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Hamas; Designation of Haniyeh as” terrorist” will not affect struggle

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Hamas; Designation of Haniyeh as” terrorist” will not affect struggle

Hamas to continue defending its people and land

In less than two months after announcing Jerusalem as Israeli capital, US administration has entered into another adventure in supporting Israel in the Middle East. US State Department’s Wednesday move to place Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the most popular Palestinian leader on its global “terror list” faced strong reaction.

Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group immediately rejected US move calling it a “dangerous development” in  “violation of international law, giving the Palestinian people a right to defend themselves against [Israeli] occupation, and to choose their leaders.”

The Hamas statement said, “This will not deter us from carrying out our duties towards our people and defending them, and liberating our lands and holy sites”.

It further said, “This decision demonstrates the full American bias in favour of the Israeli occupation, and provides an official cover for Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Hamas, the Palestinian political resistance movement which governs Gaza Strip, also called on the US administration to “reverse” this decision and to stop its “hostile policies.

Earlier in the day, US designated Ismail Haniya, as a “global terrorist”, saying he “has close links with Hamas’ military wing” and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians.”

The US administration accused Hamas of being involved in attacks that resulted in the killing of 17 Americans since the group’s founding in 1987.

Placing Haniyeh on the “terror list” means that there will be a travel ban on him, his property in US, if any, will be frozen. Any US citizen of company will not able to undertake any business activity with him.

Ismail Haniyeh became first elected Prime Minister in Palestinian National Authority in 2006 and remained in office till June 2, 2014. However, his government was not recognised by US, Israel and their allies.

President Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Fatah group who leads his government in West Bank and considered to be a close US ally until US President Donald Trump announced to accept Jerusalem as Israel capital, dismissed Haniyeh in June 2007.

But Hamas did not acknowledge Abbas’ decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in Gaza strip till June 2014. Haniyeh was elected as Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau in May 2017.

Iran, leading the anti-US/Israel political moves in the region, supports Hamas in its fight against Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Tehran also supports Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, who fought 2006, 31 day war against Israel. The group succeeded in forcing Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon in year 2000.

Hamas; Designation of Haniyeh as” terrorist” will not affect struggle

During last few years Saudi Arabia tried to create distance between Hamas and Iranian government by moving its office to Doha, Qatari capital. However, recently Ismail Haniyeh has written a letter to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khemenei for thanking his support.

Observers believe the designation of Ismail Haniyeh as “terrorist” raises the possibility of the US placing Haniya on trial. A Washington based journalist working for Aljazeera said, “This possibly makes it easier for the US Justice Department to try to bring him to trial for his alleged role in the deaths of these 17 Americans”.

In the State Department press release, the US also designated three other armed groups as being “terrorist groups”: Harakat al-Sabireen – a Gaza-based armed group, as well as two Egypt-based groups – Liwaa al-Thawra, and Harakat Sawa’d Misr.

A senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad  told  that the US’ decision is part of a wider campaign against Palestinians since President Donald Trump came into office.

“It is obvious that this animosity from the US administration towards the Palestinians is unprecedented – with its unconditional support of Israel and its decision surrounding Jerusalem, and cutting its funding to the UN refugee agency [UNRWA],” said Hamad.

He further said, “I think Donald Trump is mentally ill. Since he became president … the US administration has been trying to impose its misguided policies on the Middle East.”

The Palestinian official said that Haniyeh a is an “icon of resistance” and that is “something he and we are all proud of”.

Trump has made a series of decisions in recent months that have increased tensions in the region.

On December 6, US President Donald Trump had  formally recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital  and asked Department of state to start process of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The move unleashed protests across the occupied Palestinian territories and in major cities around the world. Turkey had hosted OIC summit against Trump’s Jerusalem and several other conferences in different capitals had condemned Trump’s move.

On December 13, Palestinian resident Mehmoud Abbas had formally declared that Palestinians will no longer accept the US as mediator in the Middle East peace process.

Continuing its tough moves, on January 17, the US government decided to cut more than half of its planned funding to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees supporting  more than five million registered Palestinian refugees for over 70 years.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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