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WORLD NEWS Monday 13 February 2023

Arab leaders warn Israeli actions threaten regional turmoil

By SAMY MAGDY often been the epicenter
Associated Press of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.
CAIRO (AP) — Dozens of There was no immediate
leaders and senior officials comment from Israel’s gov-
from Arab and Islamic ernment.
countries warned on Sun- The officials also voiced
day Israeli actions in Jeru- support for Jordan’s role as
salem and the occupied custodian of the Al-Aqsa
West Bank could worsen re- Mosque, the third-holiest
gional turmoil, as violence site in Islam. The mosque
surges between Israel and is built on a hilltop in Jeru-
the Palestinians. salem’s Old City that is the
The meeting in Cairo most sacred site for Jews,
was hosted by the Arab who refer to it as the Tem-
League and attended by ple Mount because it was
President Abdel Fattah el- the site of the Jewish tem- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, Palestinian
Sissi of Egypt, Jordan’s King ples in antiquity. President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and King Abdullah II of Jordan,
Abdullah II and Palestinian Since Israel captured the leave a conference to support Jerusalem at the Arab League
President Mahmoud Abbas site in the 1967 Mideast headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023.
along with many foreign War, Jews have been al- Associated Press
ministers and senior offi- lowed to visit but not pray tablish diplomatic ties with president, said his admin-
cials. The high-level gather- there. Israel claims all of Israel, called on the inter- istration would resort to
ing came amid one of the Jerusalem as its undivided national community to “re- the United Nations and its
deadliest periods of fight- capital, while the Palestin- inforce the two-state solu- agencies and demand a
ing in years in Jerusalem ians seek east Jerusalem tion and create conducive resolution to protect the
and the neighboring Israeli- as the capital of their fu- conditions for the resump- two-state solution to the
occupied territory. Forty- ture state. Calling Jerusa- tion of the peace process.” conflict. “The State of Pal-
five Palestinians have been lem “the backbone of the King Abdullah II also called estine will continue going
killed so far this year, ac- Palestinian cause,” el-Sissi for Israel to cease its viola- to international courts and
cording to a count by The warned of dire repercus- tions and incursions into the organizations to protect
Associated Press. Palestin- sions of any Israeli move to Al-Aqsa Mosque. our people’s legitimate
ians have killed 10 people change the status quo of “The region cannot live in rights,” he said.
on the Israeli side during the holy site, saying they peace, stability, and pros- The ongoing bout of vio-
that time. would “negatively impact” perity without any progress lence has put the region
Speakers at the meeting future negotiations to settle made on the Palestinian on edge. Last month, U.S.
condemned Israel’s “uni- the Israeli-Palestinian con- cause,” he warned. Secretary of State Antony
lateral measures” in Jeru- flict. He said such measures Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the Blinken met with Egyptian,
salem and the West Bank would impede the long- secretary-general of the Israeli and Palestinian lead-
in statements, including sought after two-state solu- pan-Arab organization, ers and urged them to ease
home demolitions and ex- tion to the conflict, which also warned that attempts tensions.
panding settlements. would leave “both parties to partition the Al-Aqsa Israel is run by Prime Minister
They also condemned vis- and the whole Middle East Mosque and obliterate its Benjamin Netanyahu’s new
its by Israeli officials to the with difficult and grave op- Arab and Islamic identity far-right government. Many
city’s contested holy site, tions.” “would fuel endless unrest politicians in Netanyahu’s
which is sacred to both El-Sissi, whose country was and violence.” administration oppose Pal-
Jews and Muslims and has the first Arab nation to es- Abbas, the Palestinian estinian independence.q

Germany to ease visa conditions for some earthquake victims

ian families in Germany to Germany have Turkish roots
bring close relatives from because, more than 60
the disaster region,” Ger- years ago, West Germany
man Interior Minister Nancy recruited “guest workers”
Faeser tweeted late Satur- from Turkey and elsewhere
day. to help the country ad-
“They can find shelter with vance economically.
us and receive medical More recently, hundreds
treatment,” Faeser said. of thousands of Syrian refu-
“With regular visas, which gees came to Germany
are issued quickly and are looking for safety from the
Volunteers walk among locally donated relief supplies for valid for three months.” brutal civil war back home.
earthquake victims in Turkey at a warehouse near BER Berlin- However, not all the re- Turkish and Syrian immi-
Brandenburg Airport in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany, quirements of a regular grants in Germany have
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. visa procedure are being been collecting aid, send-
Associated Press waived. Applicants must ing donations and worry-
BERLIN (AP) — The Ger- ily ties to Germany if they still be able to present a ing for their relatives back
man government wants to are facing homelessness or valid passport — likely to home. Calls to allow them
temporarily ease visa re- were injured. be an obstacle for people to take in close family
strictions for survivors of the “It’s about helping in times who fled collapsing build- members from the devas-
earthquake in Turkey and of need. We want to make ings. tated regions had been
Syria who have close fam- it possible for Turkish or Syr- Several million people in growing for days.q