- The Guardian
- Issue #2131
USA: The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim organisation in the United States, described as “delusional” and “dangerous” president Trump’s proposal to relocate more than a million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan. “The idea of carrying out an ethnic cleansing of more than a million Palestinians in Gaza is delusional and dangerous. The Palestinian people are not willing to leave Gaza, and neighbouring countries are not willing to help Israel carry out ethnic cleansing,” CAIR said in a statement. The Council pointed out that “the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace is to force the Israeli government to end the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.” CAIR also strongly condemned the Republicans’ decision to transfer a shipment of 1,800 900-kg bombs to Israel.
EGYPT: Egypt does not accept any attempts to resettle Palestinians on either a temporary or long-term basis, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. “Egypt emphasises the unacceptability of any infringement on the rights of Palestinians, whether through settlements, occupation, or the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands on a temporary or long-term basis,” the Ministry said in a statement.
AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan’s Taliban government flatly refused US President Trump’s demand to return billions of dollars’ worth of weapons that the US military abandoned in the country during their panicked flight in 2021.
BELARUS: Alexandr Lukashenko, president of Belarus, was re-elected for a seventh term with 86.6 per cent of the vote. He will remain in power until 2030. The second vote of 5.1 per cent belonged to the Vote Against All. The Communist Party candidate won 2.7 per cent of the vote.
YEMEN: The United Nations suspended all travel to the area governed by the Houthis on 24 January after more of their staff were detained. The Houthis previously declared UN staff members as individuals associated with the now closed US embassy in the capital Sanaa and aid groups. The Yemenis have de-escalated their attacks on regional shipping and Israel now that a ceasefire has taken effect in Gaza.
HAITI: President Leslie Voltaire has warned that US policies freezing aid, deporting migrants, and blocking refugees will worsen the dire situation in the country, where gang violence, hunger and displacement have already reached critical levels. Voltaire called for international support, including boosting the size of Haiti’s multinational police force and organising elections by November, while rejecting gang involvement in the political process.
Gaza: On 27 January thousands of displaced Palestinians began their return to the northern Gaza Strip after receiving authorisation. Many travelled on foot for at least 7 km, navigating roads devastated by the violence and marked by past massacres against civilians attempting to flee Israeli bombardments. The conflict has displaced an estimated 85 per cent of Gaza’s population. Currently 1.6 million Palestinians are living in makeshift shelters that lack basic necessities, facing dire humanitarian conditions.
