News from the West Bank, Zambia and China

Tuesday's World Events   —   Posted on October 20, 2015

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES – Palestinian rioters firebomb Jewish holy site Joseph’s Tomb

Palestinian rioters torched a Jewish holy site revered as the tomb of the biblical Joseph in the West Bank on Friday, as another “day of rage” in Israel saw two Palestinians killed and at least 27 others injured. It came hours after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian leadership to stop a wave of attacks.

Flames flared high in the night sky early on Friday at the site on the outskirts of Nablus, as hundreds of Palestinian youths hurled molotov cocktails and fire bombs. A Palestinian flag could be seen in the background of a video clip disseminated on social media sites. Palestinian firefighters later extinguished the fire, but the site was badly damaged.

The compound is believed to be the burial place of Joseph, the son of Jacob whose sale into slavery and subsequent rise to prominence in ancient Egypt is recounted in the Book of Genesis.

The tomb has for centuries been venerated by followers of Abrahamic faiths.

“Few tombs on earth command the veneration of so many races and men of diverse creeds as this of Joseph. Samaritan and Jew, Moslem and Christian alike, revere it, and honor it with their visits”, wrote Mark Twain of the site during his visit there in late 19th century.

It is located in the West Bank, where in recent years a small group of Jewish worshippers have gathered at the site for prayers approximately once a month amid heavy Israeli army presence.

Joseph’s tomb is located in a compound in the city of Nablus, which was transferred by Isreal to Palestinian control in 1995. It was ransacked and burnt by Palestinian rioters at start of second uprising in Oct, 2000. During the 2014 Gaza war, a major attempt was also made to torch the site but was prevented by Palestinian security forces.

The Israeli army said it would ensure the compound would be renovated and made fit for Jewish worshippers, Israel army radio reported.

But in a separate incident in the West Bank on Friday, an Israeli soldier was stabbed in the settlement of Kiryat Arba by a Palestinian disguised as a Palestinian journalist. The soldier was wounded and the attacker was shot dead on the spot.

In Gaza, Palestinians clashed with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) at multiple locations on the border with Israel. A-27-year old Palestinian was killed, and more than 27 others were injured in the violence.

Hamas and other Palestinian factions called for a new ‘day of rage’ following their Friday prayers, while Israeli police forces limited entry to the Al Aqsa mosque site – which is holy to both Muslims and Jews – to men over the age of 40. There are no restrictions on women or children.

In total eight Israelis and 34 Palestinians – including 15 identified as attackers – have been killed so far this month.

Over the weekend, in an attack at a bus station, an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Omri Levi, 19, was shot and killed by a Bedouin Arab gunman.

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ZAMBIA – Country swaps football and beer for Sunday prayers to save economy

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CHINA – ‘Don’t interfere’: Chinese ambassador warns UK

The Chinese ambassador in London has warned the UK not to interfere on human rights issues as it would be offensive to the Chinese president when he comes to the UK.

Liu Xiaoming said that he expected the trip next week to herald “a golden era” for the relationship between the two nations but warned that President Xi Jinping would feel “offended” if Britain were to lecture on human rights, as the UK would feel if the roles were reversed.

The comments come ahead of the Chinese leader’s first state visit to Britain from October 19 to 23, a decade since that of Hu Jintao, the former president, in 2005.

“We don’t shy away from talking about human rights,” Mr Liu told a press conference. “What we are against is to use human rights to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs and to try to impose your own system on to others.”

Ambassador Liu’s statement followed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s threat to use next week’s banquet at Buckingham Palace to raise his concerns over China’s human rights abuses.

When he was a backbench MP [a member of parliament who holds no power], Mr. Corbyn campaigned for the release of political prisoners and called on Britain to stop selling arms to “repressive” regimes.

During his trade mission to China last month, Chancellor* George Osborne was praised by Chinese officials for his deferential manner and avoidance of publicly raising human rights issues. [*The Chancellor is head of the treasury; Chancellor is a British Cabinet level position.]

The Global Times, a Chinese newspaper, lauded the Chancellor for his “pragmatism” in concentrating on business matters and not focusing on civil liberties like some other visiting Western leaders.

During his visit, the Chancellor praised a “golden decade” for UK-China relations, and announced a £2 billion Chinese investment in Britain’s nuclear power industry but was criticized by human rights groups for failing to make any public statements on the lack of basic freedoms in China.

In May 2012 the Chinese government suspended all ministerial contact with Britain for over a year to punish Prime Minister David Cameron for hosting the Dalai Lama. Since then the Chancellor has been unapologetic in his efforts to repair the relationship.

China regards the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a “dangerous splittist” and a threat to Chinese territorial cohesion. Downing Street [the British government] subsequently indicated that the Prime Minister had no plans to meet the Dalai Lama in the near future.

(The news briefs above are from wire reports and staff reports posted at London’s Daily Telegraph on Oct. 16 and Oct. 18.)

Background

THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Palestinian President Abbas on Friday condemned the firebombing in Nablus as “irresponsible,” ordered an investigation into who was behind it and said repairs would begin immediately, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Dore Gold, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said the site was targeted “just because it is a place in which Jews pray.”

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, said the attack violates freedom of worship and that the military will “bring the perpetrators of this despicable act to justice.”

HOW DID THIS START?

Clashes broke out at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site over the Jewish New Year, fueled by rumors that Israel was secretly plotting to take over the spot. Palestinian President Abbas has also spread these false rumors.

The compound is revered by Jews as the holiest site, the Temple Mount, home to the biblical Jewish Temples. Today it houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site.

Israel captured the site from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, but allowed it to remain under Muslim administration. Under a decades-old arrangement, non-Muslims are allowed to visit, but not pray there.

A growing number of Jewish visitors in recent years, coupled with calls by religious Jewish activists for a greater presence at the site, have stoked Palestinian fears that Israel is planning to change this arrangement.

Palestinians fiercely defend the site as both a religious and national symbol. Growing Palestinian fears that the shrine is in danger triggered unrest across the region.

Israel has repeatedly said it is committed to the status quo and has accused Palestinian and Muslim religious leaders of inciting violence. (from an Oct. 12 Associated Press report)

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ZAMBIA

The president’s call for a national day of prayer and fasting gained a wide support from Zambia’s churches, which conducted prayers all across the country for the mostly Christian population of 15 million people.

The authorities turned to God after the country’s economy experienced a host of problems, which caused the national currency, the Kwacha, to plummet against the dollar by a record 45 percent in 2015. (from RT News)

Copper prices have dropped more than 20% in the past year, prompting companies such as Glencore Plc to consider shutting mines and fire thousands of workers. Zambia is Africa’s second-largest producer of the metal, which accounts for 70% of export income. The slump in the industry will slow economic growth to a 17-year low of 3.4% in 2015, according to estimates from Barclays Plc.

Zambians have been forced to endure power cuts of as long as 14 hours a day in Lusaka as drought caused water levels to drop at Lake Kariba hydropower plants, which supply the nation with almost half of its electricity. Dry weather has also caused a 22 percent slump in production this year of corn, the staple food, boosting inflation. (from a Bloomberg News report)

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CHINA

China remains an authoritarian state, one that systematically curbs fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion, when their exercise is perceived to threaten one-party rule. Since a new leadership assumed power in March 2013, authorities have undertaken positive steps in certain areas…

But during the same period, authorities have also unleashed an extraordinary assault on basic human rights and their defenders with a ferocity unseen in recent years - an alarming sign given that the current leadership will likely remain in power through 2023.
From mid-2013, the Chinese government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have issued directives insisting on “correct” ideology among party members, university lecturers, students, researchers, and journalists. These documents warn against the perils of “universal values” and human rights, and assert the importance of a pro-government and pro-CCP stance.

Freedom of Religion

Although the constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the government restricts religious practices to officially approved mosques, churches, temples, and monasteries organized by five officially recognized religious organizations; any religious activity not considered by the state to be “normal” is prohibited. It audits the activities, employee details, and financial records of religious bodies, and retains control over religious personnel appointments, publications, and seminary applications. In 2014, the government stepped up its control over religion, with particular focus on Christian churches.

Between late 2013 and early July, the government removed 150 crosses from churches in Zhejiang Province, which is considered to be a center of Christianity. In July, the government handed down a particularly harsh 12-year sentence to Christian pastor Zhang Shaojie. Also in July, Zhuhai authorities raided the compound of Buddhist leader Wu Zeheng and detained him and at least a dozen followers, although no legal reason was given for doing so. The Chinese government also expelled hundreds of foreign missionaries from China, according to press reports, and it failed to publicly respond to Pope Francis’s mid-August statement that the Vatican wishes to “establish full relations with China.” (from a Human Rights Watch report)