Saudi Arabia celebrates 87th National Day

Agencies
September 23, 2017

Riyadh, Sept 23: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday celebrated the 87th anniversary of its National Day amid increasing regional challenges.

On this day, late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman declared the unification of the country under the name of “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” on the 19th of the month of Jumada I of 1351 AH. The unification was achieved after 32 years of struggle during which late King Abdulaziz laid strong foundations for the Kingdom adhering to the teachings of his ancestors.

On this occasion, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, delivered a speech commending the Kingdom’s growth and prosperity under the great leadership of King Salman.

The Prince said that this great anniversary happens while the Kingdom witnesses a glorious era and a blessed renaissance with more security and stability under the great leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

He affirmed that the 87th anniversary of the Kingdom’s unification is an occasion to recall the achievements of the founder and builder of our country’s renaissance, late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman.

“We thank Allah Almighty for honoring this country for the service and care of the two holy mosques and their pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors, so it has exploited all its capabilities to achieve this great message. We also thank Allah Almighty for the blessing and giving of security, safety, tranquility and prosperity of our country whose success depends on adhering to the Holy Quran and the teachings of Sunnah of His Messenger as an approach in all matters and dealings,” the Crown Prince reiterated.

In his speech, the Crown Prince said: “We thank Him for the abundant resources, potential and qualified human resources of our country and its strategic position qualifying it to be among the world’s top developed countries, leading us to maintain our gains and continue to work for further progress and success.”

The Crown Prince stated that what the Kingdom is witnessing today is due to King Salman’s efforts to continue what has been done by the former kings of this country.

The Crown Prince lauded the role of King Salman and his outstanding deed in the service of his people, the homeland and the nation.

He asserted the Kingdom’s effective and influential status and role at regional and international levels, with its commitment to work for the achievement of international peace and security and its pursuit for the good of all humanity.

The Crown Prince also mentioned that as an active member of the Economic Group of Twenty (G20), which includes the world’s strongest economies, “we aspire the Kingdom becomes a pioneering model at all levels, depending on the role of male and female young citizens in this regard with the strive for the achievement of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which marks the beginning of a new phase of development and hard work for future advancement as well as the pursuit for everything in the interest of the country and continues moving closer to top-ranked developed countries, while adhering to the principles of our religion and our noble values.”

The Prince stated that under the leadership of the Custodian the country affirmed its right to uphold the truth and commitment to its principles to achieve justice as well as its quest for the achievement of regional security and world peace.

Crown Prince Mohammed commended the efforts of the protectors of the country and its heroic soldiers who risk their lives to save their religion and homeland, as well as the efforts of the security forces to maintain the security of the country.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became an influential leading person through the success he achieved and his outstanding presence on the political, social, and economic arenas in the Kingdom.

Due to the Prince’s efforts and leadership of King Salman, Saudi Arabia launched the initiative to restore legitimacy in Yemen through operations “Decisive Storm” and “Restoring Hope”.

The prince also announced Saudi Arabia’s adoption of the Islamic Military Alliance to Combat Terrorism headquartered in Riyadh. He also toured several countries around the world and discussed several issues on the Arab, Islamic, and international arenas.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the “godfather” of Saudi Vision 2030 set as a road-map for Saudi Arabia’s economic development.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif also delivered a speech during which he considered the National Day “an occasion to understand the true meaning of pride and respect for the efforts exerted by our ancestors to achieve development, growth and prosperity, which was the founder king’s wish.”

The Prince stated that stability is one of the best things in the Kingdom, the most important factor that helped the state grow, thrive and develop to become an internationally pioneering state.

“Since its establishment, the Kingdom has exerted all possible efforts to serve Saudis, expatriates, and pilgrims from all over the world, and preserve the sacred sites. It faced the most difficult and dangerous challenges that threatened the security of many states, such as terrorism that disrupted regional stability and security,” Prince Abdulaziz asserted.

“However, the Kingdom was able to thwart many terrorist plans and dismantle terrorist networks thanks to the government’s support of the Ministry of Interior and the security forces,” he concluded.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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Beirut: The Israeli army on Tuesday continued to launch attacks against civilians in Lebanon, targeting them in several areas without prior evacuation warnings.

However, 13 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the space of only three hours were preceded by evacuation warnings.

The attacks caused no injuries but resulted in widespread destruction of residential buildings and commercial, medical and educational centers.

The airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Bekaa region, reaching Akkar in Lebanon’s far north, erased any hope of a near-term ceasefire settlement.

The strikes were accompanied by an announcement on Israel’s Channel 14 that “the Israeli army has expanded its operations in southern Lebanon to areas it had not reached since the beginning of the ground operation.”

About 50 days have passed since Israel intensified its hostile operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. The death toll from these confrontations and attacks has passed 3,200, with more than 14,000 wounded.

For the first time, an airstrike targeted a mountainous area between Baalchmay and Aabadiyeh on the road leading to Aley, destroying a building housing displaced people.

The mayor of Baalchmay, Adham Al-Danaf, confirmed that “the airstrike targeted a residential building in the Dhour Aabadiyeh area.”

The initial toll from the Ministry of Health showed “five people killed and two injured.”

The raids that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in the morning, unlike nightly raids before, caused huge destruction. Those who evacuated their homes after Israeli warnings, used their phones to record the collapse of empty buildings in Sfeir, Haret Hreik, Bir Al-Abed, Mrayjeh, Laylaki and Hadath.

Israeli warplanes also targeted Tyre, where a strike on a building killed three people and injured many others, while a raid on Tefahta killed a man identified as Kifah Khalil and his family.

Attacks were widespread, with Yater and Zebqine subject to artillery shelling, a civilian being killed in Hermel, and further attacks on Bouday and an area between the towns of Srifa and Arsoun.

A raid on the town of Siddiqin killed two people and injured several others, while an attack on the Mechref farm led to one fatality and multiple injuries.

The search for those missing after an Israeli raid on the town of Ain Yaacoub in Akkar, in the northernmost part of Lebanon, continued until dawn.

During the operation, 14 bodies were retrieved, identified as those of residents displaced from the town of Arabsalim in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah area of the south, along with members of a Syrian family, a mother and three of her children. Additionally, there were 10 people in critical condition.

The targeted residence belongs to a Lebanese citizen, Hussein Hashim, who is reported to be a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

An airstrike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Sidon region on Monday night resulted in yet another tragedy.

It appeared that the intended target was the Shoumer family, who just days before lost Hussein Amin Shoumer and his two sisters in a drone strike near Al-Awali River.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued additional evacuation warnings for towns in the southern region along the Litani River, which, according to estimates from the mayors, are currently 90 percent uninhabited.

In the meantime, Hezbollah announced its continued efforts to “combat the intrusions of Israeli forces and to strike military installations and towns in the north.”

Hezbollah said in a statement that it confronted “an Israeli Hermes 450 drone in the airspace of Nabatieh and forced it to leave Lebanese airspace.”

The party also announced that it targeted “Kfar Blum settlement with a rocket salvo.”

On the Israeli side, air raid sirens sounded in areas of Upper and Western Galilee and in the town of Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.

The Israeli army confirmed that “a drone exploded in Nesher, east of Haifa, without activating the air raid sirens,” and that “a drone launched from Lebanon crashed into a school in Gesher HaZiv, north of Nahariya.”

Israel’s Channel 13 reported the Israeli military’s assessment regarding Hezbollah’s military strength, claiming that the group currently possesses approximately 100 precision missiles, thousands of artillery shells, and hundreds of rockets. Additionally, it was highlighted that “there are around 200 Lebanese towns that remain unvisited.”

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