Turkey Ready to Build Naval Base in Cyprus
In an address on Sunday, July 21, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that he is ready to build a naval base on northern Cyprus, after accusing his Greek counterparts of aiming to build a base of their own on the contested island. “If necessary, we can construct a base and naval structures in the north,” said Erdoğan.
The presidential address came on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island. Attempting to deal with the division before it escalates further, President Nikos Christodoulides called for unification on the same day. “Frankly, we do not think it is possible to start a new negotiation process without establishing an equation whereby both parties sit down as equals and leave the table as equals,” Erdoğan said.
ICJ Rules Against Israel
On Friday, July 19, the International Court of Justice, a branch of the United Nations, ruled Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as unlawful and a “wrongful act.” The 15-judge panel has cited the growth of Israeli settlements, the usage of the territories’ natural resources, and its discriminatory laws, among other violations in its 83-page legal opinion.
“Israel has an obligation to bring an end to its presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as rapidly as possible,” said the court’s president, Nawaf Salam. Netanyahu replied on X: “No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth and likewise the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested.”
Israel Responds to Houthi Attack
On Saturday, July 20, Israel launched strikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah in retaliation for a Houthi-claimed drone strike on Tel Aviv a day earlier that killed one person. The Houthi attack comes as a surprise, as it is the first of more than 200 to not be intercepted by the Israeli Defense Force due to “human error.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated the retaliatory strike was ordered because it was the “first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen… And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
Reports say the Israeli attack in Yemen killed at least three. The response also struck an oil storage facility and power plant, igniting a massive fire in Hodeidah.
Islamic State Attacks Mosque in Oman
On Tuesday, July 16, the extremist group Islamic State claimed a suicide attack conducted on a Shi’ite mosque in Oman. The surprise act of violence left nine people dead, including the three attackers. According to Omani police reports, the perpetrators were all citizens of the Sultanate. The Royal Oman Police report that the attackers “were killed due to their insistence on resisting security personnel.”
The attack has renewed fears of the extremist group operating in the Gulf after their defeat in Iraq and Syria. It is another in a series of IS-claimed attacks, including an assault on a Moscow concert hall in March that left 130 dead.
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(Banner image: Reuters)
July 22, 2024
Netanyahu Begins US Visit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington, D.C. this morning for his first trip to the capital in four years. He will meet with President Biden on Tuesday before giving a speech to Congress on Wednesday, July 24. Netanyahu’s visit comes at a complex time, following the announcement that Biden will not be seeking re-election later this year.
Netanyahu asserts that Israel will remain a staunch ally of the United States, regardless of the winner of November’s presidential election.