EU state’s president warns of Western split

Czech President Petr Pavel
©Getty Images/Sean Gallup

Czech President Petr Pavel has cautioned EU countries against overconfidence and competing with each other, and instead urged the West to present a united front against Russia and China.

Speaking on Tuesday at a debate hosted by the German Council for Foreign Relations, the Czech leader called on EU states to adhere to “Western values” and prioritize cooperation and unity, not only to oppose Moscow, but also to counter Beijing’s growing influence.

Pavel, a retired general who previously served as chief of the NATO Military Committee, also advocated continued support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, and claimed that this year will be crucial in determining the outcome of the hostilities.

Pavel predicted that neither Russia nor Ukraine will have the capacity for further offensives beyond 2023, which is why he believes a rapid supply of weapons to Ukrainian forces is in Europe’s interest.

However, the Czech leader admitted in an interview with German news outlet Suddeutsche Zeitung that his country has depleted its capabilities of supplying Kiev with weapons. “The Czech Republic helped Ukraine with the supply of weapons as best it could, but it no longer has the capacity to do so,” said the president.

Pavel claimed that the Czech Republic still has certain capabilities in the areas of air defense and the production of ammunition. However, he noted that the latter has become problematic due to a lack of labor, and suggested that a solution could be inviting workers from Ukraine to man the factories.

The Czech Republic has emerged as one of Kiev’s most active supporters in the conflict with Russia. Pavel has headed the Czech government since January 2023, and has repeatedly advocated unlimited military aid for Ukraine, while backing Kiev’s NATO aspirations.

Pavel has stated that he would like to see Russia weakened so that Moscow pursues “cooperation, not aggression.” He has also asserted that only a change of the “Russian regime from within” would allow the EU to return to business as usual in its relations with Moscow.

NATO member admits it has exhausted all means of arming Ukraine

The Czech Republic has already done everything it can to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, President Petr Pavel has said. The nation’s capacity to produce more ammunition is limited due to workforce shortages, he added.

“We have not only delivered what we could from our own stocks, but also bought material abroad,” Pavel said in an interview with Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday.

The Czech Republic is still capable of producing some air defenses and ammunition that Ukraine needs, but it’s “limited by the shortage of workforce,” he said.

“We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. Workers are hard to come by. But there are opportunities, for example, through [bringing in] workers from Ukraine,” explained Pavel, who was inaugurated as president on March 9.

He suggested that this year would be “decisive” for the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Czech president, who has a background in intelligence and served as chairman of the NATO Military Committee between 2015 and 2018, warned that Western support for Kiev “will diminish over time” due to so-called “war fatigue.”

There will be a presidential election in the US in 2024, which will see the focus of American voters switch from foreign to domestic affairs, he said.

“It is virtually impossible for the Europeans alone to maintain the current level of support for Ukraine. If US support weakens, so does the support of a number of European states,” the 61-year-old suggested.

Ukraine has to take this into account when it plans its next moves on the battlefield, because “next year, it’ll probably be unable to start any large and elaborate operation,” Pavel said.

According to the Czech Defense Ministry, the country has provided Kiev with €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) worth of arms during the conflict. Prague does not disclose the types of weapons supplied due to what it calls security and tactical concerns.

Russia has on numerous occasions criticized deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine from the West, arguing that they only serve to escalate and prolong fighting without changing the ultimate outcome. According to Moscow, arms shipments, intelligence sharing and training provided to Kiev’s troops have already made Western nations de facto parties to the conflict.

Western sanctions aimed to make Russian people suffer, says PM Mishustin

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
©Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

The West tried to hit Russian citizens themselves with sanctions, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday in his annual government report to the State Duma.

"In the very beginning, the West tried to assure us that the sanctions were not aimed against our citizens. At that time there were no illusions about it, but now even a person far from global politics understands: the main target was the Russian people," the head of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers pointed out.

He explained that the West was trying to bring down the Russian financial system so that people could not use bank cards, and disrupt economic and business ties, forcing their own companies to withdraw from the Russian market, taking huge losses.

"They tried to make the products Russians are used to disappear from store shelves, and at the same time throw them out on the street and deprive Russian employees of making money from working at these organizations, that is, those people, whose work created their multibillion-dollar profits. They wanted to cause mass unemployment in our country and radically reduce the quality of life," Mishustin added.

He stressed that Russia's opponents "did not hesitate to use any means." "They blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines, froze bank accounts, cut banks off from the international payment system, and tried to block all banking and economic activities," the prime minister pointed out.

"They used to tell us about the inviolability and sanctity of private property but today, the property and money of our citizens and companies are being seized only because they come from Russia," Mishustin concluded.

Short-term budget deficit not a threat for economy — Russian PM

A minor increase of the state debt and the short-term budget deficit do not pose a threat to the national economy, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday.

"We are also within the rather comfortable range of our debt. Our state debt is approximately at the level of 15% of GDP. There is no need to indicate figures of the state debt of unfriendly states. It is slightly above 60% even with the majority of developing economies," the Prime Minister noted. "The short-term budget deficit and the small increase of the state debt do not pose a threat to us," Mishustin said.

Russia is feeling confidence in the budget sphere, the Prime Minister added.

Russia becomes largest investor in Iran this financial year — Finance Minister

Russia has invested $2.76 bln in Iran becoming the largest investor in the country’s economy in the current financial year. Ehsan Khandouzi, Iran's finance minister, said this in an interview with the Financial Times published on Thursday.

"We define our relations with Russia as strategic and we are working together in many aspects, especially economic relations," Khandouzi told the Financial Times.

"China and Russia are our two main economic partners [and] Iran is going to expand its relations with them through implementing strategic agreements," the minister said.

According to the Iranian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, this financial year, the volume of foreign direct investment in the country amounted to $4.2 billion and two-thirds of the investments came from Russia. As the politician noted, we are talking about financing projects in the mining sector, as well as in the fields of industry and transport.

In January, representatives of the central banks of Russia and Iran signed a cooperation agreement to simplify financial and banking operations. As Khandouzi noted, Tehran negotiated this issue not only with Moscow, but also with Beijing and Ankara. However, "technically speaking" the financial network is in a better situation between Iran and Russia than others, the politician noted.

Medvedev says diplomacy doesn’t always work, special op was right move

There are situations where agreements are counterproductive and one needs to take steps like launching a special military operation, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Russian media outlets, including TASS, and users of the VKontakte social media network.

"In my view, it makes no sense to negotiate in certain situations. One must ignore it, and in some cases make decisions like the one that was made on February 24 last year because agreements can be counterproductive in certain cases," Medvedev pointed out, when asked if Moscow needed to make agreements with the countries that failed to see Kiev’s crimes.

According to him, Moscow tried for decades to convey some simple things to the West. "Guys, the Soviet Union collapsed. Yes, it’s sad but that is what happened, both because of the Soviet leadership’s incompetent policy and your external interference. The country fell apart but ties did not, and the people remained the same. How do you imagine that? Ukraine becoming part of NATO?" he said, clarifying Russia’s message. Meanwhile, Ukraine "had its own nuclear weapons complex," Medvedev went on to say.

As a result, Russia would get a neighbor "who is not only a member of an unfriendly bloc but also plans to produce nuclear weapons," he noted. "I would like to point out that Ukraine’s leader spoke about this shortly before the start of the operation, in late 2021. So do you want us to put up with it? Particularly in a situation where we have a dispute over Crimea because we consider it part of our land and they regard it as their territory. So imagine them joining NATO and launching a large-scale operation against our country under NATO’s umbrella - we cannot accept this," Medvedev stressed.

The politician stressed that Russia had proposed a draft agreement on security guarantees to Western countries. "They responded ‘no’," Medvedev said. In his opinion, "the current ramifications are much more complicated than they would have been" had the document been signed last December.

LIVE UPDATES - Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine

Special operation, March 21. Main:

▪️Putin and Xi Jinping, following the results of the talks, stated that the Russian Federation and China are calling for an end to all steps that contribute to the escalation of tension and the prolongation of hostilities in Ukraine;

▪️Xi Jinping said that China is ready to continue playing a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukrainian issue;

▪️Putin noted that the Chinese peace plan can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, when they are ready for it in the West and in Kyiv;

▪️British Undersecretary of Defense Goldie said that England will transfer ammunition with depleted uranium to Ukraine;

The Russian Defense Ministry showed a video of the combat operation of the Msta-S artillery mounts of the Western Military District

▪️According to Putin, if the collective West begins to use weapons with a nuclear component, then Russia will be forced to respond;

▪️Russian Permanent Representative to the OPCW Shulgin said that the threat of a chemical provocation in Kyiv is real, the West turns a blind eye to everything;

▪️The Russian Defense Ministry reported that more than 405 Ukrainian militants were destroyed in the main directions;

▪️The defense department added that the Russian Armed Forces destroyed three radar stations of the Ukrainian troops of American production in a day;

▪️Head of Crimea Aksyonov said that the situation in Dzhankoy, which was attacked by Ukrainian drones, is under control;

"We will not let our grandfathers and great-grandfathers down." Soldiers of the Russian Airborne Forces are fighting with Ukrainian fighters in the same places where there were battles near the Dnieper during the Great Patriotic War. When equipping the positions, the ammunition of a German soldier was found.

▪️The Bryansk governor Bogomaz announced the attack of a Ukrainian drone on the Druzhba oil pipeline facility, there were no casualties;

▪️The Bild publication believes that Kyiv is preparing an offensive against Luhansk and Zaporozhye in order to cut off the Russian land communication with the Crimea;

▪️Pentagon spokesman Ryder said that the United States decided to transfer an older version of the Abrams tanks to Kyiv in order to speed up their deliveries.

Special operation, March 22. Main:

▪️Shoigu said that this morning an attempt was made to hit Russian targets in the Crimea and Sevastopol with three drones, all devices were destroyed;

▪️The Russian Defense Ministry reported that about 500 Ukrainian militants were destroyed in the main directions;

▪️The RF Armed Forces hit two hangars with weapons and military equipment of the Ukrainian troops at the Shkolny airfield near Odessa;

▪️The defense department added that the Russian Armed Forces destroyed the ammunition depot of the Ukrainian territorial defense in the Kislovka area in the Kharkiv region;

Artillerymen of the "Wagner" group ensure the advance of the infantry near Artemovsk. They work as a "sniper rifle" in artillery - a D-30 howitzer.

▪️Advisor to the Acting Head of the DPR Gagin said that Artyomovsk was practically blocked, he added that there were reports of Leopard tanks in the Artyomovsk direction;

▪️Lavrov called London's decision to supply Kyiv with depleted uranium ammunition a step towards a significant escalation.

Medvedev gave a long interview to leading Russian media, including RIA Novosti. What did he talk about.

About the West

▫️The West does not like the independence of Russia and China, therefore, it will not be calm in the coming decades, the West does not need an equal partnership, it wants to dominate - it does not need a country with a nuclear shield that does not obey the United States;

▫️The West will try to interfere in the Russian elections in 2024, it wants to destabilize the political situation;

▫️relations with him are the worst in history, sooner or later communication will be restored, but by this moment most of the political characters of the West will retire, and some will go to a better world;

▫️sometimes it is pointless to negotiate with other countries and blocs, sometimes agreements are counterproductive, while others understand only the language of force;

▫️trade with the EU has been blown away very much due to the decisions of Europe, they have lost much more than us;

▫️the current Western leaders are unpleasant to Medvedev, there is a catastrophic level of decline in the competence and elementary literacy of EU leaders;

About China

▫️China has already become the No. 1 economy in the world, even the United States has recognized this;

▫️Russia and China complement each other, in recent years relations have been on the ascending line and now - at the highest point of all time, Medvedev does not see any problems in the foreseeable future;

▫️trade turnover between the two countries in 2023-2024 will reach $300 billion;

▫️Xi Jinping's visit was brilliant and showed a new level of relations between the two countries.

If Germany Decides to 'Arrest' Putin, It Will Mean Declaring War on Russia, Says Medvedev

©Sputnik / POOL / Go to the mediaban

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said that if Germany decides to implement the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the "arrest" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, this will be equal to declaring war on Russia.

Earlier, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said that the warrant for Putin's "arrest" would be valid in Germany after a request from the ICC. The order was also supported by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who, during his visit to Japan, said that "no one is above the law."

"Some idiots, halfwits like the German justice minister, say, 'Well, if he comes, we'll arrest him.'.. Does he understand what that means? Let's imagine... the incumbent head of a nuclear state arrives on the territory of, say, Germany and is arrested. What is this? A declaration of war on the Russian Federation!" Medvedev said in an interview with major Russian media, including Sputnik.

He said Russia in such a situation would use all available means to target "the Bundestag, the chancellor's office, and so on."

Medvedev said such decisions like the one the ICC made create a huge negative potential.

On March 17, the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, citing "unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

The Kremlin said Russia is not party to the ICC and the court's decision is legally null and void for the country.

Russia-West Relations Now at All-Time Low

The relations between Russia and the West are at an all-time low, Medvedev said.

“We already have very bad relations with the Western world. Well, they have probably never been worse in history. Even at the time when Churchill delivered the Fulton speech, they were better,” Medvedev believes.

He went on to say that although there are currently no illusions that the relationship will soon be normal again, communication with the West will be restored at some point.

Medvedev said he dislikes the incumbent Western leaders, adding that in certain situations, it makes no sense to negotiate with other countries.

"In my opinion, in certain situations it is pointless to try to agree. It is necessary to ignore, and in some cases make decisions like the one that was made on February 24 last year. Because agreements are counterproductive in some cases," he said.

Medvedev also noted a decline in EU leaders' competence.

The Russian Security Council deputy chairman said the West would like to destabilize the political situation in Russia.

"They do not want to see the Russian Federation itself, they don't need us. And this is their geopolitical, geostrategic idea of very old times. Why do they need such a country, which has a huge territory and the most serious nuclear shield, and which does not even obey the Americans?" Medvedev said.

"Therefore, the desire is very simple: to destabilize the political situation, to divide the country into parts, such large ones, to negotiate with each of these parts, to denuclearize and demilitarize each part, and then come and offer their services, saying: 'Guys, now you need someone to protect you, don't you?'" he said.

Medvedev said the West does not like the independence of Russia and China.

Europe Lost Much More Than Russia When Trade Shrunk Because of EU's Decisions

"Just recently, our trade turnover with the European Union was 400 [billion US dollars], now it has shrunken very much because they made stupid decisions. Well, let God be their judge, they lost much more than we did, in my opinion," Medvedev said in an interview with leading Russian media, including Sputnik.

Focusing on the Ukraine crisis, Medvedev said that he believes that Ukraine is "generally a part of Russia":

“Ukraine is generally a part of Russia, to be honest, it is a part of Russia. But due to geopolitical reasons... and history... we have long put up with the fact that we live in different apartments. We are forced to take this into account, these fictitious borders, territories that have always been part of... the Russian Empire, it was all the Russian Empire... except for certain areas that came to us as a result of the Second World War. But these territories were also originally inhabited by the Russian population and have always been part of Russia in the narrow sense of the word," Medvedev said.

He said that if Ukraine joined NATO, Russia would get a neighbor who plans to produce nuclear weapons and is part of an unfriendly bloc, adding that Kiev could then launch a full-scale operation against Russia because of Crimea, and that Moscow could not accept this.

“And you want us to put up with it? Especially in conditions when we have a dispute over Crimea: we consider it our territory, they consider it theirs. So they join NATO and after that, under NATO's umbrella, they begin a large-scale operation against our country - we cannot accept this,” Medvedev said.

Speaking about China's plan for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, he said that its implementation requires a desire, and it needs to be studied not only in Moscow, but also in Washington and Kiev, which is currently not happening.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Russia on March 20-22 on a state visit, which became his first trip abroad after being re-elected to the post of head of state for a third term. On Monday, the Chinese leader had an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on Tuesday talks were held with the participation of delegations. During the visit, a joint statement was signed on a plan to develop the key areas of Russian-Chinese economic cooperation until 2030.

Medvedev also took part in the talks from the Russian side.

China in February proposed its peace plan, which has 12 points, including calls for a ceasefire, respect for the legitimate security interests of all countries, and settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, many points of the Chinese peace plan can be taken as the basis for a settlement when the West and Kiev are ready for this.

Russia-China Relations at All-Time High

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Russia-China relations are at an all-time high and he does not see any problems in bilateral ties any time soon.

"If we characterize our relations as a whole, they are at an all-time high. And I don't see any problems in these relations in the foreseeable future," he said.

"The visit [by Xi]... showed... a new level of relations, or strategic mpartnership and interaction between Russia and China at a new stage," Medvedev, who took part in the Russian-Chinese talks in Moscow, said.

He said China has become economy No.1 in the world, adding that even the United States recognizes this. Medvedev believes Russia-China trade will reach $300 billion in 2023-2024.

According to the Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman, the West does not need an equal partnership with either Russia or China, but wants to dominate.

West Will Try to Interfere in Russian Presidential Elections in 2024

The West will try to interfere in the presidential elections in Russia in 2024, undisguised influence attempts have been made since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Medvedev said.

"There is no doubt that they will interfere, like they have always interfered," he told reporters in response to a relevant question.

Trump lawyer must turn over evidence on classified documents, court rules

Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)

A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawyer for Donald Trump must provide notes, transcripts and other evidence to prosecutors investigating how classified documents remained at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home months after a subpoena to return all sensitive files, according to court records and people familiar with the matter.

The panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a brief order Wednesday afternoon directing the parties “to comply with the district court’s March 17, 2023, order to produce documents” and ending an emergency hold on a ruling last week by a lower-court judge.

Trump’s legal team had appealed that ruling, which said the lawyer, Evan Corcoran, must provide evidence to prosecutors because his legal services may have been used to facilitate a possible crime — obstruction of government attempts to recover highly sensitive documents — according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sealed court proceedings.

Presidents and vice presidents routinely deal with classified documents, but strict guidelines from a variety of statutes have clear guidelines on the subject. (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Lawyers for the former president had argued that the material being sought was protected by attorney-client privilege, which in most instances shields any communications between a lawyer and a client. Prosecutors responded — and U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ultimately agreed — that the “crime-fraud exception” to attorney-client privilege applied in this case, people familiar with the matter said.

As part of Howell’s ruling, Corcoran was ordered to give the Justice Department notes, transcripts of recordings, and invoices in his possession, according to a person familiar with the matter, who said the judge has reviewed that material and concluded there was evidence suggesting Trump may have misled his own attorneys in the classified-documents matter. The details of Howell’s ruling were first reported by ABC News.

Federal court docket entries show the appeals panel worked on an unusually short schedule — one side in the case had to file its papers by midnight Tuesday, and the other by 6 a.m. Wednesday

The appeal will continue, with briefs due in May. But without a hold on Howell’s order, prosecutors can review the evidence while Trump’s legal team argues against its use.

It’s possible the former president will seek to carry the fight up to the Supreme Court, though it’s not clear he would have a much better chance of success there.

The fight for Corcoran’s information highlights the degree to which prosecutors are trying to gather all of the available evidence about conversations among Trump and his advisers after they received a subpoena in May of last year seeking all documents with classified markings.

In the closed-court arguments over Corcoran’s testimony and evidence, lawyers for special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Justice Department investigation in the documents case, said there is evidence of a deliberate effort not to turn over all the material covered by the subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter.

After hearing from both sides, Howell ruled in favor of the prosecution, and suggested that Trump’s legal team might not have been completely honest in its arguments about the issue, according to one person familiar with the matter.

The classified-documents investigation is one of several criminal probes focused on Trump. Smith is also overseeing a Justice Department examination of Trump’s alleged efforts to block the results of the 2020 election, while a Manhattan grand jury is hearing evidence of possible falsification of business records concerning hush-money payments, and an Atlanta-area grand jury is weighing charges in a probe of activity around that state’s 2020 election results.

Serangan ke rumah sakit - hadiah Ramadhan Israel kepada Warga Palestina

Saat dunia Muslim merayakan datangnya Ramadhan pada hari Rabu, tentara Israel melancarkan serangan besar-besaran ke Tepi Barat yang diduduki dan menangkap 28 warga Palestina. (Reuters/Berkas)

Saat dunia Muslim merayakan datangnya Ramadhan pada hari Rabu, tentara Israel melancarkan serangan besar-besaran ke Tepi Barat yang diduduki dan menangkap 28 warga Palestina.

Sebelumnya pada hari itu, pasukan Israel secara intensif melemparkan peluru gas air mata ke arah sebuah rumah sakit di Ramallah, mempengaruhi puluhan pasien, termasuk bayi baru lahir di inkubator, dan tenaga medis. Beberapa pasien mengeluh nyeri dada akut.

Menteri Kesehatan Palestina Mai Al-Kaila meminta lembaga hak asasi manusia dan Komite Palang Merah Internasional untuk segera bertindak melawan serangan Israel yang meningkat terhadap pusat kesehatan, pasien dan personel ambulans.

Kementerian mengatakan dalam sebuah pernyataan: "Sejak awal tahun ini, lusinan kasus penyerangan yang disengaja langsung di pusat perawatan di berbagai gubernuran telah didokumentasikan."

Ambulans menjadi sasaran dan kru dicegah untuk menjangkau dan merawat yang terluka, yang menyebabkan puluhan pasien cedera di dalam pusat perawatan dan selama pemindahan mereka antara kota dan pusat kesehatan, tambahnya.

Ibu dari seorang anak yang sakit berkata: “Kami tidak tidur semalaman karena gas beracun yang ditembakkan oleh pasukan pendudukan ke rumah sakit. Anak saya masih menderita efeknya. Baunya masih tertinggal di bangsal pasien, menghalangi pekerjaan para perawat.”

Salah satu pasien berkata: "Bau gas membangunkan saya dan saya merasa sesak napas dan nyeri di dada."

Saksi mata melaporkan bahwa daerah yang paling terkena dampak adalah bagian bedah jantung, resusitasi, dan anak-anak.

Sementara itu, 2.000 tahanan akan melakukan mogok makan pada hari Kamis, hari pertama bulan puasa, sebagai protes terhadap tindakan represif yang diumumkan Israel atas rekomendasi Menteri Keamanan Nasional Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Otoritas penjara mengancam akan mengambil tindakan hukuman terhadap narapidana yang berniat memulai pemogokan umum bertepatan dengan Ramadan.

“Perintah administrasi penjara akan mendisiplinkan para tahanan untuk mogok makan. Administrasi penjara tidak akan mentolerir gangguan dan pelanggaran disiplin dan akan bekerja secara profesional dan tegas melawan ancaman apa pun," kata sebuah pernyataan.

Sejak Februari Pada 14 Februari, para tahanan telah memprotes setelah administrasi penjara mengumumkan penerapan tindakan keras - termasuk penjatahan air, mengurangi waktu mandi, mengunci kamar mandi dan menyediakan roti basi untuk dimakan tahanan - atas perintah Ben-Gvir.

Di beberapa penjara, administrasi menggandakan penumpasan menggunakan granat kejut dan anjing pelacak.

Tahanan telah melakukan lebih dari 26 serangan terkoordinasi sejak tahun 1970, dimana mereka berhasil mengubah kondisi mereka di tahanan.

Hingga akhir Januari, jumlah narapidana di penjara pendudukan mencapai 4.780, termasuk 29 narapidana wanita dan 160 anak.

Sekretaris Jenderal Komite Eksekutif Organisasi Pembebasan Palestina Hussein Al-Sheikh meminta pemerintah Israel untuk menghentikan pelecehan dan tindakan eskalasi terhadap tahanan di tengah kondisi kehidupan yang brutal yang menentang konvensi internasional.

Dalam sebuah tweet, Al-Sheikh meminta badan internasional untuk segera campur tangan

We call on the #Israeli government to stop all its escalatory measures against #Palestinian prisoners and attempts to harass them and impose harsh and difficult life conditions that go beyond international conventions and norms. https://t.co/SN06l3E6gg

— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) March 22, 2023

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, juru bicara kepresidenan Palestina, mengatakan eskalasi sistematis Israel “terhadap tahanan heroik kami, yang dipimpin oleh ekstrimis fasis Ben-Gvir, akan berdampak serius.”

Rudeineh menambahkan bahwa komunitas internasional, termasuk Dewan Keamanan PBB dan Dewan Hak Asasi Manusia, “harus segera turun tangan dan menghentikan kejahatan terhadap tahanan kami sebelum terlambat.”

Dia mengatakan Presiden Mahmoud Abbas terus berhubungan dengan semua pihak internasional yang relevan untuk menghentikan serangan Israel terhadap tahanan dan rakyat Palestina.

Juru bicara itu menambahkan bahwa “pemerintah ekstremis Israel berusaha, melalui eskalasi yang disengaja ini, untuk menggagalkan semua upaya internasional untuk mengurangi ketegangan.”

Sebuah pertemuan diadakan pada Rabu malam antara perwakilan para tahanan dan administrasi penjara dalam upaya terakhir untuk mencapai kesepakatan untuk menghindari mogok makan sejak hari pertama Ramadhan. Pada saat publikasi, masih belum jelas apakah kesepakatan tercapai.