The World Today for August 08, 2023

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NEED TO KNOW

Wobbly Stools

WEST BANK & GAZA

Late last month, globetrotting New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman announced that American officials were considering a new security pact with Saudi Arabia.

The pact would function like a three-legged stool: The US would give iron-clad security guarantees to the Saudis; the Saudis would recognize Israel and give significant aid funding to their fellow Arabs, the Palestinians; and the Israelis would grant concessions to the Palestinians. The US would improve its relations with a major oil supplier and Middle East power – and protect Israel. Saudi Arabia would receive American protection and potentially civilian nuclear technology. Palestinians’ lives would improve – good news for everyone.

Human rights groups say that Palestinians live under apartheid-like conditions in the occupied territories. While Israel is a developed, high-tech nation, Palestinians struggle under draconian travel restrictions without adequate infrastructure in a shattered economy. The pact might help this and reduce the current levels of violence not seen in a decade.

But the Palestinians are suspicious of the deal.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki, for example, told Middle East Eye that the Saudis want to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make a sovereign Palestinian state a reality. He was skeptical that Israel would agree to those conditions, however.

Others believe that the premise of the idea is flawed from the start.

“I don’t think this Israeli government is capable of conceding anything – even on paper – for Palestinians because they’re committed to the dismantling of the entire Palestinian national idea,” said Middle East Institute senior fellow Khaled Elgindy in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Palestinians, meanwhile, are already moving ahead to heal divisions within the territories to strengthen their collective opposition. Late last month, Palestinian factions met in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts, the Associated Press reported.

The main groups, Hamas and Fatah, have been split since 2007 and repeated reconciliation attempts have failed. Still, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at the conclusion of the closed-door meeting that it was a “first and significant step” in efforts to end the long-running division.

The Palestinian Authority is pushing reconciliation also because it is worried about growing militant movements, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad, and more loosely organized groups such as the Lions’ Den in Nablus, which have sprung up because of discontent and disillusionment with the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, Israelis, such as the Jerusalem Post columnist Gershon Baskin, are also suspicious of the deal. The US might be floating this idea to put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a conservative whose coalition government depends on far-right Israeli politicians seeking to expand Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, he speculated. To gain Saudi recognition, Netanyahu would have to drop the right-wingers and bring more liberal lawmakers into his government.

Baskin suggested that the Palestinians work vigorously with the Saudis to make sure that whatever deal occurs is in their interests. Israel commended diplomatic ties with other Arab states like Bahrain, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates in recent years, but the Palestinians gained little from those developments.

The Saudis, for example, supposedly want more than a guarantee from Netanyahu that Israel will never annex the West Bank, the Times of Israel reported. They want to see more efforts to end the violence and cultivate peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

It’s a sign of the complexity of the Middle East that people are talking to each other behind the scenes about whether or not they should even acknowledge each other publicly, just so they can work together to make everyone’s lives better.

THE WORLD, BRIEFLY

Fading Star

PAKISTAN

Pakistani police arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan this week, a move that could prevent the main opposition leader from participating in this year’s elections and ban him from politics, the Washington Post reported.

Khan’s arrest in the city of Lahore came after a court sentenced him to three years in prison on corruption charges over allegations that he sold state gifts from foreign dignitaries.

The ruling could prevent him from running in upcoming polls expected to take place in November.

Khan denied the accusations and urged his supporters to protest the court’s decision.

But his detention didn’t appear to encourage his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to take to the streets, a major departure from the mass demonstrations that flared up across the country following his first arrest on separate corruption charges earlier this year.

In that case, Pakistan’s Supreme Court intervened and declared his arrest unlawful.

The detention also comes days ahead of an expected government decision to dissolve parliament to prepare for this year’s polls.

The former cricket star-turned-politician became Pakistan’s prime minister in 2018 but was ousted in April 2022 following a no-confidence vote in parliament. Since then, he has launched large-scale protests against the new government and clashed with Pakistan’s powerful military.

But more than a year later, his PTI party has become a shadow of its former self with many of its leaders going into hiding amid pressure from the military.

Still, analysts noted that Khan’s detention could also challenge civilian and military leaders as Pakistan grapples with an economic crisis and a series of recent terrorist attacks.

If he manages to participate in the elections despite his imprisonment, his populist appeal could boost his chances in the upcoming vote. Meanwhile, Khan’s allies believe that voters might also get frustrated if authorities postpone the election to next year.

Self(less) Aspirations

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Central African Republic voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution following a referendum last month, a vote that could extend the term of incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, the BBC reported Monday.

Officials announced this week that more than 95 percent backed the constitutional amendments, although critics noted that turnout was as low as 10 percent.

The new charter will scrap the two-term limit for the president and allow Touadéra, who was re-elected in 2020, to run for a third term. The changes would also extend the presidential mandate from five to seven years.

Touadéra’s opponents challenged the referendum and accused the president of trying to stay in power forever. Civil society groups and armed rebels called for a boycott of the plebiscite.

But human rights groups noted that the government threatened and harassed opponents of the referendum, including banning protests against it.

Touadéra first floated the idea of a plebiscite last March during a national dialogue aimed at reconciliation with the opposition. However, the Constitutional Court rejected the proposal in September 2022, leading to the cancellation of a committee responsible for drafting a new constitution, the Turkish-based TRT World added.

Still, Touadéra replaced the court’s president, Daniele Darlan, with Jean-Pierre Waboue, who deemed the referendum project to be legal.

The president has claimed that the existing 2016 constitution does not adequately represent the aspirations of the people of the country.

Closer Attention

TAIWAN

Taiwan amended its sexual harassment laws this month following a wave of #MeToo accusations that had gripped the island nation in recent months, the Associated Press reported.

The amendments target three laws governing sexual harassment and will include higher penalties, as well as longer periods for victims to come forward.

The island nation has three laws governing sexual harassment: One for the workplace, one for the school, and another that covers areas outside those two domains.

Changes in workplace law will require employers to report sexual harassment cases to the local division of their labor department. Failure to address complaints will result in fines of more than $31,000.

The amendments also close certain loopholes, such as removing exemptions for small businesses with fewer than 30 people from having to establish mechanisms for reporting sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, legislation for the education sector will forbid educators from having romantic relations with students under the age of 18. It will also fine principals and teachers who fail to report a sexual harassment allegation within 24 hours.

Taiwan’s #MeToo movement was reignited in May when a woman working for the ruling party Democratic Progressive Party accused a film director of groping her and making unwanted advances.

Following her public accusation, more Taiwanese women came forward with allegations against politicians, as well as individuals in entertainment, music, and schools.

DISCOVERIES

Sticky Ants

For thousands of years, Australia’s Indigenous people have been using honey produced by native ant species as a traditional medicine to heal ailments, such as sore throats.

Now, a new study found that this unique honey has impressive antibacterial and antifungal properties, a discovery that is bringing Indigenous knowledge to Western science, the Guardian reported.

The compound is made by the Australian honeypot ant, a species mainly found in the country’s desert regions. To produce it, specialized worker ants – known as repletes – are stuffed with nectar and generate honey that swells their abdomens to the size of small, amber marbles.

The engorged insects then take a role as “living pantries” and regurgitate their honey during times of food scarcity.

When scientists studied this honey, they observed that it is highly effective in fighting the golden staph bacteria – a human pathogen that lives on the skin and can lead to life-threatening infections.

Researchers also found that it could fight some fungal species that are generally considered hard to kill, such as Aspergillus and Cryptococcus.

They suggested that honeypot ant’s honey contains a “unique ant-derived antimicrobial peptide” that gives it special properties compared with the product of honeybee species.

The research team hopes to find out more about the substance to develop novel antimicrobial treatments.

For those curious to try it, the ant’s honey is a bit similar to maple syrup in consistency, is not as sweet as bee’s honey, and has “a very slight tangy taste to it.”

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