Skip next section French foreign minister heads to Egypt as truce talks intensify
05/01/2024May 1, 2024
French foreign minister heads to Egypt as truce talks intensify
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is expected in Cairo for an unscheduled stop on his Middle East tour as efforts to secure a truce between and in Gaza reach a critical point, according to a French diplomatic source.
“The surprise visit of the minister is in the context of Egypt’s efforts to free hostages and achieve a truce in Gaza,” the source was reported to have told Reuters news agency.
Diplomatic efforts toward clinching a cease-fire have gathered pace after a renewed push led by Egypt to revive the stalled talks.
Sejourne on Tuesday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that going ahead with a plan to launch a major offensive in the southern Gaza city Rafah would be a “bad idea” that would not resolve anything.
On his visit to Israel, Sejourne also urged Israel to make public a proposal aimed at reducing tensions between Israel and .
Sejourne’s visit to the region has also taken in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fNlL
Skip next section Blinken says Washington ‘determined’ to get Israel-Hamas deal ‘now’
05/01/2024May 1, 2024
Blinken says Washington ‘determined’ to get Israel-Hamas deal ‘now’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has renewed calls for Hamas to accept a cease-fire agreement as he kicked off meetings with Israeli leaders on Wednesday.
Blinken is also pushing to discuss how to increase where the United Nations has warned of an imminent famine due to severe food shortages.
“Even as we’re working with relentless determination to get the cease-fire that brings the hostages home, we also have to be focused on people in Gaza for suffering in this crossfire of Hamas’ making,” Blinken said as he began talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
“There is a proposal on the table and as we’ve said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now and the time is now, long past due, to bring the hostages home to their families.”
Blinken’s seventh visit to Israel marks the final leg of the US top diplomat’s broader Middle East tour.
Later on Wednesday, he is slated to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make stops including Ashdod — a port near Gaza that Israel recently reopened for aid deliveries.
Hamas is set to respond to an offer in which Israel would temporarily halt its in Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in return for hostages seized during the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that left some 1,200 dead and saw about 240 people taken hostage.
Israel, the United States, Germany, the EU and others classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fNjg
Skip next section Dozens arrested, as police clear protesters from campus building
05/01/2024May 1, 2024
Dozens arrested, as police clear protesters from campus building
Police cleared 30 to 40 people from inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
The protesters who took over the campus building on Tuesday barricaded and locked doors at the entrance.
Dozens of people were arrested by police. Those who were arrested were zip-tied and escorted to buses.
https://p.dw.com/p/4fNbO
Skip next section Columbia says decision to reach out to NYPD ‘in response’ to actions of protesters
05/01/2024May 1, 2024
Columbia says decision to reach out to NYPD ‘in response’ to actions of protesters
“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing,” a spokesperson for the university said in a statement.
“After the University learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” the statement read.
“We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University,” it added.
In a letter to the NYPD, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik asked police to remain on campus through at least May 17 “to ensure encampments are not reestablished.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4fNam
Skip next section NYPD enter Columbia University
05/01/2024May 1, 2024
NYPD enter Columbia University
Special police units from the New York Police Department (NYPD) used a massive truck and a ramp to enter a building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University in New York City on Tuesday night local time.
Officers took dozens of protesters into custody, with pictures showing police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, massed at the Ivy League university’s entrance in Manhattan.
Some protesters had made their way from an encampment to Hamilton Hall, the main academic building for undergraduates, and occupied the building for 12 hours on Tuesday.
Protesters were asked to leave their encampment by 2 p.m. local time on Monday afternoon. Some of those who refused had already been suspended.
“We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules,” Vice President of Public Affairs Ben Chang said in a statement on Monday.
Columbia has been at the epicenter of and students voted to defy the order to clear their encampment and stay.
Shortly before officers entered the campus, the New York Police Department received a notice from Columbia authorizing officers to take action.
Police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people.
mf/rm (Reuters, AP, AFP)
https://p.dw.com/p/4fNZc
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