Thousands of Israelis protest against government, urging captive deal

 

Local media reported demonstrations taking place in 50 locations across the country amid anger at Netanyahu’s government.

AJ 6 Apr 2024

Thousands of Israeli anti government protesters have gathered in Tel Aviv, among other parts of the country, to call on the government to reach a deal to free dozens of captives held by the Hamas group in Gaza and to hold early elections.

The demonstrators shouted slogans late on Saturday, expressing anger at Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for its inability to secure the release of the captives after six months of fighting.

Israeli media reported scenes of confrontations between security forces and protesters in Tel Aviv, where demonstrators reportedly started several fires, before they were quickly put out by the police.

People chanted “Police, police who exactly are you guarding?”, and “Ben-Gvir is a terrorist”, referring to Israel’s minister of national security, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

The protest organisers quoted by local media said rallies were taking place at about 50 other locations nationwide in addition to Tel Aviv.

Such Saturday protests have become a regular occurrence in Tel Aviv and other parts of the country, since the early months of the war that began on October 7.

The latest demonstrations come as ceasefire negotiations – which include discussions about the release of the captives – are set to take place in Cairo. The talks are being mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Tel Aviv, said that two different rallies had merged on Saturday, and the huge turnout of protesters was likely to put a lot of pressure on Netanyahu.

“The ‘Bring Them Home Campaign’ now joined the anti government protesters,” he said.

“The former is the advocacy group for the hostages. For six months, they have been demanding the prime minister to release the Palestinian political prisoners and in turn, get the hostages back.

“Now, they are saying enough is enough. It has been six months and nothing has happened in terms of getting the majority of people out,” our correspondent added.

“All the speeches we heard tonight had two key messages: Netanyahu failed and the hostages have to come home now.”

Organisers of the anti government protests in Tel Aviv say that 100,000 people participated in the demonstrations, according to the Israeli media.

Israel declared war on Gaza after Hamas carried out a deadly attack on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 200 others captive. More than 100 have since been released, but others remain captive in Gaza.

Netanyahu launched Israel’s relentless war on Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack.

In the last six months, at least 33,137 Palestinians have been killed and 75,815 wounded in Israeli attacks on the strip – with starvation and famine reported in particular in the north of the enclave due to lack of international aid access.

Israel said on Saturday its special forces had recovered the body of a captive killed in Gaza.

A new round of indirect truce negotiations is expected to begin in Cairo on Sunday. CIA Director Bill Burns will attend the talks along with his Egyptian counterpart. A representative from Hamas will also attend, the group said on Saturday. The Israeli side has not yet said whether it would send a delegation to the talks.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA 

Sri Lanka not interested in discussing Katchatheevu - FM Sabry

 

Katchatheevu row internal political debate, dispute settled 50 years ago, says Sri Lankan FM

Maktoobmedia.com April 4, 2024

After a week of silence, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said on Wednesday that the political row over Katchatheevu happening in India was an internal political debate about something that was settled 50 years ago and there is no need to to revisit it.

“There is no controversy. They are having an internal political debate about who is responsible. Other than that, no one is talking about claiming Katchatheevu,” said Sabry. This is the first official reaction by Sri Lanka to the row in India.

Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparked the debate with a post on X over the issue of ‘ceding’ Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974.

“Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu….” Modi wrote on 31 March.

Sri Lanka not interested in discussing Katchatheevu - FM Sabry

Tamil Guardian 05 April 2024

Days following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's revival of a decades-old dispute surrounding Katchatheevu island, Sri Lanka has responded stating it has no intention to entertain further discussions on the matter.

In a recent statement to a local television network, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry emphasised that Sri Lanka sees no grounds for reopening talks on Katchatheevu, an island ceded to Sri Lanka by India half a century ago. "This is a matter that was discussed and resolved 50 years ago, and there is no need for further deliberations on this issue," he remarked. This assertion marks the first official response from Sri Lanka since the release of documents pertaining to the island's transfer entered the public domain.

A former Sri Lankan envoy to India Austin Fernando said the BJP may have invoked a “vote-puller” but it would be difficult for the Indian government to step back after the elections. 

Fernando speaking to The Indian Express said if the Indian government crosses the Sri Lankan maritime international boundary line, it would be seen as a “violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty”, as he recalled Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s statements on the Indian Peacekeeping Force in late 1980s.

“If Pakistan proposes such sea encroachment near Goa will India tolerate it? Or if Bangladesh does something like this in the Bay of Bengal, what will be India’s response?,” said Fernando, who was Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India between 2018 and 2020. “BJP does not have much of a hold in Tamil Nadu comparatively, so it has sparked off a vote-puller.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reignited the row around Katchatheevu island, after he labelled the release of documents on the 1974 decision to hand the territory to Sri Lanka “eye opening and startling!”.

“New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu,” tweeted the Indian Premier. “This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress!”

‘No ground’ for India’s request for return of Kachchatheevu: Minister Douglas

The Morning 05 Apr 2024

The statements coming out of India on “reclaiming” Kachchatheevu island from Sri Lanka have “no ground”, the Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda has said.

The senior Sri Lankan Tamil politician’s comments came days after the Narendra Modi government targeted the Congress and its ally the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu accusing them of overlooking national interests in the ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974.

The BJP has also been targeting the two parties for not ensuring the rights of the fishermen wanting to fish in waters around the Katchatheevu island.

“It is the election time in India, it is not unusual to hear such noises of claims and counterclaims about Kachchatheevu,” Devananda told reporters in Jaffna on Thursday, 4 April.

“I think India is acting on its interests to secure this place to ensure Sri Lankan fishermen would not have any access to that area and that Sri Lanka should not claim any rights in that resourceful area”, Devananda said.

The statements on “reclaiming” Kachchatheevu from Sri Lanka’s hold has “no ground,” Devananda has said.

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