Iranian protests vs gov’t intensify across country
Large protests continued in iran for the sixth day in a row on saturday with protesters blocking streets in various cities across the country and reports claiming they had taken control of the city of oshnavieh.
the protests against the government broke out both online and in the streets last week after mahsa amini died in police custody following her arrest by the modesty police, who accused her of wearing her hijab improperly.
president ebrahim Raisi said on saturday that the country must deal decisively with the demonstrations.
at least 35 people have been killed in the weeklong protests, according to iran’s state television, with demonstrations spreading to most of the country’s 31 provinces.
on Friday, state-organized rallies took place in several iranian cities to counter the anti-government protests, and the army promised to confront “the enemies” behind the unrest.
state media quoted Raisi on saturday as saying that iran must “deal decisively with those who oppose the country’s security and tranquility.”
Raisi was speaking by telephone to the family of a member of the Basij volunteer force killed while taking part in the crackdown on unrest in the northeastern city of mashhad.
the president “stressed the necessity to distinguish between protest and disturbing public order and security, and called the events... a riot,” state media reported.
women have played a prominent role in the protests, waving and burning their veils. some have publicly cut their hair as furious crowds called for the fall of supreme Leader ayatollah ali Khamenei.
the protests are the largest to sweep the country since demonstrations over fuel prices took place in 2019, when Reuters reported 1,500 people were killed in a crackdown on protesters – the bloodiest confrontation in the islamic Republic’s history.
from the Gaza Strip, is responsible for carrying out the attack.”
The agency confiscated the weapons used in the attacks, along with ammunition.
“The Shin Bet, along with the IDF and Israel Police, will continue to work to thwart attempts by Hamas to promote terror activity against Israel and will make them pay a price for their [terror] infrastructure,” the statement said.
Security forces also arrested a Palestinian teenager who carried out a shooting attack against the settlement of Carmel in the south Hebron hills on September 15. An Israeli teenager studying at a yeshiva in the settlement was moderately wounded in the attack.
According to the IDF, security forces located the M-16 rifle used in the attack the next day. The teenager, from the town of a-Zubaidat who confessed to the attack, was arrested last Saturday near the Palestinian village of Um Daraj, two days after the attack.
Data released by the Shin Bet showed there were at least 23 shooting attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in August, up from 15 in July.
At least 15 Israeli civilians and security personnel were wounded during the August attacks, prompting deployment of an extra battalion of Golani forces to the area.
Additional battalions will be sent to other parts of the West Bank during the holidays to prevent attacks.
Security forces have increased their level of alertness due to the increased violence. There have been close to 10 attacks this past week, with at least two shooting attacks in the northern West Bank early Thursday morning near the settlement of Har Bracha. Another shooting attack against the settlement took place early Friday morning, damaging a home.
As security forces increase their alert level, an extra battalion of Golani forces will be immediately deployed to the northern West Bank in the face of a rise in shooting attacks in the area by Palestinian gunmen.
Additional battalions will be sent to other parts of the West Bank during the holidays to prevent attacks.
New York.
Abbas’s latest address, however, did not include anything new.
In fact, there’s a striking resemblance between Friday’s speech and previous addresses before the General Assembly. As such, Abbas’s speech was anything but “historic” and “pivotal.”
Abbas repeated most of the threats he has made in the past, including walking away from all signed agreements with Israel. He has made the threats not only in his appearances before the GA, but also in speeches and statements during meetings of PLO and Fatah institutions in Ramallah.
Abbas loyalists praised his latest speech, while his critics insisted it was simply a repetition of previous statements and threats.
“President Abbas’s speech was historic and detailed and establishes a decisive stage in
our struggle with the Israeli occupation,” said Eyad Jarad, a senior representative of the ruling Fatah faction.
Hamas and other Palestinians, on the other hand, retorted by arguing that the speech did not rise to the level of the Palestinians’ expectations. They especially expressed disappointment with Abbas for failing to carry out his previous threat to sever all ties with Israel.
In last year’s address to the General Assembly, Abbas issued an ultimatum to Israel, saying it “has one year to withdraw from the Palestinian territory it occupied in 1967, including east Jerusalem,” adding that “we are ready to work throughout this year on the delineation of borders and solving all final status issues under the auspices of the international Quartet and in accordance with the United Nations resolutions. If this is not achieved, why maintain recognition of Israel based on the 1967 borders?”
On Friday, Abbas chose to ignore his own ultimatum.
Instead, he repeated his threat to “revise” the Palestinians’ relations with Israel, adding that “we have the right and obligation to explore other means to achieve our rights,” including the implementation of resolutions by the PLO and Fatah to revoke recognition of Israel and renounce all signed agreements between the two sides.
By all accounts, Abbas’s latest speech reflected his state of despair and frustration not only with Israel, but also with the international community, which he took to task for its failure “to end the occupation and deter Israel’s ongoing aggression against our people.”
Abbas said he was “saddened” that the US and a number of European countries that advocate adhering to the two-state solution and recognize Israel have still not recognized the Palestinian state and are even threatening to block the Palestinians’ bid to obtain full membership in the UN.
He also repeated his old charge that the international community was applying “double standards” in its dealings with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas’s message to the international community: “The ball is now in your court. The peace process has failed, and the time has come for the intervention of the UN to force Israel to comply with all international resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict.”
Abbas, however, left the door open to the possibility of resuming the stalled peace talks by calling on the Israeli government to immediately return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians. His political rivals, of course, were unhappy to hear about his readiness to resume peace talks with the Jewish state.
Although he accused Israel of destroying the two-state solution, Abbas described Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s support for the idea as a “positive matter.”
In his speech, the PA president also sought to send messages to Israel and his own people. His message to Israel: “The Palestinians continue to seek peace, security, stability and prosperity for the sake of our generations and all the peoples of the region. The Palestinians are also opposed to terrorism and violence.”
Abbas’s scathing attacks on Israel were primarily directed to the Palestinians, particularly in light of widespread criticism of his policies and measures. His
popularity has plummeted to its lowest level, with more than 70% of Palestinians demanding that he step down.
His speech came days after Palestinians in Nablus took to the streets to protest the arrest of two Hamas members by PA security forces.
That’s why it was important for Abbas to reassure his people that he is not a puppet in the hands of Israel. “I want to say to our people and the whole world that I’m proud that I have spent several decades of my life struggling with my brothers, the leaders of the Palestinian people, to preserve the rights of our heroic and brave people.”
Abbas’s near-identical speeches at the UN and other forums show that the man has not changed his views and policies
since he came to power in 2005.
On Friday, the 87-year-old Palestinian leader showed that the legacy he wants to leave behind is that he remained totally faithful to the rights and aspirations of the Palestinians to the last day of his life. He also wants the world to remember him as a leader who tried to make peace, but failed because of Israel and the international community.
In neighboring Iraq, dozens of Iraqi and Iranian Kurds rallied outside the United Nations compound in the northern city of Erbil on Saturday, carrying placards with Amini’s photograph and chanting “Death
to the Dictator,” referring to Khamenei.
State television in Iran, which has blamed armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents for involvement in the unrest, said Iranian Revolutionary Guards fired artillery on anti-Iranian military bases in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
Mobile internet has been disrupted in Iran at least three times this week, the NetBlocks watchdog has reported. Activists say the move is intended to prevent video footage of the violence from reaching the world.
Rights group Amnesty International said protesters have faced a “spiraling, deadly response from security forces over the past days” and called
for an independent UN “investigative mechanism” to look into this week’s events.
On the night of September 21 shootings by security forces left at least 19 people dead, including three children, it said.
“The rising death toll is an alarming indication of just how ruthless the authorities’ assault on human life has been under the darkness of the internet shutdown,” Amnesty said.
The activist Twitter account 1500tasvir, which has more than 120,000 followers, said late on Friday that communication channels with Oshnavieh had been cut off, and landlines were down.
Oshnavieh was one of several towns in northwest Iran, where most of the country’s 10 million Kurds live, that held a strike
on Friday. The Kurdish rights group Hengaw posted a video it said showed protesters in control of parts of the town on Friday. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video.
State television showed footage purporting to show that calm had returned to many parts of the capital Tehran late on Friday.
“But in some western and northern areas of Tehran and certain provinces, rioters destroyed public property,” it said, carrying footage of protesters setting fire to garbage bins and a car, marching and throwing rocks.
1500tasvir carried videos of protests near the University of Tehran on Saturday. Riot police were seen clashing with protest