Orientul Mijlociu

Although the phenomenon of foreign fighters is certainly not new, recent developments in Syria and Iraq have put this issue back on the European Union’s security agenda. The Western Balkan region is not an exception to this trend. Violent extremism in the region is generally perceived through the lens of Islamist radicalisation and foreign fighters who joined Daesh or Al-Nusra in Syria and Iraq. Other forms of extrem- ism, such as right-wing nationalism, if acknowledged at all, are regarded as a secondary concern.

Although national legislations recognise foreign fighting as a criminal act regardless of the destina- tion, returnees from the Middle East face a robust security-based response in their countries of origin, whereas those returning from Ukraine usually remain exempt from prosecution and severe sanctions. This highlights the question of perception and treatment of foreign fighters by Western Balkan governments, particularly after an alleged coup attempt was foiled during Montenegro’s general elections in late 2016, revealing the role of former Western Balkan combatants fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian conflict.

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit on Thursday called for an international probe into “crimes” committed by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians during a protest on the Gaza border on Monday.

“We call for a credible international investigation into the crimes committed by the occupation,” Abul Gheit said at the opening session of an extraordinary meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo to discuss the developments.

The League of Arab states has set out plans to counter the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and any other state, according to a document released after a ministerial meeting of the organisation in Cairo.

The document said the plan, which must be prepared in two weeks, will include political, judicial and economic measures.

The live fire actions by Israeli soldiers and the killing of almost 100 Palestinians and the wounding of thousands of others in two weeks of protests on the Gaza-Israel border were “unjustified and disproportionate,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tuesday.

Speaking to the French Parliament a day after almost 60 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli snipers during a protest, Le Drian recalled the “firm condemnation of France” in light of these killings.

Pier Antonio Panzeri, Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, has condemned the killing of nearly 60 Palestinians by Israeli troops at the Gaza Strip on Monday.

“We cannot remain silent in the face of what happened on Monday: a number of Palestinians killed and injured, amongst them several children, during the mass demonstration near the Gaza fence. Nothing can ever justify the use of military force against civilians who exercise their legitimate rights to protest peacefully,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

After a two-year wait, five humanitarian volunteers who wanted to help refugees land safely have been acquitted.

Lesbos court acquits 5 foreign NGO people accused of smuggling migrants into Greece.

Tribunalul din Mytilene, principalul oraş din insula greacă Lesbos, i-a pus luni în libertate pe cei trei spanioli şi doi danezi acuzaţi că au contribuit la intrarea ilegală de migranţi în această insulă din Marea Egee, unde ei participau la acţiuni de salvare pe mare în 2016, informează AFP, potrivit agerpres.

Judecătorul s-a opus rechizitoriului procurorului, care ceruse un verdict de culpă pentru cei cinci.

‘S-a făcut dreptate’, este ‘o mare victorie pentru ajutorul umanitar’, a comentat într-o postare pe contul său de Twitter organizaţia non-guvernamentală Prome-AID, din care fac parte cei trei spanioli, pompieri din Sevilla, care au beneficiat de o amplă campanie de susţinere în Spania şi din partea organizaţiilor umanitare.

Germany, France, and the United Kingdom on Monday said they would honor a nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers amid an ultimatum by the United States about a cancellation of the pact.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran, the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, and France in 2015.

Iran signed the deal promising to halt its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

US president Donald Trump will announce a decision about the future of an international nuclear agreement with Iran on Tuesday.

Here are four possible avenues Trump could take on the fate of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, under which Iran accepted restraints on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of UN, European and US sanctions.