Selasa, 13 Februari 2024

The world takes Trump's Nato comments literally, while Maga takes them seriously - The Independent

Perhaps nothing symbolises the shift from the old-school Reaganite Republican Party to the Maga-fied manifestation that dominates politics today than the shift from Mitt Romney to Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

In 2012, Romney, then the Republican presidential nominee, famously called Russia “without question, our number one geopolitical foe.” Democrats dismissed him as daft in a world with al-Qaeda and China on the rise. Barack Obama chided him and said “the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its meddling in the 2016 presidential election and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 vindicated Romney and showed the threat of President Vladimir Putin. But by that point, the GOP had moved on from the Reagan-Bush-Romney worldview and embraced another businessman-turned-politician in Donald Trump.

This weekend, when he held a rally in South Carolina, Trump all but goaded Putin into invading European countries when he recalled that he told a head of state of a Nato country talking about Russia during his presidency that if the country did not pay its obligations “I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

The remarks directly contradict Article 5 of the Nato charter, which says that all Nato members will respond to an attack on one member nation. Nato famously mobilised to the aid of the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Not surprisingly, Romney denounced the remarks.

“He says outrageous things to get people riled up,” Romney told The Independent. “It works at the rallies. Unfortunately, it also has an impact around the world where our friends wonder whether they can rely on America.”

But another senator, Roger Marshall of Kansas, a pro-Trump Republican, defended the former president using an old aphorism that many threw around during Trump’s time in the White House.

“What I know is he’ll secure the border, he’s going to make this country safer, he’s going to hold Nato accountable,” he told me on Sunday in Kansas City Chiefs regalia ahead of the Super Bowl. “And I think that people need to realize that like, you should take everything that he says seriously, but not literally.”

Some Republicans did indeed take Trump’s words seriously. Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran, called Trump’s words “horrible” while her colleague from Iowa Chuck Grassley told me: “No American should do anything to appease Russia.” Even Senator Rand Paul, the libertarian Republican from Kentucky, told me that Trump’s words were a “stupid thing to say” even though he agreed that Nato countries do not pay enough of their share.

Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley, who led the charge to object to the 2020 presidential election, initially laughed when he said that “the Nato countries definitely need to pay” before adding “If they invaded a Nato country, we’d have to defend them, so we don’t want that.”

Republicans like Hawley and Paul are part of a younger breed of Republican who oppose the United States taking on a robust role on the international stage. Indeed, Trump’s words come as Paul has sought to delay and oppose a package in the Senate that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific to push back against China.

This came after months of protracted negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators when Republicans had demanded additional measures to restrict immigration in exchange for military aid, a sign of how much Trump has moved the Overton Window when it comes to politics. Of course, Republicans outright rejected it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paul’s senior senate counterpart from Kentucky, even voted against the package despite his support for Ukraine.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the pro-Maga conspiracy-mongering congresswoman from Georgia, has threatened she would file a motion to vacate against Speaker Mike Johnson if he passed aid to Ukraine. Opposition to Ukraine, or at least supporting Ukraine without preconditions, as well as America having a large role on the international stage, has become a defining point of Republican ideology.

For the time being, white evangelical support for Israel – which is mostly rooted in a belief in end-times theology – keeps support for Israel secure. But even then, Republicans like Greene opposed a standalone piece of legislation last week.

But if Republicans take Trump’s words seriously, the international community took them seriously. Nato’s Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trump’s remarks “irresponsible and dangerous.”

The divergent reactions ultimately reveal as much about international leaders and Republicans’ political situations. For Republicans, crossing Trump or coming out against him too strongly signals political death. Indeed, Romney is leaving the Senate after one term. Other Republicans like Hawley hope to become the future of the GOP once Trump exits the stage. As members of Congress, they also have the express luxury of being able to rein him in or put in place statutes to prevent him from acting on his worse impulses, something the Senate relishes as the “adults” in Congress compared to the House.

But international leaders have no other option but to take Trump’s words literally and seriously. And given Trump’s intimations that he has made out loud and his previous deference to Putin, they might be more prescient than Republicans at home.

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2024-02-13 05:26:47Z
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‘There will be massacres’: Palestinians in Rafah speak of their fears - Al Jazeera English

Rafah, Gaza Strip – About 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them displaced, are squeezed into the small city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

They have been expelled from their homes in other parts of Gaza during Israel’s assault on the besieged enclave, which has killed more than 28,000 people.

Israel had designated Rafah a “safe zone”, but now, it is threatening a ground invasion, leaving more than a million people trapped there, terrified, with nowhere else to go.

Rafah is the latest in a series of areas that Israel has said would be “safe zones” for civilians to shelter in from what is now four months of attacks, but Israel has attacked one after the other, forcing people out again and again.

There have been international condemnations of Israel’s plan to invade Rafah but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is determined to continue, claiming that it would “finish Hamas”, which is the declared intent behind the assault on Gaza.

Um el-Abd Fayyad
Um el-Abed Fayyad and her family have been displaced four times so far [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

Senior Hamas leaders have said that such a move on Israel’s part would end any possibility of negotiations between the two sides.

Against this backdrop, the fear and panic that has taken hold of people in Rafah continues to build. Al Jazeera spoke to several Palestinians who ended up in Rafah because of the war, some of whom had been displaced many times over.

‘Nowhere else to go’

Umm al-Abed Fayyad said she and her family have been displaced four times so far.

“We are in a different area every month. The last place we were in was Khan Younis, and now we are in Rafah,” she explained.

When asked how she feels about the possibility of an Israeli invasion, Umm al-Abed Fayyad said she has “nowhere else to go”.

“The Israelis are everywhere. Where are we going to go?” she asked, noting that people all around them are “hungry and homeless”.

Assaad Hassan
Assaad Hassan is not well, and his only wish in life is to go home [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

Like others in the area, she says: “No matter how much they threaten, we will not move again, and God willing, we will be victorious. We will persevere and remain patient.”

Asaad Hassan, another Palestinian displaced from Gaza City to Rafah, is unwell. His only wish, he says, is “to return to my home and for the aggression to stop”.

“We have nowhere else to go but to the grave, if they carry out their threats to invade Rafah,” Hassan told Al Jazeera.

Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip began on October 7. That day, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, which governs Gaza, launched attacks on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and taking about 240 back into Gaza.

Israel immediately responded with a bombardment campaign followed by a land invasion of northern Gaza.

Umm Badr
Umm Badr Abu Salme is certain massacres are about to happen in Rafah [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

At least 28,340 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, while 67,984 have been wounded in the past four months.

The majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced out of their homes, and more than 60 percent of all infrastructure in the strip has been demolished.

‘There will be massacres’

Umm Badr Abu Salme said she moved with her family to Rafah based on orders from the Israeli army that it would be safer.

“We came to Rafah, and now they are telling us to leave,” she told Al Jazeera. “There will be massacres. There is no other place to go. Rafah is our last refuge. This war must stop.”

“Anyone who moves is killed,” Abu Salme said. “We have no safe place to go to.”

Mohammed Madi, who is a medic, has been displaced several times since he was forced to leave his home in Gaza City.

Dr Mohamed Madi
‘I’ll die here before I leave,’ Mohammed Madi told Al Jazeera [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

“If the occupation follows through with its threats to invade Rafah, it will be a disaster,” Madi told Al Jazeera.

“Still, I won’t leave Rafah because where will we go? The rest of Gaza is destroyed. I’ll die here before I leave,” he said.

“We call on the Arab countries … to take a decision and end this genocidal war against Gaza,” Madi said.

On December 29, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, arguing that it is carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people, a term many have used to describe Israel’s war on Gaza.

Journalist Alaa Salameh, a resident of Rafah who has covered the war all over the Strip, said he will remain to report from the city despite the Israeli threats.

“The Israeli army carried out countless massacres across the Gaza Strip. If it invades Rafah, it will do the same,” Salameh told Al Jazeera.

Journalist Alaa Salameh
Journalist Alaa Salameh is from Rafah but has moved up and down the Gaza Strip to cover the war [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

“The occupation does not follow international law. If they invade Rafah, there will be no safe place,” he continued. “There needs to be global pressure to prevent this potential crime from happening.”

He noted that Israel has already killed thousands of Palestinians in air strikes on Rafah over the past few months.

Haifaa Mohammad Abdelhamid Saleh was forced to leave her home in Gaza City and came to Rafah. “We left on October 14. We didn’t want to leave Gaza City or our homes, but the Israeli occupation told us that we would be safe if we did.”

“We hope they don’t invade Rafah. If they do, there will be a humanitarian disaster – not just among refugees but also for the residents of the city,” Saleh said.

“They burned down everything in Gaza. They want to take out their revenge on the resistance in Gaza.”

Haifaa Mohammad Abdelhamid Saleh
Haifaa Mohammad fears a massacre among refugees and the people of Rafah [Sanad Agency/Al Jazeera]

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2024-02-13 06:12:33Z
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Israel Gaza: Biden says Israel must protect vulnerable in Rafah - bbc.co.uk

Palestinians walk past houses destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Photo: 12 February 2024Reuters

US President Joe Biden has said civilians who are "packed" into Rafah in the Gaza Strip are "exposed and vulnerable" and must be protected.

Israel must make "credible" efforts to protect the more than one million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gazan city, he said.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with a number of casualties reported.

A Palestinian doctor told the BBC people in Rafah were living in fear.

Last week, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered troops to prepare to expand its ground operation to Rafah. He vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen hiding in the city.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said any assault would be "terrifying" and many civilians "will likely be killed".

More than half of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million is now crammed into the city on the border with Egypt, which was home to only 250,000 people before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October.

Many of the displaced people are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.

On Sunday, Israel's military said two male Israeli-Argentine hostages had been rescued during a raid in Rafah.

President Biden again appealed for the protection of Rafah civilians after his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in Washington on Monday.

He said any major military operation in the city "should not proceed without a credible plan for ensuring the safety" of those living there.

"Many people there have been displaced, displaced multiple times, fleeing the violence to the north and now they're packed into Rafah, exposed and vulnerable.

"They need to be protected. And we've also been clear from the start, we oppose any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza."

Last week, the White House said it would not support major Israeli operations in Rafah without due consideration for the refugees there.

Many people have fled Israel's ground operation in the rest of the Gaza Strip - a Palestinian enclave run by Hamas.

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A number of countries and international organisations have warned Israel against launching its planned offensive.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Monday said Israel should "stop and think seriously" before taking further action in Rafah.

EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged allies of Israel to stop sending weapons, as "too many people" were being killed in Gaza.

Last week, Saudi Arabia warned of "very serious repercussions" if Rafah was stormed.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Hamas rulers said there could be "tens of thousands" of casualties, warning that any operation would also undermine talks about a possible release of Israeli hostages held in the territory.

Rafah - on the border with Egypt - is the only open point of entry for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel's military launched its operations in the Gaza Strip after at least 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas-led gunmen, who also took 253 people hostage.

A number of those hostages were later released but Israel says 134 are still unaccounted for.

On Monday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 164 people had been killed and 200 injured in Gaza over the last day. The ministry says 28,340 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 68,000 wounded in the Strip since 7 October.

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2024-02-13 07:01:35Z
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Senin, 12 Februari 2024

The world takes Trump's Nato comments literally, while Maga takes them seriously - The Independent

Perhaps nothing symbolises the shift from the old-school Reaganite Republican Party to the Maga-fied manifestation that dominates politics today than the shift from Mitt Romney to Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

In 2012, Romney, then the Republican presidential nominee, famously called Russia “without question, our number one geopolitical foe.” Democrats dismissed him as daft in a world with al-Qaeda and China on the rise. Barack Obama chided him and said “the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its meddling in the 2016 presidential election and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 vindicated Romney and showed the threat of President Vladimir Putin. But by that point, the GOP had moved on from the Reagan-Bush-Romney worldview and embraced another businessman-turned-politician in Donald Trump.

This weekend, when he held a rally in South Carolina, Trump all but goaded Putin into invading European countries when he recalled that he told a head of state of a Nato country talking about Russia during his presidency that if the country did not pay its obligations “I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

The remarks directly contradict Article 5 of the Nato charter, which says that all Nato members will respond to an attack on one member nation. Nato famously mobilised to the aid of the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Not surprisingly, Romney denounced the remarks.

“He says outrageous things to get people riled up,” Romney told The Independent. “It works at the rallies. Unfortunately, it also has an impact around the world where our friends wonder whether they can rely on America.”

But another senator, Roger Marshall of Kansas, a pro-Trump Republican, defended the former president using an old aphorism that many threw around during Trump’s time in the White House.

“What I know is he’ll secure the border, he’s going to make this country safer, he’s going to hold Nato accountable,” he told me on Sunday in Kansas City Chiefs regalia ahead of the Super Bowl. “And I think that people need to realize that like, you should take everything that he says seriously, but not literally.”

Some Republicans did indeed take Trump’s words seriously. Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran, called Trump’s words “horrible” while her colleague from Iowa Chuck Grassley told me: “No American should do anything to appease Russia.” Even Senator Rand Paul, the libertarian Republican from Kentucky, told me that Trump’s words were a “stupid thing to say” even though he agreed that Nato countries do not pay enough of their share.

Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley, who led the charge to object to the 2020 presidential election, initially laughed when he said that “the Nato countries definitely need to pay” before adding “If they invaded a Nato country, we’d have to defend them, so we don’t want that.”

Republicans like Hawley and Paul are part of a younger breed of Republican who oppose the United States taking on a robust role on the international stage. Indeed, Trump’s words come as Paul has sought to delay and oppose a package in the Senate that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific to push back against China.

This came after months of protracted negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators when Republicans had demanded additional measures to restrict immigration in exchange for military aid, a sign of how much Trump has moved the Overton Window when it comes to politics. Of course, Republicans outright rejected it. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paul’s senior senate counterpart from Kentucky, even voted against the package despite his support for Ukraine.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the pro-Maga conspiracy-mongering congresswoman from Georgia, has threatened she would file a motion to vacate against Speaker Mike Johnson if he passed aid to Ukraine. Opposition to Ukraine, or at least supporting Ukraine without preconditions, as well as America having a large role on the international stage, has become a defining point of Republican ideology.

For the time being, white evangelical support for Israel – which is mostly rooted in a belief in end-times theology – keeps support for Israel secure. But even then, Republicans like Greene opposed a standalone piece of legislation last week.

But if Republicans take Trump’s words seriously, the international community took them seriously. Nato’s Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trump’s remarks “irresponsible and dangerous.”

The divergent reactions ultimately reveal as much about international leaders and Republicans’ political situations. For Republicans, crossing Trump or coming out against him too strongly signals political death. Indeed, Romney is leaving the Senate after one term. Other Republicans like Hawley hope to become the future of the GOP once Trump exits the stage. As members of Congress, they also have the express luxury of being able to rein him in or put in place statutes to prevent him from acting on his worse impulses, something the Senate relishes as the “adults” in Congress compared to the House.

But international leaders have no other option but to take Trump’s words literally and seriously. And given Trump’s intimations that he has made out loud and his previous deference to Putin, they might be more prescient than Republicans at home.

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2024-02-12 20:00:15Z
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Minggu, 11 Februari 2024

Nato chief says Trump's Russia comments 'put US and European soldiers at risk' - The Independent

Nato head Jens Stoltenberg says Donald’s Trump’s suggestion that the US should not protect allies who fail to spend enough on defence “undermines all of our security”.

Speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, the former US president said he remembered how as president he told an unidentified Nato member that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes in cases of what he called “delinquent” Nato allies.

The Republican presidential frontrunner said Russia should be able to do "whatever the hell they want" to alliance members who don’t meet their defence spending targets.

“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying at his Conway rally.

“‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”

The Nato secretary-general contradicted the comments from Mr Trump, who is seeking to return for a second term as US president, and said that all 31 allies of the Nato bloc were committed to defending each other.

“Nato remains ready and able to defend all allies. Any attack on Nato will be met with a united and forceful response,” he said.

He added Mr Trump’s remarks "put American and European soldiers at increased risk".

“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Mr Stoltenberg said on Sunday.

“Regardless of who wins the presidential election, the US will remain a strong and committed Nato ally,” he said.

Mr Trump said he had informed his allies he would "encourage" Russia to attack any Nato member not meeting the alliance’s agreed defence spending target of 2 per cent of their GDP.

At least 19 of 30 member nations in the Nato bloc are spending less than that, data from Nato showed in 2023.

These nations include Germany, Norway and France.

Mr Trump’s comments triggered a wave of concern in Poland, which is facing increased risk of attack from Russia. The central European nation has been under Russian control more often than not since the end of the 18th century.

Defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz warned that “no election campaign is an excuse for playing with the security of the alliance”.

While the German government did not officially comment, its foreign office published a statement on Sunday morning highlighting the principle of solidarity governing Nato.

“‘One for all and all for one.’ This Nato creed keeps more than 950 million people safe – from Anchorage to Erzurum," the foreign ministry said on X, formerly Twitter.

Mr Trump’s remarks were also condemned by his successor Joe Biden, who said that his comments would embolden Vladimir Putin and that a second Trump administration could contribute to a widening conflict in Europe.

"Donald Trump’s admission that he intends to give Putin a green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault against a free Ukraine, and to expand his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic states, [is] appalling and dangerous," he said.

While in office, Mr Trump had already threatened not to come to the aid of any country under attack that he deemed not to be meeting its Nato commitments.

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2024-02-12 06:07:07Z
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Israel rescues two hostages in Rafah as strikes reported - BBC

A composite image of Fernando Simon Marman and Louis HarBring Them Home Now/Reuters

Israel says two male Israeli hostages have been rescued in a raid in Rafah, amid reports of heavy Israeli air strikes on the southern Gazan city.

The Israeli military says the two men are in "good medical condition".

Earlier, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Rafah was under attack, with a number of deaths reported.

It follows warnings from the international community over Israel's planned offensive in the city, where 1.5 million people are sheltering.

Israel said it had conducted strikes in southern Gaza, providing no details.

In a later statement on social media, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that during an overnight "joint operation between the IDF, ISA [Israel Security Agency or Shin Bet], and Israel Police, two Israeli hostages from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak were rescued: Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70)".

The rescued hostages were taken to Sheba Medical Center in central Israel for tests. The IDF posted night-time footage of a helicopter landing at an unspecified location. It is unclear whether the men were aboard.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described the rescue operation as "impressive". He added: "We will continue to fulfil our commitment to return the abducted, in any way."

Israeli media report that the hostages had been held on the second floor of a building in Rafah.

Armon Aek, acting director at Sheba Medical Center, later said: "I'm very happy to announce that this night, two released hostages landed here.

"They were received in our ER [examination room] and initial examination was conducted by our ER staff and they are in a stable condition."

Israel's military launched its operations in the Gaza Strip after more than 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, who also took about 240 people hostage. A number of those hostages were later released.

Monday's reported Israeli rescue raid in Rafah came shortly after witnesses in the city spoke of dozens of Israeli overnight air strikes on the city's north and centre.

Local residents told the BBC that helicopters and boats were also involved in the attack.

There are conflicting reports on the casualties: the AFP news agency said 52 Palestinians - including children - were killed, citing Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Meanwhile, Reuters put the death toll at 37, also quoting Gaza health officials.

On Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 112 more Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli military over the previous day, bringing the overall death toll to more than 28,100 and more than 67,500 injured.

A number of countries and international organisations have warned Israel against conducting its planned offensive in the city, where an estimated 1.5 million people are sheltering. Most of them have fled from the rest of Gaza.

A senior UN humanitarian official has told the BBC that there is nowhere safe for them to go now.

Rafah - on the border with Egypt - is the only open point of entry for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Your device may not support this visualisation

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a Rafah offensive should not happen without measures to ensure the safety of civilians.

Mr Biden said Israel needed a "credible and executable plan" to protect the more than a million people in the city, according to the White House.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron earlier said "over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area", while Saudi Arabia warned of "very serious repercussions" if Rafah was stormed.

Mr Netanyahu has insisted it will go ahead and a plan is being prepared.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Hamas rulers said there could be "tens of thousands" of casualties, warning that any operation would also undermine talks about a possible release of Israeli hostages held in the territory.

Injured Palestinian children are treated in a hospital in Rafah after Israeli air strikes. Photo: 12 February 2024
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2024-02-12 05:45:44Z
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Protests take place across Pakistan amid election vote-rigging allegations - The Guardian

Police fired teargas to disperse supporters of Imran Khan as protests broke out across Pakistan amid allegations of widespread vote-rigging targeting the former prime minister’s political party and other nationalist groups in the general election.

The results of the election, which took place on Thursday, gave a surprise first place to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which won the most seats despite facing a stringent crackdown by the country’s powerful military establishment.

But with no clear majority winner, the country remained in a state of turmoil as several parties claimed they would be forming a government, and protests shut down swathes of the country.

An unprecedented wave of popularity won PTI-affiliated candidates more than 90 parliamentary seats but it is not enough to form a majority government. Khan’s party claims that the real number of seats it won is more than 150 and has alleged systematic fraud in the counting and recording of the votes. It is challenging dozens of the results in the courts.

PTI defied a months-long crackdown that hindered campaigning and forced candidates to run as independents with a combined showing that still challenged the party’s rivals.

Khan, a former cricketing star, was barred from contesting the election and handed several lengthy prison sentences in the days leading up to the vote.

On Sunday, the party organised protests outside election commission offices in constituencies across the country where alleged rigging took place. In Lahore, hundreds of riot police gathered to break up the PTI protests and in some cases charged at groups peacefully protesting and detained them.

In Rawalpindi city, south of Islamabad, clashes were reported and police fired teargas to disperse dozens of PTI supporters, Agence France-Presse reported.

Several people were detained in Karachi, in the country’s south, when they refused to clear the area, local media reported.

Police warned earlier they would come down hard on gatherings deemed illegal. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

PTI and other smaller parties have alleged rampant interference in the election, as has been documented in the past. They claimed seats they won – often with a large majority – were given to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, which is led by Nawaz Sharif who was seen as the military’s favoured candidate, and the Pakistan People’s party (PPP), which also has a close relationship with the military establishment.

Salman Akram Raja was among the PTI leaders who lost to a candidate allegedly close to the military and who has taken his case to the court. It has suspended the result announcement until further hearings. Raja said he had won about 150,000 votes, compared with the 50,000 of his opponent, but “the rigging was brazen and naked”.

“They decided to rewrite the results,” said Raja, who claimed ballot bags had been stuffed with votes to fix the result. He said that the government’s shutdown of all mobile services and internet, on the pretext of security issues, had “enabled fraud”, adding: “The internet shutdown was planned to assault the entire election and rig the election across the country.”

Yet Raja said PTI was in a race against time in its disputes, as there was a two-week deadline for final candidates to be announced. Khan’s party has declared its intention to form a government, but will need to win more seats and likely enter into a coalition with smaller parties to gain the necessary majority.

It is also facing the hurdle of a coalition led by PML-N and other parties, which Sharif has publicly declared will be the next government. It was confirmed on Sunday they were in discussions with PPP as well as others in order to prevent PTI taking power.

Raja said: “The fraud was committed on such a massive level on election day that to undo that in 14 days would be very tough. It may be a very long fight and I think most of these cases will end up in the courts.”

The US, UK and EU were among those who had expressed concerns over irregularities and interference in the election process. The results were significantly delayed and took an unprecedented three days to be fully declared. So far, the election commission has put 10 national assembly results on hold after disputes.

As allegations of vote-rigging emerged, protests also broke out in the regions of Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the restive province of Balochistan, tens of thousands of people gathered outside election commission offices to protest against vote-rigging and shut down large parts of the region.

Jan Buledi, a former spokesperson of Balochistan government and secretary general of the National party, said he had received a direct death threat from a colonel after publicly accusing the military of filling the ballot boxes with fake votes in the constituency where he was running.

Buledi claimed that thousands of votes had been registered for PPP from polling stations that had been closed down due to a security threat.

He said: “How can we accept thousands of fake votes from polling stations where not a single vote was cast? We won’t accept fake provincial parliament emerging out of stolen votes given to the PML-N and PPP.”

ISPR, the media wing of the military, did not respond to requests for comment.

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2024-02-11 23:57:00Z
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