Day: July 16, 2024

Baghdad Governor Abdul Muttalib Al-Alawi announced control of the fire that broke out in wholesale stores (Al-Rusafi). Earlier today, a fire broke out in wholesale stores in the Shorja area in central Baghdad. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

HEBRON - Ma'an - Israeli occupation forces arrested a woman in her forties this afternoon at the Abu al-Rish checkpoint south of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron, on the pretext that she attempted to carry out a stabbing operation. Local sources reported that the occupation soldiers closed the checkpoint on the woman, and then arrested her and transferred her for investigation. The identity of this woman is not yet known. Source: Maan News Agency

A fire broke out this afternoon in Shorja area in central Baghdad. A police source said that civil defense teams went to the place and began extinguishing the fire. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Israeli occupation authorities seized 441 dunums of citizens' land in the villages of Shabtin, Deir Ammar, and Deir Qadis, west of Ramallah, on Tuesday. The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said in a statement that the seizure operation under the name of "state lands" aims to tighten control over all the lands surrounding the "Nili" and "Na'ali" settlements, which were built on citizens' lands. She added that the targeted area constitutes a group of plots surrounding the two mentioned colonies, and it completes what the occupying state has seized in the past years. The Authority explained that the frenzied attack led by the occupying state to seize Palestinian land reveals real intentions that have become clear to the entire world regarding tampering with Palestinian geography and dismembering it, in order to eliminate the possibility of communication between Palestinian villages and cities and eliminate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. The Authority str essed that it will intensify, along with all partners, its legal efforts to thwart the occupation's plans to control Palestinian land, which violates all laws and all evidence of the Palestinian citizen's right and ownership of this land. Source: Maan News Agency

The Department of Relations with Non-Governmental Organizations of the Integrity Commission, in cooperation with the Iraqi Contractors Union, held an educational symposium entitled (The role of the private sector in achieving sustainable development goals), in which it warned of the effects of corruption in the private sector that lead to weakening and reducing foreign investment. In a statement, the Commission praised the efforts to reduce and combat corruption in the private sector, enhance compliance with rules, regulations and instructions, and develop the legal framework to be able to achieve accountability of the private sector, as well as assess corruption risks, enhance transparency, and develop a strategy to supervise this sector, pointing to the importance of holding a special conference on combating corruption in contracts, tenders and bidding. It called on contractors to report corruption crimes, extortion operations, and bribe requests, and to contact the Commission through the means of communi cation designated by the Commission to receive information and complaints. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Ramallah - Ma'an - The International Academic Campaign Against the Israeli Occupation and Apartheid released the results of its electronic opinion poll No. (22), which was conducted during the period from July 11-14, 2024. The survey sample included a deliberate random sample of Palestinian and Arab academics, researchers and activists. This sample included 247 respondents, 52.2% from the West Bank, 27.1% from the Gaza Strip, 13% from Arab countries, and 7.7% from foreign countries. The professions of the sample respondents varied, including researchers at 30.4%, politicians and intellectuals at 26.3%, university lecturers at 22.7%, and activists and advocates at 20.6%. The study sample also included 35.6% of PhD holders, 34% of master's degree holders, and 30.4% of bachelor's degree holders. As for the division of the study sample between males and females, the sample of respondents included 77.3% males and 22.7% females. Regarding the respondents' response, the most important results can be summarized ac cording to the axes as follows: The first axis: The trends of the academic elite towards student movement in Western universities: The success of international advocacy activities in promoting the Palestinian narrative during the Israeli aggression. 41.7% of respondents expressed that the advocacy activities were very successful, 45.7% expressed that they were very successful, 4% expressed that they were neutral, 5.7% expressed that they were low, and 2.8% expressed that they were very low. A significant percentage of supporters outside Palestine are subjected to a high degree of government harassment, university harassment, or bullying by society. 15% of respondents indicated a high degree of harassment for their advocacy activities, 18.2% reported bullying by society, while more than 75% reported no harassment or bullying. This percentage is due to the high percentage of respondents from Palestine, while the majority of advocates and academics outside Palestine are exposed to some form of harassment or harassment. The increasing connection between the funding of Western universities by Zionist financiers and the hardline positions against the student movement supporting the Palestinian cause. 13.7% of the respondents expressed a very high degree of connection between the funding of Western universities by Zionist financiers and the hardline positions against the student movement supporting the Palestinian cause. 41.7% are very good. In contrast, 16.2% are neutral, 23.9% are low, and 4.9% are very low. The majority of protesting students do not care about being accused of anti-Semitism. The results indicated that the degree of correlation between the accusation of anti-Semitism against the student movement and the extent of participation from the point of view of the respondents was 54.7% in favor of it not affecting the movement, compared to 36.8% of them who believe that there is an inverse relationship, and this did not significantly affect the extent of student participation in the protests. The po licies of Western countries have changed positively in favor of the Palestinian cause as a result of the intensity of advocacy activities. 49.9% of respondents expressed that there were positive trends in the policies of Western countries in favor of the Palestinian cause as a result of the recent increase in the intensity of solidarity activities with the Palestinian people. 21.5% of them indicated that the degree of change in policies was very large, compared to 9.3% of them who were neutral, 16.2% who considered the degree of change to be small, and 3.6% to be very small. Negative attitudes towards repression of student demonstrations in American universities are increasing 78.5% of respondents indicated that the suppression of student movements constitutes a very significant violation of public freedoms, 20.2% considered it a significant violation, and 0.2% considered it neutral. Most trends confirm that student protests are not a form of anti-Semitism. 87.9% of respondents confirmed that student pro tests are not a form of anti-Semitism, compared to 7.7% who considered them to constitute anti-Semitism. The second axis: The attitudes of the academic elite towards the negotiations of the prisoner and detainee exchange deal: Low expectations for success of prisoner exchange deal 57.1% of respondents said they did not expect this deal to succeed, while 30.8% expected it to succeed. The decline of the national goals included in the exchange deal and the American amendments to it. 62.8% of respondents answered yes to the poll question: If the American initiative was concluded with its amendments to the exchange deal, do you think that the Palestinian factions that implemented October 7 succeeded in achieving the goals and interests of the Palestinian people? While 27.9% answered no to this question. The third axis: The trends of the academic elite towards the day after the aggression: Expectations rise that Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip 75.3% of respondents indicated that they do not exp ect Israel to withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip even if a swap deal is concluded, while 17% of them indicated that they expect it to withdraw. Multiple and different expectations regarding the day after the aggression. 30.8% of the respondents expected the Palestinian National Authority to take over the administration and rule of the Gaza Strip on the day following the aggression, followed by 29.6% of the trends that expected a consensus factional authority to take over, followed by 17.8% of the expectations in favor of international forces, then 14.2% in favor of Hamas rule. Declining trends towards expecting general elections in Palestine the day after the aggression. 82.6% expressed the impossibility of holding elections in the short term, compared to 10.9% who expressed the possibility of holding these elections. Expectations of Fatah movement winning in case of general elections are rising 56.3% of the respondents expected Fatah to win if general elections were held, compared to 30% in favor of H amas, the Popular Front 2%, the Struggle Front 1.6%, and the Democratic Front 1%. The level of satisfaction and demand for the continuation of legal and diplomatic action by the Palestinian Authority against Israel has increased. 95.1% expressed a high degree of satisfaction and demanded the continuation of the Palestinian Authority's legal and diplomatic efforts against Israel, compared to 4% who objected to this role. Rising support for popular resistance versus armed resistance 50.2% indicated that popular resistance is the most appropriate form of resistance to the occupation, compared to 25.1% for armed resistance and 9.3% for civil disobedience. The encroachment of the Zionist colonial project 30% of the respondents indicated that the Zionist project aims to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, 11.3% to undermine the Palestinian Authority, 3.2% to create an apartheid system, and 2.4% to replace the Palestinian Authority with another authority. 50.6% answered with all of these goals. Low expectations for the ability of Dr. Mohamed Mustafa's government to achieve the requirements of the letter of assignment 29.1% of the respondents indicated that they expected a lower degree of ability for Dr. Mohamed Mustafa's government to achieve the objectives of the assignment speech, 23.5% a very low degree, 25.9% a neutral degree, compared to 14.2% a high degree, and 7.3% a very high degree. Source: Maan News Agency

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaidan, discussed with a number of union and federation presidents the obstacles and problems related to matters related to their work considered by the courts and developed the necessary solutions to address them. A statement to the media of the Judicial Council stated that, today, Tuesday, Zaidan received a number of heads of Iraqi unions, syndicates, and federations and discussed with them a number of judicial and legal files related to the work of unions and federations, discussing the obstacles and problems related to matters related to their work and those considered by the courts, and developing the necessary solutions to address them. The statement stated that the meeting included the head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, Muayyad Al-Lami, the head of the Iraqi Lawyers' Syndicate, Ahlam Al-Lami, the head of the Iraqi Accountants and Auditors' Syndicate, Jawad Ghanem Al-Shahili, the head of the Iraqi Artists' Syndicate, Jabbar Jodi, the head of t he Iraqi Engineers' Syndicate, Zulfiqar Al-Maksousi, the head of the Iraqi Teachers' Syndicate, Uday Al-Issawi, the head of the Iraqi Jurists Union, Muhammad Noman, and the head of the Iraqi Chemists' Syndicate, Raghda Hassan Al-Dujaili, the head of the Syndicate of Agricultural Engineers, Sadiq Al-Muhammadawi, the head of the Syndicate of Dentists, Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Rawi, the head of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce, Abdul Razzaq Al-Zuhairi, and the head of the Nursing Syndicate, Firas Al-Moussawi.' Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Ramallah - Ma'an - A group of civil society institutions recommended holding a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mustafa and informing him of the results and recommendations of the 2023 Palestine Press Freedom Index report. They also recommended circulating it to the departments of media colleges in Palestinian universities due to its importance and high credibility in helping students and researchers in Palestine. These recommendations came during the workshop held by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) today, Monday 07/15/2024, at its headquarters in Ramallah, to announce the most important results of the fifth edition of the Press Freedom Index in Palestine, which was prepared for last year 2023 in the West Bank only, excluding the Gaza Strip, due to the difficult circumstances the Strip is going through as a result of the ongoing Israeli war on it since October 7th. The scale recorded (361) points out of a total of 1000 points, a difference of (23) points f rom the previous year, as the overall result indicated a low level, or a 'difficult' (red) rating, which is the rating whose categories fall between (201-400) points. The workshop was opened with a welcome by Dr. Ghazi Hanania, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mada, to all attendees from civil society institutions and international institutions that were able to attend via Zoom technology. He pointed out the importance of completing the index in light of the complex circumstances experienced by Palestinians in general and the media sector in particular, after the number of martyred journalists reached more than 158 journalists since the start of the Israeli war on the Strip. The expert and statistical researcher, Muhammad Daraghmeh, also briefly reviewed the Press Freedom Index and the methodology used to prepare it, as well as the areas and indicators on which this index was based. The attendees discussed the difficult circumstances experienced by Palestinian journalists as a result of the double pre ssures they face from all sides, which had a negative impact on the results of the report, especially in light of the absence of a Palestinian Legislative Council, which makes it difficult to hold accountable the violations of Palestinian media freedoms. In this context, the institutions came out with many recommendations, including the need to hold an official meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister and inform him of the results of this report and its recommendations in an attempt to make the necessary amendments to the legislative media environment, including reviewing the Electronic Crimes Law and some of its articles, and pushing towards the enactment of the Right to Access Information Law, which Mada Center had previously extracted promises from the former Prime Minister to enact due to its importance for journalists and citizens as well, since without reforming some laws and enacting others, there is no possibility of making progress regarding issues of freedom of opinion and expression. The attend ing institutions agreed on the necessity of publishing the report and its recommendations and disseminating them on the widest scale, especially to the media departments in Palestinian universities, to encourage media students to read it and to enable researchers in the media field to benefit from it. The attendees also highlighted the importance of having a specific body responsible for following up on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report, and the need for concerted efforts to be doubled in order to bring about positive change in the state of media freedoms, which has begun to approach the low (black) level. It is worth noting that the Mada Center has been working on preparing this index for six years to measure the extent of progress and decline in the level of freedom of expression in all Palestinian geographical areas and to compare them based on the results of previous indicators. The index for the year 2023 came with the support of the European Endowment for Democracy (EED ), and was implemented in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip due to the war that the Strip is being subjected to - which is still ongoing - which prevented a comprehensive analysis and comparison between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Source: Maan News Agency

A fire broke out in the orchards of Al-Wajihiya district in Diyala Governorate. A security source told the correspondent of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that a fire broke out in /3/ agricultural orchards on the outskirts of Al-Wajihiya district, northeast of Baqubah, due to children tampering with one of the orchards and the fire spread to neighboring orchards. He added that civil defense teams rushed to the area and were able to extinguish the fire, which caused severe damage. Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Gaza - Ma'an - The family of the late Palestinian doctor Adnan al-Barsh on Tuesday rejected Israel's request to conduct an autopsy on the body of their son, who was martyred on May 2 in an Israeli prison, months after he was arrested while working at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. The Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Barash, said, "The occupation opened an internal investigation (into Adnan's death), and its police requested an autopsy of his body, but the family refused." Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Al-Barsh, the cousin of the late surgeon, called for "an international investigation into the assassination of Dr. Adnan during the arrest and investigation process in Israeli prisons." Before his martyrdom, Dr. Al-Barash held the position of consultant and head of the orthopedics department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. Al-Barash was arrested in December 2023 while he was in Al-Awda Hospital (north) along with a group of doctors, and Israel is still withholding his body. Demands for an international investigation On May 16, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, called for 'an independent international investigation into the circumstances of Al-Barsh's death.' On several occasions, Palestinian governmental and human rights institutions have warned of the seriousness of the conditions inside Israeli prisons due to the torture that detainees, especially those from the Gaza Strip, are subjected to during arrest and investigation, which has led to the death of some of them. Source: Maan News Agency