Region

GAZA CITY — Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank would be a "declaration of war", Gaza rulers Hamas said on Thursday, as a UN envoy warned the move could fuel violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims to table annexation plans from July 1, despite opposition from the Palestinians and much of the international community.

In a televised address, Hamas's military wing said such a move would prompt a war with the Palestinians.

"The resistance considers the decision to annex the West Bank and the Jordan Valley to be a declaration of war on our people," said spokesman Abu Ubaida.

Gaza has been under a crippling Israel blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave.

Hamas and Israel have fought three wars in recent years, with the latest conflict in 2014 killing 2,251 Palestinians and 74 people on the Israeli side.

There are no official relations between the two sides and the Palestinian Authority, a separate administration based in the West Bank, last month cut its cooperation with Israel.

Israel's proposal to annex its settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley form part of a broader US peace plan published in January.

The proposals foresee the ultimate creation of a Palestinian state on the remaining West Bank territory and including the Gaza Strip.

But the plan falls far short of Palestinian aspirations, with a state on reduced territory and without East Jerusalem as a capital.

Palestinian officials cut diplomatic relations with Washington in 2017, over its pro-Israel stance, and have rejected the US peace plan.

The United Nations has raised alarm bells in recent weeks over Netanyahu's intentions, warning they could do irrevocable damage to Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Speaking in Jerusalem on Thursday, the UN's Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said annexation may also fuel violence.

If Palestinians "feel that there is no prospect of a peaceful resolution to the conflict, that only creates opportunities for radicals", he told journalists.

Mladenov pointed to a "long litany of such developments" in the Middle East, referring to the rise of the Daesh group in Iraq and Syria.

Mladenov was speaking a day after a UN Security Council session in which Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as European and Arab powers, called on Netanyahu to end his annexation ambitions.

They view the move as illegal under international law, although the US has broken with this consensus and said Israel has the right to decide.

While countries are yet to announce retaliatory measures, Mladenov warned Israeli annexation could spark a regional conflict.

"Nobody wants another war, another flare-up of violence in the Middle East, and certainly not one that has such a potential to ignite conflict way beyond its borders," he said.

BAGHDAD — Iraq registered nearly 2,500 new coronavirus cases and over 100 deaths on Thursday, setting new records in a country whose health sector had been bracing itself for such a spike.

Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed over the last week by a jump in cases and deaths, following months of the virus spreading relatively slowly.

On Thursday, the health ministry said it had confirmed 2,437 new cases over the last day, bringing the total in the country to over 39,000 -- of whom about half have recovered.

Another 107 people died of coronavirus-related causes, pushing the total death toll to 1,437.

Iraq had so far considered itself spared as the virus spread in other regional countries, including in neighbouring Iran where more than 10,000 have died.

But the Iraqi health sector has been worn down by years of war and poor investment and appears to be collapsing under the strain of the virus.

Doctors in coronavirus wards have complained of a lack of personal protective equipment, and say they have been made to keep working even if they showed symptoms of infection.

Tests are also still not widely available, with authorities conducting fewer than a half-million tests in March in a country of 40 million people.

China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have all donated COVID-related aid to Iraq, which is also seeking emergency funding from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Some of Iraq's 18 provinces have maintained full lockdowns, but most have eased restrictions to a nightly curfew in an effort to revive the local economy.

Many shops have reopened, with customers and staff alike declining to wear masks or observe social distancing.

TEHRAN — Iran on Thursday announced 134 new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the overall toll in the Middle East's deadliest outbreak past 10,000.

The Islamic republic has struggled to contain the spread of the virus since it reported its first cases in the Shiite holy city of Qom in late February.

Official figures have shown a rising trajectory in new confirmed cases since early May, when Iran hit a near two-month low in daily recorded infections.

But officials deny the upward trend amounts to a second wave.

"We lost 134 of our compatriots in the past 24 hours and the total number of victims is 10,130," said Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari.

It was the deadliest day since April 6, when 136 deaths were reported, and the seventh straight day that Iran has reported more than 100 coronavirus deaths.

Lari said another 2,595 people had tested positive for the virus over the same 24-hour period, bringing the country's overall caseload to 215,096.

Hospital admissions were highest in the provinces of Bushehr, Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Kurdistan, while they were increasing in Tehran and Fars, she said.

"We call on all our compatriots to follow the health protocols, especially the elderly and those with underlying diseases," Lari told a televised news conference.

"We also urge children and young people not to be present in crowded centres, to keep their distance from the elderly, grandparents, and to help them to stay at home as much as possible."

There has been scepticism at home and abroad about Iran's official figures, with concerns the actual toll could be much higher.

On Sunday, Health Minister Said Namaki denied Iran was facing a second wave of infections and said "the peak of the disease has not passed".

"Even in provinces where we think the first coronavirus wave is behind us, we have not yet fully experienced the first wave," semi-official news agency ISNA quoted him as saying.

LONDON — More than 1,000 European lawmakers from 25 countries urged their leaders Wednesday to step in and stop Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to kick-start the process next week, after clinching a coalition deal with his former election rival last month.

In a letter published in newspapers and sent to European foreign ministers, the 1,080 parliamentarians said they were "deeply worried about the precedent this would set for international relations".

"Such a move will be fatal to the prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace," added the letter.

"Regrettably, President [Donald] Trump's plan departs from internationally agreed parameters and principles."

The letter referred to the US leader three times but made no direct mention of Netanyahu, who must still decide how much territory he intends to annex.

“In appreciation of Europe’s long-term commitments to the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we ask European leaders to act decisively in response to this challenge,” the lawmakers said.

“Europe must take the lead in bringing international actors together to prevent annexation.”

The European Union has been seeking to persuade Israel to back down and is weighing retaliatory measures as a response if Netanyahu goes ahead.

However, mooted sanctions would require the agreement of all 27 member states. Most of the signatories of the MPs’ letter were members of left-leaning parties and nearly a quarter came from Britain — which left the EU in January — including the Labour Party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Lisa Nandy.

Britain’s main opposition Party is trying to recover from years of controversy over alleged "anti-Semitism" within its ranks.

CAIRO — The Arab League on Tuesday called for the withdrawal of foreign forces in Libya and urged for talks on ending the conflict in the north African country.

The virtual meeting, held at Egypt's request, comes amid a flaring conflict in neighbouring Libya between a UN-recognised government in the country's west and eastern-based forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar.

It was attended by representatives from 21 Arab countries including Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA), which had opposed the meeting earlier this week.

The 14-clause resolution submitted by the Arab League provided for "rejecting all illegitimate foreign interventions" in Libya and called for "the withdrawal of all foreign forces on Libyan territories and its regional waters".

Libya's representative, Saleh Al Shamakhi, expressed reservations on the Arab League's call, saying that foreign forces backing the GNA helped roll back the "aggression" by Haftar's forces.

The Turkish-backed GNA has recently made major military gains against Haftar's forces, who have sought to regain control over the west in an abortive attempt to seize Tripoli.

Egypt has warned that advances by Turkey-backed forces on the strategic Libyan city of Sirte could prompt an Egyptian military intervention.

The GNA denounced Sisi's statements as a "declaration of war".

Earlier this month, Cairo proposed a peace initiative calling for a ceasefire, withdrawal of mercenaries and disbanding militias in the neighbouring country.

The proposal was dismissed by the GNA and Ankara.

On Tuesday, the Arab League welcomed Egypt’s proposal and urged Libyan factions to “positively engage” with such initiatives.

Shamakhi also voiced reservations on the call, saying the GNA was not invited to be part of Cairo’s initiative. He added that “whoever wants to mediate... should not be siding with one party over the other”.

Tunisia, Qatar and Somalia expressed reservations on the clauses criticised by Libya.

Libya has been mired in chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Muammar Qadhafi.

Besides Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia back Haftar’s forces.

CAIRO — Egypt’s musclemen are frustrated with working out from home due to coronavirus restrictions and are raring to get back to gruelling routines at their gyms, where they also earn a living.

With massive biceps and a gleaming six-pack, Mohamed Ali — who goes by his nickname Asab, a reference in Arabic to his bulging veins — is normally an enthusiastic exhibitionist.

The 33-year-old is a personal trainer and veteran participant of several bodybuilding championships with Egypt’s national team, which has a history of garnering gold medals on the world stage.

But when AFP visited his sunny home in an upscale gated community in eastern Cairo, Asab chuckled modestly that he was not in top shape.

“I’ve taken it upon myself... to use the lockdown to start competing again at the end of the year, since I have a lot of time on my hands these days,” he told AFP.

Egypt has been under a night-time curfew for the past three months to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, but the number of infections continues to rise.

The North African country, with a population of over 100 million, has officially recorded over 58,000 COVID-19 cases and 2,365 deaths.

Gyms have been shuttered as part of nationwide restrictions, but that has not deterred Asab from hitting his home gym hard.

He is resculpting a taut physique through an extremely demanding workout, in the hope of competing in Mr Olympia — the world’s premier bodybuilding competition, tentatively scheduled for December in Las Vegas.

Feeling the 

financial burn 

But more than his competitive aspirations, Asab is worried about his business and his livelihood.

The owner of 16 gyms in Cairo said he was paying several hundred staff out of his own pocket.

Normally buzzing weight machines have stood idle for three months as the lockdown shuttered his facilities and cut off his only source of income.

Earlier this month, the government said gyms would partially reopen, without giving a clear indication of when.

“We’re like other industries such as tourism and restaurants that have been affected 100 per cent,” Asab said.

“I have a whole team who depend on commissions from memberships... I really don’t know if we’ll be able to go on living like before or not,” he said, surrounded by dumb-bells on his living-room floor.

Mohamed Nassim, a 33-year-old Syrian who fled his country after war broke out in 2011, was also somewhat shy about showing off his muscles.

He said that when competing, he trims his body fat down to a lean 3 per cent.

“I started getting into bodybuilding in Syria back around 2003, and it was only to bulk up initially because I was really skinny,” he said.

“The first championship I competed in was around 2010, and I actually won in 2011, taking first place in a national competition — but after the events we headed to Egypt,” Nassim added, referring to start of Syria’s civil war.

His Facebook account boasts an impressive gallery of images of him oiled up and flexing in regional competitions.

“I had plans to go up on stage again, but all that stopped with the coronavirus,” he told AFP in a Cairo park.

‘Wiped out’ 

Nassim said he had been trying to stay in shape “using dumb-bells at home and maintaining the physical form I had built up over many years”.

Several champion Egyptian bodybuilders such as Big Ramy — lauded by Arnold Schwarzenegger — have turned into social media celebrities, heading overseas to compete professionally or even dabble in acting.

But Nassim has developed more modest, short-term goals since his bodybuilding career has taken a hit.

He is keen to return to being a hands-on personal trainer at his local franchise of World Gym, the American fitness behemoth, where he used to coach budding bodybuilders and those looking to stay in shape.

“The shutdown has really affected us financially and psychologically,” he said.

“I really don’t see any reason for gyms to be closed because it [working out] is actually good for people’s immunity as long as they take all the necessary precautions.”

His friend, Mostafa Al Rouby, also a Cairo gym owner and bodybuilder, shared similar frustration, as other businesses such as malls open up.

“The coronavirus has completely wiped out the field of bodybuilding,” the 27-year-old told AFP.

He said, he was still having to pay rent as he waited for the green light from the authorities to reopen his gym.

“If we really want to control this disease then we should open up the fitness world so people can get healthy,” Rouby said.

By Farid Farid

TAEZ, Yemen — As medicines run short and hospital wards overflow, Yemenis are resorting to traditional herbal remedies to protect themselves from coronavirus in a country broken by years of conflict.

Yemen has so far officially recorded under 1,000 cases of the disease, with 257 fatalities, but most clinics are ill-equipped to determine causes of death and there are ominous signs that the real toll is much higher.

The country's health system has all but collapsed since war broke out between the government and Houthi rebels in 2014, and more than two thirds of the population of about 24 million need aid to survive, according to the United Nations.

In the southwestern city of Taez, market vendors stack bags of herbs and spices in front of their shops — from garlic, ginger and turmeric to costus root and fennel flower — at prices much more affordable than modern medicine.

"Many people are coming to buy medicinal herbs to make concoctions believed to be successful in combatting the virus," said one vendor, Bashar Al-Assar, at the popular Al Shanini Market.

The remedies are "guaranteed, tried and effective" to strengthen immunity, he told AFP.

The virus crisis is just the latest hardship for Taez's population of more than 600,000, who have long been trapped within the city limits.

While it is controlled by pro-government forces, Taez is under siege from the Houthis who occupy the mountains that surround the city, from where they have launched repeated bombardments.

Taez has so far recorded 50 coronavirus deaths, the second highest for a Yemeni city after Hadramaut's 111 deaths, according to government data.

But patchy accounts from overwhelmed hospitals, and scientific modelling, indicates this is just a fraction of the real impact.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in a study that, with no mitigation measures in place, there may have been between 180,000 and three million coronavirus cases in the first three months of the outbreak in Yemen.

Its model predicts there could be up to 11 million people infected, with between 62,000 and 85,000 deaths, in an eventual worst-case scenario.

'No staff, no medicine' 

According to residents and doctors in Aden, the southern city where the government is based, hospitals are overcrowded and under extreme pressure because of the number of COVID-19 cases.

"We have no preparations, no equipment, not enough medication, and not enough medical staff to combat the spread of the virus," Jalal Nasser, a doctor at a hospital in Aden, told AFP.

"There is no trained staff to deal with the pandemic."

The situation in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa is unclear, with the true picture hard to determine as the insurgents have abstained from reporting cases other than two infections announced in early May.

The outbreak comes on top of diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue that continually ravage the country due to a lack of proper sanitation or healthcare facilities.

In a country that the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster, millions are on the brink of famine and others live in makeshift camps where social distancing is impossible.

Ishraq Al Sibai, the spokeswoman for Yemen's national emergency committee for COVID-19, warned that herbal remedies risked harming people's health, but that Taez had little to offer in terms of modern treatment.

"There are 40 isolation beds, six ventilators, not enough medical staff... and a shortage of medicines," she said. "This is a big problem."

'Don't forget Yemen' 

Munir Ahmed Ghaleb was one of the shoppers at the Taez market looking to buy herbs.

"The price of medication has increased insanely, and now a citizen must resort to the local market for essential medicinal herbs, such as garlic, to fight the virus," he told AFP.

Before the coronavirus outbreak there was very little demand for herbal concoctions, said the vendor Assar, while today "it stands at 100 per cent".

Aid organisations have warned that a full-blown coronavirus outbreak in Yemen would have dire consequences, and called on the international community for support.

The UN raised some $1.35 billion at a virtual donor conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia in early June, but it fell far short of the $2.41 billion target.

"As the world continues its fight against this global pandemic, it must not forget countries like Yemen that need their support," the World Health Organisation said.