31/07/2025

THURSDAY | JULY 31, 2025

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France, 14 other nations back recognition of Palestine

Alarm over annexation of Gaza Strip

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday warned of Israel’s intention towards the gradual annexation of the Gaza Strip as a prelude to the displacement of its population. “We warn of the dangers posed by the occupation’s plans for the gradual annexation of the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said in a press statement, describing it as “a conspiracy to forcibly displace the population of the Strip and washing away the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the ground”. It affirmed the ministry’s continued efforts to stop the “crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation” against the Palestinians, calling on the international community to take necessary measures to halt the Israeli actions immediately. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that Israel is “closer than ever” to reoccupying the Gaza Strip and settling there, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth . Haaretz reported on Monday night that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to present a plan to the Israeli security Cabinet for annexing parts of Gaza. According to the report, Netanyahu told ministers that Israel has given Hamas a few days to agree to a ceasefire, or Israel will begin to gradually annexe parts of the Strip in stages until Hamas surrenders. – Bernama

o Arab states urge Hamas to disarm

PARIS: France and 14 other Western nations called on countries to move to recognise a Palestinian state, France’s top diplomat said yesterday. The foreign ministers of 15 countries late on Tuesday issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution. “In New York, together with 14 other countries, France is issuing a collective appeal: we express our desire to recognise the State of Palestine and invite those who have not yet done so to join us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X. President Emmanuel Macron announced last week he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the United States. France is hoping to build a momentum around the formal recognition of a Palestinian state. On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will formally recognise the State of Palestine in September unless Israel takes various “substantive steps”, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Starmer’s move, paired with Paris, would make the two European allies the first G7 nations to do so. In the statement, 15 nations including Spain, Norway, and Finland affirmed their “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution”.

‘Stop Starving Gaza’ protesters gathering outside the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday. – REUTERSPIC

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than US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) to settle concussion-related lawsuits with thousands of retired players. It has made changes to the sport to mitigate the risk of concussions. Tamura was never an NFL player, but he did play football during high school in California. According to police, the first victim slain on Monday was Didarul Islam, 36, a New York Police Department officer who immigrated to the US from Bangladesh and was the father of two young boys. A private security officer, identified by family as Aland Etienne, was fatally shot in the lobby moments after Islam, along with Wesley LePatner, a senior real estate executive for Blackstone, the private equity firm also headquartered in the tower. Several of her colleagues at Blackstone were injured, according to the company. The last victim killed was Julia Hyman, who was working as an associate at Rudin Management. – Reuters Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalise relations with Israel in the future,” Barrot said. The text, co-signed by France, Britain and Canada among other western nations, also called for the possible deployment of foreign forces to stabilise Gaza after the end of hostilities. Israel and its ally the United States did not take part in the meeting. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London would proceed with recognition if Israel did not fulfil conditions including implementing a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing in sufficient aid. – AFP

NEW YORK: The man who shot four people dead with an assault-style rifle inside a skyscraper was carrying a “suicide note” blaming the National Football League for a degenerative brain disease he claimed to have. Police identified the gunman as Shane Tamura, 27, a Las Vegas casino security officer and former high school football player with a history of mental illness. Tamura killed two security guards, one of them a city policeman on security detail, a real estate executive and a business management associate, before taking his own life on the 33rd floor of the Park Avenue skyscraper. An employee of the NFL, which has its headquarters in the building alongside offices of major financial firms, was gravely wounded in the attack. The NFL worker was among several people shot in the lobby before Tamura, targeting the football league, used the wrong elevator and ended up in the 33rd-floor office Palestinian state expressed “the willingness or the positive consideration of their countries” to do so, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League during the conference joined calls for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory. “In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent

suite of Rudin Management, a real estate company that owns the building, city officials said. “A suicide note spoke of a possible motive and may explain why he targeted NFL headquarters,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a video message. Tamura “claimed to be suffering from CTE, possibly from playing high school football, and he also blamed the NFL”, Tisch said. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a degenerative brain disease. The note, Tisch said, mentions a 2013 documentary featuring former NFL players who suffered from CTE, which has no known treatment and can be caused by repeated shaking of the brain associated with playing contact sports. The condition can only be diagnosed conclusively after death. “Study my brain. I’m sorry,” Tamura says in the note. The commissioner noted that Tamura had fatally shot himself in the chest. The NFL has paid more declaration. It followed a call on Monday by the Palestinian delegation at the United Nations for both Israel and Hamas to leave Gaza, allowing the Palestinian Authority to administer the coastal territory. The text also condemned the deadly Oct 7, 2023 attack. France, which co-chaired the conference with Saudi Arabia, called the declaration “both historic and unprecedented”. “For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn Oct 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from

AUSTRALIAN DUO FROM AID SHIP FREED ISTANBU: Two Australian nationals, detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship by Israeli forces, were released yesterday. The Handala ship, carrying baby formula, food and medicine, was seized near the Gaza coast on Saturday, with 21 civilians on board, including lawmakers, medics and volunteers. According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Tan Safi and Robert Martin were released from the Givon Prison in Ramlah, central Israel, to the Australian Embassy in Jordan. They are expected to return to their home country after procedures are completed, the coalition said. The aid ship set sail from Italy to break a months-long Israeli siege. – Bernama LOCUSTS SPREAD IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE KUSHUHUM: A locust invasion is threatening sunflower and other crops in Ukraine’s southern regions, largely caused by the war against Russia’s invasion that makes it impossible to use traditional pest control methods. Locusts, which can destroy huge areas of crops in a matter of days, breed in secluded places along rivers or in uncultivated areas, and controlling that is almost impossible in regions near the frontline. The situation is complicated by record high temperatures this summer, the inability to use aircraft for locust control and the absence of birds, locusts’ natural predators, which are avoiding the combat zone. Local and government officials declined to provide data on the extent of the locust infestation or damage caused so far. – Reuters

BR I E F S

Nine of the signatories which have not yet recognised the Shooter’s ‘suicide note’ blames NFL for brain disease

Tamure walks into a building shortly before the shooting. – REUTERSPIC