ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hosting Muslim leaders for an Istanbul summit to condemn Israel over the killing of Gaza protesters, seeking to bridge divisions with the Islamic world and issue a strong message.
Erdogan has reacted with unbridled fury to the killing by Israeli forces on Monday of 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border, accusing Israel of “genocide” and being run as an “apartheid state.”
His calling for a mass demonstration in Istanbul has hundreds of thousands on the streets ahead of the summit’s start at 1600 GMT.
Erdogan already staged an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in December last year to denounce US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“We must give the toughest response ... to the crime against humanity committed by Israel,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a meeting of OIC foreign ministers ahead of the summit.
A draft communique prepared for the summit calls for “international protection for the Palestinian people” and condemns Israel’s “criminal” actions against “unarmed civilians.”
The text also accuses the US administration of “encouraging the crimes of Israel” and condemns the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested holy city of Jerusalem, according to participants in the summit.
Cavusoglu also said some OIC member states’ failure to show enough support for the Palestinian cause “upsets us.”
Speaking in Geneva, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein slammed Israel’s reaction to the Gaza protests as “wholly disproportionate,” backing calls for an international investigation.
Israel accused Gaza’s rulers Hamas of using the protests to carry out attacks and exploiting the Palestinian population.
After declaring his intention to hold the event only on Monday, Erdogan has managed to build up an impressive guest list at short notice.
Jordanian King Abdullah II will be present although the Palestinians will be represented by prime minister Rami Hamdallah and not president Mahmud Abbas who this week had surgery on his ear.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Saudi counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir will also be at the Istanbul summit.
Erdogan has long craved a role as a Muslim leader within the entire Islamic world, rarely holding back with tirades against Israel even though Ankara has diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
Tensions with Israel and hosting such a meeting also does Erdogan no harm with his core supporters as Turkey heads to presidential and parliamentary polls on June 24.
In a diplomatic crisis threatening a 2016 deal that allowed the resumption of full ties, Turkey has ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave for an unspecified period of time over the killings.
The rally is taking place at Yenikapi, an area favored by Erdogan for election rallies under the slogan “curse the oppression.”
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Erdogan rallies Muslim leaders to condemn Israel
Erdogan rallies Muslim leaders to condemn Israel
- Erdogan has long craved a role as a Muslim leader within the entire Islamic world, rarely holding back with tirades against Israel even though Ankara has diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
- Tensions with Israel and hosting such a meeting also does Erdogan no harm with his core supporters as Turkey heads to presidential and parliamentary polls on June 24.
Lebanon ex-central bank chief's corruption case being sent to top court, officials say
BEIRUT: The corruption case of Lebanon's former central bank governor, who is widely blamed for the country’s economic meltdown, has been transferred to the country's highest court, judicial officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
The trial of Salameh, 75, and his two legal associates, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, will now be heard at the Court of Cassation, according to a copy of the notice obtained by the AP. Salameh and the others will be issued with arrest warrants if they don't show up for trial at the court.
No trial date has been set yet. Salameh denies the charges. The court’s final ruling can't be appealed, according to the four officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.
He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.
But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.
On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.
Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he's filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn't name either individual.
But Souaid said that Lebanon's central bank would become a plaintiff in the country's investigation into Forry Associates. The U.S. Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.
Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.
Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.
Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
The trial of Salameh, 75, and his two legal associates, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, will now be heard at the Court of Cassation, according to a copy of the notice obtained by the AP. Salameh and the others will be issued with arrest warrants if they don't show up for trial at the court.
No trial date has been set yet. Salameh denies the charges. The court’s final ruling can't be appealed, according to the four officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.
He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.
But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.
On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.
Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he's filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn't name either individual.
But Souaid said that Lebanon's central bank would become a plaintiff in the country's investigation into Forry Associates. The U.S. Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.
Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.
Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.
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