Bipartisan bills seek to ban sales of US chips, parts to Chinese firms violating US sanctions or export control laws.

 

A bipartisan group of legislators in the United States has introduced bills that would prohibit the sale of US chips or other components to Chinese telecommunications companies that violate Washington’s sanctions or export control laws.

The proposed law was introduced on Wednesday shortly before the Wall Street Journal reported that US authorities are in the “advanced” stages of a criminal probe that could result in an indictment of Chinese technology giant Huawei, the second-largest global smartphone maker and biggest producer of telecommunications equipment.

Citing anonymous sources, the Journal said that an indictment could be coming soon on allegations that Huawei stole Tappy, a T-Mobile technology which mimicked human fingers and was used to test smartphones.

Huawei said in a statement the company and T-Mobile settled their disputes in 2017 following a US jury verdict that found “neither damage, unjust enrichment nor willful and malicious conduct by Huawei in T-Mobile’s trade secret claim”.

Huawei’s challenges in US market

On Capitol Hill, the bills introduced by Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Mike Gallagher, both Republicans, along with Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Ruben Gallego, both Democrats, specifically cite Huawei and ZTE, both of which are viewed with suspicion in the US because of fears that their switches and other gear could be used to spy on US citizens.

Both have also been accused of failing to respect US sanctions on Iran.

“Huawei is effectively an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party whose founder and CEO was an engineer for the People’s Liberation Army,” Cotton wrote in a statement. “If Chinese telecom companies like Huawei violate our sanctions or export control laws, they should receive nothing less than the death penalty – which this denial order would provide.”

The move is the latest in a long list of actions taken to fight what some in Washington call China’s cheating through intellectual property theft, illegal corporate subsidies and rules hampering US corporations that want to sell their goods in China.

The proposed law and investigation are two of several challenges that Huawei faces in the US market.

In addition to allegations of sanctions-busting and intellectual property theft, Washington has been pressing allies to refrain from buying Huawei’s switches and other gear because of fears they will be used by Beijing for espionage.

‘Huawei would not share user secrets’

Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, denied this week that his company was used by the Chinese government to spy.

In his most direct public response to accusations that his company is controlled by the ruling Communist Party, or is required to facilitate Chinese spying, Ren said on Tuesday that his company would refuse to disclose secrets about its customers and their communication networks.

“We would definitely say no to such a request,” Ren said in a rare meeting with foreign reporters.

Canada detained Ren’s daughter, Meng Wanzhou, who is Huawei’s chief financial officer, in December at the request of US authorities investigating an alleged scheme to use the global banking system to evade Washington’s sanctions against Iran.

The case of Meng, who has denied wrongdoing and is under house arrest awaiting proceedings, has heightened tensions between the US and China, as well as between Ottawa and Beijing.

Prime Minister invites all opposition leaders for Brexit talks after narrowly escaping defeat with 325-306 margin.

 

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday, a day after members of parliament dealt a crushing blow to the Brexit plan she negotiated with the European Union.

Parliament members voted 325 to 306 against the motion called by Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, who had earlier urged May to resign.

It was expected that May would survive the vote, after she secured the backing of her own party’s rebels and the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government.

“I am pleased that this House has expressed its confidence in this government tonight,” May said, welcoming the result and vowing to continue to “deliver on the result of the [Brexit] referendum”.

“My government will continue its work to increase our prosperity, guarantee our security and to strengthen our union.”

“We have a responsibility to identify a way forward that can secure the backing of the House,” she said.

With her leadership secure for the time being, May has to decide the next step as the March 29 deadline for Britain’s departure from the EU, or Brexit, looms.

The prime minister has ruled out calling a general election, saying that it would be the “worst thing” Britain could do now.

“It would deepen division when we need unity, it would bring chaos when we need certainty and it would bring delay when we need to move forward,” May told parliament.

The other options on the table are a second referendum, a renegotiation with the EU or a departure from the bloc without a deal.

May pledged to work with senior politicians to find a compromise that would avoid a disorderly “no-deal” Brexit or another referendum on membership.

The prime minister held talks with representatives from the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party  and Welsh party Plaid Cymru, but said she was “disappointed” that Corbyn chose not to take part in discussions.

She said that her door remains open to Labour, calling on lawmakers to “put self interest aside” and “work constructively together” to find a way forward for Brexit.

Corbyn said he was willing to meet May to discuss the way forward if she agreed to take a no-deal Brexit “off the table.”

“This government has failed our country. It cannot govern, it cannot command the support of the people, facing the most important issue at the moment, which is Brexit,” said Corbyn, who opposes a second referendum.

Following the vote on Wednesday, Corbyn called on May to “remove clearly” the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, “and all the chaos that would come as a result of that”.

John McDonnell, Labour’s finance spokesperson, said May could eventually get a deal through parliament if she negotiated a compromise with the opposition party, which wants a permanent customs union with the EU, a close relationship with its single market and greater protections for workers and consumers.

But May’s spokesman said it was still government policy to be outside an EU customs union, while May insisted Britain would leave the bloc on March 29, leaving little time for a solution to be found.

For its part, the SNP urged May to rule out a no-deal Brexit and agree that the possibilities of extending the Brexit negotiations and holding a second referendum remain on the table.

{SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES}

More than 700 people were rescued after the hotel complex was attacked, but dozens remain unaccounted for.

Kenyan security forces have killed all five attackers who stormed an upscale Nairobi hotel complex, taking at least 21 lives and causing hundreds to flee, according to authorities.

At least 50 people believed to have been in the compound remained unaccounted for on Wednesday, the Kenya Red Cross said, raising the possibility of a higher final death toll.

The al-Shabab armed group, an al-Qaeda affiliate, said it carried out the attack in the Kenyan capital in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Two people accused of facilitating the attack have been arrested.

Of the victims, 16 were Kenyan, one was British, one was from the United States and three were of African descent but their nationalities were not yet identified, police said.

Uhuru Kenyatta, the president of Kenya, announced the end of the 20-hour siege at the DusitD2 complex that echoed a 2013 assault that killed 67 people at the Westgate mall in the same district.

“The security operation at Dusit complex is over and all the terrorists have been eliminated,” Kenyatta said in a televised address on Wednesday.

Authorities sent special forces into the hotel to flush out the gunmen. The president said more than 700 civilians were evacuated from the complex.

Tormented night

It was a tormented night for families of those trapped as they waited outside the hotel with sporadic gunfire ringing out, and the rescue of dozens of people at about 3:30am (00:30GMT).

Mourning relatives and friends gathered at a nearby mortuary on Wednesday. Families who went to the Chiromo morgue were told they could not view bodies until a forensic investigation had been performed, provoking grief and anger.

“My sister is not in any of the hospitals and the last time we spoke she was a bit calm. But suddenly she started crying and shouting and I could hear gunshots and her phone remained on but she wasn’t speaking,” said a woman who gave her name as Njoki.

“We have no doubt her body is here,” she said, weeping.

Coordinated attack

CCTV footage broadcast on local media showed four black-clad, heavily armed men entering the complex.

According to Kenya’s police chief, Joseph Boinnet, the coordinated assault began at 3pm local time (12:00 GMT) on Tuesday with an explosion that targeted three vehicles outside a bank, and a suicide bombing in the hotel lobby that severely wounded a number of guests.

Hiram Macharia, a marketing executive at LG Electronics, said security officers rescued him and some colleagues from their office two hours after the attack began. But one colleague did not survive.

“One of our colleagues went to the top of the building and his body was found there,” he said.

A police source told AFP news agency two attackers were shot dead on Wednesday morning after a prolonged shootout.

“The two have red bandanas tied around their forehead and bullets strapped around their chest with several magazines each,” the senior police officer said. “Each had an AK-47 which has been secured.”

The attack at DusitD2 was the first in Nairobi since the Westgate mall attack in 2013.

On April 2, 2015, another al-Shabab attack killed 148 people at the university in Garissa, in eastern Kenya.

The Westgate attack resulted in many upscale establishments and shopping centres in the capital – including the Dusit – putting up security barriers to check cars and pedestrians.

Like the attack at the Westgate Mall, this one appeared aimed at wealthy Kenyans and foreigners.

It came a day after a magistrate ruled three men must stand trial in connection with the Westgate Mall siege.

{source: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES}

Suicide bomber strikes area near a US-led coalition patrol in the Kurdish-held Syrian town of Manbij.

Several people, including US troops, were reportedly killed after a blast struck near a US-led coalition patrol in the northern Syrian town of Manbij on Wednesday.

The US-led coalition confirmed on Twitter that US troops were killed during the explosion, but did not elaborate on the number of casualties. It said it was still gathering information about the attack.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that 20 people were killed, including five US soldiers.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Kurdish-led Manbij Military Council, which administers the town, said the attack occurred near a restaurant.

A website linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility, saying an attacker used an explosive vest to carry out the attack.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said wounded US soldiers were transferred to a hospital by helicopter.

Videos released by local activists and news agencies showed a restaurant that suffered extensive damage and a street covered in debris and blood. Several cars were also damaged. Another video showed a helicopter flying over the area. The videos could not be immediately verified.

‘We’ll stay to fight so ISIL doesn’t rear ugly head’

The attack comes as the US begins the process of withdrawing about 2,000 troops from Syria. If the death toll is confirmed, it would be the deadliest attack on US forces in Syria since they deployed on the ground there in 2015.

Last month, US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal announcement surprised many politicians in Washington as well as Western and Kurdish allies fighting alongside the US against ISIL.

The move prompted US Secretary of Defense James Mattis to resign, and the top US envoy in the anti-ISIL fight, Brett McGurk, to leave his post earlier than expected.

Trump’s decision was initially expected to be carried out swiftly, but the timetable became vague in the weeks following his announcement.

Following Wednesday’s attack, US Vice President Mike Pence said his country “will stay in the region … to fight to ensure that ISIS does not rear its ugly head again”.

Speaking to a gathering of US ambassadors at the State Department, Pence said, “We will protect the gains that our soldiers and our coalition partners have secured”.

But, he added that the US is “now actually able to hand off the fight against ISIS in Syria to our coalition partners and we are bringing troops home.”

Pence declared ISIL “defeated” without referencing Wednesday’s attack.

US-led coalition forces have been targeted in the area before, although such incidents have been rare.

In March last year, a roadside bomb killed two coalition personnel, an American and UK national, and wounded five in Manbij.

SDF says zone must come with guarantees to stop ‘foreign intervention’, in apparent reference to Turkey.

 

The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has said it will support efforts to establish a safe zone in northeastern Syria.

The SDF, a coalition of armed groups backed by the US and led by the Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units), said the zone must have “international guarantees…that would prevent foreign intervention”, in an apparent reference to Turkey.

“We will offer all the support and assistance to set up the safe zone that is being discussed, in a way that guarantees the protection of all co-existing sects and ethnicities from annihilation,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

It also said it hoped to ensure stability at the border region by reaching agreements with Turkey, which has vowed to crush the YPG.

The idea of a safe zone was suggested by US President Donald Trump on Twitter on Sunday, although he did not elaborate.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he had discussed such a zone which Turkey would set up inside Syria along the length of their border, during a phone call with Trump.

Erdogan’s comments came a day after he had a telephone conversation with Trump to ease tensions after the US leader threatened to “devastate” the Turkish economy if Ankara attacks Kurdish forces in Syria.

Earlier on Wednesday, a political leader of the Syrian Kurdish alliance Movement for a Democratic Society, said it would accept the deployment of United Nations forces along the separation line between Kurdish fighters and Turkish troops, in order to ward off a threatened offensive.

“Other choices are unacceptable as they infringe on the sovereignty of Syria and the sovereignty of our autonomous region,” Aldar Khalil told AFP news agency.

Russia, meanwhile, said only its ally, the Syrian military, should police the war-torn country’s north.

The YPG has been the key US ally in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), with an estimated 50,000 of its soldiers killed.

The anti-ISIL campaign is now nearing its conclusion with the group’s fighters confined to an ever-shrinking enclave of just 15 square kilometres in Syria.

Ankara regards the YPG as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a deadly war for autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984, and describes the armed group as “terrorists”.

Syrian control

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday the Syrian government must take control of the country’s north.

“We are convinced that the best and only solution is the transfer of these territories under the control of the Syrian government, and of Syrian security forces and administrative structures,” Lavrov told reporters.

Russia is a long-time supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lavrov said the future of the Kurds could be secured under regime control.

“We welcome and support contacts that have now begun between Kurdish representatives and Syrian authorities so they can return to their lives under a single government without outside interference,” Lavrov said.

He said there was progress in resolving Syria’s nearly eight-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, and the focus should remain on Idlib – the northwestern province that earlier this month fell under the full control of Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, an armed group dominated by Syria’s former al-Qaeda affiliate.

“The Syrian settlement is progressing, though of course more slowly than we would like,” Lavrov said. “The fight against terrorism must be completed. Now the main hotbed of terrorism is Idlib.”

Trump-Erdogan call

Erdogan said he had a “quite positive” telephone conversation with Trump late on Monday where he reaffirmed “a 20-mile [30-kilometre] security zone along the Syrian border […] will be set up by us”.

The Syrian Kurdish leader said he regretted the US proposal to give Turkey control over the security zone.

“Sadly, Trump wants to implement these safe regions through cooperation with Turkey. But any role for Turkey will upset the balance and the region will not be safe,” Khalil said.

“On the contrary, Turkey is a party [to the dispute] and any party cannot guarantee security.”

Turkey has threatened to attack the YPG in the Syrian city of Manbij.

The Turkish army previously launched two major operations in Syria since 2016.

The last offensive saw Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies overrun the enclave of Afrin that was under the control of the YPG and its political arm, Democratic Union Party (PYD), in the northwest – one of several governed by the militia.

Attack on southern al-Anad military base injures 20 military personnel, including the Yemeni army’s chief of staff.

Sanaa, Yemen – A Houthi drone attack has killed at least five Yemeni soldiers and wounded several senior officers from the Yemeni army, including the country’s chief of staff, a government official and Houthi spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

Thursday’s attack on a military parade at the al-Anad military base wounded at least 20 military personnel, the official said, including Mohammad Saleh Tamah, the head of Yemen’s Intelligence Service, Mohammad Jawas, a senior military commander and Ahmed al-Turki, the governor of Lahij province.

Abdul Guddoos al-Shahari, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera that the Yemeni army’s chief of staff, Abdullah Al-Nakhee, was also wounded in the attack.

“Our intelligence intercepted communications between the enemy commanders in which they mentioned that the chief of staff was wounded,” al-Shahari said.

He added that drone carried between 70 and 100 kilogrammes of explosives, and was detonated while flying over the main stage of the military parade after an “accurate surveillance of the enemy commanders’ movements”.

Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, had announced a strategy of using drones and ballistic missiles in 2017. The group is at war with a Saudi-UAE-led coalition which began its military campaign in Yemen in March 2015, after the Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Since 2017, the rebels have launched several ballistic and drone attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia and forces in the country loyal to the Yemeni government.

The Houthi aligned al-Masirah TV network also confirmed the assault, adding it was targeting “invaders and mercenaries”.

However, a senior official from the Yemeni army tried to play down the injuries, saying the drone exploded a “far distance [away] and did not hurt anybody”

“We are all safe, our situations is good and our health is good,” General Thabit Jawas said in a widely circulated video.

However, videos circulating on social media appeared to show that the explosives detonated just metres above where Yemeni officials were seated, and in one video, an Yemeni officer appeared to be bleeding profusely from his torso.

The attack comes just a day after the UN Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council that a peace agreement in Sweden last month had brought a considerable de-escalation to the conflict.

Under the agreement, the first significant breakthrough in peace efforts since the war erupted in 2014, the Houthis were expected to withdraw from the strategic port city of Hodeidah and ease the siege on the southwestern city of Taiz.

The rebels said they would halt all drone and missile attacks, but tensions have risen recently over how to implement the UN-sponsored peace deal.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the agreement, and shortly after Thursday’s attack, fighter jets began hovering over the skies of the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

Soldiers inspected the scene of the Houthi drone attack on the al-Anad air base [Reuters]

Five people were killed and 20 wounded in the drone attack according to government and Houthi sources [Reuters]

{source: al-jazeera news networks}

Trump administration’s unpredictable policy and personnel swings make dangerous misunderstandings more likely.

 

It is difficult to tell who is more peeved at National Security Adviser John Bolton right now: his boss President Donald Trump or Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In seeking to reassure Israel this weekend about the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, Bolton added some nuances that first prompted Trump to tweet nothing had changed and then drew outrage from Erdogan, who skipped the reassuring meeting Bolton was supposed to have with him.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must surely be relishing the prospect of his own damage-limitation tour of the Middle East, which just got under way.

Meanwhile, in the somewhat gentler environs of Texas, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas just published the latest edition of its quarterly energy survey and quoted one anonymous oil executive saying this:

“The administration’s head fake with the Saudis regarding Iran sanctions, followed by leverage on Saudi Arabia with the Khashoggi murder, have compromised oil price market dynamics. The volatility in commodity and capital markets is unsettling, along with the challenge to the administration’s ongoing leadership posed by the Democratic majority in the House. The administration is our largest uncertainty in our business at this point, as they want low oil prices and will do everything in their power to deliver low oil prices.”

All these things are not unrelated.

Trump’s desire to pull troops out of Syria shouldn’t be a shock. Antipathy to America’s foreign entanglements has been one of the more consistent positions for this president and fits with a broader shift in the global order that predates Trump and will likely outlast him.

What did come as a shock was the way Trump sprung his decision last month, followed quickly by the resignations of defence secretary James Mattis and Brett McGurk, the US envoy overseeing efforts to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, ISIS). The dissonance over what exactly is happening, how and when has only grown since.

Whether or not you regard this as 10-dimensional chess or mere disarray, we can surely agree it comes across as somewhat mercurial and creates one of those margins where misunderstanding can flourish.

Scapegoating the White House?

The “head fake” over Iranian sanctions lamented by that oil executive is a good example of this in action.

The widespread assumption that Washington would tighten the screws on Iran immediately in the fall stoked an oil rally even as Saudi Arabia boosted output to offset any concerns about supply. Trump’s granting of waivers to several countries importing Iranian oil (with an eye on gasoline ahead of midterms) undercut that, coinciding with an accelerating slide in prices. Little wonder another anonymous oil boss told the Dallas Fed: “The biggest distraction to conducting business is the uncertainty provided by the erratic and dysfunctional behaviour of the current presidential administration.”

Are they scapegoating the White House to some degree? Undoubtedly. Signs of weak demand and swaps dealers scrambling to reduce risk on hedging books were also at play in the oil sell-off. Moreover, in the same Dallas Fed survey, almost half the respondents said their primary goal in 2019 was to grow production. Just seven percent prioritised returning capital to shareholders. Given the industry’s broken relationship with investors, this is the opposite of getting with the programme.

Still, the extra layer of risk emanating from Washington DC is real enough, and that’s actually a novel thing. A few years ago, oil bosses griped about this or that federal regulation. Now, they fret about geopolitical curve balls and direct interventions in the oil market – something traditionally associated with the likes of OPEC members, not the US.

If it’s a novel feeling in Houston’s c-suites, imagine how it plays in the palaces and ministries of the Middle East. A region where virtually every state has come to either rely on US support (or regard it as a reliable adversary) must now adjust to not merely a more transactional Washington, but also one with conflicting voices and a changing set of faces. In short, the risk of local governments and the US talking past each other has ratcheted up in a region where the room for misunderstanding is vanishingly small.

It is unclear how the tablet fragment made its way from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor to the UK.

 

After seven weeks of investigation, the former top aide to Saudi Crown Prince is still missing, Washington Post reports.

Saudi authorities are refusing to confirm the whereabouts of Saud al-Qahtani, the former top aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), according to the Washington Post.

Qahtani was fired in October, just days after the gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi came to light.

In November, the Kingdom confirmed that he was under investigation and banned from leaving the country. Since then there has been no official statement in the case, the Washington Post reported.

Saudi prosecutors allege that Qahtani played a major role in Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 last year. He was among 17 Saudis sanctioned by the US government over the murder.

Saudi officials say Prince Mohammed was not aware of the plot to kill Khashoggi, the Washington Post reported.

The US and western countries are watching the Saudi government’s treatment of Qahtani as a measure of its seriousness in bringing to justice Khashoggi’s killers, the paper reported.

A number of questions remain to be answered about Qahtani’s involvement, including his role in planning the killing or whether he was framed.

Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Centre of Washington, told Al Jazeera that Qahtani’s disappearance is a “natural progression of [Saudi Arabia’s] investigation” and is likely used as a strategy to keep MBS protected from accusations regarding Khashoggi’s murder.

“They have sheltered some of the key players accused of being involved [in the murder] whether by Turkey or by the international community,” Jahshan said.

“The intention of the Saudi campaign right now is to keep the crown prince clear of any accusations with regards to the murder of Khashoggi.”

‘They are above the law’

Abdulaziz Almoayyad, Saudi human rights activist told Al Jazeera from Ireland that his disappearance is simply “what is expected from Saudi ideology”.

Almoayyad said that non-violent Saudi dissidents who are asking for some reforms from the government are punished with capital punishment.

“They don’t even need to be a reformer. This is the way the government deals with different opinions, to deal with people who ask for peoples representation,” Almoayyad said, adding that the perpetrators of the murder won’t be brought to justice.

“[MBS] isn’t willing to punish [the murderers]; he isn’t willing to punish his own and that will lead him to lose his power.

“In Saudi Arabia, this is a small minority that controls the people … Saudi people are fighting for their rights and they are imprisoned for it.

“But this small circle [of MBS] cannot be harmed. They are super rich, super powerful and they really think they are above the law of Saudi Arabia, or international.”

Last November, the CIA concluded that MBS ordered the assassination of Khashoggi in Istanbul, a finding that contradicts Saudi government assertions that Prince Mohammed was not involved.

US officials expressed high confidence in the CIA assessment, according to the Washington Post.

{SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES}

Source who read transcript of tape tells CNN text suggests calls were made to give briefings on the murder’s progress.

Saudi Arabia has admitted Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Khashoggi – a Saudi writer, United States resident and Washington Post columnist – had entered the building on October 2 to obtain documentation certifying he had divorced his ex-wife so he could remarry.

After weeks of repeated denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance, the kingdom eventually acknowledged that its officials were behind the gruesome murder. The whereabouts of his body are still unknown.

Here are the latest related developments:

Sunday, December 9

Report: ‘I can’t breathe’ were Khashoggi’s last words

“I can’t breathe.” These were Khashoggi’s final words, according to a CNN report, which cited a source who has read the transcript of an audio tape of the final moments before the journalist’s murder.

The source told the US network the transcript made clear the killing was premeditated, and suggests several phone calls were made to give briefings on the progress.

CNN said Turkish officials believe those calls were made to top officials in Riyadh.

The transcript of the gruesome recording includes descriptions of Khashoggi struggling against his murderers, CNN said, and references sounds of the dissident journalist’s body “being dismembered by a saw”.

The original transcript was prepared by Turkish intelligence services, and CNN said its source read a translation version and was briefed on the probe into the journalist’s death.

Last month, the head of investigations at the Turkish Sabah newspaper told Al Jazeera that Khashoggi’s last words were “I’m suffocating … Take this bag off my head, I’m claustrophobic”, according to an audio recording from inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi fiancee: No normal person could imagine such ‘horrific’ crime

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Khashoggi, has called for the perpetrators of the murder to be identified and put on trial.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera that aired on Monday, Cengiz said she will keep fighting to ensure everyone responsible for his murder is brought to justice.

“I want to expose the details of this horrific crime, identify the perpetrators and put those who carried out the killing on a fair trial, including those who ordered the hit so they get the punishment they deserve,” she said.

“On behalf of Jamal’s relatives and loved ones, and I say this as one of them, we need to know the whereabouts of his body. This is a basic human right.”

Saturday, December 8

The Washington Post: Return of Saudi envoy to US is ‘stunningly arrogant’

The Washington Post has criticised the Saudi ambassador’s return to the United States and described it as “stunningly arrogant”, accusing him of lying openly about the murder of Khashoggi.

In an editorial, the newspaper said that in the days following Khashoggi’s disappearance inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Saudi Ambassador Khalid bin Salman launched “an epic campaign of lies” – as the newspaper put it – and told anyone who would listen to him, from senators to the Washington Post publisher, that reports that Khashoggi had been detained or killed inside the consulate was “absolutely false, and baseless”.

The ambassador left Washington D.C. a couple of weeks later as the truth about Khashoggi’s murder was revealed.

“Anyone who does not object to the murder of a journalist, the use of a diplomatic facility for such a crime or the wanton lying to cover it up will welcome him back to Washington,” the newspaper said. “He should be shunned by everyone else.”

Thursday, December 6

Deposed aide to Saudi crown prince accused of role in female activist torture

A top aide to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, fired for his role in the killing of Khashoggi, personally oversaw the torture of at least one detained female activist earlier this year, two sources told Reuters news agency.

Saud al-Qahtani was a royal adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman until October, when he was sacked and then sanctioned by the US Treasury over the Washington Post columnist’s murder.

Three sources, briefed on the activists’ treatment, say a group of men subjected this woman and at least three others to sexual harassment, electrocution, and flogging between May and August at an unofficial holding facility in Jeddah.

They described the group of about six men as distinct from the regular interrogators the women saw and said they belonged to the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, which Qahtani headed at the time, or to state security.

Qahtani was present when at least one of the women was tortured, two of the sources said.

A Saudi official said the allegations of mistreatment and torture of the female detainees were “false … and have no connection to the truth”.

“The detainees were detained based on accusations related to harming the security and stability of the kingdom,” the official said in response to questions from Reuters.

The women are among more than a dozen prominent activists arrested since May amid a broader crackdown targeting clerics and intellectuals. Activists say 11 women are still being held, including the four alleged to have been tortured.

HRW: Turkey should internationalise Khashoggi case to the UN

Turkey should submit a formal request to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct an independent international probe into the killing of Khashoggi, Human Rights Watch said.

The investigation, the rights group said, would cut through attempts intended to protect Saudi officials and muddle the truth.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come under increasing scrutiny with many publicly accusing him of complicity in the assassination.

“A UN investigation has the best chance of pushing Saudi Arabia to provide the needed facts and information about Mohammed bin Salman’s precise role in this murder – information that is available only from sources in Saudi Arabia,” Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Read more here.

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor has filed warrants for the arrest of a top aide to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and the deputy head of foreign intelligence on suspicion of planning the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The prosecutor’s office concluded that there is “strong suspicion” that Saud al-Qahtani and Ahmed Asiri, who were both removed from their positions following the murder, were among the planners of the murder, two Turkish officials said on Wednesday.

Jamal Khashoggi, a United States resident and columnist for the Washington Post, was killed shortly after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“The prosecution’s move to issue arrest warrants for Asiri and Qahtani reflects the view that the Saudi authorities won’t take formal action against those individuals,” one of the officials told Reuters news agency.

The official added that Saudi Arabia could address the international concern by extraditing all suspects in the case to Turkey.

According to AFP news agency, the application for the warrants was filed on Tuesday.

At the time of publication, Saudi Arabia had not publicly responded to the request.

Al-Qahtani worked as a media adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [Al Jazeera]

The Saudi prosecution has previously acknowledged that al-Qahtani and Asiri were part of the plot to kill Khashoggi.

The two men were both high-ranking officials with close ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Al-Qahtani is one of the highest-profile figures implicated in the killing. Believed to have been Prince Mohammed’s right-hand man.

The 40-year-old was removed as a royal court adviser following Khashoggi’s assassination. Prior to that, he served as a media adviser to Prince Mohammed.

Al-Qahtani is believed to have supervised a 15-man hit squad that flew from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to Istanbul to carry out Khashoggi’s murder, although he did not travel to Turkey.

Nor did Asiri, who served as spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen before being appointed as an adviser to Prince Mohammed, who then promoted him to his intelligence position in 2017.

Asiri is believed to be one of the planners of Khashoggi’s murder [Amr Nabil/AP Photo]

Asiri frequently was the subject of condemnation from rights groups over apparent disregard for civilian casualties in the war in Yemen.

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Istanbul, said it is possible that more arrests will be ordered.

“The Turkish prosecution believes that these men are only a part of the planning and we understand that the list is not conclusive.

“We understand also that there was a previous request from the Turks to Saudi Arabia to extradite the 18 men they mentioned were involved in the crime but none of that has happened.

“No response came from Saudi Arabia and now there is this specific mention of these two men at the top, but it’s not a conclusive list and they said these men are among the planners, not all the planners,” he said.

US pressure needed

Wednesday’s announcement came hours after CIA director Gina Haspel briefed US senators on new evidence in the Khashoggi case.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he felt there was “zero chance” the crown prince wasn’t involved in Khashoggi’s death.

{SOURCE: AL – JAZEERA NEWS NETWORKS}

____________________________________________________________________________________

Newly-released private messages of journalist appear to show candid account of his take on MBS, CNN report says.

Saudi Arabia has admitted Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Khashoggi – a Saudi writer, United States resident and Washington Post columnist – had entered the building on October 2 to obtain documentation certifying he had divorced his ex-wife so he could remarry.

After weeks of repeated denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance, the kingdom eventually acknowledged that its officials were behind the gruesome murder. The whereabouts of his body are still unknown.

Here are the latest related developments:

Sunday, December 2

Khashoggi’s WhatsApp messages may offer clues to killing: CNN

More than 400 private WhatsApp messages sent by Khashoggi last year to a fellow Saudi exile may offer fresh clues to the killing of the dissident journalist, according to a report.

In his conversation with Canada-based activist Omar Abdulaziz – accessed by CNN – Khashoggi describes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, as a “beast” and a “Pac-man” who would “devour all in his path, even his supporters”.

“Arrests are unjustified and do not serve him [logic says], but tyranny has no logic, but he loves force, oppression and needs to show them off. He is like a beast ‘Pac-Man’ the more victims he eats, the more he wants. I will not be surprised that the oppression will reach even those who are cheering him, then others and others and so on. God knows,” Khashoggi wrote, according to CNN.

The messages shared by Abdulaziz with CNN include voice recordings, photos and videos. The conversation reveals the two were planning an “online youth movement”, CNN reported.

Abdulaziz believes the messages between him and Khashoggi were intercepted by Saudi authorities in August, two months before the journalist was killed by Saudi nationals inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.

Abdulaziz told CNN he plans to join a lawsuit against an Israeli company that reportedly invented the software to hack his phone.

He told the US broadcaster that the phone’s hacking “played a major role in what happened to Jamal”.

“The guilt is killing me,” he said.

Prince Mohammed arrives in Algeria

Prince Mohammed arrived in the Algerian capital, Algiers, after a brief visit to Mauritania earlier in the day.

The Saudi crown prince was resuming a tour of Arab countries after attending the G20 summit in Argentina.

Before attending the G20 summit, he had visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia.

The official Algeria Press Service said the Algerian-Saudi investments and trade relations such as the oil and petrochemical sectors would be discussed during the two-day visit.

Saudi crown prince visits Mauritania

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Mauritania, resuming his tour of Arab countries after attending the G20 summit in Argentina.

Saudi state TV showed footage of the crown prince’s plane arriving in the capital Nouakchott. The 33-year-old had already visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt and Tunisia before attending the G20 summit.

He is scheduled to visit Algeria later in the day.

Saturday, December 1

Erdogan: Saudi chief prosecutor has not shared intel with Turkey

Turkey has no intention of harming the Saudi royal family, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, adding that holding those responsible for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi would also be beneficial for Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at a press conference at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Erdogan said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had sent his chief prosecutor to Turkey to investigate the Khashoggi killing, but he had not shared information with Ankara.

Erdogan said the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been a test for the whole world.

Turkey has evidence documenting Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and a critic of Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, was killed in 7-1/2 minutes, Erdogan said. He said Ankara has shared this evidence with all countries who requested it, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Pompeo: No direct evidence linking MBS to Khashoggi killing

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he has seen all the intelligence possessed by the United States on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and repeated that no direct evidence links Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the incident.

“I have read every piece of intelligence that is in the possession of United States government,” Pompeo said in an interview with broadcaster CNN in Buenos Aires on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

MBS communicated with adviser during Khashoggi killing: WSJ

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sent 11 messages to his closest adviser, who reportedly oversaw the operatives who killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the hours before and after the journalist’s murder on October 2, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Journal said on Saturday it had reviewed excerpts of an intelligence file that was classified as “highly confidential”, which cites electronic intercepts and other covert information between Prince Mohammed and his aide, Saud al-Qahtani.

However, the content of the messages between the two parties is unknown.

“To be clear, we lack direct reports that the crown prince issued the order of murder,” the assessment notes, according to the Journal.

The assessment reports that Qahtani, who supervised the 15-man team that killed Khashoggi, was also in direct communication with the team’s leader in Istanbul

Read more here.

Friday, November 30

Macron meets MBS on G20 sidelines

French President Emmanuel Macron told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanthat Europe would insist on international experts being part of the investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a five-minute exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Macron conveyed “very firm” messages to the prince over the killing and the need to find a political solution for the situation in Yemen, an Elysee official also said.

The Saudi Gazette newspaper posted video of the meeting online showing the two speaking in hushed tones with their heads close together, Macron looking the crown prince in the eye and Prince Mohammed nodding his head and at times smiling.

In the audio, it is possible to make out the prince saying “Don’t worry”, to which Macron responds “I am worried”. Later in the one-minute clip Macron says: “You never listen to me” and the crown prince replies: “I will listen, of course.”

At the end Macron can be heard saying: “I am a man of my word.”

MBS and Macron met at the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina [Saudi Foreign Ministry via Twitter]

UK PM May to demand ‘accountability’ from Saudi prince over Khashoggi

British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to raise the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and the situation in Yemen with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Argentina.

The killing of the Washington Post columnist, a critic of the crown prince, has strained Saudi Arabia’s ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed’s image abroad. Saudi Arabia has said he had no prior knowledge of the murder.

“I am intending to speak with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. The message that I give will be very clear … on this issue of Jamal Khashoggi but also on the issue of Yemen,” she told reporters on the flight to Buenos Aires.

“We want to see a full and transparent investigation in relation to what happened and obviously those responsible being held to account,” she said of Khashoggi’s killing.

Western nations are calling for an end to the Saudi-led military campaign in neighbouring Yemen, which was launched by Prince Mohammed, as a humanitarian crisis there worsens.

“On the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation,” May said. “The long-term solution for the Yemen is a political situation and we will be encouraging all parties actually to look for that and work for that.”

Thursday, November 29

Macron says to meet Saudi crown prince at G20

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he would raise the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

“I will no doubt have the opportunity to mention it with the crown prince on the margins of the summit,” Macron told journalists in Buenos Aires on Thursday.

Macron also said he had called a meeting to coordinate the views of European G20 leaders on policy challenges ahead of the summit, which begins Friday.

In a tweet later, he said they would also discuss the fallout from Khashoggi’s murder.

“I have always been clear with Saudi Arabia. It will be one of the subjects we will talk about among Europeans. I wanted us to have a coordination meeting before the opening of the G20 on this subject and all the challenges at the summit.”

Canada sanctions 17 Saudi nationals over Khashoggi killing

Canada imposed sanctions on 17 Saudis officials said are linked to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the foreign ministry announced on Thursday.

The sanctions, which freezes their assets and bars their travel to Canada, “target individuals who are, in the opinion of the government of Canada, responsible for or complicit in the extrajudicial killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2, 2018,” Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

Wednesday, November 28

Argentine judge reviewing complaint against Saudi crown prince

An Argentine judge reviewing a complaint by Human Rights Watch (HRW) against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his involvement in the war in Yemen asked Argentine’s foreign ministry to seek  Turkey and the International Criminal Court for information, the judge’s office told Reuters news agency.

On Monday, HRW asked the judge to use a war crimes clause in its constitution to investigate any involvement by the crown prince in possible crimes against humanity in Yemen and Khashoggi’s murder.

The office of federal judge Ariel Lijo said on Wednesday it was seeking information on any open cases relating to the murder of Khashoggi or war crimes in Yemen.

A representative of the federal prosecutor’s office that is working with Judge Lijo on the complaint told Reuters it was still reviewing HRW’s request and that no decision had yet been made on whether to investigate it.

CIA says White House did not block its director from briefing Senate

The White House did not block CIA Director Gina Haspel from participating in a briefing on Wednesday for the US Senate about the war in Yemen and US relations with Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for the agency said.

“The notion that anyone told Director Haspel not to attend today’s briefing is false,” agency spokesman Timothy Barrett said in a statement.

Some senators who are interested in the spy agency’s assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Senator Graham demands CIA briefing on Khashoggi

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is threatening to oppose key legislation until the Senate is briefed by the CIA on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Senators were briefed on Khashoggi’s death Wednesday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. But Graham said the briefing was “inadequate” without the CIA speaking directly about the intelligence it has on Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the killing.

Graham said he’s willing to hold up the legislative agenda, including legislation to fund the government, until he hears from the agency.

He told reporters, “Anything that you need me for to get out of town, I ain’t doing it until we hear from the CIA.”

Asked whether he had communicated that to President Donald Trump, Graham answered: “I just did.”

US defence chief: ‘No smoking gun’ linking Saudi crown prince to Khashoggi killing

US Defense Secretary James Mattis said on Wednesday the United States has “no smoking gun” that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the killing of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month.

Asked about reports that a CIA assessment earlier this month concluded the crown prince had ordered Khashoggi’s death, Mattis referred journalists back to the intelligence agency.

“We have no smoking gun the crown prince was involved, not the intelligence community or anyone else.

There is no smoking gun,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that the United States still expected those responsible for the killing to be held accountable.

Pompeo says downgrading US ties to Saudi Arabia would be mistake

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that downgrading US ties with Saudi Arabia would be a mistake for national security and would not push Saudis in a better direction at home.

“The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading US-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the U.S. and its allies,” Pompeo wrote in a blog post shortly before he testified before a Senate committee.

Saudi crown prince arrives in Argentina for G20

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman landed in Buenos Aires for the ahead of the G20 leaders summit, according to Argentine TV news.

His arrival comes amid international furor over the murder of Khashoggi and a request by Human Rights Watch that Argentina investigate him for war crimes in Yemen.

US officials face Senate grilling over Khashoggi murder, Yemen war

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pentagon chief James Mattis will brief the US Senate on Wednesday on the latest developments related to Saudi Arabia.

The closed-door briefing could determine how far Congress goes in punishing its long-time Middle East ally over Khashoggi’s murder.

Many US lawmakers, including some of President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans, as well as Democrats, have expressed concern about Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in Turkey last month and the war in Yemen, which has created one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian disasters.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says “some kind of response” is needed from the United States for the Saudis’ role in the gruesome death. While President Donald Trump has equivocated over who is to blame, the Senate is considering a vote as soon as this week to halt US involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

“What obviously happened, as basically certified by the CIA, is completely abhorrent to everything the United States holds dear and stands for in the world,” McConnell said. “We’re discussing what the appropriate response would be.”

Mattis and Pompeo are expected to address the Senate at 16:00 GMT in Washington, DC.

Saudi crown prince leaves Tunisia to Argentina to attend G20 summit

Reuters news agency is reporting  that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman left Tunisia for Argentina to attend the G20 summit, where all eyes will be on world leaders’ reaction to the man accused of ordering Khashoggi’s murder.

The prince left Tunisia early on Wednesday, Reuters quoted Alarabiya’s website as saying.

The crown prince’s G20 attendance is a bold effort to force the issue of whether world leaders will work with Saudi Arabia, analysts say. Riyadh is also indicating with his appearance in Buenos Aires that Prince Mohammed is back in the saddle and the worst of the controversy is over.

Human Rights Watch requested that Argentine authorities arrest the crown prince and that he be tried by a court for war crimes in Yemen and Khashoggi’s killing.

Turkey FM on Saudi killer: ‘He likes to cut up people’

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for the first time recounted gruesome details from audio tapes purportedly of the killing, confirming some of the content that has so far only been leaked by Turkish media.

A Saudi forensics doctor involved in the Istanbul consulate murder is “instructing the others they should listen to music while he dismembers the body”, Cavusoglu said in an interview with German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Tuesday.

“You can tell he is enjoying it,” he said. “He likes to cut up people. It is disgusting.”

The remains of Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, have not been located.

Tuesday, November 27

Saudi crown prince arrives in Tunisia amid protests

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanhas arrived in Tunisia’s capital, as protests against his visit were held for the second day.

Hundreds of people gathered in the iconic Habib Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis to protest against the crown prince’s arrival after the allegations of his involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“I was here yesterday and I came here again to say ‘No’ to the murderer and criminal, Mohammed bin Salman,” Said Arous, a prominent human rights activist told Al Jazeera, calling Khashoggi’s killing “an appalling crime”.

Read more here.

Bolton: What do you think I’ll learn by listening to Khashoggi tape?

US National Security Advisor John Bolton said he has not listened the audio linked to Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

“I haven’t listened to it,” Bolton said.

“Why do you think I should? What do you think I’ll learn from it?” he added.

Pressed further by Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, Bolton said because he doesn’t speak Arabic, he cannot get much from the tape.

No plans for Trump-MBS meet at G20: Bolton

US National Security Advisor John Bolton said President Donald Trump had no plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at this week’s G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that while no meetings are planned, she could not rule out any interaction between Trump and Prince Salman.

MBS asked to meet Erdogan at G20: Turkish FM

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had asked for a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and that there was currently no reason not to meet him.

“Yes, he has asked Erdogan on the phone, whether they could meet in Buenos Aires. Erdogan’s answer was ‘Let’s see’,” Cavusoglu told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Erdogan and Prince Mohammed will attend the G20 meeting in Argentina later this week. “At the moment there is no reason not to meet with the crown prince,” Cavusoglu said.

Saudi-Turkish relations have been strained by the killing of Khashoggi in Istanbul.

Argentina pressed to probe Saudi prince over Yemen, Khashoggi

Argentina has been asked to investigate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for possible war crimes in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it submitted the request to Argentina’s federal judge Ariel Lijo on Monday. Prince Mohammed is expected to arrive in Buenos Aires on Friday for the G20 summit.

Argentina’s constitution recognises universal jurisdiction for war crimes and torture, meaning judicial authorities can investigate and prosecute those crimes no matter where they were committed.

“There’s an extremely strong basis for Argentina to closely examine a very broad record of documentation and facts. People around the world are desperate to see real accountability for people who are getting away with terrible crimes,” HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson told Al Jazeera.

Monday, November 26

US politicians’ concern on Saudi Arabia prompts Pompeo, Mattis briefing

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will brief the US Senate on Wednesday on the latest developments related to Saudi Arabia, Senator John Cornyn, the number two Senate Republican, told reporters on Monday.

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said earlier this month he wanted Pompeo, Mattis and CIA Director Gina Haspel to come to the Capitol for a classified Senate briefing.

A Senate aide said Haspel is not scheduled to be involved in Wednesday’s briefing, which will take place at 11am (16:00 GMT).  A House of Representatives aide said no similar briefing had been scheduled in that chamber.

Cornyn also said he thought the Senate would vote on a Yemen resolution introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders seeking to pull back any US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Asked if the measure, which failed earlier this year, stood a chance of passage now, Cornyn said he did not want to “give Iran a pass.”

Turkish police search properties linked to Saudi businessmen

Police searched two villas in the province of Yalova, just south of Istanbul, in connection with the search for Jamal Khashoggi’s body.

Officials brought sniffer dogs and forensic teams were also on the scene.

The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said one of the villas belongs to a Saudi businessman named Mohammed Ahmed Alfaouzan, who is allegedly close to the Saudi crown prince, Turkish media reported.

Turkish media outlets also said Alfaouzan received the phone call from Mansour Othman Abahussain, an officer in the Saudi military and one of the 15 men accused of carrying out the Washington Post journalist’s killing.

“According to the Turkish prosecutor, a phone call was made a day before Mr Khashoggi was killed to the villa, and in that conversation, details were discussed as to how to dispose of Mr Khashoggi’s body,” Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley said.

Sunday, November 25

Members of US Congress disagree with Trump on Khashoggi murder

Adam Schiff, a Democratic senator who is set to lead the House Intelligence Committee when the US Congress returns in January, accused President Donald Trump of not telling the truth in his response to Khashoggi’s murder.

Trump said earlier this week that a CIA report lacks evidence to blame Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of the Washington Post columnist.

“I think the president is being dishonest with the American people,” Schiff said during an interview with CNN.

“It would be one thing if he said ‘this is what has happened but nonetheless we need to maintain a relationship with the kingdom, but that is not what he is doing,” Schiff said.

“It telegraphs to despots around the world they can murder with impunity and that this president will have their back as long as they praise him or do business with him.”

Schiff’s comments were echoed by Mike Lee, a senator from Trump’s Republican party, who called on Congress to take action

Lee said on NBC’s Meet the Press that he disagreed with Trump’s allegations that information from US intelligence services does not implicate Prince Mohammed in the killing.

“I disagree with the president’s assessment. It’s inconsistent with the intelligence I’ve seen,” Lee said during the interview.

“I don’t know why he’s siding with the Saudis, but I think there are things we can do to change our relationship with the Saudis notwithstanding whatever his personal motivations might be,” Lee added.

“But again, I think Congress has to take some ownership of US foreign policy.”

Lee added that he was certain that the next US Congress, which will be inaugurated in January, will look into Trump’s alleged ties to Saudi Arabia.

Senior Saudi prince casts doubt on reported CIA findings

A senior Saudi prince cast doubt on the reported CIA finding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month, saying the agency could not be counted on to reach a credible conclusion.

“The CIA is not necessarily the highest standard of veracity or accuracy in assessing situations. The examples of that are multitude,” Prince Turki al-Faisal, a senior member of the royal family, told journalists in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The prince, a former Saudi intelligence chief who has also served as ambassador to the United States, said the agency’s conclusion that Iraq possessed chemical weaponsbefore the US invasion in 2003 showed it could be unreliable.

“I don’t see why the CIA is not on trial in the United States. This is my answer to their assessment of who is guilty and who is not and who did what in the consulate in Istanbul,” he said.

Saturday, November 24

Daughters vow to keep Khashoggi legacy alive

The two daughters of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi have vowed to keep the legacy of their father alive, in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.

For Noha Khashoggi and Razan Jamal Khashoggi, growing up included visits to countless museums and historical sites, reflecting their parents’ love of knowledge.

The sisters recalled staying up nights wondering what their father was doing on one of his many trips abroad, “trusting that no matter how long he was gone, we would see him again, wide-armed, waiting for a hug”.

“As bittersweet as it was, we knew from a young age that Dad’s work meant that his reach extended far beyond our family, that he was an important man whose words had an effect on people over a great distance.”

They recounted the days after their father was first reported missing and how the family had visited his home in Virginia.

“The hardest part was seeing his empty chair. His absence was deafening. We could see him sitting there, glasses on his forehead, reading or typing away.”

“This is no eulogy, for that would confer a state of closure. Rather, this is a promise that his light will never fade, that his legacy will be preserved within us,” they wrote.

Friday, November 23

Khashoggi murder planned 12 days in advance, Turkish officials say

Turkish investigators analysing phone calls and the movement of the suspects in Khashoggi’s murder have told Al Jazeera that the operation to kill the journalist was planned 12 days in advance.

Investigators sifting through 19 phone calls made by Maher Mutreb, thought to be the lead negotiator inside the consulate, to Saudi Arabia have found that four of them were made to Saud al-Qahtani and that there is a third voice on the calls.

Al-Qahtani was believed to be the right-hand man of Prince Mohammed before being removed as a royal court adviser following the uproar over the murder.

“Today we learned from the officials that when Mutreb and al-Qahtani were talking on the phone, there was a third voice coming from the background of al-Qahtani’s phone … Al-Qahtani was transferring the information that he got from Mutreb to that third person,” Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Ankara, said.

“According to Turkish officials, they strongly believe that this third voice could belong to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman but the technical analysis hasn’t concluded that yet because Mutreb was doing all these calls from his Saudi mobile phone and technically Turkey needs support to analyse it properly, ” she said.

It has also come to light that along with the Saudi consul-general, three other Saudi nationals employed in the consulate are considered prime suspects in the investigation into Khashoggi’s killing.

Turkish officials say those employees fled Turkey within three days of the consul-general also leaving the country shortly after Khashoggi’s murder.

One of the employees, who is thought to be linked to the Saudi intelligence agency, travelled to Riyadh 72 hours before Khashoggi’s arrival and returned to the consulate in Istanbul just before Khashoggi.

Cavusoglu: Trump shows he will turn blind eye to Khashoggi murder

US President Donald Trump’s latest comments about the killing of Khashoggi show that he will “turn a blind eye” to the issue regardless of what investigators uncover, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.

Trump has vowed to retain Saudi Arabia as a “steadfast partner” despite saying that the kingdom’s crown prince may have known about the plan to murder the journalist.

Criticising Trump for prioritising commercial relations over justice, Cavusoglu said that human life should take precedence.

“This statement that Trump made also means: ‘No matter what happens, I will turn a blind eye.’ This is not a correct approach. Not everything is money,” Cavusoglu told broadcaster CNN Turk on Friday.

The foreign minister also commented on recent moves by European partners in relation to the case.

On Monday, Germany said it would bar 18 Saudis from entering its territory and Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone over their alleged links to the murder.

In October, Germany called for EU countries to follow its lead and suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia, prompting a dismissive response from France.

But Denmark on Thursday followed suit, freezing all sales of weapons and military equipment to Riyadh.

Cavusoglu said “artificial measures” would not help solve the crisis.

“They (Europe) say they don’t want to upset ties with Saudi Arabia. We do not want to upset our relations either,” he said, but added Ankara would do anything to shed light on the murder.

Trump: CIA did not conclude MBS ordered murder

President Trump said that the CIA did not conclude that Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, ordered the murder of Khashoggi.

US intelligence officials have reportedly said that the operation would have needed the approval at the highest levels, but the Saudis have strongly denied allegations that MBS was involved.

When asked about the CIA’s findings, Trump said that the intelligence agency “didn’t conclude”.

Citing vehement denials by MBS and King Salman, Trump said that “maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a vicious place”.

“I hate the crime, I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, and they have vehemently denied it,” he said.

Thursday, November 22

EU’s Mogherini calls for ‘credible investigation’

A transparent and credible investigation into the killing of Khashoggi has not yet been completed, Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, said on Thursday, after talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Speaking at a joint news conference with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn and Cavusoglu in Ankara, Mogherini also said she was completely against any application of the death penalty.

On his part, Cavusoglu said the Khashoggi investigation was taking a long time and the international community expected an independent probe into the case.

Denmark suspends weapon export approvals to Saudi

Denmark has decided to suspend approvals of weapon and military equipment exports to Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the situation in Yemen, its foreign minister said on Thursday.

The decision was taken after recent discussions with other foreign ministers in the European Union, he added.

The suspension also includes some dual-use technologies, a reference to materials that might have military applications.

Saudi FM blasts ‘outrageous’ report that prince won’t become king

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder was an “unfortunate accident” and any discussion that Prince Mohammed was responsible and may not take the throne is “outrageous”, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said.

In a series of interviews on Wednesday, al-Jubeir reiterated that calls for MBS to be held accountable for Khashoggi’s shocking killing are a “red line”.

“We will not tolerate any discussion of anything that is disparaging towards our monarch or our crown prince,” al-Jubeir told the BBC.

On other television networks, Jubeir steadfastly defended MBS despite a CIA assessment reportedly saying there was “high probability” that he ordered the murder.

“We have made it very clear that Saudi Arabia’s government is not involved in this and the crown prince is not involved in this at all,” he told US network CNBC.

The foreign minister was also asked about a Reuters news agency report this week that quoted Saudi sources saying a move was in play to prevent MBS from ascending the throne once his father, King Salman, 82, dies.

“These are outrageous comments that have been made and are totally unacceptable. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to its leadership,” he said.

“The crown prince has the confidence of every Saudi citizen, including King Salman. The crown prince is the architect and driving force behind the reform programme in Saudi Arabia and the Vision of 2030,” Jubeir told CBS.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters said: “We stand by our story.”

Wednesday, November 21

US politicians accuse Trump of putting ‘Saudi Arabia first’

US senators accused Trump of putting “Saudi Arabia first” in his decision to not take punitive measures against the kingdom or Prince Mohammed over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump’s decision is “yet another fawning prostration to a foreign authoritarian”, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine tweeted on Tuesday.

“It’s only a matter of time until actions like this one by the president directly threaten our security,” he added.

US newspaper blasts Trump’s ‘business as usual’ with Saudi

The Washington Post denounced President Trump’s decision to refrain from punishing Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s death.

The Saudi writer, who was based in the US, wrote columns critical of the Saudi royal family for the newspaper.

In a statement published on Twitter, Washington Post publisher, Fred Ryan, accused Trump of putting personal relationships and commercial interests above American values of respect for human rights to continue to “do business as usual” with the Saudi crown prince.

Ryan further stated the CIA had “concluded with high confidence” that Prince Mohammed directed the October 2 killing. Ryan added if there is any reason to doubt these findings, Trump should immediately make that evidence public.

Trump said the CIA never made a “definitive” conclusion about who was responsible.

Tuesday, November 20

Senators demand ‘determination’ on MBS’s role in Khashoggi murder

High-ranking US senators called on Trump to investigate the part MBS played in Khashoggi’s death after the CIA reportedly determined the killing was ordered by MBS.

“In light of recent developments, including the Saudi government’s acknowledgement that Saudi officials killed Mr Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate, we request that your determination specifically address whether [MBS] is responsible for Mr Khashoggi’s murder,” Republican Bob Corker and Democrat Bob Menendez wrote in their letter to Trump, sent on Tuesday.

Corker is the chairman and Menendez the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Under the Magnitsky Act, a law which empowers the US government to investigate human rights abuses, the president is required “to determine whether a foreign person” has committed a “gross violation” of human rights against any individual, including extrajudicial murder.

The act also allows the US government to sanction individuals should it be determined they committed human rights violations.

Trump has said there will be no further punitive action against Saudi Arabia, citing arms deals and the kingdom’s role as “a great ally in our very important fight against Iran”.

Turkey demands clarification on Khashoggi killing: Cavusoglu

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara may seek a formal United Nations inquiry over Khashoggi’s killing if its liaising with Riyadh comes to an impasse.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said Turkey is not entirely satisfied with the level of cooperation it is receiving from Saudi Arabia over the case.

“Whoever gave the instruction should be held accountable… Whoever committed this crime should be brought to justice,” he said.

Repeating Ankara’s position that the truth had to come out on who ordered the journalist’s killing, Cavusoglu said his country had shared the latest information with the US.

Trump says open to MBS meeting at G20 summit

President Trump has said he is prepared to meet Prince Mohammed at the G20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month.

Press reports have linked MBS to the killing of Khashoggi, with US media reporting that the CIA has concluded that he ordered the assassination of the Washington Post columnist. The Saudi government has repeatedly denied the claim.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday shortly after releasing a statement in which he promised that the US would remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia, Trump said the CIA report into Khashoggi’s killing by Saudi agents found “nothing definitive”.

“The CIA looked at it,” he said at the White House. “They have nothing definitive.”

His comments came as leading Democrats in Congress criticised Trump for failing to take action against Prince Mohammed and called for cuts to Washington’s support to Riyadh.

Iran’s Zarif says Trump’s Khashoggi statement ‘shameful’

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington will stand by Riyadh despite Khashoggi’s murder is “shameful”.

In his statement, Trump also took aim at Iran, saying the country “is considered ‘the world’s leading sponsor of terror’.”

In response, Zarif wrote on Twitter: “Mr. Trump bizarrely devotes the FIRST paragraph of his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuse IRAN of every sort of malfeasance he can think of. Perhaps we’re also responsible for the California fires, because we didn’t help rake the forests – just like the Finns do?”

Pompeo backs Trump’s support of Saudi Arabia

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended Washington’s support of Saudi Arabia in comments made shortly after President Trump defied international pressure over Khashoggi’s killing and promised to remain a “steadfast partner” of the kingdom.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington on Tuesday, Pompeo said the US was obligated to “adopt policies that further America’s national security”.

He added: “The United States will continue to have a relationship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, they are an important partner of ours, we will do that with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people – that is the commitment that the president made today, it is that straightforward.

“This is a long historic commitment and one that is absolutely vital to America’s national security.”

US president’s full statement on Khashoggi murder

Click here to read Donald Trump’s statement on the Saudi journalist’s killing last month.

Trump not taking punitive measures against Saudis over Khashoggi

Despite US intelligence reportedly linking MBS to the murder of Khashoggi, President Trump said on Tuesday the US would continue to have a “steadfast” relationship with the kingdom.

Trump said it “could very well be” that Prince Mohammed “had knowledge of this tragic event” and that the US intelligence agencies continue to assess all information surrounding the killing of the Saudi writer and critic.

‘Blindingly obvious’ that MBS ordered Khashoggi murder: report

A US State Department official who has seen a version of the CIA’s assessment on the murder of Khashoggi said it is “blindingly obvious” that Prince Mohammed ordered the killing.

“The idea that it goes all the way to the top is blindingly obvious. There’s overwhelming consensus that the leadership is involved – no one is debating it within the government,” the official told ABC News on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.

However, the official acknowledged that the words “probably” and “likely” are used when attributing the death to MBS, ABC News reported, adding that the source noted that CIA analysis reports rarely include explicit conclusions.

Pompeo handed Riyadh plan to shield MBS: Middle East Eye

Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince are shielding themselves from the Jamal Khashoggi murder scandal by using a plan drawn up by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a senior Saudi source told Middle East Eye.

Pompeo delivered the plan in person during a meeting with Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, last month in Riyadh, said the source, who is familiar with the official’s talks with the Saudi leaders.

The plan includes an option to pin the Saudi journalist’s murder on an innocent member of the ruling Al Saud family in order to insulate those at the very top, the source told MEE.

That person has not yet been chosen, the source said, and Saudi leaders are reserving the use of that plan in case the pressure on MBS becomes too much.

“We would not be surprised if that happens,” the source told MEE.

The US State Department denied the Saudi source’s allegations and called them “a complete misrepresentation of the secretary’s diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia”.

“We’ve spoken publicly about our goals: to impress upon Saudi leadership the seriousness which the United States government attaches to a prompt and complete accounting of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told MEE.

Trump under pressure to release Khashoggi murder report

President Trump is facing increasing pressure to take tougher measures against Saudi Arabia before the expected release of an official report into the killing of Khashoggi.

Trump told reporters on Saturday that a detailed report including information about who was responsible for the murder of the Washington Post columnist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul would be released “probably on Monday or Tuesday”.

According to US media reports, the CIA has concluded that Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto leader, ordered Khashoggi’s killing.

Trump has called the reports “premature” saying he’s not convinced that MBS was directly responsible for the October 2 slaying of the writer.

Saudi FM: Turkey not blaming MBS for Khashoggi’s killing

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir rejected media reports that the CIA believes MBS ordered the killing of Khashoggi and said Turkish statements on the matter were not referring to him.

“We in the kingdom know that such allegations about the crown prince have no basis in truth and we categorically reject them, whether through leaks or not,” Jubeir said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published on Tuesday.

“They are leaks that have not been officially announced, and I have noticed that they are based on an assessment, not conclusive evidence,” he added.

Report: Saudi royals turn on king’s favourite son after killing

Members of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family are agitating to prevent Prince Mohammed from becoming king after the international uproar over the killing of Khashoggi, sources close to the royal court told Reuters news agency.

Senior US officials, meanwhile, indicated to Saudi advisers in recent weeks they would support Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz – who was deputy interior minister for nearly 40 years – as a potential successor to King Salman, according to Saudi sources with direct knowledge of the consultations.

Amid international outrage over Khashoggi’s murder, dozens of princes and cousins from powerful branches of the Al Saud family want to see a change in the line of succession, but will not act while King Salman – the crown prince’s 82-year-old father – is still alive, sources said.

They recognise the king is unlikely to turn against his favourite son, the report added. Rather, they are discussing the possibility with other family members that after the king’s death, Prince Ahmed, 76, uncle of the crown prince, could take the throne, according to the sources.

Click here for all previous updates 

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{SOURCE: AL – JAZEERA NEWS NETWORKS}

A home in the Old City sold to settlers has raised questions about possible involvement of the Palestinian Authority.

Adeeb Joudeh’s old house is just a two-minute walk from the coveted holy Al Aqsa compound, also known as Temple Mount for Jews [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

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Occupied East Jerusalem – Early one morning in October, Adeeb Joudeh woke up to the news that Jewish settlers were moving into his former house in the Old City.

Joudeh was shocked as he had sold his house to Khaled Attari, a Palestinian businessman, just six months ago, after spending six years trying to find a trustworthy buyer.

“For the whole family, it’s like the sky has fallen on our heads,” Joudeh told Al Jazeera from his parents’ house in Sheikh Jarrah.

“We’re a long-rooted family here in Jerusalem. We were very diligent in making sure that the person who buys this property is clean. And then our fears came true when we heard that our home was leaked to the settlers.”

“We wouldn’t wish this even on our worst enemy.”

His former house located in a prime location just a two-minute walk from the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque now reportedly belongs to Ateret Cohanim – a settler organisation whose purpose is to Judaise the Old City and its surroundings.

Joudeh holds the title of “key holder of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre” in the Old City, one of Christianity’s most sacred sites. His ancestors have served as custodians of the keys since the 12th century.

Not only has his family’s reputation been damaged and is under pressure to relinquish the key, but Joudeh has also received death threats from fellow Palestinians over the sale, a grave crime.

‘I’m one of those people who trusted the reference checks [by the PA], but today I’m in trouble,’ Joudeh said [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

Under PA law, the selling of land and property to Jews is illegal. The laws aim to protect Palestinian properties from Zionist settler takeovers.

While this isn’t the first time a Palestinian home has been transferred to a settler group through an intermediary, it has provoked a wave of reactions among the residents of Jerusalem as the case raises questions about the possible involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Due diligence

Joudeh says he had done his due diligence to make sure his house ends up in safe hands.

He says he was first approached in 2014 by Fadi Elsalameen, an American Palestinian activist from Hebron known for his criticism of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the PA’s corruption, and a non-resident fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at John Hopkins School of Advanced Studies.

Since it was Nabil Jaabari, a respected leader and chairman of the board of Hebron University who had suggested Elsalameen, Joudeh felt confident that he had a trustworthy buyer.

Through his contacts in the Gulf, Elsalameen learned that an Emirati business conglomerate was interested in protecting Palestinian homes from settlers and that they would transfer $2.5m as a grant to buy the house.

However, shortly after Elsalameen proceeded with a down payment of $1.5m, the PA reportedly froze his bank funds for allegedly having ties with Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza security chief living in exile in the UAE and Abbas’ most bitter rival.

With Elsalameen unable to transfer the rest of the money, Joudeh cancelled the contract.

Israeli flags are raised in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter in occupied East Jerusalem [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]

Elsalameen, however, has denied accusations of being Dahlan’s proxy.

“I’m not a part of Dahlan’s political movement, I’m not part of Dahlan’s political orbit, I do not work for Dahlan. I have nothing to do with any political work for Dahlan whether inside or outside of Palestine,” Elsalameen told Al Jazeera.

“The PA has continuously tried to discredit me in every possible way, mainly because of my anti-corruption work.”

Joudeh was then contacted by Khaled Attari, a Palestinian businessman. He’s considered to have close ties with the PA, particularly its intelligence chief Majed Faraj, according to Israel‘s Haaretz newspaper.

Prior to making the deal with Attari, the PA’s appointed governor of Jerusalem at the time, Adnan Husseini, gave Joudeh the green light to sell his home to Attari.

It’s a standard practice for Jerusalemites to confirm with the governorate prior to selling one’s home, as it consults with the PA’s specialised security forces, who complete a check on the buyer.

Since the PA had given their blessing, Joudeh sold the house on April 23, 2018, to Attari.

The same day, Attari transferred ownership of the home from his name to his company, Daho Holdings, registered in the West Indies to save on taxes, Joudeh said.

Some six months later, settlers moved into the house. Ateret Cohanim had reportedly bought the house from Daho Holdings for $17m.

Arrests

Sheikh Abdullah al-Qam, the secretary-general representing the families of Jerusalem, formed a committee to investigate the case. Qam told Al Jazeera they had obtained documents which prove that Attari did sell the home to settlers.

The same month, the Israeli police arrested members of the committee, including Qam, for investigating the case, Qam said. Upon his release, Qam was told not to pursue the investigation.

But this didn’t deter the group and they quickly planned for another session. This time, the PA intervened and made the same demand as the Israeli authorities, breaking up the committee, Qam told Al Jazeera.

“I was asked by one of the official representatives of the PA, Adel Abu Zunied [to stop the investigation],” Qam said.

“The PA gave their blessing and approval that the house would be sold to Khalid Attari … The $17m, where did it go? It went to the PA,” Qam alleged.

The spokesperson for the PA’s security service did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Jerusalem’s political orphans

The problem of homes being leaked to settlers is emblematic of a larger problem – Jerusalem’s 330,000 Palestinians turning into “political orphans” due to the absence of a “unified political leadership that can guide” them, as journalist Daoud Kuttab wrote in his article about the case.

Khaled Abu Arafeh, former minister for Jerusalem affairs during the 2006-2007 Palestinian government led by Hamas, told Al Jazeera that the PA should submit formal complaints for legal action to be taken against Israel as it had breached the Oslo Accords.

“Contracts between the local civilian population and the occupying power are considered null and void under international law,” Arafeh said, noting that this includes contracts with settler organisations as they are funded by the Israeli government.

“The PA is meant to exercise its role in Jerusalem especially to combat this problem. They should have held Israel accountable via Oslo agreements for attempting to change the demographics of the city.”

“It is also the responsibility of international organisations to uphold their commitments towards Jerusalem, to implement the relevant international agreements that consider Jerusalem as occupied land, and to not leave Jerusalemites under the mercy of occupying forces,” Arafeh said.

“The PA has been doing a poor job at addressing the issue. It has only taken superficial steps so far and that’s just to save face in front of the Palestinian people.”

Israeli flags flying above the home of Palestinian family Abu Sneina whose building was occupied by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem’s Silwan in 2015 [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

Al Akhbar news reported in 2016 that eight of the 10 houses on the same street as Joudeh’s former home had already been leaked to settlers over the past few years.

Some 2,500 settlers currently live in about 100 buildings in Palestinian neighbourhoods in and around the Old City.

Fakhri Abu Diab, spokesperson for a local committee defending Palestinian properties in Silwan just outside the Old City, told Al Jazeera that a new, independent body is needed, run by renowned individuals and institutions in Jerusalem in order to properly vet potential buyers and make sure the homes remain in safe hands.

However, their calls for a new body have gone unanswered for years from the Palestinian leadership including the governor of Jerusalem, Abu Diab said.

A Palestinian boy walks by the densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan. Jewish settlers have been notching up property gains in the heart of Palestinian East Jerusalem through a series of indirect deals involving local frontmen or straw companies [Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

A similar situation arose in 2014 when a Palestinian businessman from Israel offered to buy Palestinian homes in Silwan.

The buyer presented himself as having connections with wealthy businessmen in the Emirates and claimed that the properties would be used to house Muslim tourists visiting the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to locals.

After the sale was made, settlers accompanied by police and armed guards moved into their homes.

“It was the biggest deal of its kind to have taken place in Silwan when 27 houses were sold to him at once,” Abu Diab said.

According to him, there are currently 72 settler housing units in Silwan, 43 of which were leaked to settlers.

Palestinians are in a difficult position as they resort to selling their homes in order to make ends meet amid crippling poverty. Eighty-two percent of East Jerusalem residents live below the poverty line.

“It is one thing when the occupation confiscates or demolishes your home by force, but it’s another when it comes in the form of being presented to settlers on a gold platter,” Abu Diab said.

“It’s a painful phenomenon that has created a black mark on our society.”

Farah Najjar contributed to this report.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

UN says 2,500 displaced in Rakhine State, where 2017 military campaign forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee.

 

Intensified fighting between a Buddhist armed group and Myanmar’s security forces has driven thousands of people from their homes in the country’s western Rakhine State over the past month, amid rising tensions in the area where the Rohingya crisis broke out in 2017.

Farhan Haq, United Nations spokesperson, said on Wednesday that about 2,500 people had been displaced since early December when clashes broke out with the Arakan Army, one of the several groups fighting Myanmar’s military that want more autonomy for ethnic minorities.

The Myanmar military last month announced a four-month cessation in fighting in the north and northeast of the country, in what appeared to be a rare conciliatory move aimed at kick-starting peace talks with the armed groups.

Rakhine State was excluded from the pause, stoking doubts about the military’s willingness to bring an end to all the country’s conflicts.

Analysts say the military left Rakhine State out because it does not want the Arakan Army – which claims to represent the Rakhine, the Buddhist ethnic group that makes up the majority in the state of the same name – to gain a foothold in the area and has lingering concerns over the less powerful Rohingya armed groups, who call themselves the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

Rakhine clashes

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Wednesday said that one police officer was critically wounded when border guard police were attacked by about 30 men carrying “small and heavy arms” the previous day near Saytaung, a village in the Buthidaung area.

Khine Thu Kha, a spokesperson of the Arakan Army, denied that the group attacked the police, but said its fighters did clash with government security forces in Saytaung on Tuesday, according to Reuters news agency.

Hundreds of border guard police had been deployed in areas far from the border with Bangladesh as part of a broader military offensive against the group, Khine Thu Kha told Reuters on Wednesday.

There was no immediate comment from Myanmar’s military.

Rakhine State was where Myanmar’s security forces launched a brutal campaign in August 2017 that drove more than 730,000 Muslim-majority Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh.

A report by UN investigators in August last year found that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with “genocidal intent” and said the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted under international laws.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report.

Last month, a human rights law group of the United States State Department to investigate the Myanmar military’s crackdown on the Rohingya, said it had found evidence of genocide and called on the international community to establish a criminal investigation into the atrocities and ensure justice for the victims.

{SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES}

Moscow accuses Israel of endangering civilian aircraft after F-16 jets launch assault on targets in Damascus.

{SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES}