The rival Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza argued over mosque sermons and collection of donations during Ramadan, but agreed to start observance together yesterday in a rare note of unity for the holiest period for Muslims.
Ramadan is a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayer in mosques and giving to the poor, and the start date depends on the sighting of a new moon by a country's top cleric. Libya and Nigeria began the fast on Wednesday, but most Muslim countries in the Middle East were to do so yesterday.
With some countries using astronomical calculations and others relying on the naked eye, starting times often differ. However, the ruling on when the fast begins can also have political or sectarian dimensions, as some countries or sects try to differentiate themselves from rivals by picking a different day.
PHOTO: AP
Iraq's Sunnis were to start fasting yesterday. But in the holy city of Najaf, the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, announced that Ramadan would begin today for the nation's majority Shiites.
In a rare turn of events, however, Shiite Iran announced it would be in sync with mainly Sunni Arab countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and start Ramadan yesterday.
For the Palestinians, Ramadan is marred this year by the split between the West Bank and Gaza. In June, the Islamic militant Hamas seized control of Gaza by force, prompting moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to set up a rival government in the West Bank.
Abbas' information minister, Riad Malki, warned mosque preachers this week not to deliver inflammatory or political Ramadan sermons. Abbas' Fatah movement has accused Hamas of using mosques to incite against its political opponents.
Preachers violating the instructions will be fired or sent into early retirement, Malki said.
In the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian security forces seized three assault rifles in a local mosque. The intelligence chief in Nablus, Abu Jihad Kmeil, accused Hamas of using mosques for illegal activity. Hamas denied the claim, saying the weapons were planted in the mosque by security officials.
In Gaza, senior cleric Saleh al-Reqeb said the directives from the West Bank were disrespectful to preachers and were meant to muzzle any criticism of Abbas' policies, including his attempt to revive peace talks with Israel.
The Fatah-controlled West Bank government also announced that it would ban fundraising during Ramadan without permission from the religious affairs ministry. Jamal Bawatna, the religious affairs minister in the West Bank, said this would prevent Arab charity from going to Hamas. The flow of local money in Gaza would be difficult to control, he said.
Bawatna said that Hamas had removed the last senior ally of Abbas in the religious affairs ministry in Gaza to ensure its control of all local donations in mosques.
With Gaza cut off from the world, Hamas is hard-pressed to provide for Gazans, especially during Ramadan which is known for its festive mood, large family meals and social get-togethers after sundown.
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the prime minister deposed by Abbas, told worshippers in a mosque near his house in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza that his government will prevail.
"Yes our money is little, and the siege is suffocating, and the crossings are closed and the policy of drying up our resources ... is unabating," he said. "But we will share what we have to remain dignified. No one will be able to break us for a few dollars."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the