Labor chiefs probe exploitation of Palestinian workers in Israel

The powerful International Labor Organization is investigating allegations of ill-treatment and exploitation of Palestinian workers in Israel.

Palestinian leaders have handed a dossier to a fact-finding committee from the organization showing that the Israeli army killed 93 Palestinian workers in Israel in 2022, and a further 31 so far this year.

The report also detailed abuse of Palestinian workers at military checkpoints and barriers, the absence of occupational health and safety standards, and illegal working hours.

The dossier was handed over by Shaher Saad, secretary-general of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions. Saad also told investigators that brokers and illegal middlemen were deducting about $34 million a month in fees taken from workers’ salaries, which prevented the implementation of a working social security system in Palestine.

About 170,000 Palestinians from the West Bank work in Israel or in illegal Israeli settlements, and 17,000 from the Gaza Strip. Each month they are required to pay about 2,500 shekels ($780) in fees for a work permit, in a system that is riddled with corruption.

A report in 2021 by the Institute for National Security Studies suggests that people illegally selling work permits had annual revenue of 1 billion shekels from about 40,000 Palestinian workers.

Meanwhile Israeli armed forces’ assaults against Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have continued with increasing frequency during Ramadan, Palestinian sources told to Arab News.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army arrested 13 citizens from different parts of the West Bank. At the same time, and for the fourth consecutive day, it continued to tighten its grip on the town of Huwara, south of Nablus.

Kamal Odeh, Fatah secretary in Huwara, said that the Israeli army had deployed intensively on the main street, setting up several barriers and trying to divert citizens’ routes through secondary streets inside the town.Soldiers turned several houses along the main street in the center of Huwara into military barracks.

“The security situation around Nablus is frightening,” Amer Hamdan, a rights activist from Nablus, told Arab News.

Israeli bulldozers also demolished three agricultural facilities in the Al-Sawahra wilderness, east of Jerusalem, and a commercial facility in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit.

Maj. Gen. Abdullah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, said demolitions by Israeli authorities in Salfit served the occupation’s plans to uproot Palestinian citizens from their lands in order to build more Israeli settlements.

Germany reveals reason for boosting aid to Ukraine

File photo: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks in the Bundestag, March 2023 ©Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Heavy losses of equipment in battle mean that Ukraine’s military needs more tanks, artillery and air defenses, as well as maintenance for them, according to a letter from the German treasury to the parliament revealed by Der Spiegel on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner wrote to the Bundestag on Monday, and the parliamentary budget committee met on Tuesday in secret to consider his request, according to the German outlet. He is asking for 3.2 billion euros ($3.47 billion) more this year and another 8.8 billion ($9.54bn) for “ongoing commitments,” on top of 2.2 billion ($2.39 bn) already spent on Ukraine.

“Due to the high material losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, new supplies of material are required,” the treasury wrote, further arguing that a number of procurement and maintenance contracts for “needs-based sustainable equipment” of Kiev’s military need to be concluded immediately.

The letter specifically says the Ukrainians need more air defense, armored tracked vehicles – including tanks – and ammunition for tanks and artillery. Supplying the weapons systems also creates a “follow-up obligation” to provide ammunition, service and maintenance, the treasury added.

The additional expenses are “objectively unavoidable,” Lindner argues, because “without ongoing support to Ukraine, there is a serious danger of it losing” in the conflict against Russia, “with unforeseeable consequences for peace in Europe.”

Even so, Lindner did not want to submit a supplementary budget request for this funding, but asked the parliamentarians to find unspent money in other departments, including the funds appropriate for dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Spiegel.

Asked about the Spiegel revelations on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Berlin’s decision to boost aid to Kiev “does not bode well.”

“Current relations between Russia and Germany leave much to be desired,” Peskov added. “Germany takes an active part in pumping up Ukraine with weapons, directly and indirectly increasing its level of involvement in the conflict.”

The Russian Defense Ministry estimated that the US and its allies had spent over $100 billion to prop up the Ukrainian military by the end of 2022. Multiple Western officials have publicly declared that Russia “must lose” or be “strategically defeated,” while insisting that their countries were not actually taking part in the conflict.

Iranian foreign minister arrives in Moscow

Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian
©Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

Iranian Foreign Minister Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Moscow on an official visit late on Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on its Telegram channel.

The minister and his delegation were greeted at the airport by Russian Foreign Ministry officials, as well as by the Iranian ambassador to Russia and staff members of the country’s Moscow embassy. Upon his arrival, the minister had a brief conversation with Iranian journalists, commenting on questions that he planned to raise during the talks in Russia.

"One of the issues to be raised during our tomorrow discussions with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov will be the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program]," he said. "Russia played an efficient role in the new round of the 4+1 talks in Vienna, which continued for a few months. Our Russian colleagues keep fulfilling their obligations related to returning the sides [to the negotiating table]."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry wrote on its Telegram channel earlier on Tuesday that Abdollahian would visit Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to the ministry’s statement, the sides will discuss various aspects of bilateral relations, as well as certain issues on the regional and international agenda of mutual interest.

In turn, the Tasnim News Agency reported citing Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, that Abdollahian planned to discuss in Moscow the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor and to look into the activity of the joint intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.

Moscow to host Syria, Turkey, Iran, Russia meeting - official sources

The deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia will meet in April in Moscow, Turkish and Iranian officials said on Tuesday, building on contacts between Ankara and Damascus after years of hostilities during the Syrian war.

Encouraged by President Bashar al-Assad's ally Russia, Syrian and Turkish officials held meetings last year, in a move towards normalising ties between states on opposing sides of Syria's 12-year-long conflict.

But Assad this month ruled out any meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan until Turkey is ready to withdraw its military from northern Syria, deemed occupying forces by the Syrian president.

The situation on the ground in Syria would be discussed at the April 3-4 in Moscow, a senior Turkish official said.

The situation on the ground in Syria would be discussed at the April 3-4 in Moscow, a senior Turkish official said.

"This meeting is expected to be a continuation of the ministerial-level meetings that began during the normalization process," the official said.

"However, since there will be no ministerial-level participation and the meeting will be at a technical level, significant decisions are not expected."

Officials at the Turkish foreign ministry were not immediately available for comment.

Russia hosted a meeting of the Syrian and Turkish defence ministers in December, since when the original tripartite talks have been widened to include Assad’s other ally Iran, which has publicly supported the rapprochement.

Turkey has sent forces into much of northern Syria during the war, and has backed the Syrian opposition.

A previously planned meeting of four countries' deputy foreign ministers scheduled in March was postponed.

A senior Iranian foreign ministry official confirmed the meeting in Moscow in the first week of April.

A Syrian source with knowledge of the talks confirmed that a meeting between the deputy foreign ministers would take place soon but did not specify a date.

Citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported on Monday that the deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Iran and Syria may hold consultations in Moscow in early April.

Erdogan, who once called Assad a terrorist, is facing the biggest political challenge of his two-decade rule in May when Turks vote in what is expected to be a tight election.

Russian Defense Ministry Says High-Precision GLSDB Bomb Shot Down in Ukraine

©AFP 2023 / JAM STA ROSA

Russian air defense systems have shot down a high-precision Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and 18 HIMARS multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) rocket shells over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Air defense systems intercepted 18 HIMARS MLRS shells and one GLSDB guided missile over the day," the ministry said in a statement.

First supplies of GLSDB bombs to Ukraine were announced by the US in January.

GLSDB can be fired from multiple launch rocket systems such as HIMARS and is capable of hitting targets up to 150 kilometers away.

Video - Paris protest turns violent

Riot police charge past burning garbage bins in the street during a demonstration in Paris, France, March 28, 2023 © AFP / Julien De Rosa

RIOTERS set barricades on fire in Paris tonight as protests rage on over President Emmanuel Macron’s hated pension age reforms.

Anti government marches were staged in 50 towns and cities as hundreds of thousands took to the streets over Macron’s move to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64.

Mobs set barricades alight in the east of the capital as riot police launched baton charges and volleys of tear gas grenades.

L'ambiance se chauffe à Paris. De gros feux sont allumés. La police vient de charger le cortège de tête (@Ab7Media)#greve28mars #Manif28Mars #France #ReformeDesRetaites #manifestation #Revolutionpic.twitter.com/xiZxtaK52F

— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) March 28, 2023

Première charge dans le cortège, mouvement de foule, les policiers matraquent des manifestants qui ne peuvent pas reculer. #Paris #Manif28Mars #greve28mars #ReformeDesRetaites pic.twitter.com/P2Rsd8R43k

— AB7 Média (@Ab7Media) March 28, 2023

Ear splitting explosions sent crowds fleeing in panic as protesters launched thunder flashes at police lines in the tenth nationwide day of disorder in under two weeks.

Shop windows and street furniture were also smashed as destructive splinter groups peeled off the main two-mile march.

Police replied with stun grenades as snatch squads of CRS riot cops stopped and searched fleeing suspects.

Black clad anarchists and left-wing activists spearheaded the unrest as more violence was reported in the western city of Nantes, where cars were set on fire as police fired tear gas.

Similar scenes were reported in the southern port city of Marseille where angry protesters gathered behind placards declaring: "Keep calm and start a revolution."

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin announced an unprecedented force of 13,000 officers would be deployed to thwart a campaign to bring “fire and blood” to French streets.

Demos turned ugly as darkness fell after largely peaceful protests led by trade unions in Paris.

Around 5,500 cops plus troops in reserve initially held back violent elements in a huge mile-long protest march to the sprawling Place de la Nation in the east of the city.

They quelled fears of large-scale disorder by confiscating riot gear and weapons from mobs of protesters.

pic.twitter.com/GXvlUL4Bwk

— Amar Taoualit (@TaoualitAmar) March 28, 2023

But as darkness fell, a series of loud explosions rang out, tear gas sent crowds fleeing set barricades alight before being pushed back on the Rue de la Voltaire.

Intelligence experts said a tenth of those joining demos yesterday were sixth formers and university students - boosting the risk of disorder.

A protestor rides with a skateboard over burning bins in Toulouse, southern FranceCredit: AFP

The union-led campaign is against the unpopular President Macron’s plan to raise the legal retirement age to 64.

Macron’s government is teetering on the brink amid spiralling civil strife and political chaos after pushing through the hated reforms using his executive powers.

It was the tenth day of strikes and protests after demos last week left 441 police officers injured as 447 arrests were reporter during street disorder.

The chaos forced King Charles to postpone his state visit to France, which had been due to start on Sunday.

Trouble flared in Paris despite CGT Union reports that fewer people on the streets yesterday - 450,000 from around 800,000 last week.

Macron’s government was under more pressure last night despite the biggest security operation in recent French history yesterday.

Riot police were supported by armoured cars, water cannon, and military units in reserve.

Charges et matraquages aveugles des forces de l’ordre.

Sur des casseurs ?

Non, sur des personnes pacifiques essayant de se protéger sur les côtés du parcours.

C’est ça la méthode inédite de Darmanin ?

J’espère que la femme en bleu va bien.#RéformeDesRetraites #Paris pic.twitter.com/C61pwDCHF3

— Laawnik (@Laawnik) March 28, 2023

Minister Darmanin blamed left-wing agitators and anarchists on the continuing strife, declaring: “Radicalized elements from the Left and the Ultra-Left want to hijack trade union processions.”

“More than 1,000 radical elements, some of whom coming from abroad’ will target ‘Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Nantes, Dijon, Bordeaux,’ and other cities.”

The most feared group is Black Bloc – an alliance of anarchists from all over Europe, were believed to be among yesterday riot ringleaders,

King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, were meant to be in Bordeaux today, as part of a four-day state visit to France, but it was dramatically halted on Friday.

The protest movement is the biggest domestic crisis of Macron’s second term, with strikes yesterday also affecting refineries, bin collections, rail transport, air travel and schools.

The Louvre museum in Paris was blocked by strikers, while pickets continued at petrol depots and waste incinerators around the capital, where 10,000 tonnes of rubbish are still piling up.

Macron’s woes intensified as lawyers complained of excess violence and arbitrary arrests by squads of paramilitary police.

Cops arrest a protester during clashes in Nantes, western FranceCredit: AFP

A 30-year-old man was fighting for his life in a coma on Tuesday after being repeatedly hit over the head with a police truncheon during a riot at the weekend.

Minister Darmanin hit back declaring “many police officers have been severely injured” during the protests.

Despite the violence and industrial paralysis, Mr Macron and his prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, said there was no chance of a climb down from flagship pensions reform.

Ms Borne said: “We have to find the right path = we need to calm down.”

But Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT union, said the protests would continue until there was a U-turn.

Video shows police killing Nashville school shooter as investigators seek motive

Audrey Hale killed six people at The Covenant School on Monday. Linkedin/Audrey Hale

Video released on Tuesday showed Nashville, Tennessee, police officers storming a private Christian grade school on Monday before confronting and fatally shooting an attacker who killed three 9-year-old students and three adult staff members there.

The six minutes of harrowing footage, edited together from the body-worn cameras of two responding officers and released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, showed officers clearing several first-floor classrooms before heading upstairs to the second floor as gunfire is heard.

The officers run down a hallway - past what appears to be a victim lying on the ground - and into a lounge area, where the suspect is seen dropping to the floor after being shot.

Police have identified the shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old former student at the Covenant School. Investigators are examining what they called a "manifesto" that Hale left behind, hoping to learn what motivated the latest in a long string of U.S. mass shootings.

Police say Hale also had a detailed, hand-drawn map of the school showing various entry points.

Police Chief John Drake at a news briefing on Tuesday said Hale had been receiving care from a doctor for an "emotional disorder," according to Hale's parents, and that Hale had purchased seven weapons legally from five different stores, including two assault weapons and a handgun used in Monday's assault.

Hale's parents did not feel that Hale should possess guns, Drake said. Hale sold one of the guns, and the parents were unaware that Hale had other weapons, Drake said.

Drake previously said Hale self-identified as transgender and referred to Hale using female pronouns on Tuesday. Hale used male pronouns on a LinkedIn page that listed recent jobs in graphic design and grocery delivery.

Monday's violence marked the 90th school shooting – defined as any incident in which a gun is discharged on school property – in the United States this year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, a website founded by researcher David Riedman. Last year saw 303 such incidents, the highest of any year in the database, which goes back to 1970.

Drake on Tuesday said the manifesto indicated that Hale planned to carry out additional shootings at other locations. He said the Covenant School was singled out for attack but that the individual victims were targeted at random.

The three slain children were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. Also shot dead were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of school; Mike Hill, 61, a school custodian; and Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher.

Scruggs' father, Chad, is a pastor at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is connected to the school. In a statement given to ABC News, he said the family was heartbroken.

A still image from surveillance video shows what the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department describe as mass shooting suspect Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, entering The Covenant School carrying weapons in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 27, 2023. Metropolitan Nashville Police Department/Handout via REUTERS

"Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again," the statement read.

'GET YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THE GUN!'

Nashville police began receiving calls about a shooter at 10:13 a.m., spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters. The suspect was pronounced dead by 10:27 a.m.

"The police department response was swift," Aaron said.

The body camera footage showed officers rapidly searching for the shooter, in contrast to videos showing officers in Uvalde, Texas, waiting inside Robb Elementary School for more than an hour in May as a gunman inside a classroom continued an attack that claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults.

A number of officers responding to a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 remained outside the building rather than immediately pursuing the suspect, according to a state commission's investigation. Seventeen students and staff members died in that attack.

Both incidents prompted fresh scrutiny of police protocols for active shooters, which call for officers to engage the suspect at once to prevent loss of life.

The start of the Nashville police video shows an officer retrieving a rifle from his trunk as a staff member tells him that the school is locked down but that two children are unaccounted for.

"Let's go! I need three!" the officer yells as he uses a key to unlock a door and enter the building, where alarms can be heard ringing.

The video shows officers passing by bulletin boards and cubbies as they clear one room after another. When the officers reach the second floor, one says, "We've got one down," before they race down the hallway to confront the shooter.

Officer Rex Engelbert and Officer Michael Collazo - whose body cameras provided the footage - both fire several rounds at the suspect. The video shows the assailant still moving on the ground as another officer repeatedly yells, "Get your hands away from the gun!"

Police previously released surveillance footage showing the shooter arriving at the school and gaining entry by shooting through a glass door. The suspect is seen stalking through empty hallways as emergency lights flash, brandishing a rifle and entering rooms, seemingly looking for people.

The Covenant School, founded in 2001, serves about 200 students from preschool to sixth grade in the Green Hills neighborhood of Tennessee's state capital, according to the school's website.