Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share 2021.08.05 國際新聞導讀-以色列呼籲國際社會回應伊朗攻擊船隻之舉、以色列表示伊朗在10周即可取得足夠核武物資作核彈、美國再度攻擊塔利班陣地並指責塔利班大屠殺但塔利班否認、以色列衣索比亞猶太人被警方不公平對待，主計長出面主持公道
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
2021.08.05 國際新聞導讀-以色列呼籲國際社會回應伊朗攻擊船隻之舉、以色列表示伊朗在10周即可取得足夠核武物資作核彈、美國再度攻擊塔利班陣地並指責塔利班大屠殺但塔利班否認、以色列衣索比亞猶太人被警方不公平對待，主計長出面主持公道
2021.08.05 國際新聞導讀-以色列呼籲國際社會回應伊朗攻擊船隻之舉、以色列表示伊朗在10周即可取得足夠核武物資作核彈、美國再度攻擊塔利班陣地並指責塔利班大屠殺但塔利班否認、以色列衣索比亞猶太人被警方不公平對待，主計長出面主持公道
塔利班否認在佔領區實施報復性殺戮
阿什拉夫·加尼總統將阿富汗局勢的惡化歸咎於華盛頓
作者：ARSHAD MEHMOOD/媒體熱線
2021 年 8 月 3 日 22:20
2021 年 7 月 10 日，阿富汗赫拉特省郊區，前聖戰者組織手持武器支持阿富汗軍隊打擊塔利班。
（圖片來源：JALIL AHMAD/REUTERS）
廣告
在阿富汗塔利班堅決否認美國和英國的指控，他們的戰士負責平民斯平布爾達克，在坎大哈省的一個小鎮，他們最近在巴基斯坦邊境附近捕獲的大屠殺。
“這種毫無根據的指控是在 [阿富汗總統] 阿什拉夫·加尼 (Ashraf Ghani) 的授意下提出的，他希望延長其傀儡政權在該國的 [存在]，”駐卡塔爾多哈的塔利班發言人、塔利班成員蘇海爾·沙欣 (Suhail Shaheen) 說。該集團談判團隊的成員告訴媒體專線。
有關 The Media Line 的更多故事，請訪問themedialine.org
“在塔利班領導人充分參與地區大國[努力]為飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家帶來和平與穩定的時候，這種毫無根據的宣傳只不過是破壞和平進程的粗暴陰謀，”沙欣補充道。
“我們也堅決、準確地駁斥了美國政府關於報復性殺戮的虛假和毫無根據的指控。
塔利班的戰士，”他說。
Shaheen 告訴媒體專線，“一群四名阿富汗記者訪問了 Spin Boldak，調查該地區法外處決和大規模失踪的報導。記者走訪了整個地區，但沒有發現任何此類報導的證據。
不幸的是，國家安全局 [阿富汗的主要情報機構 NDS] 在他們返回坎大哈市時將他們全部拘留。
“我們還對此類指控進行了高級別調查，但我們的調查委員會除了在私人恩怨中殺害兩人之外，一無所獲，”他繼續說道。Shaheen 還告訴 The Media Line，“由他們領導的塔利班高級代表團
政治首腦謝赫·阿卜杜勒·哈基姆·哈卡尼週一在多哈會見了歐盟歐洲對外行動署（EEAS）副秘書長恩里克·莫拉和歐盟阿富汗問題特別代表托馬斯·尼克拉松。
EEAS 是歐盟的外交部門和聯合外交和國防部。
“我們的代表團強調其對和平的承諾，稱我們的首要任務是找到和平解決衝突的辦法，”沙欣說。
然而，華盛頓和倫敦指責塔利班在斯平博爾達克鎮實施了可能構成“戰爭罪”的暴行。
週一，美國和英國駐喀布爾大使館都在各自的推文中說：“在坎大哈的斯賓博爾達克，塔利班屠殺了數十名平民以進行報復性殺戮。這些謀殺可能構成戰爭罪；他們必須被調查& 那些負責的塔利班戰士或指揮官被追究責任。”
週日早些時候，國家安全局證實在坎大哈拘留了四名被指控散佈敵方宣傳的記者。
NDS 聲稱，在訪問 Spin Boldak 時，這些記者遇到了已故塔利班創始人毛拉穆罕默德·奧馬爾的兒子毛拉 Yaqoob。
被捕的記者是 Bismillah Watandost、Qudrat Ullah Sultani 和 Munib Obaidi，他們都與當地電台有關聯，以及中國新華社的攝影記者 Sanaullah Syaam。
人權觀察亞洲部副主任帕特里夏·戈斯曼（Patricia Gossman）在新聞發布會上說
請注意，“在坎大哈逮捕記者突顯了人們越來越擔心阿富汗政府試圖保護自己免受媒體批評。”
與此同時，加尼總統週一指責該國不斷惡化的安全局勢“突然”決定從阿富汗撤軍。
“我曾警告華盛頓，撤軍會產生後果，”他在國民議會聯席會議上就該國局勢發表講話時說。加尼說，對阿富汗強加了“進口”和“倉促”的程序，導致
“使叛亂團體合法化，而不是實現和平。” 塔利班首席發言人 Zabihullah Mujahid 通過推特回應說：“宣戰、指控和謊言無法延長加尼政府的生命；他的時間已經不多了，上帝保佑。”
自美國5月1日開始撤軍以來，塔利班控制的領土越來越多。
阿富汗安全部隊已經與愈演愈烈的襲擊作鬥爭，但塔利班已經能夠加強其旨在控制包括拉什卡爾加、坎大哈和赫拉特在內的主要省會城市的攻勢。
與此同時，赫爾曼德省首府拉什卡爾加的戰鬥持續了第六天。在阿富汗政府宣布向該地區部署數百名特種部隊人員數小時後，該市的戰鬥愈演愈烈。據報導，雙方發生激烈衝突，傷亡慘重。
“中央監獄和警察總部被圍困，衝突的重點是佔領區長的大院，”當地媒體報導。週一，9 具屍體和 8 人受傷被送往拉什卡加的 Boost 醫院，
官員說。
塔利班佔領了 Lashkargah 的國家電視和廣播演播室，據報導開始進行基於伊斯蘭教法的傳輸。
它可能是第一個落入塔利班手中的省會。阿富汗國防部周一證實，阿富汗空軍對拉什卡爾加郊區的塔利班部隊進行了打擊。
赫爾曼德省官員證實，伊斯蘭武裝分子襲擊了中央監獄，並被罷工擊退。
READ MORE
'5‑6** armed Iranians' responsible fortanker hijack off UAE coast ‑ report**
該部還表示，美國空軍對赫爾曼德省的塔利班陣地進行了打擊。這是過去7天來美國空軍第二次襲擊塔利班在戰鬥中心的陣地。第一次襲擊發生在西部的赫拉特省，塔利班已經到達了省會赫拉特市的入口。
律師兼人權活動家 Yasir SalarZai 告訴媒體專線，“Lashkargah 市的局勢已經惡化，醫院裡滿是傷員，而藥品和食物都短缺。
“這個城市沒有電，所以移動和互聯網服務也被暫停，”他說。常駐紐約的國家安全專家伊琳娜·楚克曼 (Irina Tsukerman) 告訴媒體專線，“美國的言論是無恥的企圖粉飾放棄阿富汗落入塔利班的責任。
“事實上，這個結果是不可避免的，也很容易預測。特朗普和拜登政府都提出了理想主義的說法，即解決阿富汗的安全問題不是美國的責任，但事實上，這些問題具有全球影響，遲早會直接影響美國的利益，”楚克曼補充道。
“通過官方渠道發出哀悼並不能減輕美國過早和不必要的撤軍造成的損害，”她說。
“無論當前困境的過錯是否在於美國戰略失敗或阿富汗腐敗……，這並不能免除現任 [美國] 政府防止極端主義蔓延並確保 20美國多年的參與不會白費，”楚克曼補充道。
她說：“有很多方法可以為飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家帶來和平並防止目前的情況發生，但從來沒有認真討論過這些。”
“也許是時候了解有時勝利和失敗的代價是一樣的，”楚克曼說。
Umer Karim 是倫敦皇家聯合軍種國防與安全研究所 (RUSI) 的客座研究員，專注於阿富汗危機。他告訴媒體專線，“阿富汗目前正在發生的事情是預料之中的，包括阿富汗政府在內的所有參與者都知道這件事。”
“加尼總統一再斷言，阿富汗安全部隊有足夠的能力處理撤軍後的安全局勢，但事實並非如此，”卡里姆繼續說道。“塔利班最初想確保阿富汗農村腹地的安全，並包圍城市中心，現在下一步是：他們試圖佔領它們[城市]，因此他們的戰略逐步建立壓力和佔領領土非常清楚，”他說。
“另一方面，阿富汗政府依賴當地軍閥和民兵堅守陣地，並依賴美軍的空中支援，這暴露了阿富汗安全部隊 [缺乏] 專業技能和能力，”卡里姆補充道。
“參與這場衝突的所有參與者都無視平民的生命和財產，他們在這場戰鬥中越來越多地首當其衝，”他進一步說。
“很明顯，阿富汗政府和塔利班現在都選擇了戰爭道路，因此除非一個行動者在戰場上佔上風，否則談判或建設和平演習將無濟於事，”卡里姆說。
阿富汗東北部巴達赫尚省的政治分析家賽義德·納賈姆·瓦利·布哈里 (Syed Najam Wali Bukhari) 告訴媒體，“阿富汗人仍在遭受歷史上持續時間最長、最致命的衝突。
他說：“在阿富汗安全部隊和塔利班正在全國爭奪控制權之際，大量平民傷亡出現。”
“毫無疑問，塔利班現在控制著該國最大的地區，因為大多數美國領導的外國軍隊已經離開了阿富汗，”布哈里繼續說道。“儘管美國和一些主要地區大國試圖通過談判找到政治解決方案，但不幸的是，這被推遲了。
“以美國為首的部隊的倉促撤出，給這個被戰爭摧毀的國家會發生什麼留下了一個很大的問號。事實上，無辜的阿富汗平民將不得不為和平與穩定付出沉重的代價。我們再次被推入似乎永遠不會結束的災難性局勢，”他說。
布哈里說：“沒有權威可以告訴我們，我們還要忍受親人的葬禮多久。”
沙特外長讚揚亞伯拉罕協議，將巴勒斯坦建國放在首位
“如果不以可持續、長期的方式解決巴以沖突，我們就不會在該地區擁有真正、可持續的安全。”
作者：托瓦·拉扎羅夫、拉哈夫·哈爾科夫
2021 年 8 月 4 日 21:29
沙特阿拉伯外交部長費薩爾·本·法爾漢·阿勒沙特於 2021 年 6 月 29 日抵達意大利馬泰拉參加 G20 外交部長和發展部長會議。
（圖片來源：路透社/YARA NARDI）
廣告
該亞伯拉罕協定一直在為中東不錯，但他們的勢頭應該用來幫助巴勒斯坦人實現建國，沙特外交大臣費薩爾本法爾漢·沙特在阿斯彭安全論壇上週二虛擬發布會上說。
“我們認為，總體而言，《亞伯拉罕協定》在促進該地區的參與方面發揮了積極作用，因此從這個意義上說，可以積極看待這些國家的決定，”他說。
沙特外長補充說，在過去一年以色列和阿拉伯國家關係正常化的基礎上再接再厲，最好的辦法是“找到解決巴勒斯坦人問題的道路，找到通往巴勒斯坦國的道路，因為這將為該地區的以色列實現完全正常化。”
在特朗普政府的最後幾個月，公眾猜測沙特阿拉伯將成為第五個在亞伯拉罕協議的標題下與以色列實現關係正常化的國家，但這些期望從未實現。
作為美國前總統唐納德特朗普促成的亞伯拉罕協議的一部分，阿拉伯聯合酋長國、巴林、摩洛哥和蘇丹去年與以色列實現了關係正常化。
自美國總統喬拜登於 2021 年 1 月上任以來，尚未達成任何額外交易。
在周二的安全論壇上，費薩爾表示，和平“是阿拉伯人的戰略選擇”，必須用來為巴勒斯坦人達成全面解決方案。
當被問及這是否是沙特和以色列正常化的先決條件時，鑑於巴勒斯坦派系之間的分歧使得以巴和平在短期內不太可能，費薩爾沒有回答問題的第一部分。
相反，他說巴解組織和巴勒斯坦權力機構是巴勒斯坦人的合法代表。
“這種接觸是朝著和平解決方向前進的關鍵接觸，”他說。“我認為，如果不以可持續、長期的方式解決巴以沖突，我們就不會在該地區擁有真正、可持續的安全。我們需要盡一切努力來實現這一目標。”
費薩爾指著以色列的新政府說：“也許它可以取得一些進展。讓我們等著看。”
在耶路撒冷外交部，Haim Regev 在擔任中東事務與和平進程副總幹事五年之際談到了亞伯拉罕協議以及以色列與其阿拉伯鄰國的關係。他將很快擔任駐歐盟大使一職。
他的繼任者尚未公佈。
Regev 在他的評估中直言不諱地認為，就該地區的以色列-阿拉伯關係而言，以巴衝突是一個挑戰。
Regev 說，耶路撒冷，尤其是聖殿山周圍的問題，是一個特別敏感的問題。
但他堅稱，歸根結底，即使巴以沖突沒有得到解決，以色列與阿拉伯國家的關係也可以繼續發展。
雷格夫說，以色列的軍事、經濟和技術實力，特別是打擊該地區極端分子的戰鬥。包括伊朗在內，已經幫助動搖了阿拉伯國家建立聯繫。
“歸根結底，我們在這裡並不斷努力製止極端主義，”他說。
阿拉伯國家“左顧右盼”，想知道誰能幫助確保該地區的安全。Regev 說，答案是以色列。他補充說，這給了以色列很大的影響力。
與以色列的關係給阿拉伯國家帶來的好處超過了解決以巴衝突的重要性。
他強調亞伯拉罕協議的成功，指出外交部長亞伊爾拉皮德計劃下周訪問摩洛哥。
“有一種勢頭，”雷格夫說。
他說，人們必須記住，華盛頓和耶路撒冷的領導層都發生了變化，更不用說以色列和哈馬斯在加沙的戰爭了。
他說，然後是阿拉伯國家本身，它們必須權衡與以色列關係的正式正常化與國內和地區因素。
雷格夫說，在非官方關係方面，以色列與除也門、黎巴嫩、敘利亞和阿爾及利亞之外的阿拉伯聯盟幾乎所有國家都有關係。他特別指出，它與伊拉克有非官方關係。
此外，它與六個阿拉伯聯盟國家有正式關係，他說，因為他計算了四個亞伯拉罕協議國家以及以色列與埃及和約旦達成的前兩個和平協議。
為了強調這種非正式關係的重要性，他描述了以色列如何在談判桌下與阿聯酋建立關係。
Regev 說，這種關係基礎設施是與阿聯酋能夠如此迅速地建立正常化關係的原因之一。標準化完成後，就不需要從頭開始了，因為已經建立了一個穩定的基礎。
雷格夫說，以色列也從與埃及和約旦的冷和平中吸取了教訓，並非常重視與亞伯拉罕協議國家建立“人民對人民”的聯繫。
Saudi FM praises Abraham Accords, puts Palestinian statehood first
"Without solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a sustainable, long-term way, we’re not going to have real, sustainable security in the region."
By TOVAH LAZAROFF, LAHAV HARKOV
AUGUST 4, 2021 21:29
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives to attend the G20 meeting of foreign and development ministers in Matera, Italy, June 29, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/YARA NARDI)
Advertisement
The Abraham Accords have been good for the Middle East, but their momentum should be used to help the Palestinians achieve statehood, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a virtual conference of the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday.
“We think, overall, the Abraham Accords have worked positively to spur engagement in the region, so in that sense, the decision by those countries can be viewed positively,” he said.
The Saudi foreign minister added that the best way to build on the normalized relations between Israel and Arab states in the past year would be “to find a path to solving the issue of the Palestinians and finding a path to a Palestinian state, because that will deliver complete normalization for Israel in the region.”
Public speculation was high in the last months of the Trump administration that Saudi Arabia would become the fifth country to normalize ties with Israel under the rubric of the Abraham Accords, but those expectations never came to fruition.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized ties with Israel last year as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump.
Since US President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021, no additional deals have been reached.
At the security forum on Tuesday, Faisal said that peace “is a strategic choice of the Arabs” that must be used to reach a comprehensive solution for the Palestinians.
Asked if that’s a precondition for Saudi-Israel normalization, in light of the divisions among Palestinian factions making Israel-Palestinian peace unlikely in the short term, Faisal did not address the first part of the question.
Rather, he said that the PLO and Palestinian Authority are the legal representatives of the Palestinians.
“That engagement is the key engagement in order to progress towards a peaceful solution,” he stated. “I think without solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a sustainable, long-term way, we’re not going to have real, sustainable security in the region. We need to try everything we can to make that happen.”
Faisal pointed to the new government in Israel, saying “perhaps it can deliver some progress. Let’s wait and see.”
At the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Haim Regev spoke of the Abraham Accords and Israel’s ties with its Arab neighbors as he wrapped up five years in his role as deputy director-general for Middle East affairs and the peace process. He will soon take up the post of ambassador to the European Union.
His replacement has yet to be announced.
Regev was blunt in his assessment that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict presents a challenge when it comes to Israeli-Arab ties in the region.
Jerusalem, especially issues around the Temple Mount, is a particularly sensitive issue, Regev said.
But he insisted that, at the end of the day, Israeli ties with Arab nations could proceed even without the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Regev said that Israel’s military, economic and technological strength, particularly its battle against extremist elements in the region. including Iran, has helped sway the Arab countries to establish a connection.
“At the end of the day, we are here and constantly working to halt extremism,” he said.
Arab countries “look to the right and the left” and want to know who can help secure the region. The answer is Israel, Regev said. This gives Israel a lot of clout, he added.
The advantage that relations with Israel give the Arab countries outweighs the importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He was emphatic about the success of the Abraham Accords, noting that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid plans to visit Morocco next week.
“There was a momentum,” Regev said.
One must remember that there were leadership changes, both in Washington and Jerusalem, to say nothing of a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, he said.
Then there are the Arab countries themselves, which have to weigh the formal normalization of ties with Israel against internal domestic considerations as well as regional ones, he said.
When it comes to unofficial ties, Israel has relations with almost all the countries in the Arab League short of Yemen, Lebanon and Syria and Algeria, Regev said. He noted in particular that it has unofficial relations with Iraq.
In addition, it has formal ties with six of the Arab League countries, he said, as he counted the four Abraham Accord countries and the two previous peace deals Israel struck with Egypt and Jordan.
To underscore the importance of such informal ties, he described how Israel built its relationship with the UAE under the table.
That relational infrastructure was one of the reasons that normalization ties could be established so quickly with the UAE, Regev said. When normalization was achieved, there was no need to start from scratch, because a stable base had already been built.
Regev said that Israel had also learned from the cold peace it had with Egypt and Jordan and was heavily focused on building the “people to people” connection with the Abraham Accord countries.
以色列指名伊朗無人機指揮官據稱是致命船隻襲擊的幕後黑手
甘茨和拉皮德部長告訴聯合國安理會各國的特使，伊斯蘭革命衛隊的賽義德·阿拉·賈尼對默瑟街的攻擊負責
通過拉扎爾·伯曼 今天，下午 6:11
外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德 (Yair Lapid) 向聯合國安理會各國特使介紹伊朗對該地區的威脅，2021 年 8 月 4 日 (MFA)
國防部長本尼·甘茨（Benny Gantz）和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德（Yair Lapid）週三點名了他們所說的伊朗指揮官，上週襲擊了阿曼海岸附近的一艘油輪。
“伊斯蘭革命衛隊空軍司令阿米爾·阿里·哈吉扎德是該地區數十起使用無人機和導彈的恐怖襲擊的幕後黑手，”甘茨在耶路撒冷外交部舉行的一次簡報會上告訴聯合國安理會各國特使。“有史以來第一次，我將揭露對發射自殺式無人機負有直接責任的人——他的名字是賽義德·阿拉賈尼，他是伊斯蘭革命衛隊無人機指揮部的負責人。”
“無人機指揮部對默瑟街號船隻進行了襲擊，”他說。Saeed Ara Jani 計劃並提供培訓和設備以在該地區進行恐怖襲擊。”
Gantz 和 Lapid 的簡報是在伊朗支持的部隊據報導還控制了阿曼灣的一艘油輪之後的一天，英國當局稱其為“潛在的劫持”。
同一天，至少有六艘船在阿拉伯聯合酋長國沿海發出警告，稱它們在不明情況下失去了對轉向的控制。
外交部表示，週三的簡報是以色列協調國際努力以對抗伊朗在該地區的行動的一部分。
外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德和國防部長本尼·甘茨向聯合國安理會各國大使簡要介紹了伊朗對民用航運的襲擊，2021 年 8 月 4 日（外交部）
拉皮德和甘茨向客人強調，以色列將在必要時自行採取行動保護自己，但伊朗的襲擊也應被視為對國際社會的侵略。
談到上週在默瑟街發生的無人機襲擊造成兩名船員喪生時，拉皮德強調說：“這不是針對軍事設施的秘密行動。這是對世界貿易路線的攻擊，這是對行動自由的攻擊，這是一種國際罪行。”
“國際社會將如何應對？” 他問。“還有國際法這種東西嗎？世界有能力和意志力去執法嗎？”
2021 年 8 月 3 日，拖船停泊在阿拉伯聯合酋長國富查伊拉港附近與以色列有聯繫的油輪 MT Mercer Street 旁邊。 (Karim Sahib/AFP)
“如果答案是‘是’，”他說，“世界現在就應該採取行動。”
以色列、美國和英國發誓要對默瑟街襲擊事件作出“集體回應”，但沒有詳細說明。
海上事件發生之際，伊朗與西方之間因德黑蘭與世界大國的核協議破裂而緊張局勢加劇，以及該地區的商業航運發現自己陷入了十字準線。
伊朗國營的伊朗伊斯蘭共和國通訊社援引外交部發言人賽義德·哈蒂布扎德的話說，該地區最近發生的海上襲擊事件“完全可疑”，這顯然是對周二事件的回應。他否認伊朗參與其中。
“伊朗海軍已準備好在該地區提供幫助和救援，”Khatibzadeh 說。
廣告
2021 年 8 月 3 日，在阿拉伯聯合酋長國富查伊拉海灣酋長國港口附近看到與以色列有關的日本油輪 MT Mercer Street。（Karim SAHIB / 法新社）
美國沒有為最新事件歸咎於責任，但國務院發言人內德·普萊斯表示，“伊朗的好戰模式非常令人不安”。
“當談到這一具體事件時，我們現在下定論還為時過早，”普萊斯告訴記者。
白宮發言人 Jen Psaki 表示，美國與英國就這一“令人深感擔憂”的事件保持著密切聯繫。
各機構為本報告做出了貢獻。
Israel names Iranian drone commander allegedly behind lethal ship attack
Ministers Gantz and Lapid tell envoys from countries on the UN Security Council that IRGC’s Saeed Ara Jani is responsible for strike on Mercer Street
By LAZAR BERMAN Today, 6:11 pm
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid briefs envoys from states on the UNSC about the Iranian threat to the region, August 4, 2021 (MFA)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid named on Wednesday the Iranian commanders they said were behind last week’s attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.
“Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s Air Force, is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles,” Gantz told envoys from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “For the first time ever, I will also expose the man who is directly responsible for the launch of suicide UAVs — his name is Saeed Ara Jani and he is the head of the IRGC’s UAV command.”
“The UAV command conducted the attack on Mercer Street,” he said. Saeed Ara Jani plans and provides the training and equipment to conduct terror attacks in the region.”
Gantz and Lapid’s briefing came a day after Iranian-backed forces also reportedly took control of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman in an incident British authorities described as “a potential hijack.”
The same day, at least six ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast warnings that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances.
The Wednesday briefing was part of Israel’s efforts to marshal international efforts to counter Iranian moves across the region, the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz brief ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council on Iranian attacks on civilian shipping, August 4, 2021 (MFA)
Lapid and Gantz emphasized to their guests that Israel will act on its own to protect itself if it must, but that Iranian attacks should be treated as aggression toward the international community as well.
Referring to last week’s UAV attack on the Mercer Street, in which two crewmen were killed, Lapid stressed, “This is not a covert operation against a military facility. This is an attack on the world’s trade routes, this is an attack on freedom of movement, this is an international crime.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“What is the international community going to do about it?” he asked. “Is there still such a thing as international law? And does the world have the ability and willpower to enforce the law?”
Tugboats are moored next to the Israeli-linked tanker MT Mercer Street, off the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, on August 3, 2021. (Karim Sahib/AFP)
“If the answer is ‘yes,’” he said, “the world should act now.”
Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom have vowed a “collective response” to the Mercer Street attack, without elaborating.
The maritime incidents come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as commercial shipping in the region has found itself caught in the crosshairs.
Apparently responding to Tuesday’s incident, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as calling the recent maritime attacks in the region “completely suspicious.” He denied that Iran was involved.
“Iran’s naval forces are ready for help and rescue in the region,” Khatibzadeh said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Israeli-linked Japanese-owned tanker MT Mercer Street is seen off the port of the Gulf Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on August 3, 2021. (Karim SAHIB / AFP)
The United States stopped short of assigning blame for the latest episode but State Department spokesman Ned Price said there has been “a very disturbing pattern of belligerence from Iran.”
“When it comes to this specific incident, it’s too early for us to offer a judgment just yet,” Price told reporters.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was in close touch with Britain over the “deeply concerning” incident.
Agencies contributed to this report.
甘茨：伊朗距離為核武器積累足夠的武器級材料還有 10 週的時間
國防部長告訴聯合國安理會成員的特使，隨著強硬派總統上台，對德黑蘭採取切實行動——包括軍事行動——的時機已經成熟
通過拉扎爾·伯曼 今天，晚上 7:22
2021 年 8 月 4 日，國防部長本尼·甘茨（中）和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德（右）在耶路撒冷外交部向外國大使發表講話。（以色列外交部）
伊朗國防部長本尼甘茨週三表示 ，距離獲得足夠的濃縮鈾來製造核彈還有十週的時間 。
“伊朗違反了 JCPOA 中規定的所有準則，距離獲得核武器所需的武器級材料只有大約 10 週的時間，”甘茨在外交部的簡報會上告訴聯合國安理會各國大使。在耶路撒冷。
“現在是行動的時候了——光說是不夠的，”他補充道。“現在是外交、經濟甚至軍事行動的時候了，否則襲擊將繼續。”
甘茨發表上述言論之際，阿曼灣周圍的緊張局勢不斷升級，週二晚上，一艘船被劫機者登上，一艘與以色列有關的船上週被無人機襲擊。這兩起襲擊都歸咎於伊朗。
甘茨強調以色列並不將伊朗人民視為敵人，他說：“伊朗政權正在威脅我們並引發地區軍備競賽。”
甘茨和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德在聯合簡報會上發表了上述言論。
在美國海軍提供的這張圖片中，伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊海軍 (IRGCN) 的快速近海攻擊艇 (FIAC)，一種配備機槍的快艇，在通過霍爾木茲海峽的美國海軍艦艇附近的速度，5 月2021 年 10 月。（美國海軍通過美聯社）
據菅直人周末報導，拉皮德、甘茨和其他以色列官員最近與美國同行討論了伊朗核問題，發出了“不尋常的警告”。
一位高級外交官告訴菅直人說：“與伊朗的談判必鬚髮生一些事情。這個'邊緣'不可能是伊朗迅速邁向成為核門檻國家的時候。”
廣告
美國總統喬拜登已表示他準備重返 2015 年核協議，並與伊朗進行間接談判，同時與該協議的其餘締約方英國、中國、法國、德國和俄羅斯進行正式會談。
以色列長期以來一直反對核協議，並反對拜登表明的重新加入該條約的意圖，該條約被美國前總統唐納德特朗普退出。
Gantz 和 Lapid 的簡報是在 Ebrahim Raisi 就任伊朗新總統的前一天發布的。賴西的極端保守陣營對美國深表不信任，一再批評即將卸任的總統哈桑·魯哈尼（Hassan Rouhani）在核協議上。
德黑蘭暫停了在維也納恢復協議的談判，該協議使伊朗從國際制裁中得到一些緩解，以換取對其核計劃的限制，直到賴西的任期開始。
Ebrahim Raisi，2021 年 6 月 6 日在伊朗德黑蘭西南部 Eslamshahr 舉行的競選集會上的要點。（美聯社照片/Vahid Salemi，文件）
專家預計德黑蘭新政府將採取更嚴厲的做法，這可能會毀掉達成協議的機會。
上週，美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯表示，與伊朗的核談判“不能無限期地進行”，但華盛頓“已做好充分準備”繼續談判。
廣告
該交易在 2018 年被特朗普破壞，特朗普單方面退出協議並實施懲罰性制裁。
“我們致力於外交，但這個過程不能無限期地持續下去……我們看看伊朗準備做什麼或不准備做什麼，並做好充分準備返回維也納繼續談判，”布林肯在訪問期間說。科威特。“球還在伊朗的球場上。”
伊朗最高領袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內伊上週三表示，經驗表明“相信西方是行不通的”，指的是美國退出該協議及其後果。
2021 年 6 月 12 日，伊朗國際原子能機構 (IAEA) 州長 Kazem Gharib Abadi 離開了在奧地利維也納舉行閉門核會談的“維也納大酒店”。 (美聯社照片 / Florian Schroetter)
賴西曾表示，他的政府將支持“保證國家利益”的談判，但不會允許為了談判而談判。
“我們希望世界了解伊朗政權是暴力和狂熱的，”總理納夫塔利貝內特上個月表示。“它選擇了‘德黑蘭劊子手’作為總統——一個願意讓自己的人民挨餓多年以實施軍事核計劃的人。這是一個人們不應該與之做生意的政權。”
貝內特補充說，以色列“將繼續與我們的朋友協商、說服、討論和分享信息和見解，以相互尊重。但歸根結底，我們要為自己的命運負責，沒有其他人。”
各機構為本報告做出了貢獻。
Gantz: Iran 10 weeks away from amassing enough weapons-grade material for nuke
Defense minister tells envoys from UNSC members the time has come for tangible actions — including military — against Tehran as hardline president comes into office
By LAZAR BERMAN Today, 7:22 pm
Defense Minister Benny Gantz (C) and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) addressing foreign ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, August 4, 2021. (Israel Foreign Ministry)
Iran is ten weeks away from acquiring enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday.
“Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the JCPOA and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon,” Gantz told ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
“Now is the time for deeds – words are not enough,” he added. “It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue.”
Gantz’s remarks came amid rising tensions around the Gulf of Oman, where a ship was boarded by hijackers Tuesday evening and an Israeli-linked ship was struck by UAVs last week. Iran has been blamed for both attacks.
Emphasizing that Israel does not see the Iranian people as an enemy, Gantz said, “The Iranian regime is threatening us and sparking a regional arms race.”
The remarks were made at a joint briefing by Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)
Lapid, Gantz and other Israeli officials have addressed the Iranian nuclear issue with their American counterparts recently, delivering an “unusual warning,” according to a report in Kan over the weekend.
“Something has to happen with the negotiations with Iran,” a senior diplomat told Kan. “This ‘limbo’ cannot be a time when Iran is quickly advancing toward becoming a nuclear threshold state.”
US President Joe Biden has signaled his readiness to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and has engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran alongside formal talks with the agreement’s remaining parties, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
Israel has long been against the nuclear deal and opposes Biden’s stated intentions to reenter the treaty, which former US president Donald Trump backed out.
Gantz and Lapid’s briefing came a day before Ebrahim Raisi assumes office as the new president of Iran. Raisi’s ultraconservative camp, which deeply distrusts the United States, has repeatedly criticized outgoing President Hassan Rouhani over the nuclear deal.
Talks in Vienna to revive the deal that gave Iran some relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program have been suspended by Tehran until Raisi’s term begins.
Ebrahim Raisi, points during a campaign rally in Eslamshahr, southwest of Tehran, Iran, June 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Experts expect the new government in Tehran to take a tougher approach that could doom the chances of reaching an agreement.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said nuclear talks with Iran “cannot go on indefinitely” but that Washington was “fully prepared” to continue negotiations.
ADVERTISEMENT
The deal was torpedoed in 2018 by Trump, who unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and imposed punishing sanctions.
“We’re committed to diplomacy, but this process cannot go on indefinitely… we look to see what Iran is ready to do or not ready to do and remain fully prepared to return to Vienna to continue negotiations,” Blinken said during a visit to Kuwait. “The ball remains in Iran’s court.”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last Wednesday that experience has shown “trusting the West does not work,” referring to the US withdrawal from the deal and its fallout.
Iran’s Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kazem Gharib Abadi, leaves the ‘Grand Hotel Vienna’ where closed-door nuclear talks take place in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter)
Raisi has said his government will support talks that “guarantee national interests,” but will not allow negotiations for the sake of negotiations.
“We would like the world to understand that the Iranian regime is violent and fanatical,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said last month. “It selected the ‘Hangman of Tehran’ as its president — a man who is willing to starve his own people for years in order to have a military nuclear program. That is a regime that one should not do business with.”
Bennett added that Israel “will continue to consult with our friends, persuade, discuss, and share information and insights out of mutual respect. But at the end of the day, we will be responsible for our own fate, nobody else.”
Agencies contributed to this report.
美國拒絕世衛組織停止注射新冠病毒疫苗的呼籲
白宮新聞秘書表示，要求富國停止第三劑以供應窮國是“錯誤的選擇”
由機構和TOI 工作人員提供今天，晚上 9:43
美國周三拒絕了聯合國衛生機構關於暫停 COVID-19 疫苗加強注射以及富國轉而專注於向窮國提供疫苗的呼籲。
世界衛生組織總幹事譚德塞敦促控製劑量供應的國家和公司立即改變方向，優先解決富國和窮國之間疫苗分配的嚴重不平等問題。
“我們絕對認為這是一個錯誤的選擇，我們可以兩者兼而有之，”白宮新聞秘書 Jen Psaki 告訴記者，並補充說美國的捐款比任何其他國家都多，並要求其他國家加緊努力。“同樣在這個國家 [我們] 有足夠的供應來確保每個美國人都能獲得疫苗，”她補充道。
“我們將有足夠的供應來確保 FDA 是否決定向一部分人群推薦助推器也提供這些助推器。我們相信我們可以做到這兩點，我們不需要做出那個選擇，”Psaki 補充道。
幾個月來，世衛組織一直就針對一種已導致全球 420 萬人死亡的疾病的疫苗供應存在明顯不平衡現象並日益嚴重地發出警告。
根據法新社的統計，全球已接種了約 43 億劑 COVID-19 疫苗。
人們於 2021 年 5 月 8 日在德國科隆 DITIB 中央清真寺的論壇上接種了針對冠狀病毒的阿斯利康疫苗。（Martin Meissner / AP）
世衛組織希望每個國家在 9 月底前至少為 10% 的人口接種疫苗，到年底至少達到 40%，到 2022 年年中達到 70%。
在世界銀行歸類為高收入的國家，每 100 人注射了 101 劑。在 29 個最低收入國家，這一數字降至每 100 人 1.7 劑。
廣告
以色列、俄羅斯和匈牙利已經開始向其廣大人口提供第三劑加強劑，而德國和法國則宣布將從 9 月 1 日開始提供。包括美國和英國在內的其他國家正在考慮這樣做的計劃高度傳播的 Delta 變體出現後。
以色列上個月開始對免疫抑制者進行 COVID 疫苗加強劑量，並於週日向所有 60 歲以上的以色列人推廣。
總理納夫塔利·貝內特（Naftali Bennett）敦促老年人預約接種第三劑疫苗，以更好地保護自己。
“助推器，第三種疫苗，只是‘重新加載’身體的防禦能力，讓我們能夠挽救生命，”貝內特週二在陪同他的母親 Myrna 接受第三劑疫苗時說。“我問每個人——孩子、孫子和父母：去接種疫苗。為 60 歲以上的人第三次接種疫苗……我們接種的疫苗越多，我們就越能保護我們的父母，同時也保護一個開放的以色列。”
US rejects call by WHO to stop giving COVID booster shots
White House press secretary says it is a ‘false choice’ to demand wealthy nations halt third doses in order to supply poor countries
By AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 9:43 pm
The United States on Wednesday rejected an appeal from the UN health agency for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and for rich countries to focus instead on supplying poorer nations.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged the countries and companies controlling the supply of doses to change course immediately and prioritize addressing the drastic inequity in vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations.
“We definitely feel that it’s a false choice and we can do both,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, adding that the United States has donated more than any other country and was asking others to step up. “Also in this country [we] have enough supply to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine,” she added.
“We will have enough supply to ensure if the FDA decides that boosters are recommended for a portion of the population to provide those as well. We believe we can do both and we don’t need to make that choice,” Psaki added.
The WHO has for months been sounding the alarm over a glaring and growing imbalance in vaccine availability against a disease that has killed 4.2 million people worldwide.
Some 4.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, according to an AFP count.
People receive the AstraZeneca vaccination against the coronavirus at the forum of the DITIB central mosque in Cologne, Germany, on May 8, 2021. (Martin Meissner/AP)
The WHO wants every country to have vaccinated at least 10 percent of its population by the end of September, at least 40% by the end of the year, and 70% by the middle of 2022.
In countries categorized as high income by the World Bank, 101 doses per 100 people have been injected. That figure drops to 1.7 doses per 100 people in the 29 lowest-income countries.
ADVERTISEMENT
Israel, Russia and Hungary have already started providing third booster doses to wide swaths of their populations, while Germany and France have announced they will do so starting September 1. Other nations, including the United States and Britain, are considering plans to do so in the wake of the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Israel began administering COVID vaccine booster doses to the immunosuppressed last month, and rolled them out to all Israelis over age 60 on Sunday.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has urged the elderly population to make appointments to receive a third dose in order to better protect themselves.
“The booster, the third vaccine, simply ‘reloads’ the body’s defenses and allows us to save lives,” Bennett said on Tuesday as he accompanied his mother, Myrna, to receive her third dose. “I ask everyone — children, grandchildren and parents: Go and get vaccinated. Vaccinate a third time whoever is over age 60… The more we vaccinate, the more we protect our mothers and fathers and also safeguard an open Israel.”
黎巴嫩因貝魯特爆炸事件一周年而悲痛欲絕
一名在爆炸中失去七名同事的港口糧倉工人說，“安全官員、政府、海關，他們當然都知道”危險。
由讓-馬克·MOJON今天，下午 4:49
2021 年 8 月 4 日，在貝魯特港口受損的糧倉前可以看到像徵正義的木槌紀念碑，這是黎巴嫩首都貝魯特遭受災難性爆炸一年後的日子。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
貝魯特（法新社）——黎巴嫩週三標誌著災難性爆炸襲擊貝魯特一年後，人們對失去生命的悲痛和對和平時期最嚴重災難的有罪不罰的憤怒，而此時其經濟已經岌岌可危。
2020 年 8 月 4 日下午 6 點過後不久，隨意儲存在該市港口的硝酸銨化肥庫存發生爆炸，黎巴嫩首都的大片地區看起來像一個戰區。
這是歷史上最大的非核爆炸之一，造成至少 214 人死亡，整個社區被夷為平地，給國家的心靈造成了不可挽回的傷害，並加深了該國的經濟深淵。
由於一半以上的國家生活在貧困線以下，前殖民大國法國旨在在周年紀念日由聯合國共同主辦的另一場國際會議上籌集人道主義援助。
埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍總統在活動開始時承諾僅從法國提供 1 億歐元（1.18 億美元）。
但隨著對災難的調查停滯不前，他警告黎巴嫩領導人“欠他們的人民真相和透明度”。
救援人員和安全人員在 2020 年 8 月 5 日襲擊黎巴嫩貝魯特海港的爆炸現場工作。（美聯社照片/侯賽因馬拉）
該國已經飽受詬病的政治階層隱藏在其宣布的豁免權背後，以避免被起訴，動輒拖延首席調查法官的工作。
在貝魯特，安全部隊在死者家屬和倖存者聚集在一起之前在港口附近散開，以紀念在爆炸中喪生的人，爆炸的衝擊波在遠至塞浦路斯的地方都能感受到。
廣告
港口工人被埋在被毀壞的糧倉下，在爆炸前撲滅大火的消防員被炸成粉末，通勤者被壓死，居民被超音速玻璃碎片撕裂，他們的家中流血。
許多人將在宣佈為全國哀悼日的日子里呆在家裡，但去年的震驚很快就被憤怒所取代，這種憤怒只會隨著罪行不受懲罰的每一天而增長。
杰弗裡·查圖尼 (Jeffry Chartouni) 是港口糧倉的一名工人，在他的七名同事在爆炸中喪生後，他仍然義憤填膺。
他問道，多年來當局怎麼沒有告訴他們關於在他們的辦公室旁邊存放著成噸的爆炸物的事情？
“他們應該警告我們。這位 32 歲的老人說，只需一個電話，我就可以在化肥爆炸之前告訴他們逃跑。“安全官員、政府、海關，他們當然都知道，”他補充道。“他們需要被追究責任，從梯子的最頂端到最底層。”
2021 年 8 月 4 日，在去年港口爆炸中受損的建築物上懸掛著標有“這裡開始你的結束和我們的開始”和“一個兇殘國家的人質”的橫幅，這是黎巴嫩首都貝魯特遭受災難性爆炸破壞的一年。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
一項抗議將在議會面前結束，議會沒有採取任何行動來接受問責。
廣告
國際特赦組織指責黎巴嫩當局“無恥地阻撓”司法，而人權觀察則指責他們“刑事疏忽”。
週一，爆炸受害者的親屬呼籲當局在三天內解除豁免權，警告他們願意在即將到來的抗議活動中“折斷”。
家屬發言人易卜拉欣·霍泰特 (Ibrahim Hoteit) 說：“我們已經結束了例行和平示威……當心我們的憤怒。”
根據法新社看到的外國和黎巴嫩情報報告，數百噸化肥與數噸煙花和導爆索等危險材料被粗心大意地存放在同一個倉庫中。
這些報告都可以追溯到去年，表明最初的火災是由焊接工作引起的。然而，更徹底的調查尚未確定這一事實，並回答這批貨物最初是如何到達那裡的，或者為什麼致命的各種危險材料會在同一地點腐爛多年。
橫幅懸掛在去年 2021 年 8 月 4 日港口爆炸中受損的建築物上，因為黎巴嫩標誌著災難性爆炸襲擊首都貝魯特一年後。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
43 歲的梅爾瓦特·巴庫爾 (Mervat Bakkour) 是周二晚間在受爆炸破壞的 Gemayzeh 社區舉行的守夜活動中手持蠟燭的數十人之一。“我仍然無法相信有這麼多人喪生，”她說。
黎巴嫩議員——其中一些人在社交媒體上被稱為“硝酸鹽代表”——正在無視強大的國際壓力和製裁威脅。儘管巴黎在去年 9 月中旬規定了最後期限，但他們尚未就政府陣容達成一致，巴黎率先發起了以改革為條件的援助活動。
爆炸發生後立即為黎巴嫩舉行的第一次捐助者會議籌集了 2.8 億歐元（按當前匯率計算為 3.32 億美元）。
黎巴嫩在港口爆炸之前已經開始陷入混亂，一個破產的國家將人們的儲蓄困在銀行里，本國貨幣在黑市上暴跌。
廣告
該國現在面臨著藥品、燃料和清潔水短缺的問題，這些短缺加劇了爆炸後的創傷，使面臨新一波 COVID-19 感染的衛生部門陷入癱瘓，並導致所有可以移民的人。
Lebanon seethes with grief and rage as it marks one year since Beirut blast
‘The security officials, the government, the customs, of course they all knew’ of the hazards, says a worker at the port’s grain silos who lost seven colleagues in the explosion
By JEAN-MARC MOJONToday, 4:49 pm
A gavel monument symbolizing justice is seen in front of the damaged grain silos at Beirut port on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanon on Wednesday marked a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged Beirut, with a mix of grief over lost lives and rage at the impunity for its worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters.
Shortly after 6 p.m. on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertilizer haphazardly stored at the city’s port exploded and left swaths of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone.
What went down as one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history killed at least 214 people, leveled entire neighborhoods, irreparably scarred the nation’s psyche and deepened the country’s economic abyss.
With more than half the country living under the poverty line, former colonial power France aims to raise humanitarian aid at another international conference co-hosted by the UN on the anniversary.
President Emmanuel Macron, at the start of the event, pledged 100 million euros ($118 million) from France alone.
But as the probe into the disaster stalls, he warned that Lebanese leaders “owe their people the truth and transparency” over what happened.
Rescue workers and security officers work at the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, August 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The country’s already reviled political class has hidden behind its proclaimed immunity to avoid prosecution, delaying the lead investigating judge’s work at every turn.
In Beirut, security forces fanned out near the port ahead of families of the dead and survivors gathering to honor those who perished in a blast whose shockwave was felt as far away as Cyprus.
ADVERTISEMENT
Port workers were buried under gutted grain silos, firefighters battling the fire that preceded the blast were pulverized, commuters were crushed to death and residents lacerated by supersonic shards of glass bled out in their homes.
Many will stay home on what was declared a national day of mourning, but last year’s shock soon gave way to an anger that has only grown with every day the crime stays unpunished.
Jeffry Chartouni, a worker at the port’s grain silos, is still boiling with indignation after seven of his colleagues died in the blast.
How, he asked, had authorities for years not told them about tons of explosive materials stored right next to their offices?
“They should have warned us. With just a phone call, I could have told the guys to flee” before the fertilizer exploded, the 32-year-old said. “The security officials, the government, the customs, of course they all knew,” he added. “They need to be held to account, from the very top of the ladder to the lowest rung.”
Banners reading “Here starts your end and our beginning” and “Hostages of a murderous state” hang on buildings damaged during last year’s port blast on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
One protest is due to wind up in front of parliament, where no move has been taken toward accepting accountability.
ADVERTISEMENT
Amnesty International accused the Lebanese authorities of “shamelessly obstructing” justice, while Human Rights Watch accused them of “criminal negligence.”
On Monday, relatives of blast victims called on authorities to lift immunity within three days, warning they were willing to “break bones” in upcoming protests.
“We are done with routine and peaceful demonstrations… beware of our anger,” said Ibrahim Hoteit, a spokesperson for the families.
According to foreign and Lebanese intelligence reports seen by AFP, hundreds of tons of fertilizer were carelessly stored in the same warehouse as tons of fireworks and rolls of detonating cord, among other dangerous materials.
The reports, all dating back to last year, suggest welding work caused the original fire. However, more thorough investigations have yet to ascertain that fact and answer how the shipment got there in the first place, or why the deadly assortment of hazardous materials was left to fester in the same location for years.
Banners hang on a building damaged during last year’s port blast on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
Mervat Bakkour, 43, was among dozens of people holding candles at a vigil late Tuesday in the Gemayzeh neighborhood ravaged by the blast. “I still can’t believe so many lives were lost,” she said.
Lebanon’s parliamentarians — some of whom have been nicknamed the “nitrate deputies” on social media — are ignoring intense international pressure and threats of sanctions. They have yet to agree on a government line-up despite being given a mid-September deadline last year by Paris, which has spearheaded an aid drive conditioned on reform.
A first donor conference for Lebanon in the immediate aftermath of the blast collected 280 million euros ($332 million at current rates).
Lebanon’s descent into chaos had already started before the port blast, with a bankrupt state trapping people’s savings in banks and the national currency nosediving on the black market.
ADVERTISEMENT
The country is now facing medicine, fuel and clean water shortages that are compounding the post-blast trauma, crippling a health sector facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections and leading all of those who can to emigrate.
拜登承諾向受危機影響的黎巴嫩提供 1 億美元援助
但美國總統警告說，如果黎巴嫩領導人不致力於改革，“再多的外部援助都不夠用”
通過AFP今天，晚上 7:37
2021 年 8 月 4 日，黎巴嫩軍隊和安全部隊在貝魯特市中心的議會附近與示威者發生衝突，一名黎巴嫩男子踢了催淚瓦斯罐。（法新社）
美國總統喬拜登週三承諾向黎巴嫩提供 1 億美元的額外援助，同時他敦促這個飽受危機蹂躪的國家進行改革。
“今天我宣布將提供近 1 億美元的新人道主義援助，”拜登在由法國領導的聯合國支持的黎巴嫩捐助者會議上說。
“但是，如果黎巴嫩領導人不承諾開展改革經濟和打擊腐敗的艱鉅但必要的工作，再多的外部援助也將是不夠的，”他說。
“這是必不可少的。現在必須開始，”拜登說。“沒有時間可以浪費了。你知道的。如果你這樣做，我們會在那裡提供幫助。”
拜登政府沒有立即具體說明新資金將用於何處，但拜登表示，這是過去兩年專門用於黎巴嫩的 5.6 億美元人道主義援助的補充。
黎巴嫩會議是在貝魯特港口爆炸造成至少 214 人死亡一年後召開的，這是一個經濟自由落體且沒有穩定政府的國家的最新創傷。
拜登說：“我向所有受傷和失去親人的人以及所有仍在努力從創傷中恢復的人表示最深切的哀悼。” “我們還認識到，由於可避免的政治和經濟危機，黎巴嫩人民在過去一年中遭受了更多苦難。”
主計長發現貝都因人和埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人的國家失敗
監察員詳細說明了南部社區的基礎設施欠佳，許多社區缺乏電力或火箭警報器；埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人遭受過度監管和種族主義
通過TOI人員今天下午 2:22更新於下午 4:56
根據國家審計長 Matanyahu Englman 週三發布的嚴厲報告，埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人遭受過度監管和歧視，而南部的貝都因社區則生活在令人震驚的缺乏服務和治理的環境中。
報告指出：“內蓋夫的貝都因人是以色列最貧窮的人，他們缺乏基礎設施和優質教育。” “以色列政府負責加強內蓋夫的治理。”
報告強調貝都因社區缺乏基礎設施，而且其中 9 個社區出現在以色列 11 個社會經濟最低的地區的排名中，多年來排名沒有發生重大變化。
報告稱，由於缺乏關於居住在貝都因社區的人數的準確數據，當局無法進行預算。即便如此，也明顯未能提供可接受的基本標準。
主計長發現，在兩個地區議會的大多數社區中，幾乎沒有水、排污、電
因此，許多家庭非法連接到電網或根本沒有連接到電網，這是一種危險的情況，由於連接錯誤或家庭求助於使用危險的加熱器而導致許多致命的火災。
報告稱，學生們在危險的情況下乘坐舊公共汽車在未鋪砌的道路上上學，貝都因社區的許多成員居住在沒有火箭警報系統的地區。
它還處理了貝都因地區犯罪率上升和執法不力的問題。
廣告
報告稱，貝都因社區“嚴重參與了不繳納稅款、一夫多妻制、保護費以及對民用和軍用基礎設施的破壞”。
根據該報告，未能建立承諾的警察局和加強社區警力。
此外，在大約五年的時間裡，內蓋夫地區對勒索保護費的 177 起刑事調查被擱置或結束，只有 87 起移交給國家檢察官辦公室進行進一步審查。
Englman 指出，這些統計數據僅涉及向警方報告的案件，並表示敲詐勒索的問題比數字所顯示的要普遍得多。
公安部長 Omer Barlev 表示，該報告顯示“對該地區最緊迫的問題系統性缺乏投資導致嚴重火災”。
他說，貝都因社區的許多問題可以部分歸咎於“從未實現的計劃，預算已編制但從未建立的警察局，以及對問題的深度和解決方法的根本誤解。”
廣告
審計還發現，在 2017 年至 2020 年 2 月期間，僅對 18 起一夫多妻制案件提出起訴，而結案了 345 起，這意味著只有約 5% 的案件受到指控。
鑑於根據該報告，以色列約有 14,000 名婦女生活在一夫多妻制的家庭中，因此這些統計數據更加糟糕。
自 1977 年以來，一夫多妻關係在以色列一直是非法的。然而，儘管一夫多妻已被證明經常導致家庭暴力和不可避免的貧困，但當局在貝都因人中基本上對此視而不見。
該報告還強調了該國南部道路上的危險和高事故率。它說，2016 年至 2020 年，有 399 名未成年人在內蓋夫地區被抓獲非法駕駛，但它指出並非所有人都是貝都因人。
此外，貝都因社區面臨著來自所謂的海盜加油站和非法焚燒廢物的危險。
目標不成比例
主計長還詳細說明了埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人成為警察不成比例的目標，並在工作場所面臨歧視和種族主義的多種方式。
根據該報告，警方對社區成員的調查在未成年人中進行的比率是他們在人口中的相對比例（1.7%）的 3.8 倍，在成年人中是 1.9 倍。
報告稱，與此同時，根據警方進行的調查，社區中對警察的信任度和對其行為的滿意度僅為 13%。
巴列夫說，報告顯示“有很多工作要做，需要改變很多。” 他補充說，報告的調查結果並不讓他感到驚訝。“多年來，我們一直呼籲反對以色列執法機構過度監管和系統性地缺乏對社區成員的了解。”
廣告
這位部長發誓要“努力提高埃塞俄比亞移民對以色列警察的信任程度，並教育所有警察——從初級到高級——深入了解社區、它面臨的問題及其獨特之處。魅力。”
針對審計長的報告，警方告訴菅直人新聞，該部隊“一直致力於保護和忠實地為所有以色列公民服務，並為他們提供平等的警察服務，無論其出身、宗教或膚色如何。”
多年來，該社區一直表示他們一直受到警察的暴行和歧視，在 2019 年警察在海法發生爭執期間殺害 19 歲的 Solomon Tekah 之後，緊張局勢加劇。Tekah 的死引發了數天的全國性抗議活動，其中一些抗議活動演變為暴力活動，並再次引發對警察暴行和對埃塞俄比亞裔人的種族主義的指責。
關於埃塞俄比亞裔社區成員的融合，報告顯示，大約 75% 的人報告說在工作時遇到種族主義言論，而 22 個政府部委中有 14 個沒有達到政府關於社區充分代表性的目標，這本身就是僅佔勞動力的 1.7%。
此外，該報告還討論了與以色列議會工作缺乏透明度有關的一些問題，並表示尚不清楚各部委是否按照規范雲計算使用的指導方針運作，並發出警告。最近幾個月在以色列和國外發生的一系列大規模黑客攻擊。
Comptroller finds state failing on Bedouin and Israelis of Ethiopian origin
Ombudsman details subpar infrastructure for communities in south, with many lacking electricity or rocket warning sirens; Israelis of Ethiopian descent suffer over-policing, racism
By TOI STAFFToday, 2:22 pmUpdated at 4:56 pm
Israelis of Ethiopian descent suffer from over-policing and discrimination, while Bedouin communities in the south live with a shocking lack of services and governance, according to a scathing report released by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Wednesday.
“The Bedouin population in the Negev is the poorest in Israel and suffers from a lack of infrastructure and quality education,” the report charged. “The Israeli government is responsible for increasing governance in the Negev.”
The report emphasized the lack of infrastructure in Bedouin communities and the fact that nine of the communities appeared in a ranking of the eleven socioeconomically lowest localities in Israel, with no significant changes occurring in the rankings for a number of years.
A lack of accurate data about the number of people living in Bedouin communities has left authorities unable to budget, the report said. Even so, there was a clear failure to provide acceptable basic standards.
The comptroller found that in most communities in two regional councils, there was almost no public infrastructure of water, sewage, electricity, roads, communications, street lighting and sidewalks.
Many homes are therefore illegally connected to the electrical network or not at all, a dangerous situation that has led to a number of deadly fires due to faulty connections or families resorting to using dangerous heaters.
Students are taken to school in dangerous conditions in old buses on unpaved roads and many members of the Bedouin communities live in areas where there is no rocket warning system, the report said.
It additionally dealt with rising crime and a lack of enforcement within Bedouin locales.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Bedouin community “is heavily involved in the non-payment of taxes, polygamy, protection payments and damage to civilian and military infrastructure,” the report said.
According to the report, there has been a failure to establish promised police stations and increase policing in the communities.
Additionally, over the course of around five years, 177 criminal investigations into the extortion of protection money in the Negev region were shelved or closed, with only 87 transferred to the State Attorney’s Office for further review.
Englman noted that those statistics only involved cases that were reported to the police, and said that the problem of extortion was far more widespread than the numbers appeared to suggest.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said the report showed how “systematic lack of investment in the most burning problems in the area led to a serious fire.”
He said many of the problems in the Bedouin communities could be blamed in part on “plans that never materialized, police stations that were budgeted but never established and a fundamental misunderstanding of the depth of the problem and the ways to solve it.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The audit also found that between 2017 and February 2020, indictments were only filed in 18 cases of polygamy while 345 cases were closed, meaning that charges were brought in only around 5% of cases.
Those statistics were even worse in light of the fact that according to the report, around 14,000 women live in polygamous households in Israel.
Polygamous relationships have been illegal in Israel since 1977. However, authorities largely turn a blind eye to it among the Bedouin, even though polygamy has been shown to often lead to domestic violence and inescapable poverty.
The report also highlighted the danger on the roads in the south of the country and the high rate of accidents. It said 399 minors were caught driving illegally in the Negev region in 2016-2020, though it noted that not all of them were Bedouin.
Additionally, the Bedouin communities faced dangers from so-called pirate gas stations and the unlawful incineration of waste.
Disproportionately targeted
The comptroller also detailed a number of ways in which Israeli of Ethiopian origin are disproportionately targeted by the police, and face discrimination and racism in the workplace.
According to the report, police investigations into members of the community were carried out among minors at a rate 3.8 times higher than their relative share of the population (1.7%), and at a rate of 1.9 times among adults.
At the same time, trust in the police and satisfaction in their actions was at only 13% in the community, according to surveys conducted by the police, the report said.
Barlev said the report shows “there is a lot of work to do and much that needs to be changed.” He added that the findings of the report did not surprise him. “For too many years we have cried out against over-policing and a systemic lack of understanding of members of the community by law enforcement agencies in Israel.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The minister vowed to “work to increase the degree of trust of Ethiopian immigrants in the Israel Police and to educate all police officers — from the most junior to the most senior — with a deep familiarity with the community, the problems it faces and its unique charm.”
In response to the comptroller’s report, police told Kan news that the force was “constantly working to protect and serve all Israeli citizens faithfully, and provide them with equal police services regardless of origin, religion or skin color.”
For years, the community has said it has been subjected to police brutality and discrimination, with tensions spiking in the wake of the 2019 police killing of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah during an altercation in Haifa. Tekah’s death sparked days of nationwide protests, some of which turned violent and drew renewed accusations of police brutality and racism toward those of Ethiopian descent.
With regards to the integration of members of the Ethiopian-descent community, the report revealed that around 75% reported encountering racist remarks while at work, while 14 of 22 government ministries did not meet the government target for adequate representation of the community, which itself is only 1.7% of the workforce.
In addition, the report addressed a number of issues relating to the lack of transparency with regards to the workings of the Knesset, and said it was still unclear whether ministries were operating under guidelines regulating the use of cloud computing, with a warning issued in light of a number of widescale hacks in recent months, both in Israel and abroad.
--
Hosting provided by SoundOn
View all episodes
By 蘇育平 Yuping SU
5
44 ratings
2021.08.05 國際新聞導讀-以色列呼籲國際社會回應伊朗攻擊船隻之舉、以色列表示伊朗在10周即可取得足夠核武物資作核彈、美國再度攻擊塔利班陣地並指責塔利班大屠殺但塔利班否認、以色列衣索比亞猶太人被警方不公平對待，主計長出面主持公道
塔利班否認在佔領區實施報復性殺戮
阿什拉夫·加尼總統將阿富汗局勢的惡化歸咎於華盛頓
作者：ARSHAD MEHMOOD/媒體熱線
2021 年 8 月 3 日 22:20
2021 年 7 月 10 日，阿富汗赫拉特省郊區，前聖戰者組織手持武器支持阿富汗軍隊打擊塔利班。
（圖片來源：JALIL AHMAD/REUTERS）
廣告
在阿富汗塔利班堅決否認美國和英國的指控，他們的戰士負責平民斯平布爾達克，在坎大哈省的一個小鎮，他們最近在巴基斯坦邊境附近捕獲的大屠殺。
“這種毫無根據的指控是在 [阿富汗總統] 阿什拉夫·加尼 (Ashraf Ghani) 的授意下提出的，他希望延長其傀儡政權在該國的 [存在]，”駐卡塔爾多哈的塔利班發言人、塔利班成員蘇海爾·沙欣 (Suhail Shaheen) 說。該集團談判團隊的成員告訴媒體專線。
有關 The Media Line 的更多故事，請訪問themedialine.org
“在塔利班領導人充分參與地區大國[努力]為飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家帶來和平與穩定的時候，這種毫無根據的宣傳只不過是破壞和平進程的粗暴陰謀，”沙欣補充道。
“我們也堅決、準確地駁斥了美國政府關於報復性殺戮的虛假和毫無根據的指控。
塔利班的戰士，”他說。
Shaheen 告訴媒體專線，“一群四名阿富汗記者訪問了 Spin Boldak，調查該地區法外處決和大規模失踪的報導。記者走訪了整個地區，但沒有發現任何此類報導的證據。
不幸的是，國家安全局 [阿富汗的主要情報機構 NDS] 在他們返回坎大哈市時將他們全部拘留。
“我們還對此類指控進行了高級別調查，但我們的調查委員會除了在私人恩怨中殺害兩人之外，一無所獲，”他繼續說道。Shaheen 還告訴 The Media Line，“由他們領導的塔利班高級代表團
政治首腦謝赫·阿卜杜勒·哈基姆·哈卡尼週一在多哈會見了歐盟歐洲對外行動署（EEAS）副秘書長恩里克·莫拉和歐盟阿富汗問題特別代表托馬斯·尼克拉松。
EEAS 是歐盟的外交部門和聯合外交和國防部。
“我們的代表團強調其對和平的承諾，稱我們的首要任務是找到和平解決衝突的辦法，”沙欣說。
然而，華盛頓和倫敦指責塔利班在斯平博爾達克鎮實施了可能構成“戰爭罪”的暴行。
週一，美國和英國駐喀布爾大使館都在各自的推文中說：“在坎大哈的斯賓博爾達克，塔利班屠殺了數十名平民以進行報復性殺戮。這些謀殺可能構成戰爭罪；他們必須被調查& 那些負責的塔利班戰士或指揮官被追究責任。”
週日早些時候，國家安全局證實在坎大哈拘留了四名被指控散佈敵方宣傳的記者。
NDS 聲稱，在訪問 Spin Boldak 時，這些記者遇到了已故塔利班創始人毛拉穆罕默德·奧馬爾的兒子毛拉 Yaqoob。
被捕的記者是 Bismillah Watandost、Qudrat Ullah Sultani 和 Munib Obaidi，他們都與當地電台有關聯，以及中國新華社的攝影記者 Sanaullah Syaam。
人權觀察亞洲部副主任帕特里夏·戈斯曼（Patricia Gossman）在新聞發布會上說
請注意，“在坎大哈逮捕記者突顯了人們越來越擔心阿富汗政府試圖保護自己免受媒體批評。”
與此同時，加尼總統週一指責該國不斷惡化的安全局勢“突然”決定從阿富汗撤軍。
“我曾警告華盛頓，撤軍會產生後果，”他在國民議會聯席會議上就該國局勢發表講話時說。加尼說，對阿富汗強加了“進口”和“倉促”的程序，導致
“使叛亂團體合法化，而不是實現和平。” 塔利班首席發言人 Zabihullah Mujahid 通過推特回應說：“宣戰、指控和謊言無法延長加尼政府的生命；他的時間已經不多了，上帝保佑。”
自美國5月1日開始撤軍以來，塔利班控制的領土越來越多。
阿富汗安全部隊已經與愈演愈烈的襲擊作鬥爭，但塔利班已經能夠加強其旨在控制包括拉什卡爾加、坎大哈和赫拉特在內的主要省會城市的攻勢。
與此同時，赫爾曼德省首府拉什卡爾加的戰鬥持續了第六天。在阿富汗政府宣布向該地區部署數百名特種部隊人員數小時後，該市的戰鬥愈演愈烈。據報導，雙方發生激烈衝突，傷亡慘重。
“中央監獄和警察總部被圍困，衝突的重點是佔領區長的大院，”當地媒體報導。週一，9 具屍體和 8 人受傷被送往拉什卡加的 Boost 醫院，
官員說。
塔利班佔領了 Lashkargah 的國家電視和廣播演播室，據報導開始進行基於伊斯蘭教法的傳輸。
它可能是第一個落入塔利班手中的省會。阿富汗國防部周一證實，阿富汗空軍對拉什卡爾加郊區的塔利班部隊進行了打擊。
赫爾曼德省官員證實，伊斯蘭武裝分子襲擊了中央監獄，並被罷工擊退。
READ MORE
'5‑6** armed Iranians' responsible fortanker hijack off UAE coast ‑ report**
該部還表示，美國空軍對赫爾曼德省的塔利班陣地進行了打擊。這是過去7天來美國空軍第二次襲擊塔利班在戰鬥中心的陣地。第一次襲擊發生在西部的赫拉特省，塔利班已經到達了省會赫拉特市的入口。
律師兼人權活動家 Yasir SalarZai 告訴媒體專線，“Lashkargah 市的局勢已經惡化，醫院裡滿是傷員，而藥品和食物都短缺。
“這個城市沒有電，所以移動和互聯網服務也被暫停，”他說。常駐紐約的國家安全專家伊琳娜·楚克曼 (Irina Tsukerman) 告訴媒體專線，“美國的言論是無恥的企圖粉飾放棄阿富汗落入塔利班的責任。
“事實上，這個結果是不可避免的，也很容易預測。特朗普和拜登政府都提出了理想主義的說法，即解決阿富汗的安全問題不是美國的責任，但事實上，這些問題具有全球影響，遲早會直接影響美國的利益，”楚克曼補充道。
“通過官方渠道發出哀悼並不能減輕美國過早和不必要的撤軍造成的損害，”她說。
“無論當前困境的過錯是否在於美國戰略失敗或阿富汗腐敗……，這並不能免除現任 [美國] 政府防止極端主義蔓延並確保 20美國多年的參與不會白費，”楚克曼補充道。
她說：“有很多方法可以為飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家帶來和平並防止目前的情況發生，但從來沒有認真討論過這些。”
“也許是時候了解有時勝利和失敗的代價是一樣的，”楚克曼說。
Umer Karim 是倫敦皇家聯合軍種國防與安全研究所 (RUSI) 的客座研究員，專注於阿富汗危機。他告訴媒體專線，“阿富汗目前正在發生的事情是預料之中的，包括阿富汗政府在內的所有參與者都知道這件事。”
“加尼總統一再斷言，阿富汗安全部隊有足夠的能力處理撤軍後的安全局勢，但事實並非如此，”卡里姆繼續說道。“塔利班最初想確保阿富汗農村腹地的安全，並包圍城市中心，現在下一步是：他們試圖佔領它們[城市]，因此他們的戰略逐步建立壓力和佔領領土非常清楚，”他說。
“另一方面，阿富汗政府依賴當地軍閥和民兵堅守陣地，並依賴美軍的空中支援，這暴露了阿富汗安全部隊 [缺乏] 專業技能和能力，”卡里姆補充道。
“參與這場衝突的所有參與者都無視平民的生命和財產，他們在這場戰鬥中越來越多地首當其衝，”他進一步說。
“很明顯，阿富汗政府和塔利班現在都選擇了戰爭道路，因此除非一個行動者在戰場上佔上風，否則談判或建設和平演習將無濟於事，”卡里姆說。
阿富汗東北部巴達赫尚省的政治分析家賽義德·納賈姆·瓦利·布哈里 (Syed Najam Wali Bukhari) 告訴媒體，“阿富汗人仍在遭受歷史上持續時間最長、最致命的衝突。
他說：“在阿富汗安全部隊和塔利班正在全國爭奪控制權之際，大量平民傷亡出現。”
“毫無疑問，塔利班現在控制著該國最大的地區，因為大多數美國領導的外國軍隊已經離開了阿富汗，”布哈里繼續說道。“儘管美國和一些主要地區大國試圖通過談判找到政治解決方案，但不幸的是，這被推遲了。
“以美國為首的部隊的倉促撤出，給這個被戰爭摧毀的國家會發生什麼留下了一個很大的問號。事實上，無辜的阿富汗平民將不得不為和平與穩定付出沉重的代價。我們再次被推入似乎永遠不會結束的災難性局勢，”他說。
布哈里說：“沒有權威可以告訴我們，我們還要忍受親人的葬禮多久。”
沙特外長讚揚亞伯拉罕協議，將巴勒斯坦建國放在首位
“如果不以可持續、長期的方式解決巴以沖突，我們就不會在該地區擁有真正、可持續的安全。”
作者：托瓦·拉扎羅夫、拉哈夫·哈爾科夫
2021 年 8 月 4 日 21:29
沙特阿拉伯外交部長費薩爾·本·法爾漢·阿勒沙特於 2021 年 6 月 29 日抵達意大利馬泰拉參加 G20 外交部長和發展部長會議。
（圖片來源：路透社/YARA NARDI）
廣告
該亞伯拉罕協定一直在為中東不錯，但他們的勢頭應該用來幫助巴勒斯坦人實現建國，沙特外交大臣費薩爾本法爾漢·沙特在阿斯彭安全論壇上週二虛擬發布會上說。
“我們認為，總體而言，《亞伯拉罕協定》在促進該地區的參與方面發揮了積極作用，因此從這個意義上說，可以積極看待這些國家的決定，”他說。
沙特外長補充說，在過去一年以色列和阿拉伯國家關係正常化的基礎上再接再厲，最好的辦法是“找到解決巴勒斯坦人問題的道路，找到通往巴勒斯坦國的道路，因為這將為該地區的以色列實現完全正常化。”
在特朗普政府的最後幾個月，公眾猜測沙特阿拉伯將成為第五個在亞伯拉罕協議的標題下與以色列實現關係正常化的國家，但這些期望從未實現。
作為美國前總統唐納德特朗普促成的亞伯拉罕協議的一部分，阿拉伯聯合酋長國、巴林、摩洛哥和蘇丹去年與以色列實現了關係正常化。
自美國總統喬拜登於 2021 年 1 月上任以來，尚未達成任何額外交易。
在周二的安全論壇上，費薩爾表示，和平“是阿拉伯人的戰略選擇”，必須用來為巴勒斯坦人達成全面解決方案。
當被問及這是否是沙特和以色列正常化的先決條件時，鑑於巴勒斯坦派系之間的分歧使得以巴和平在短期內不太可能，費薩爾沒有回答問題的第一部分。
相反，他說巴解組織和巴勒斯坦權力機構是巴勒斯坦人的合法代表。
“這種接觸是朝著和平解決方向前進的關鍵接觸，”他說。“我認為，如果不以可持續、長期的方式解決巴以沖突，我們就不會在該地區擁有真正、可持續的安全。我們需要盡一切努力來實現這一目標。”
費薩爾指著以色列的新政府說：“也許它可以取得一些進展。讓我們等著看。”
在耶路撒冷外交部，Haim Regev 在擔任中東事務與和平進程副總幹事五年之際談到了亞伯拉罕協議以及以色列與其阿拉伯鄰國的關係。他將很快擔任駐歐盟大使一職。
他的繼任者尚未公佈。
Regev 在他的評估中直言不諱地認為，就該地區的以色列-阿拉伯關係而言，以巴衝突是一個挑戰。
Regev 說，耶路撒冷，尤其是聖殿山周圍的問題，是一個特別敏感的問題。
但他堅稱，歸根結底，即使巴以沖突沒有得到解決，以色列與阿拉伯國家的關係也可以繼續發展。
雷格夫說，以色列的軍事、經濟和技術實力，特別是打擊該地區極端分子的戰鬥。包括伊朗在內，已經幫助動搖了阿拉伯國家建立聯繫。
“歸根結底，我們在這裡並不斷努力製止極端主義，”他說。
阿拉伯國家“左顧右盼”，想知道誰能幫助確保該地區的安全。Regev 說，答案是以色列。他補充說，這給了以色列很大的影響力。
與以色列的關係給阿拉伯國家帶來的好處超過了解決以巴衝突的重要性。
他強調亞伯拉罕協議的成功，指出外交部長亞伊爾拉皮德計劃下周訪問摩洛哥。
“有一種勢頭，”雷格夫說。
他說，人們必須記住，華盛頓和耶路撒冷的領導層都發生了變化，更不用說以色列和哈馬斯在加沙的戰爭了。
他說，然後是阿拉伯國家本身，它們必須權衡與以色列關係的正式正常化與國內和地區因素。
雷格夫說，在非官方關係方面，以色列與除也門、黎巴嫩、敘利亞和阿爾及利亞之外的阿拉伯聯盟幾乎所有國家都有關係。他特別指出，它與伊拉克有非官方關係。
此外，它與六個阿拉伯聯盟國家有正式關係，他說，因為他計算了四個亞伯拉罕協議國家以及以色列與埃及和約旦達成的前兩個和平協議。
為了強調這種非正式關係的重要性，他描述了以色列如何在談判桌下與阿聯酋建立關係。
Regev 說，這種關係基礎設施是與阿聯酋能夠如此迅速地建立正常化關係的原因之一。標準化完成後，就不需要從頭開始了，因為已經建立了一個穩定的基礎。
雷格夫說，以色列也從與埃及和約旦的冷和平中吸取了教訓，並非常重視與亞伯拉罕協議國家建立“人民對人民”的聯繫。
Saudi FM praises Abraham Accords, puts Palestinian statehood first
"Without solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a sustainable, long-term way, we’re not going to have real, sustainable security in the region."
By TOVAH LAZAROFF, LAHAV HARKOV
AUGUST 4, 2021 21:29
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives to attend the G20 meeting of foreign and development ministers in Matera, Italy, June 29, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/YARA NARDI)
Advertisement
The Abraham Accords have been good for the Middle East, but their momentum should be used to help the Palestinians achieve statehood, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a virtual conference of the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday.
“We think, overall, the Abraham Accords have worked positively to spur engagement in the region, so in that sense, the decision by those countries can be viewed positively,” he said.
The Saudi foreign minister added that the best way to build on the normalized relations between Israel and Arab states in the past year would be “to find a path to solving the issue of the Palestinians and finding a path to a Palestinian state, because that will deliver complete normalization for Israel in the region.”
Public speculation was high in the last months of the Trump administration that Saudi Arabia would become the fifth country to normalize ties with Israel under the rubric of the Abraham Accords, but those expectations never came to fruition.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized ties with Israel last year as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump.
Since US President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021, no additional deals have been reached.
At the security forum on Tuesday, Faisal said that peace “is a strategic choice of the Arabs” that must be used to reach a comprehensive solution for the Palestinians.
Asked if that’s a precondition for Saudi-Israel normalization, in light of the divisions among Palestinian factions making Israel-Palestinian peace unlikely in the short term, Faisal did not address the first part of the question.
Rather, he said that the PLO and Palestinian Authority are the legal representatives of the Palestinians.
“That engagement is the key engagement in order to progress towards a peaceful solution,” he stated. “I think without solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a sustainable, long-term way, we’re not going to have real, sustainable security in the region. We need to try everything we can to make that happen.”
Faisal pointed to the new government in Israel, saying “perhaps it can deliver some progress. Let’s wait and see.”
At the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Haim Regev spoke of the Abraham Accords and Israel’s ties with its Arab neighbors as he wrapped up five years in his role as deputy director-general for Middle East affairs and the peace process. He will soon take up the post of ambassador to the European Union.
His replacement has yet to be announced.
Regev was blunt in his assessment that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict presents a challenge when it comes to Israeli-Arab ties in the region.
Jerusalem, especially issues around the Temple Mount, is a particularly sensitive issue, Regev said.
But he insisted that, at the end of the day, Israeli ties with Arab nations could proceed even without the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Regev said that Israel’s military, economic and technological strength, particularly its battle against extremist elements in the region. including Iran, has helped sway the Arab countries to establish a connection.
“At the end of the day, we are here and constantly working to halt extremism,” he said.
Arab countries “look to the right and the left” and want to know who can help secure the region. The answer is Israel, Regev said. This gives Israel a lot of clout, he added.
The advantage that relations with Israel give the Arab countries outweighs the importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He was emphatic about the success of the Abraham Accords, noting that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid plans to visit Morocco next week.
“There was a momentum,” Regev said.
One must remember that there were leadership changes, both in Washington and Jerusalem, to say nothing of a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, he said.
Then there are the Arab countries themselves, which have to weigh the formal normalization of ties with Israel against internal domestic considerations as well as regional ones, he said.
When it comes to unofficial ties, Israel has relations with almost all the countries in the Arab League short of Yemen, Lebanon and Syria and Algeria, Regev said. He noted in particular that it has unofficial relations with Iraq.
In addition, it has formal ties with six of the Arab League countries, he said, as he counted the four Abraham Accord countries and the two previous peace deals Israel struck with Egypt and Jordan.
To underscore the importance of such informal ties, he described how Israel built its relationship with the UAE under the table.
That relational infrastructure was one of the reasons that normalization ties could be established so quickly with the UAE, Regev said. When normalization was achieved, there was no need to start from scratch, because a stable base had already been built.
Regev said that Israel had also learned from the cold peace it had with Egypt and Jordan and was heavily focused on building the “people to people” connection with the Abraham Accord countries.
以色列指名伊朗無人機指揮官據稱是致命船隻襲擊的幕後黑手
甘茨和拉皮德部長告訴聯合國安理會各國的特使，伊斯蘭革命衛隊的賽義德·阿拉·賈尼對默瑟街的攻擊負責
通過拉扎爾·伯曼 今天，下午 6:11
外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德 (Yair Lapid) 向聯合國安理會各國特使介紹伊朗對該地區的威脅，2021 年 8 月 4 日 (MFA)
國防部長本尼·甘茨（Benny Gantz）和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德（Yair Lapid）週三點名了他們所說的伊朗指揮官，上週襲擊了阿曼海岸附近的一艘油輪。
“伊斯蘭革命衛隊空軍司令阿米爾·阿里·哈吉扎德是該地區數十起使用無人機和導彈的恐怖襲擊的幕後黑手，”甘茨在耶路撒冷外交部舉行的一次簡報會上告訴聯合國安理會各國特使。“有史以來第一次，我將揭露對發射自殺式無人機負有直接責任的人——他的名字是賽義德·阿拉賈尼，他是伊斯蘭革命衛隊無人機指揮部的負責人。”
“無人機指揮部對默瑟街號船隻進行了襲擊，”他說。Saeed Ara Jani 計劃並提供培訓和設備以在該地區進行恐怖襲擊。”
Gantz 和 Lapid 的簡報是在伊朗支持的部隊據報導還控制了阿曼灣的一艘油輪之後的一天，英國當局稱其為“潛在的劫持”。
同一天，至少有六艘船在阿拉伯聯合酋長國沿海發出警告，稱它們在不明情況下失去了對轉向的控制。
外交部表示，週三的簡報是以色列協調國際努力以對抗伊朗在該地區的行動的一部分。
外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德和國防部長本尼·甘茨向聯合國安理會各國大使簡要介紹了伊朗對民用航運的襲擊，2021 年 8 月 4 日（外交部）
拉皮德和甘茨向客人強調，以色列將在必要時自行採取行動保護自己，但伊朗的襲擊也應被視為對國際社會的侵略。
談到上週在默瑟街發生的無人機襲擊造成兩名船員喪生時，拉皮德強調說：“這不是針對軍事設施的秘密行動。這是對世界貿易路線的攻擊，這是對行動自由的攻擊，這是一種國際罪行。”
“國際社會將如何應對？” 他問。“還有國際法這種東西嗎？世界有能力和意志力去執法嗎？”
2021 年 8 月 3 日，拖船停泊在阿拉伯聯合酋長國富查伊拉港附近與以色列有聯繫的油輪 MT Mercer Street 旁邊。 (Karim Sahib/AFP)
“如果答案是‘是’，”他說，“世界現在就應該採取行動。”
以色列、美國和英國發誓要對默瑟街襲擊事件作出“集體回應”，但沒有詳細說明。
海上事件發生之際，伊朗與西方之間因德黑蘭與世界大國的核協議破裂而緊張局勢加劇，以及該地區的商業航運發現自己陷入了十字準線。
伊朗國營的伊朗伊斯蘭共和國通訊社援引外交部發言人賽義德·哈蒂布扎德的話說，該地區最近發生的海上襲擊事件“完全可疑”，這顯然是對周二事件的回應。他否認伊朗參與其中。
“伊朗海軍已準備好在該地區提供幫助和救援，”Khatibzadeh 說。
廣告
2021 年 8 月 3 日，在阿拉伯聯合酋長國富查伊拉海灣酋長國港口附近看到與以色列有關的日本油輪 MT Mercer Street。（Karim SAHIB / 法新社）
美國沒有為最新事件歸咎於責任，但國務院發言人內德·普萊斯表示，“伊朗的好戰模式非常令人不安”。
“當談到這一具體事件時，我們現在下定論還為時過早，”普萊斯告訴記者。
白宮發言人 Jen Psaki 表示，美國與英國就這一“令人深感擔憂”的事件保持著密切聯繫。
各機構為本報告做出了貢獻。
Israel names Iranian drone commander allegedly behind lethal ship attack
Ministers Gantz and Lapid tell envoys from countries on the UN Security Council that IRGC’s Saeed Ara Jani is responsible for strike on Mercer Street
By LAZAR BERMAN Today, 6:11 pm
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid briefs envoys from states on the UNSC about the Iranian threat to the region, August 4, 2021 (MFA)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid named on Wednesday the Iranian commanders they said were behind last week’s attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.
“Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s Air Force, is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles,” Gantz told envoys from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “For the first time ever, I will also expose the man who is directly responsible for the launch of suicide UAVs — his name is Saeed Ara Jani and he is the head of the IRGC’s UAV command.”
“The UAV command conducted the attack on Mercer Street,” he said. Saeed Ara Jani plans and provides the training and equipment to conduct terror attacks in the region.”
Gantz and Lapid’s briefing came a day after Iranian-backed forces also reportedly took control of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman in an incident British authorities described as “a potential hijack.”
The same day, at least six ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast warnings that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances.
The Wednesday briefing was part of Israel’s efforts to marshal international efforts to counter Iranian moves across the region, the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz brief ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council on Iranian attacks on civilian shipping, August 4, 2021 (MFA)
Lapid and Gantz emphasized to their guests that Israel will act on its own to protect itself if it must, but that Iranian attacks should be treated as aggression toward the international community as well.
Referring to last week’s UAV attack on the Mercer Street, in which two crewmen were killed, Lapid stressed, “This is not a covert operation against a military facility. This is an attack on the world’s trade routes, this is an attack on freedom of movement, this is an international crime.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“What is the international community going to do about it?” he asked. “Is there still such a thing as international law? And does the world have the ability and willpower to enforce the law?”
Tugboats are moored next to the Israeli-linked tanker MT Mercer Street, off the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, on August 3, 2021. (Karim Sahib/AFP)
“If the answer is ‘yes,’” he said, “the world should act now.”
Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom have vowed a “collective response” to the Mercer Street attack, without elaborating.
The maritime incidents come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as commercial shipping in the region has found itself caught in the crosshairs.
Apparently responding to Tuesday’s incident, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as calling the recent maritime attacks in the region “completely suspicious.” He denied that Iran was involved.
“Iran’s naval forces are ready for help and rescue in the region,” Khatibzadeh said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Israeli-linked Japanese-owned tanker MT Mercer Street is seen off the port of the Gulf Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on August 3, 2021. (Karim SAHIB / AFP)
The United States stopped short of assigning blame for the latest episode but State Department spokesman Ned Price said there has been “a very disturbing pattern of belligerence from Iran.”
“When it comes to this specific incident, it’s too early for us to offer a judgment just yet,” Price told reporters.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was in close touch with Britain over the “deeply concerning” incident.
Agencies contributed to this report.
甘茨：伊朗距離為核武器積累足夠的武器級材料還有 10 週的時間
國防部長告訴聯合國安理會成員的特使，隨著強硬派總統上台，對德黑蘭採取切實行動——包括軍事行動——的時機已經成熟
通過拉扎爾·伯曼 今天，晚上 7:22
2021 年 8 月 4 日，國防部長本尼·甘茨（中）和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德（右）在耶路撒冷外交部向外國大使發表講話。（以色列外交部）
伊朗國防部長本尼甘茨週三表示 ，距離獲得足夠的濃縮鈾來製造核彈還有十週的時間 。
“伊朗違反了 JCPOA 中規定的所有準則，距離獲得核武器所需的武器級材料只有大約 10 週的時間，”甘茨在外交部的簡報會上告訴聯合國安理會各國大使。在耶路撒冷。
“現在是行動的時候了——光說是不夠的，”他補充道。“現在是外交、經濟甚至軍事行動的時候了，否則襲擊將繼續。”
甘茨發表上述言論之際，阿曼灣周圍的緊張局勢不斷升級，週二晚上，一艘船被劫機者登上，一艘與以色列有關的船上週被無人機襲擊。這兩起襲擊都歸咎於伊朗。
甘茨強調以色列並不將伊朗人民視為敵人，他說：“伊朗政權正在威脅我們並引發地區軍備競賽。”
甘茨和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德在聯合簡報會上發表了上述言論。
在美國海軍提供的這張圖片中，伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊海軍 (IRGCN) 的快速近海攻擊艇 (FIAC)，一種配備機槍的快艇，在通過霍爾木茲海峽的美國海軍艦艇附近的速度，5 月2021 年 10 月。（美國海軍通過美聯社）
據菅直人周末報導，拉皮德、甘茨和其他以色列官員最近與美國同行討論了伊朗核問題，發出了“不尋常的警告”。
一位高級外交官告訴菅直人說：“與伊朗的談判必鬚髮生一些事情。這個'邊緣'不可能是伊朗迅速邁向成為核門檻國家的時候。”
廣告
美國總統喬拜登已表示他準備重返 2015 年核協議，並與伊朗進行間接談判，同時與該協議的其餘締約方英國、中國、法國、德國和俄羅斯進行正式會談。
以色列長期以來一直反對核協議，並反對拜登表明的重新加入該條約的意圖，該條約被美國前總統唐納德特朗普退出。
Gantz 和 Lapid 的簡報是在 Ebrahim Raisi 就任伊朗新總統的前一天發布的。賴西的極端保守陣營對美國深表不信任，一再批評即將卸任的總統哈桑·魯哈尼（Hassan Rouhani）在核協議上。
德黑蘭暫停了在維也納恢復協議的談判，該協議使伊朗從國際制裁中得到一些緩解，以換取對其核計劃的限制，直到賴西的任期開始。
Ebrahim Raisi，2021 年 6 月 6 日在伊朗德黑蘭西南部 Eslamshahr 舉行的競選集會上的要點。（美聯社照片/Vahid Salemi，文件）
專家預計德黑蘭新政府將採取更嚴厲的做法，這可能會毀掉達成協議的機會。
上週，美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯表示，與伊朗的核談判“不能無限期地進行”，但華盛頓“已做好充分準備”繼續談判。
廣告
該交易在 2018 年被特朗普破壞，特朗普單方面退出協議並實施懲罰性制裁。
“我們致力於外交，但這個過程不能無限期地持續下去……我們看看伊朗準備做什麼或不准備做什麼，並做好充分準備返回維也納繼續談判，”布林肯在訪問期間說。科威特。“球還在伊朗的球場上。”
伊朗最高領袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內伊上週三表示，經驗表明“相信西方是行不通的”，指的是美國退出該協議及其後果。
2021 年 6 月 12 日，伊朗國際原子能機構 (IAEA) 州長 Kazem Gharib Abadi 離開了在奧地利維也納舉行閉門核會談的“維也納大酒店”。 (美聯社照片 / Florian Schroetter)
賴西曾表示，他的政府將支持“保證國家利益”的談判，但不會允許為了談判而談判。
“我們希望世界了解伊朗政權是暴力和狂熱的，”總理納夫塔利貝內特上個月表示。“它選擇了‘德黑蘭劊子手’作為總統——一個願意讓自己的人民挨餓多年以實施軍事核計劃的人。這是一個人們不應該與之做生意的政權。”
貝內特補充說，以色列“將繼續與我們的朋友協商、說服、討論和分享信息和見解，以相互尊重。但歸根結底，我們要為自己的命運負責，沒有其他人。”
各機構為本報告做出了貢獻。
Gantz: Iran 10 weeks away from amassing enough weapons-grade material for nuke
Defense minister tells envoys from UNSC members the time has come for tangible actions — including military — against Tehran as hardline president comes into office
By LAZAR BERMAN Today, 7:22 pm
Defense Minister Benny Gantz (C) and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (R) addressing foreign ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, August 4, 2021. (Israel Foreign Ministry)
Iran is ten weeks away from acquiring enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday.
“Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the JCPOA and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon,” Gantz told ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
“Now is the time for deeds – words are not enough,” he added. “It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue.”
Gantz’s remarks came amid rising tensions around the Gulf of Oman, where a ship was boarded by hijackers Tuesday evening and an Israeli-linked ship was struck by UAVs last week. Iran has been blamed for both attacks.
Emphasizing that Israel does not see the Iranian people as an enemy, Gantz said, “The Iranian regime is threatening us and sparking a regional arms race.”
The remarks were made at a joint briefing by Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)
Lapid, Gantz and other Israeli officials have addressed the Iranian nuclear issue with their American counterparts recently, delivering an “unusual warning,” according to a report in Kan over the weekend.
“Something has to happen with the negotiations with Iran,” a senior diplomat told Kan. “This ‘limbo’ cannot be a time when Iran is quickly advancing toward becoming a nuclear threshold state.”
US President Joe Biden has signaled his readiness to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and has engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran alongside formal talks with the agreement’s remaining parties, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.
Israel has long been against the nuclear deal and opposes Biden’s stated intentions to reenter the treaty, which former US president Donald Trump backed out.
Gantz and Lapid’s briefing came a day before Ebrahim Raisi assumes office as the new president of Iran. Raisi’s ultraconservative camp, which deeply distrusts the United States, has repeatedly criticized outgoing President Hassan Rouhani over the nuclear deal.
Talks in Vienna to revive the deal that gave Iran some relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear program have been suspended by Tehran until Raisi’s term begins.
Ebrahim Raisi, points during a campaign rally in Eslamshahr, southwest of Tehran, Iran, June 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Experts expect the new government in Tehran to take a tougher approach that could doom the chances of reaching an agreement.
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said nuclear talks with Iran “cannot go on indefinitely” but that Washington was “fully prepared” to continue negotiations.
ADVERTISEMENT
The deal was torpedoed in 2018 by Trump, who unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and imposed punishing sanctions.
“We’re committed to diplomacy, but this process cannot go on indefinitely… we look to see what Iran is ready to do or not ready to do and remain fully prepared to return to Vienna to continue negotiations,” Blinken said during a visit to Kuwait. “The ball remains in Iran’s court.”
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last Wednesday that experience has shown “trusting the West does not work,” referring to the US withdrawal from the deal and its fallout.
Iran’s Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kazem Gharib Abadi, leaves the ‘Grand Hotel Vienna’ where closed-door nuclear talks take place in Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter)
Raisi has said his government will support talks that “guarantee national interests,” but will not allow negotiations for the sake of negotiations.
“We would like the world to understand that the Iranian regime is violent and fanatical,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said last month. “It selected the ‘Hangman of Tehran’ as its president — a man who is willing to starve his own people for years in order to have a military nuclear program. That is a regime that one should not do business with.”
Bennett added that Israel “will continue to consult with our friends, persuade, discuss, and share information and insights out of mutual respect. But at the end of the day, we will be responsible for our own fate, nobody else.”
Agencies contributed to this report.
美國拒絕世衛組織停止注射新冠病毒疫苗的呼籲
白宮新聞秘書表示，要求富國停止第三劑以供應窮國是“錯誤的選擇”
由機構和TOI 工作人員提供今天，晚上 9:43
美國周三拒絕了聯合國衛生機構關於暫停 COVID-19 疫苗加強注射以及富國轉而專注於向窮國提供疫苗的呼籲。
世界衛生組織總幹事譚德塞敦促控製劑量供應的國家和公司立即改變方向，優先解決富國和窮國之間疫苗分配的嚴重不平等問題。
“我們絕對認為這是一個錯誤的選擇，我們可以兩者兼而有之，”白宮新聞秘書 Jen Psaki 告訴記者，並補充說美國的捐款比任何其他國家都多，並要求其他國家加緊努力。“同樣在這個國家 [我們] 有足夠的供應來確保每個美國人都能獲得疫苗，”她補充道。
“我們將有足夠的供應來確保 FDA 是否決定向一部分人群推薦助推器也提供這些助推器。我們相信我們可以做到這兩點，我們不需要做出那個選擇，”Psaki 補充道。
幾個月來，世衛組織一直就針對一種已導致全球 420 萬人死亡的疾病的疫苗供應存在明顯不平衡現象並日益嚴重地發出警告。
根據法新社的統計，全球已接種了約 43 億劑 COVID-19 疫苗。
人們於 2021 年 5 月 8 日在德國科隆 DITIB 中央清真寺的論壇上接種了針對冠狀病毒的阿斯利康疫苗。（Martin Meissner / AP）
世衛組織希望每個國家在 9 月底前至少為 10% 的人口接種疫苗，到年底至少達到 40%，到 2022 年年中達到 70%。
在世界銀行歸類為高收入的國家，每 100 人注射了 101 劑。在 29 個最低收入國家，這一數字降至每 100 人 1.7 劑。
廣告
以色列、俄羅斯和匈牙利已經開始向其廣大人口提供第三劑加強劑，而德國和法國則宣布將從 9 月 1 日開始提供。包括美國和英國在內的其他國家正在考慮這樣做的計劃高度傳播的 Delta 變體出現後。
以色列上個月開始對免疫抑制者進行 COVID 疫苗加強劑量，並於週日向所有 60 歲以上的以色列人推廣。
總理納夫塔利·貝內特（Naftali Bennett）敦促老年人預約接種第三劑疫苗，以更好地保護自己。
“助推器，第三種疫苗，只是‘重新加載’身體的防禦能力，讓我們能夠挽救生命，”貝內特週二在陪同他的母親 Myrna 接受第三劑疫苗時說。“我問每個人——孩子、孫子和父母：去接種疫苗。為 60 歲以上的人第三次接種疫苗……我們接種的疫苗越多，我們就越能保護我們的父母，同時也保護一個開放的以色列。”
US rejects call by WHO to stop giving COVID booster shots
White House press secretary says it is a ‘false choice’ to demand wealthy nations halt third doses in order to supply poor countries
By AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 9:43 pm
The United States on Wednesday rejected an appeal from the UN health agency for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and for rich countries to focus instead on supplying poorer nations.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged the countries and companies controlling the supply of doses to change course immediately and prioritize addressing the drastic inequity in vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations.
“We definitely feel that it’s a false choice and we can do both,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, adding that the United States has donated more than any other country and was asking others to step up. “Also in this country [we] have enough supply to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine,” she added.
“We will have enough supply to ensure if the FDA decides that boosters are recommended for a portion of the population to provide those as well. We believe we can do both and we don’t need to make that choice,” Psaki added.
The WHO has for months been sounding the alarm over a glaring and growing imbalance in vaccine availability against a disease that has killed 4.2 million people worldwide.
Some 4.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, according to an AFP count.
People receive the AstraZeneca vaccination against the coronavirus at the forum of the DITIB central mosque in Cologne, Germany, on May 8, 2021. (Martin Meissner/AP)
The WHO wants every country to have vaccinated at least 10 percent of its population by the end of September, at least 40% by the end of the year, and 70% by the middle of 2022.
In countries categorized as high income by the World Bank, 101 doses per 100 people have been injected. That figure drops to 1.7 doses per 100 people in the 29 lowest-income countries.
ADVERTISEMENT
Israel, Russia and Hungary have already started providing third booster doses to wide swaths of their populations, while Germany and France have announced they will do so starting September 1. Other nations, including the United States and Britain, are considering plans to do so in the wake of the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Israel began administering COVID vaccine booster doses to the immunosuppressed last month, and rolled them out to all Israelis over age 60 on Sunday.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has urged the elderly population to make appointments to receive a third dose in order to better protect themselves.
“The booster, the third vaccine, simply ‘reloads’ the body’s defenses and allows us to save lives,” Bennett said on Tuesday as he accompanied his mother, Myrna, to receive her third dose. “I ask everyone — children, grandchildren and parents: Go and get vaccinated. Vaccinate a third time whoever is over age 60… The more we vaccinate, the more we protect our mothers and fathers and also safeguard an open Israel.”
黎巴嫩因貝魯特爆炸事件一周年而悲痛欲絕
一名在爆炸中失去七名同事的港口糧倉工人說，“安全官員、政府、海關，他們當然都知道”危險。
由讓-馬克·MOJON今天，下午 4:49
2021 年 8 月 4 日，在貝魯特港口受損的糧倉前可以看到像徵正義的木槌紀念碑，這是黎巴嫩首都貝魯特遭受災難性爆炸一年後的日子。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
貝魯特（法新社）——黎巴嫩週三標誌著災難性爆炸襲擊貝魯特一年後，人們對失去生命的悲痛和對和平時期最嚴重災難的有罪不罰的憤怒，而此時其經濟已經岌岌可危。
2020 年 8 月 4 日下午 6 點過後不久，隨意儲存在該市港口的硝酸銨化肥庫存發生爆炸，黎巴嫩首都的大片地區看起來像一個戰區。
這是歷史上最大的非核爆炸之一，造成至少 214 人死亡，整個社區被夷為平地，給國家的心靈造成了不可挽回的傷害，並加深了該國的經濟深淵。
由於一半以上的國家生活在貧困線以下，前殖民大國法國旨在在周年紀念日由聯合國共同主辦的另一場國際會議上籌集人道主義援助。
埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍總統在活動開始時承諾僅從法國提供 1 億歐元（1.18 億美元）。
但隨著對災難的調查停滯不前，他警告黎巴嫩領導人“欠他們的人民真相和透明度”。
救援人員和安全人員在 2020 年 8 月 5 日襲擊黎巴嫩貝魯特海港的爆炸現場工作。（美聯社照片/侯賽因馬拉）
該國已經飽受詬病的政治階層隱藏在其宣布的豁免權背後，以避免被起訴，動輒拖延首席調查法官的工作。
在貝魯特，安全部隊在死者家屬和倖存者聚集在一起之前在港口附近散開，以紀念在爆炸中喪生的人，爆炸的衝擊波在遠至塞浦路斯的地方都能感受到。
廣告
港口工人被埋在被毀壞的糧倉下，在爆炸前撲滅大火的消防員被炸成粉末，通勤者被壓死，居民被超音速玻璃碎片撕裂，他們的家中流血。
許多人將在宣佈為全國哀悼日的日子里呆在家裡，但去年的震驚很快就被憤怒所取代，這種憤怒只會隨著罪行不受懲罰的每一天而增長。
杰弗裡·查圖尼 (Jeffry Chartouni) 是港口糧倉的一名工人，在他的七名同事在爆炸中喪生後，他仍然義憤填膺。
他問道，多年來當局怎麼沒有告訴他們關於在他們的辦公室旁邊存放著成噸的爆炸物的事情？
“他們應該警告我們。這位 32 歲的老人說，只需一個電話，我就可以在化肥爆炸之前告訴他們逃跑。“安全官員、政府、海關，他們當然都知道，”他補充道。“他們需要被追究責任，從梯子的最頂端到最底層。”
2021 年 8 月 4 日，在去年港口爆炸中受損的建築物上懸掛著標有“這裡開始你的結束和我們的開始”和“一個兇殘國家的人質”的橫幅，這是黎巴嫩首都貝魯特遭受災難性爆炸破壞的一年。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
一項抗議將在議會面前結束，議會沒有採取任何行動來接受問責。
廣告
國際特赦組織指責黎巴嫩當局“無恥地阻撓”司法，而人權觀察則指責他們“刑事疏忽”。
週一，爆炸受害者的親屬呼籲當局在三天內解除豁免權，警告他們願意在即將到來的抗議活動中“折斷”。
家屬發言人易卜拉欣·霍泰特 (Ibrahim Hoteit) 說：“我們已經結束了例行和平示威……當心我們的憤怒。”
根據法新社看到的外國和黎巴嫩情報報告，數百噸化肥與數噸煙花和導爆索等危險材料被粗心大意地存放在同一個倉庫中。
這些報告都可以追溯到去年，表明最初的火災是由焊接工作引起的。然而，更徹底的調查尚未確定這一事實，並回答這批貨物最初是如何到達那裡的，或者為什麼致命的各種危險材料會在同一地點腐爛多年。
橫幅懸掛在去年 2021 年 8 月 4 日港口爆炸中受損的建築物上，因為黎巴嫩標誌著災難性爆炸襲擊首都貝魯特一年後。（約瑟夫·艾德/法新社）
43 歲的梅爾瓦特·巴庫爾 (Mervat Bakkour) 是周二晚間在受爆炸破壞的 Gemayzeh 社區舉行的守夜活動中手持蠟燭的數十人之一。“我仍然無法相信有這麼多人喪生，”她說。
黎巴嫩議員——其中一些人在社交媒體上被稱為“硝酸鹽代表”——正在無視強大的國際壓力和製裁威脅。儘管巴黎在去年 9 月中旬規定了最後期限，但他們尚未就政府陣容達成一致，巴黎率先發起了以改革為條件的援助活動。
爆炸發生後立即為黎巴嫩舉行的第一次捐助者會議籌集了 2.8 億歐元（按當前匯率計算為 3.32 億美元）。
黎巴嫩在港口爆炸之前已經開始陷入混亂，一個破產的國家將人們的儲蓄困在銀行里，本國貨幣在黑市上暴跌。
廣告
該國現在面臨著藥品、燃料和清潔水短缺的問題，這些短缺加劇了爆炸後的創傷，使面臨新一波 COVID-19 感染的衛生部門陷入癱瘓，並導致所有可以移民的人。
Lebanon seethes with grief and rage as it marks one year since Beirut blast
‘The security officials, the government, the customs, of course they all knew’ of the hazards, says a worker at the port’s grain silos who lost seven colleagues in the explosion
By JEAN-MARC MOJONToday, 4:49 pm
A gavel monument symbolizing justice is seen in front of the damaged grain silos at Beirut port on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanon on Wednesday marked a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged Beirut, with a mix of grief over lost lives and rage at the impunity for its worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters.
Shortly after 6 p.m. on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertilizer haphazardly stored at the city’s port exploded and left swaths of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone.
What went down as one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history killed at least 214 people, leveled entire neighborhoods, irreparably scarred the nation’s psyche and deepened the country’s economic abyss.
With more than half the country living under the poverty line, former colonial power France aims to raise humanitarian aid at another international conference co-hosted by the UN on the anniversary.
President Emmanuel Macron, at the start of the event, pledged 100 million euros ($118 million) from France alone.
But as the probe into the disaster stalls, he warned that Lebanese leaders “owe their people the truth and transparency” over what happened.
Rescue workers and security officers work at the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, August 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The country’s already reviled political class has hidden behind its proclaimed immunity to avoid prosecution, delaying the lead investigating judge’s work at every turn.
In Beirut, security forces fanned out near the port ahead of families of the dead and survivors gathering to honor those who perished in a blast whose shockwave was felt as far away as Cyprus.
ADVERTISEMENT
Port workers were buried under gutted grain silos, firefighters battling the fire that preceded the blast were pulverized, commuters were crushed to death and residents lacerated by supersonic shards of glass bled out in their homes.
Many will stay home on what was declared a national day of mourning, but last year’s shock soon gave way to an anger that has only grown with every day the crime stays unpunished.
Jeffry Chartouni, a worker at the port’s grain silos, is still boiling with indignation after seven of his colleagues died in the blast.
How, he asked, had authorities for years not told them about tons of explosive materials stored right next to their offices?
“They should have warned us. With just a phone call, I could have told the guys to flee” before the fertilizer exploded, the 32-year-old said. “The security officials, the government, the customs, of course they all knew,” he added. “They need to be held to account, from the very top of the ladder to the lowest rung.”
Banners reading “Here starts your end and our beginning” and “Hostages of a murderous state” hang on buildings damaged during last year’s port blast on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
One protest is due to wind up in front of parliament, where no move has been taken toward accepting accountability.
ADVERTISEMENT
Amnesty International accused the Lebanese authorities of “shamelessly obstructing” justice, while Human Rights Watch accused them of “criminal negligence.”
On Monday, relatives of blast victims called on authorities to lift immunity within three days, warning they were willing to “break bones” in upcoming protests.
“We are done with routine and peaceful demonstrations… beware of our anger,” said Ibrahim Hoteit, a spokesperson for the families.
According to foreign and Lebanese intelligence reports seen by AFP, hundreds of tons of fertilizer were carelessly stored in the same warehouse as tons of fireworks and rolls of detonating cord, among other dangerous materials.
The reports, all dating back to last year, suggest welding work caused the original fire. However, more thorough investigations have yet to ascertain that fact and answer how the shipment got there in the first place, or why the deadly assortment of hazardous materials was left to fester in the same location for years.
Banners hang on a building damaged during last year’s port blast on August 4, 2021, as Lebanon marks a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged the capital Beirut. (JOSEPH EID / AFP)
Mervat Bakkour, 43, was among dozens of people holding candles at a vigil late Tuesday in the Gemayzeh neighborhood ravaged by the blast. “I still can’t believe so many lives were lost,” she said.
Lebanon’s parliamentarians — some of whom have been nicknamed the “nitrate deputies” on social media — are ignoring intense international pressure and threats of sanctions. They have yet to agree on a government line-up despite being given a mid-September deadline last year by Paris, which has spearheaded an aid drive conditioned on reform.
A first donor conference for Lebanon in the immediate aftermath of the blast collected 280 million euros ($332 million at current rates).
Lebanon’s descent into chaos had already started before the port blast, with a bankrupt state trapping people’s savings in banks and the national currency nosediving on the black market.
ADVERTISEMENT
The country is now facing medicine, fuel and clean water shortages that are compounding the post-blast trauma, crippling a health sector facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections and leading all of those who can to emigrate.
拜登承諾向受危機影響的黎巴嫩提供 1 億美元援助
但美國總統警告說，如果黎巴嫩領導人不致力於改革，“再多的外部援助都不夠用”
通過AFP今天，晚上 7:37
2021 年 8 月 4 日，黎巴嫩軍隊和安全部隊在貝魯特市中心的議會附近與示威者發生衝突，一名黎巴嫩男子踢了催淚瓦斯罐。（法新社）
美國總統喬拜登週三承諾向黎巴嫩提供 1 億美元的額外援助，同時他敦促這個飽受危機蹂躪的國家進行改革。
“今天我宣布將提供近 1 億美元的新人道主義援助，”拜登在由法國領導的聯合國支持的黎巴嫩捐助者會議上說。
“但是，如果黎巴嫩領導人不承諾開展改革經濟和打擊腐敗的艱鉅但必要的工作，再多的外部援助也將是不夠的，”他說。
“這是必不可少的。現在必須開始，”拜登說。“沒有時間可以浪費了。你知道的。如果你這樣做，我們會在那裡提供幫助。”
拜登政府沒有立即具體說明新資金將用於何處，但拜登表示，這是過去兩年專門用於黎巴嫩的 5.6 億美元人道主義援助的補充。
黎巴嫩會議是在貝魯特港口爆炸造成至少 214 人死亡一年後召開的，這是一個經濟自由落體且沒有穩定政府的國家的最新創傷。
拜登說：“我向所有受傷和失去親人的人以及所有仍在努力從創傷中恢復的人表示最深切的哀悼。” “我們還認識到，由於可避免的政治和經濟危機，黎巴嫩人民在過去一年中遭受了更多苦難。”
主計長發現貝都因人和埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人的國家失敗
監察員詳細說明了南部社區的基礎設施欠佳，許多社區缺乏電力或火箭警報器；埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人遭受過度監管和種族主義
通過TOI人員今天下午 2:22更新於下午 4:56
根據國家審計長 Matanyahu Englman 週三發布的嚴厲報告，埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人遭受過度監管和歧視，而南部的貝都因社區則生活在令人震驚的缺乏服務和治理的環境中。
報告指出：“內蓋夫的貝都因人是以色列最貧窮的人，他們缺乏基礎設施和優質教育。” “以色列政府負責加強內蓋夫的治理。”
報告強調貝都因社區缺乏基礎設施，而且其中 9 個社區出現在以色列 11 個社會經濟最低的地區的排名中，多年來排名沒有發生重大變化。
報告稱，由於缺乏關於居住在貝都因社區的人數的準確數據，當局無法進行預算。即便如此，也明顯未能提供可接受的基本標準。
主計長發現，在兩個地區議會的大多數社區中，幾乎沒有水、排污、電
因此，許多家庭非法連接到電網或根本沒有連接到電網，這是一種危險的情況，由於連接錯誤或家庭求助於使用危險的加熱器而導致許多致命的火災。
報告稱，學生們在危險的情況下乘坐舊公共汽車在未鋪砌的道路上上學，貝都因社區的許多成員居住在沒有火箭警報系統的地區。
它還處理了貝都因地區犯罪率上升和執法不力的問題。
廣告
報告稱，貝都因社區“嚴重參與了不繳納稅款、一夫多妻制、保護費以及對民用和軍用基礎設施的破壞”。
根據該報告，未能建立承諾的警察局和加強社區警力。
此外，在大約五年的時間裡，內蓋夫地區對勒索保護費的 177 起刑事調查被擱置或結束，只有 87 起移交給國家檢察官辦公室進行進一步審查。
Englman 指出，這些統計數據僅涉及向警方報告的案件，並表示敲詐勒索的問題比數字所顯示的要普遍得多。
公安部長 Omer Barlev 表示，該報告顯示“對該地區最緊迫的問題系統性缺乏投資導致嚴重火災”。
他說，貝都因社區的許多問題可以部分歸咎於“從未實現的計劃，預算已編制但從未建立的警察局，以及對問題的深度和解決方法的根本誤解。”
廣告
審計還發現，在 2017 年至 2020 年 2 月期間，僅對 18 起一夫多妻制案件提出起訴，而結案了 345 起，這意味著只有約 5% 的案件受到指控。
鑑於根據該報告，以色列約有 14,000 名婦女生活在一夫多妻制的家庭中，因此這些統計數據更加糟糕。
自 1977 年以來，一夫多妻關係在以色列一直是非法的。然而，儘管一夫多妻已被證明經常導致家庭暴力和不可避免的貧困，但當局在貝都因人中基本上對此視而不見。
該報告還強調了該國南部道路上的危險和高事故率。它說，2016 年至 2020 年，有 399 名未成年人在內蓋夫地區被抓獲非法駕駛，但它指出並非所有人都是貝都因人。
此外，貝都因社區面臨著來自所謂的海盜加油站和非法焚燒廢物的危險。
目標不成比例
主計長還詳細說明了埃塞俄比亞裔以色列人成為警察不成比例的目標，並在工作場所面臨歧視和種族主義的多種方式。
根據該報告，警方對社區成員的調查在未成年人中進行的比率是他們在人口中的相對比例（1.7%）的 3.8 倍，在成年人中是 1.9 倍。
報告稱，與此同時，根據警方進行的調查，社區中對警察的信任度和對其行為的滿意度僅為 13%。
巴列夫說，報告顯示“有很多工作要做，需要改變很多。” 他補充說，報告的調查結果並不讓他感到驚訝。“多年來，我們一直呼籲反對以色列執法機構過度監管和系統性地缺乏對社區成員的了解。”
廣告
這位部長發誓要“努力提高埃塞俄比亞移民對以色列警察的信任程度，並教育所有警察——從初級到高級——深入了解社區、它面臨的問題及其獨特之處。魅力。”
針對審計長的報告，警方告訴菅直人新聞，該部隊“一直致力於保護和忠實地為所有以色列公民服務，並為他們提供平等的警察服務，無論其出身、宗教或膚色如何。”
多年來，該社區一直表示他們一直受到警察的暴行和歧視，在 2019 年警察在海法發生爭執期間殺害 19 歲的 Solomon Tekah 之後，緊張局勢加劇。Tekah 的死引發了數天的全國性抗議活動，其中一些抗議活動演變為暴力活動，並再次引發對警察暴行和對埃塞俄比亞裔人的種族主義的指責。
關於埃塞俄比亞裔社區成員的融合，報告顯示，大約 75% 的人報告說在工作時遇到種族主義言論，而 22 個政府部委中有 14 個沒有達到政府關於社區充分代表性的目標，這本身就是僅佔勞動力的 1.7%。
此外，該報告還討論了與以色列議會工作缺乏透明度有關的一些問題，並表示尚不清楚各部委是否按照規范雲計算使用的指導方針運作，並發出警告。最近幾個月在以色列和國外發生的一系列大規模黑客攻擊。
Comptroller finds state failing on Bedouin and Israelis of Ethiopian origin
Ombudsman details subpar infrastructure for communities in south, with many lacking electricity or rocket warning sirens; Israelis of Ethiopian descent suffer over-policing, racism
By TOI STAFFToday, 2:22 pmUpdated at 4:56 pm
Israelis of Ethiopian descent suffer from over-policing and discrimination, while Bedouin communities in the south live with a shocking lack of services and governance, according to a scathing report released by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Wednesday.
“The Bedouin population in the Negev is the poorest in Israel and suffers from a lack of infrastructure and quality education,” the report charged. “The Israeli government is responsible for increasing governance in the Negev.”
The report emphasized the lack of infrastructure in Bedouin communities and the fact that nine of the communities appeared in a ranking of the eleven socioeconomically lowest localities in Israel, with no significant changes occurring in the rankings for a number of years.
A lack of accurate data about the number of people living in Bedouin communities has left authorities unable to budget, the report said. Even so, there was a clear failure to provide acceptable basic standards.
The comptroller found that in most communities in two regional councils, there was almost no public infrastructure of water, sewage, electricity, roads, communications, street lighting and sidewalks.
Many homes are therefore illegally connected to the electrical network or not at all, a dangerous situation that has led to a number of deadly fires due to faulty connections or families resorting to using dangerous heaters.
Students are taken to school in dangerous conditions in old buses on unpaved roads and many members of the Bedouin communities live in areas where there is no rocket warning system, the report said.
It additionally dealt with rising crime and a lack of enforcement within Bedouin locales.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Bedouin community “is heavily involved in the non-payment of taxes, polygamy, protection payments and damage to civilian and military infrastructure,” the report said.
According to the report, there has been a failure to establish promised police stations and increase policing in the communities.
Additionally, over the course of around five years, 177 criminal investigations into the extortion of protection money in the Negev region were shelved or closed, with only 87 transferred to the State Attorney’s Office for further review.
Englman noted that those statistics only involved cases that were reported to the police, and said that the problem of extortion was far more widespread than the numbers appeared to suggest.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said the report showed how “systematic lack of investment in the most burning problems in the area led to a serious fire.”
He said many of the problems in the Bedouin communities could be blamed in part on “plans that never materialized, police stations that were budgeted but never established and a fundamental misunderstanding of the depth of the problem and the ways to solve it.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The audit also found that between 2017 and February 2020, indictments were only filed in 18 cases of polygamy while 345 cases were closed, meaning that charges were brought in only around 5% of cases.
Those statistics were even worse in light of the fact that according to the report, around 14,000 women live in polygamous households in Israel.
Polygamous relationships have been illegal in Israel since 1977. However, authorities largely turn a blind eye to it among the Bedouin, even though polygamy has been shown to often lead to domestic violence and inescapable poverty.
The report also highlighted the danger on the roads in the south of the country and the high rate of accidents. It said 399 minors were caught driving illegally in the Negev region in 2016-2020, though it noted that not all of them were Bedouin.
Additionally, the Bedouin communities faced dangers from so-called pirate gas stations and the unlawful incineration of waste.
Disproportionately targeted
The comptroller also detailed a number of ways in which Israeli of Ethiopian origin are disproportionately targeted by the police, and face discrimination and racism in the workplace.
According to the report, police investigations into members of the community were carried out among minors at a rate 3.8 times higher than their relative share of the population (1.7%), and at a rate of 1.9 times among adults.
At the same time, trust in the police and satisfaction in their actions was at only 13% in the community, according to surveys conducted by the police, the report said.
Barlev said the report shows “there is a lot of work to do and much that needs to be changed.” He added that the findings of the report did not surprise him. “For too many years we have cried out against over-policing and a systemic lack of understanding of members of the community by law enforcement agencies in Israel.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The minister vowed to “work to increase the degree of trust of Ethiopian immigrants in the Israel Police and to educate all police officers — from the most junior to the most senior — with a deep familiarity with the community, the problems it faces and its unique charm.”
In response to the comptroller’s report, police told Kan news that the force was “constantly working to protect and serve all Israeli citizens faithfully, and provide them with equal police services regardless of origin, religion or skin color.”
For years, the community has said it has been subjected to police brutality and discrimination, with tensions spiking in the wake of the 2019 police killing of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah during an altercation in Haifa. Tekah’s death sparked days of nationwide protests, some of which turned violent and drew renewed accusations of police brutality and racism toward those of Ethiopian descent.
With regards to the integration of members of the Ethiopian-descent community, the report revealed that around 75% reported encountering racist remarks while at work, while 14 of 22 government ministries did not meet the government target for adequate representation of the community, which itself is only 1.7% of the workforce.
In addition, the report addressed a number of issues relating to the lack of transparency with regards to the workings of the Knesset, and said it was still unclear whether ministries were operating under guidelines regulating the use of cloud computing, with a warning issued in light of a number of widescale hacks in recent months, both in Israel and abroad.
--
Hosting provided by SoundOn
More shows like 蘇老師講解國際新聞、中東與中亞歷史、中國事務、太空知識的頻道。 Diplomat's daily news review and history research on Middle East and Central Asia, China Affairs and Space Exploration
View all
Dr.Liu國際新聞摘要分析
15 Listeners
轉角國際新聞 Daily Podcast
187 Listeners
旅行快門TravelShutter
41 Listeners