Month: January 2023

The second-round runoff between former Prime Minister Andrej Babis and retired Nato general Petr Pavel is portrayed as a contest between populist oligarchy and liberal democracy.

Mr Pavel appears to have a commanding lead over Mr Babis.

The contest has been marked by disinformation and even death threats.

In the Czech Republic, the role of president is a mostly ceremonial but still highly influential post.

Mr Pavel and Mr Babis came top out of the seven men and one woman who were in the first round to replace Mr Zeman.

Now, two weeks of increasingly ill-tempered and at times surreal campaigning now come to an end.

Mr Pavel went on social media this week to deny rumours of his own death which spread via email. A copy of his website also appeared to announce his death from heart failure.

Mr Pavel said the matter was in the hands of the police.

The disinformation was condemned by Mr Babis, who described the emails as “disgusting” and said he hoped the police would investigate thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Mr Babis announced earlier this week that he would cancel all remaining in-person campaign appearances over fears for his personal safety after receiving an anonymous death threat.

Gen Pavel remains the favourite despite revelations that he had received training in military intelligence during the communist era.

A final rally in his support brought thousands to Prague’s Old Town Square, where Mr Pavel told the crowd: “When I served in the Army, I served the country and all in it regardless of political preferences, and I wish to serve like that as president.”

Mr Pavel’s platform includes keeping the Czech Republic strongly anchored in the European Union and Nato and he has come out strongly in favour of further military aid for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

He also backs the adoption of the euro and progressive policies such as gay marriage.

Meanwhile, during his time as prime minister, billionaire Mr Babis enjoyed close ties with Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who continues to clash with the EU over the rule of law.

He has played on fears the war in Ukraine could spread to central Europe and said he would offer to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The outcome of the election will be announced on Saturday afternoon.

The incident happened in the city’s Neve Yaakov neighbourhood at about 20:15 local time (18:15 GMT).

Police described the attacker as a “terrorist” and said he had been “neutralised”.

Local media identified him as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem.

Speaking at the scene, Israeli police commissioner Kobi Shabtai called it “one of the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years”.

Israeli worshippers had gathered for prayers at the start of the Jewish Sabbath in a synagogue in the Jewish settlement and were leaving when the gunman opened fire. Police say that officers then shot him dead.

Forensic teams are investigating a white car that appears to have been driven by the gunman.

Palestinian militant groups praised the attack, but did not say one of their members was responsible.

The attack was celebrated by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with rallies and the handing out of sweets.

In the middle of the road is a smashed-up car. The windscreen on the driver’s side is punctured with bullet holes. A police forensics officer with a head torch is scouring the back of the car. They tell us to move back.

An eyewitness tells me she saw the gunman here in the street, possibly after he was shot by the police, firing into the air as security forces ran after him. This junction is a distance away from the synagogue, so it seems this is where he tried to escape.

We’ve heard a few loud bangs, possibly coming from a big Palestinian neighbourhood nearby, suggesting clashes between residents and the Israeli forces.

The attack happened on Holocaust Memorial Day, which commemorates the six million Jews and other victims who were killed in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime in Germany.

“To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack.”

President Joe Biden talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered all “appropriate means of support”, the White House said.

Shortly after the incident, Mr Netanyahu visited the site, as did the controversial far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Mr Ben-Gvir promised to bring safety back to Israel’s streets but there is rising anger that he has not yet done so, says the BBC’s Yolande Knell in Jerusalem.

Tensions have been high since nine Palestinians – both militants and civilians – were killed during an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

This was followed by rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, to which Israel responded with air strikes.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply worried about the current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory”, a spokesperson said.

“This is the moment to exercise utmost restraint,” said Stephane Dujarric.

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war and considers the entire city its capital, though this is not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of a hoped-for independent state.

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Senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC is investigating a number of complaints about the deputy PM’s behaviour.

But the BBC understands a number of civil servants who had intended to lodge formal complaints did not.

Mr Raab, who was reappointed by Rishi Sunak as a cabinet minister, has denied allegations of bullying.

The MP for Esher and Walton previously served as justice secretary and deputy prime minister under Boris Johnson.

A close ally of Mr Sunak, Mr Raab was sacked from those roles when Liz Truss became prime minister in September.

Mr Raab was reappointed as both justice secretary and deputy prime minister, after Mr Sunak became PM.

He is facing multiple complaints from his first stint at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and his time as Brexit secretary in 2018. He is the subject of a single complaint from his tenure as foreign secretary.

The BBC has found that other civil servants who allegedly planned to file complaints did not. This decision came after they were told they would have been identified to Mr Raab as part of the investigation by Mr Tolley.

It is understood this is standard practice for an investigation not to take testimony from anonymous sources.

It is suggested some feared being identified in case Mr Raab were to remain in post, and he would know they had complained against him.

The prime minister will decide the justice secretary’s political future when Mr Tolley concludes his investigation.

The BBC understands some staff who have not directly complained are now offering to act as witnesses to the inquiry. Mr Tolley has been conducting interviews about Mr Raab’s alleged conduct since the start of the year.

Whitehall sources say that Mr Raab has modified his alleged behaviour on his return to the MoJ last autumn.

The senior civil servants’ union, the FDA, wants to see the complaints process overhauled.

Confidence in the system was all but destroyed after former home secretary Priti Patel remained in post after she was investigated for bullying, the union has claimed. The FDA believes this had led to a reluctance by some of their members to make complaints.

The government has promised that Mr Tolley “will have access to all the information he wishes to see” and that his report on Mr Raab’s conduct will be made public.

When the inquiry was announced last November, Mr Raab said he would “thoroughly rebut and refute” the claims against him in a “fair and formal” setting.

He said he was “confident” he had behaved “professionally throughout”.

A woman aged 61 was reported among the dead in the flashpoint town of Jenin.

The Israeli military said its troops went in to arrest Islamic Jihad “terror operatives” planning “major attacks”.

The Palestinian presidency accused Israel of a “massacre” and later announced it had ended co-ordination with Israel on security matters.

A 10th Palestinian was meanwhile shot and killed during a confrontation with Israeli troops in the town of al-Ram, near Jerusalem, as residents protested against the Jenin raid, Palestinian officials said.

Overnight, Israel said it carried out airstrikes against Palestinian militants in Gaza after two rockets were fired into Israel. No group in Gaza has claimed responsibility for the rockets, both of which were intercepted by Israeli air defence systems.

The scale of the bombing in Gaza is not yet clear, although the AFP news agency said there were no reported injuries on either side.

Tensions have recently risen in the West Bank, as the Israeli military continues what it describes as an anti-terrorism offensive that began last year following a series of deadly attacks in Israel.

Heavy gunfire and explosions echoed across the crowded, urban Jenin refugee camp, as fierce battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces raged for three hours on Thursday morning.

The Palestinian health ministry identified three of those killed as Magda Obaid, 61, Saeb Izreiqi, 24, and Izzidin Salahat, 26. Twenty people were also wounded, four of them seriously, it said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops entered Jenin to arrest an Islamic Jihad “terror squad”, who it accused of being “heavily involved in planning and executing multiple major terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers”.

It said forces surrounded a building and that three armed suspects were “neutralised” after they opened fire, while a fourth suspect surrendered. The IDF said troops were shot at by other Palestinian gunmen and returned fire, hitting targets. It added it was looking into “claims regarding additional casualties”.

Islamic Jihad and Hamas said their fighters had targeted the troops with gunfire and improvised explosive devices.

The house which the IDF said was being used as a hideout by the Islamic Jihad cell was still smouldering where furniture inside caught fire.

The outer walls on the ground floor were reduced to rubble, leaving the taps and sink of a bathroom exposed. The upper floor was meanwhile pocked with bullet holes, while the stairwell contained a pool of blood.

Aisha Abu al-Naj, 73, who lives next door, told the BBC that her house shook during the raid and that she and her family feared for their lives.

“We were afraid. I saw the army and then I couldn’t open or look through the window. It was a scary situation,” she said.

“There were some young Palestinians next to our building who then came and surrounded it. They shot at them. And then there was a lot of people who were killed.”

Magda Obaid’s daughter said her mother also lived near the targeted house, and that she was shot in the neck as she peered out of her window to see what was happening.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that seven youths were shot and wounded while attempting to prevent the Israeli forces from entering Jenin, and that the troops “completely destroyed” the Jenin Camp Club.

Taxi driver Mohammed Ammori said he had been talking to a friend when Israeli troops pulled up beside a building close to the club in cars and a lorry.

“We heard gunshots. We fled into the Jenin club and we stayed under siege there for three hours.”

He added: “After about an hour, military bulldozers destroyed cars on both sides of the road, then destroyed the club’s wall.”

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances were initially unable to reach the wounded because Israeli troops restricted access to the scene.

The children’s ward of a local hospital was also hit by Israeli tear gas, she said. The IDF told AFP news agency that there was activity not far away and that it was possible some tear gas entered through an open window.

As funerals took place, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of national mourning in response to what his spokesman called a “massacre” happening “amidst international silence”.

“This is what encourages the occupation government to commit massacres against our people in full view of the world,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

Jenin Deputy Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP that residents were living in a “real state of war” and that Israeli forces were “destroying everything and shooting at everything that moves”.

Top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri said that “the response of the resistance will not be late in coming”.

Later, the Palestinian Authority declared that security co-ordination with Israeli authorities “no longer exists as of now”. A statement said the decision was taken by the leadership “in light of the repeated aggression against our people, and the undermining of signed agreements”.

United Nations Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said he was “deeply alarmed and saddened” by the violence.

“Since the beginning of this year, we are continuing to witness high levels of violence and other negative trends that characterized 2022. It is crucial to reduce tensions immediately and prevent more loss of life,” he added.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank so far this year, including militants and civilians, as the military continues operations there.

Last year in the West Bank more than 150 Palestinians were killed, nearly all by Israeli forces. The dead included unarmed civilians, militant gunmen and armed attackers.

A series of attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs targeting Israelis, as well as militant gunfire at troops during arrest raids, meanwhile killed more than 30 people including civilians, police and soldiers.