Turkey’s foreign minister will attend the virtual meeting being held by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday to discuss Israel’s attacks on Palestine, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The meeting at the level of foreign ministers is being held “upon the initiative of Turkey in consultation with the Palestinian authorities and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministry said in a statement. The Open-Ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee will discuss “possible steps to be taken within the OIC and at international fora … against the recent attacks by Israel in the Palestinian territories,” the

Israeli police detained the deputy head of the Islamic movement in Israel, Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib, on Friday after breaking into his home in Kafr Kanna in Galilee, northern Israel. His son told Aljazeera television that police violently raided the home and assaulted family members. Clashes erupted between residents and police that left nine Israeli Arabs injured, following the arrest. Fierce clashes with Israeli police and settlers have erupted in Arab cities and areas in Israel in the last week amid continued tension in East Jerusalem where Israeli forces have harassed worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and families are under a

Representatives of the Taliban and Afghan government resumed intra-Afghan negotiations in the Qatari capital, Doha, both sides confirmed on Friday. Delegates said in a series of tweets posted simultaneously that in addition to Eid al-Fitr greetings, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the sides discussed the ongoing situation in the country and emphasized speeding up peace talks. “Abdul Salam Rahimi and Fatima Gailani represented IRoA (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), while the other side (Taliban) was represented by many members of their negotiation team including Mullah Beradar Akhund. Both parties emphasized restart of the peace talks after

With more than 326,000 new cases of coronavirus reported in India on Saturday, the Health Ministry said that the second wave in the country is “stabilizing”. “…overall, the situation is stabilizing and we will work towards ensuring further stabilization and a rapid decline of this pandemic. In this wave, at a stage, we had 40 lakh (4 million) active cases and right now it is around 36-37 lakhs,” Dr. Vinod Paul said at a press briefing. Paul is a member of the National Institute for Transforming India Aayog, the government’s main policy think-tank, and the co-chair of the National Expert

Calling out the international community for its silence on Israel’s “brutal attacks” on Palestinians, Turkey’s deputy foreign minister on Saturday rejected the notion that Israel was acting in “self-defense.” “Today is 6th day of #Israel’s brutal attacks on #Palestinians. 139 Palestinians, including 40 children, were killed in 6 days. Yet, international community is silent,” Yavuz Selim Kiran said on Twitter. “Some even declare solidarity w/ Israel for “self-defense”. Since when [does] “self-defense” means “killing children”?” he added. At least 139 people, including dozens of children and women, have been killed and 950 more injured since Israel started attacks on Gaza

Qatari media group Al Jazeera on Saturday condemned Israel’s airstrike on a building housing its office in Gaza City and called on the international community to protect journalists. Israel’s “barbaric” act targeted the lives of journalists and aims to prevent them from revealing the truth, the group said. “Al Jazeera promises its audience to continue its coverage and to uncover the truth on what is happening in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories and in Israel, regardless of the suppression attempts.” It also vowed “to pursue every available route to hold the Israeli government responsible for its actions.” Meanwhile, Al Jazeera Gaza

At least 29 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in different areas of the occupied West Bank on Saturday. According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, 17 of the injured people had been shot with live bullets and eight with rubber-coated bullets. Three more people needed medical attention after inhaling tear gas. At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more injured by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank as protests have raged in the Palestinian territory against Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip. More rallies in support of Gaza were held across the occupied West Bank