Cyprus holds 12 Israelis over alleged rape of UK teen

Date created : 18/07/2019 - 16:55  GMT/ZULU

The 12 Israeli tourists covered their faces while entering the court in Cyprus where they were remanded in custody The 12 Israeli tourists covered their faces while entering the court in Cyprus where they were remanded in custody AFP

ADVERTISING

Nicosia 

by Elodie Bagnol and Biodun Iginla, France24

Twelve Israeli tourists were remanded in custody in Cyprus on Thursday over the alleged gang rape of a British teenager at her hotel in the popular resort of Ayia Napa.

The suspects appeared before a district court in Paralimni where the judge agreed to a police request to detain them for eight days pending investigations into possible charges of rape and conspiracy to rape.

ADVERTISING

The Israelis ? who entered the court premises with their faces covered -- have not been charged.

The court hearing was conducted behind closed doors as one of the suspects is a minor aged under 18.

Relatives of the suspects also attended.

The suspects were arrested on Wednesday after a 19-year-old British tourist alleged that she was raped at a hotel in the party resort where she and the Israelis were staying.

"The Israeli consul in Nicosia, Yossi Wurmbrand, is following developments and is in contact with the detainees. Their families have been updated," Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Ayia Napa is a magnet for younger tourists attracted by its party reputation and white sand beaches.

Britain is the island's biggest tourist market with around 1.3 million of its citizens travelling to Cyprus every year while nearby Israel is also becoming a key source of visitors.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

• [Gallery] Each State Hilariously Depicted By One Stereotypical PhotoSponsored by TooCool2BeTrue
• 40 Photos Of Film Scenes With Green ScreensSponsored by PostFun
• Minnesota: Say Bye To Your Mortgage If You Have No Missed Payments (You Must…Sponsored by Fetcharate

• French inventor soars above Champs-Élysées on flyboard at Paris parade
• France arrests 21 after hundreds of African migrants occupy Pantheon
• Czech teen at 14 is youngest kid on the block at Wimbledon

• 11 Signs You Might Have Psoriatic ArthritisSponsored by HealthCentral
• TV’s shrewdest Shark Shows one of the best ways to utilize $50Sponsored by The Startup Investor

We can't force Iran out of Syria, Russia tells Israelis

July 30, 2018  22H:32  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, JERUSALEM

JERUSALEM - Russia cannot compel Iranian forces to quit Syria, Moscow’s ambassador to Tel Aviv said on Monday, rebuffing Israel’s long-standing demand that it should work to ensure their total withdrawal from the country.

Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov said Moscow could equally do nothing to prevent Israeli military strikes against Iranian forces in Syria, which along with Russia and Tehran-backed Lebanese militias are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in combating rebel fighters.

SPONSORED

With Assad now in almost complete control of southwestern areas abutting the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights, Viktorov told Israel’s Channel 10 television in an interview that only Syrian army troops should be deployed there.

Last week an Israeli official said Russia had offered to keep Iranian forces at least 100 km (60 miles) from the Golan Heights ceasefire line. The offer came up during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, but Israel rejected it as insufficient, the official said.

Viktorov defended the Iranians’ presence in Syria.

“They are playing a very, very important role in our common and joint effort to eliminate terrorists in Syria. That is why, for this period of time, we see as non-realistic any demands to expel any foreign troops from the entirety of the Syrian Arab Republic,” he said.

“We can talk with our Iranian partners very frankly and openly, trying to persuade them to do or not to do something,” he said. But asked whether Russia can force Iran out, he answered: “We cannot.”

While formally neutral in the seven-year-old civil war next door, Israel has carried out scores of air strikes against suspected emplacements or arms transfers by Iranian or Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in Syria, apparently unimpeded by the Russian defense systems deployed there.

A military hotline Israel and Russia set up in 2015 has also helped to the countries avoid inadvertently clashing over Syria.

Viktorov expressed disapproval of the attacks on Syria, but added: “We cannot dictate to Israel how to proceed ... It is not up to Russia to give Israel freedom to do anything, or to prohibit Israel to do anything.”

Thousands march in Tel Aviv to protest against Netanyahu, corruption

DECEMBER 9, 2017  04H:14  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV - Thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday for the second consecutive week against government corruption and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under criminal investigation over allegations of abuse of office.

Police estimated the number of demonstrators at about 10,000 and they followed last Saturday’s demonstration, which was by far the largest of the recent weekly anti-corruption protests when an estimated 20,000 people participated.

The protests have been sparked by corruption allegations against Netanyahu, who denies any wrongdoing. The four-term leader is suspected of involvement in two cases.

The first involves receiving gifts from wealthy businessmen and the second involves negotiating a deal with a newspaper owner for better coverage in return for curbs on a rival daily.

If charged, he would come under heavy pressure to resign or could call an election to test whether he still had a mandate to govern.

Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party said in a Facebook post that the protest was a left-wing demonstration. It called on all Israelis to back their prime minister as he defends Israel against international criticism following U.S. President Donald Trump’s acceptance of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“Instead of uniting with all the people behind Jerusalem and showing the world a unified front, the left cannot contain itself and it prefers to create division,” part of the statement said.

Over weeks of demonstrations, protesters have identified themselves as supporting both left- and right-wing parties. On Saturday they held banners reading: “Neither left, nor right (we demand) integrity,” “We are fed up with corrupt (politicians)” and “Sweep the corrupt away.”

Thousands of Israelis rally to end Palestinian occupation

 
 
 
 
• inShare

• 0
 
• print

© JACK GUEZ / AFP A general view shows protesters gathering at a mass demonstration against 50 years of occupation titled "Two States - One Hope", on May 27, 2017 at the Rabin Square in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv

Latest update : 2017-05-28  08H:59  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla, France24, Tel Aviv. Disclosure: Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla had a romantic relationship when she was based in New York.

Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday in Tel Aviv in support of a Palestinian state ahead of the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.

Banners bearing the slogan "Two states, One Hope" featured in the demonstration organised by supporters of a Palestinian state, including the Israeli NGO Peace Now.

NGO head Avi Buskila said the rally was a protest against "the lack of hope being offered by a government perpetuating occupation, violence and racism".

"The time has come to prove to the Israelis, the Palestinians and the entire world that an important segment of the Israeli population is opposed to occupation and wants a two-state solution," he added.

A message of support from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was read out at the rally.

"It is time to live together in harmony, security and stability," Abbas was quoted as saying.

"Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave."

Israeli opposition Labour party leader Isaac Herzog attended the rally and threw his support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War with neighbouring states.

It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Israel proclaims Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians claim the city's eastern part as the capital of their future state.

More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank which are considered illegal under international law and a major obstacle to Middle East peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is widely seen as the most right-wing administration in Israeli history and is pressing settlement expansion despite international concern.

Some government members have openly advocated annexing the West Bank.

Date created : 2017-05-28

 
 
 
 
• inShare

• 0
 
• print

• 

  FRANCE - ISRAEL

  Netanyahu slams French 'threat' to recognise Palestine if talks fail
  Read more
• 

  SPAIN - PALESTINIANS

  Spain passes symbolic motion on Palestine statehood
  Read more
• 

  ISRAEL

  Israel summons Swedish envoy over recognition of Palestine
  Read more