https://www.middleeastmonitor.com Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa Tue, 08 Aug 2023 13:42:37 +0000 en-GB Middle East Monitor 30 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com 32 32 116394717 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230711-israel-envoy-you-can-be-pro-palestine-and-a-friend-of-israel/ Tue, 11 Jul 2023 17:55:01 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=651434 Deputy Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonathan Peled said in an event hosted by the Wilson Center in Washington that Israel "today is to ensure, convince, and persuade governments in Latin America that the relationship with Israel is not a zero-sum game." Peled clarified how Israel's influence and reach extends well beyond its immediate region and "nowhere is that more true than in the Americas." He said that Latin American countries were the "most important force" in supporting the creation of Israel and described support for Israel on the continent as "a matter of faith" for many in the region. Peled described Israel´s longstanding and historic friendship with the Western Hemisphere where there […]]]> 651434 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230503-the-palestinian-cause-and-argentinas-equidistant-policy/ Wed, 03 May 2023 14:07:00 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=632759 Although geographically distant, Argentina has a history of solidarity with Palestine. Before the approval of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, the South American country was a contender as a possible location for a "national home for the Jews". This idea appeared in Theodor Herzl's The Jewish State published in 1896. Argentina was identified as one of the options for the Zionist project, along with Palestine, due to the fertility of its lands and its small population at that time. According to the Zionist ideologue, Argentina was "one of the most fertile countries in the world, [that] extends over a vast area, has a sparse population, and a mild climate." Herzl believed that, "The Argentine Republic would derive […]]]> 632759 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230424-descendants-of-ottomans-in-latin-america-los-turcos/ Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:52:03 +0000 , Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=630888 Many Ottomans who migrated from the Ottoman Empire to Latin American countries in the 19th century in search of a better life and were described as "Los Turcos" (Turkish people) have achieved significant success in many fields from politics to business, from art to literature. There were various waves of migration from the Ottoman Empire to Latin America from 1860 to the end of World War I, while World War II forced even more people to migrate to Latin America. Some immigrants were first greeted by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and preferred to stay in Latin America, although they set off for the US hoping to see the Statue of Liberty. Immigrants who arrived […]]]> 630888 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230328-palestinian-activists-gather-from-across-latin-america-to-boost-cause/ Tue, 28 Mar 2023 14:54:39 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=625060 The Palestinian Latin Forum has participated in the second conference of the Palestinian National Union (UPAL) held recently in Barranquilla, Colombia. The conference lasted for three days and was attended by Palestinian and foreign delegations from various countries across Latin America, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia and El Salvador. The aim of the conference was to renew Palestinian activism in Latin America, building trust and cohesion across its broad spectrum of Palestinian society, seeking a more effective role and building a political entity that represents all Palestinian communities across the continent. The conference also attacked the Palestinian Authority and the Oslo normalisation process and affirmed its rejection and lack of recognition of both. It also stressed its refusal […]]]> 625060 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221230-2022-saw-highest-number-of-journalist-deaths-in-the-past-four-years-rsf-reveals/ Fri, 30 Dec 2022 16:21:27 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=603157 Nearly 1,700 journalists have been killed across the world over the past 20 years, an average of more than 80 a year, according to a report published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The years since 2003 have been described as the "especially deadly decades", with 2022 leading with the highest number of deaths in the past four years. This year recorded 58 killings of journalists, 13.7 per cent  higher than in 2021 when 51 journalists were killed. "Behind the figures, there are the faces, personalities, talent and commitment of those who have paid with their lives for their information gathering, their search for the truth and their passion for journalism," RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said. According to the Paris-based media […]]]> 603157 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220808-honduras-to-consider-returning-israeli-embassy-to-tel-aviv-from-jerusalem/ Mon, 08 Aug 2022 18:33:18 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=572095 Honduras is considering moving its embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, a year after moving it to Jerusalem, according to the Honduran foreign ministry. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a conservative who considered himself a close Washington ally, moved Honduras's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2021. The United States had moved its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reversing decades of US policy. Hernandez was extradited to the United States earlier this year on charges of drug trafficking. His successor, leftist Xiomara Castro, took office in January. "The issue of moving the embassy to Tel Aviv has already been discussed with President (Castro) and is a topic of interest to her, as well as […]]]> 572095 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210625-honduras-opens-new-embassy-in-jerusalem/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:59:00 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=479906 Honduras has opened a new embassy in Jerusalem, Anadolu has reported. The opening ceremony was attended by President Juan Orlando Hernandez and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. This is the third country to open an embassy in the city after the US and Guatemala, even though the international community does not recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. "You have arrived here on the occasion of the inauguration of the headquarters of the Honduran Embassy in Jerusalem, the reopening of the headquarters of the Israeli Embassy in Tegucigalpa [the capital of Honduras] and signing of cooperation agreements," Bennett told Hernandez. "This is more evidence of the deep ties of friendship and the strong relations that binds the Jewish state [sic], […]]]> 479906 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210512-latin-america-calls-for-sanctions-to-end-israels-apartheid/ Wed, 12 May 2021 09:30:10 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=470469 Organisations from across Latin America have come together to "strongly condemn brutal Zionist terrorism and the ongoing Israeli atrocities against believers and protesters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound", they said in a statement. The statement said the groups also denounced "attempts to evict the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the current military attacks by the Israeli occupying forces against civilians, which are not an exception to the systematic historical oppression that the Palestinian people have endured for more than 70 years." "These is part of the Zionist plan of ethnic cleansing and Apartheid against the Palestinians, in their attempt to Judaize the Palestinian lands and the Holy City of Jerusalem," they added. READ: Resistance in Jerusalem established a […]]]> 470469 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210224-israel-gives-countries-that-recognise-jerusalem-as-its-capital-covid-vaccine/ Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:03:49 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=457862 Israel is to send covid vaccines to the occupied West Bank and a number of countries who have improved their relations with the occupation state, Haaretz has reported. It is unknown how many doses of the vaccine Tel Aviv plans to distribute, but the recipients are expected to be the Czech Republic, Hungary, Guatemala and Honduras, the occupied West Bank and one other unnamed country. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Guatemala and Honduras have all recognised occupied Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital. "In light of the successful vaccination campaign in Israel, the leading country in the world in inoculating the population, Israel has received many requests from the countries of the world to assist with the supply of vaccines," a statement by the Prime Minister's Office said. However, Meretz […]]]> 457862 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200921-honduras-plans-to-open-embassy-in-jerusalem-by-end-of-year/ Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:50:25 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=423644 The President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, has said that he plans to open his country's embassy to Jerusalem by the end of this year. In a statement on Twitter, Hernández also confirmed that he has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel opening and inaugurating an embassy in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. "To strengthen our strategic alliance, we spoke to arrange the opening of the embassies in Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem, respectively," Hernández wrote on Twitter. "We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows it." Last year, Hernández called Jerusalem Israel's capital, and opened the country's diplomatic office in the city. Acabo de conversar con el […]]]> 423644 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200806-israel-fm-urges-latin-american-countries-to-ban-hezbollah/ Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:48:22 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=414187 Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has called on Latin American countries to ban the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah during a meeting with ambassadors from the region yesterday. "Terrorism affects all countries and we have to fight it in a mutual way," Ashkenazi said. "The best way to do that is sanctions on Hezbollah," he is quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post. The foreign minister pointed out to the Latin American ambassadors: "Some of your countries already suffered from this organization. There's a place to change that and outlaw Hezbollah. We will appreciate it if we see progress with Latin American countries regarding this issue." Hezbollah is described as having a major presence in South America, in particular in Brazil, […]]]> 414187 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200120-honduras-formally-declares-hezbollah-a-terrorist-organisation/ Mon, 20 Jan 2020 19:48:14 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=382073 The Honduran government has formally declared Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah a terrorist organization, a top security official said on Monday, reports Reuters. "We declare Hezbollah a terrorist organisation and will include it in the registry of persons and institutions linked to acts of terrorism and its financing," said Luis Suazo, Honduras' deputy security minister. READ: 'God bless you', Netanyahu thanks Guatemalan president over Jerusalem embassy move Heavily armed Hezbollah, a Shia-dominated group, has also been designated a terrorist organisation by the US government. Last week, Guatemala's new president, Alejandro Giammattei, also signaled he would label Hezbollah a terrorist group, in addition to keeping the Guatemalan embassy in Israel in the city of Jerusalem. Both moves were seen as aligning Guatemala's […]]]> 382073 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190829-honduras-recognises-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/ Thu, 29 Aug 2019 10:43:32 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=359808 Honduran announced on Tuesday that President Juan Orlando Hernández is paying an official visit to Israel tomorrow to open the country's diplomatic office in Jerusalem, recognising the occupied city as Israel's capital, news agencies reported. Hernández said that opening a diplomatic office in Jerusalem "is an extension" to the embassy in Tel Aviv. Honduran foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel had proposed the idea of moving the embassy to Jerusalem and this proposal is being assessed. Since US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017 and relocated the US embassy to the Holy City in May 2018, a handful of countries have followed suit. Most of these have been Latin American countries with close ties to the US, including […]]]> 359808 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190327-arab-league-countries-that-move-embassies-to-jerusalem-risk-relations-with-arab-world/ Wed, 27 Mar 2019 10:43:39 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=335379 335379 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190325-honduran-president-calls-jerusalem-israeli-capital-not-moving-embassy-yet/ Mon, 25 Mar 2019 04:49:34 +0000 Middle East Monitor https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=334997 Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Sunday called Jerusalem Israel's capital, saying the Central American country would open a trade office there, but he stopped short of announcing plans to move his embassy from Tel Aviv, Reuters reports. Hernandez has in recent months signalled that his government is mulling moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem, and made his comments on the holy city during his appearance at a conference on U.S.-Israeli relations in Washington. "Today I have announced the first step, which is to open a trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, and this will be an extension of our embassy in Tel Aviv," Hernandez said in a statement issued by his government. "I've said that […]]]> 334997 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190102-honduras-to-discuss-embassy-move-to-jerusalem-with-israel-us/ Wed, 02 Jan 2019 13:01:37 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=321918 Honduras will hold talks with Israel, joined by the United States, aimed at opening an embassy in Jerusalem, the countries said yesterday, as the small Central American nation looks to follow US President Donald Trump's much-criticised move. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez held a meeting in the Brazilian capital on the sidelines of the inauguration of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro The three agreed to hold meetings in the capitals of each country "to advance the decision process to open embassies in both Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem," as well as "strengthen political relations and coordinate development cooperation in Honduras," the countries said in a joint statement. The right-leaning Hernandez […]]]> 321918 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180817-arab-parliament-calls-on-three-states-to-reconsider-jerusalem-embassies-move/ Fri, 17 Aug 2018 00:28:37 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=302554 Mishaal Al-Salami, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, sent written letters on Thursday to the presidents of the three parliaments that declared their intention to transfer their embassies in the occupying entity Israel to the occupied city of Jerusalem, namely the Republic of Romania, the Republic of Honduras and the Republic of Togo. Al-Salami expressed his deep regret for the intention of the governments of these countries to transfer their embassies to the city of Jerusalem. He called on the three nations to reconsider their positions, stand by the right and recognise the State of Palestine on the entire Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital. He asserted that any decisions and actions aimed at changing the […]]]> 302554 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180417-council-on-international-relations-condemns-honduras-plan-to-move-embassy/ Tue, 17 Apr 2018 08:17:27 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=286033 286033 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180313-paraguay-honduras-to-open-embassies-in-jerusalem/ Tue, 13 Mar 2018 09:52:02 +0000 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/?p=281498 Paraguay and Honduras have said that they are ready to open their embassies in Jerusalem, a senior Israeli diplomatic source told the Israeli army radio on Sunday. According to Quds Press the senior source said that the two countries are ready "in principle" to open embassies in Jerusalem if the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first makes an official visit to their countries. Honduras voted against the UN resolution which condemned the US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but Paraguay abstained. US envoy to the US Niki Haley visited Honduras and commended its vote against the US decision. The US threatened to cut aid to the countries which voted against its decision at the UN. […]]]> 281498