded to the former Hindu’s call to Islam, “an armed [ethnic-minority] group came to Faruk’s house, brandished guns and killed him at point-blank range”:

• A Muslim Convert’s Killing Exposes Bangladesh’s Ethnic Fault Lines (TRT World)

Abdullah Khan