标签： Asia

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ignited fierce controversy during a parliamentary session on Tuesday by asserting that the government bears no responsibility for the escalating homicide rates within Palestinian communities, claiming Palestinians “murder one another.” The inflammatory comments came during debates concerning his proposed 1.5% property tax on vacant land, which Palestinian lawmakers argue would disproportionately harm Palestinian landowners unable to afford development costs.

Palestinian parliament members, including Iman Khatib-Yassin, condemned both the tax proposal and the government’s perceived failure to address surging violence in their communities. Smotrich retorted by questioning whether the administration should be held accountable for intra-community killings, prompting immediate outcry with legislators labeling his remarks “disgusting” and “racist.” The finance minister further demanded that Palestinian leaders explicitly condemn terrorism and recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization.

This political confrontation unfolds against a backdrop of widespread demonstrations across Israel. Recent weeks have seen nearly 100,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel mobilize in Tel Aviv—one of the largest gatherings in years—to protest government inaction regarding rampant violence and organized crime. According to data from the Abraham Initiatives NGO, 51 Palestinian citizens have been killed in Israel since January, continuing a devastating trend that saw 252 fatalities in 2025 alone—a fourfold increase over the past decade.

Experts and advocates attribute this crisis to systemic neglect. Criminologist Dr. Walid Haddad notes that Israel has never treated this violence as a strategic threat, resulting in no comprehensive governmental response. Human rights lawyer Ahmed Khalifa argues that state policies deliberately enable criminal networks to flourish within Palestinian areas. These concerns are reinforced by historical context: Palestinian citizens, descendants of those who remained after the 1948 Nakba, continue to face discriminatory practices despite comprising 20% of Israel’s population. The community’s longstanding grievances include inadequate policing, socioeconomic marginalization, and institutional bias, as exemplified by former Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai’s 2023 statement that violence was “in their nature.”

A United Nations expert panel has issued a stern rebuke to several European nations for their demands that Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, resign from her position. The Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, comprising six independent experts, characterized the campaign against Albanese as fundamentally “rooted in disinformation.”

The controversy stems from edited video footage circulated by pro-Israel advocacy group UN Watch, which misleadingly suggested Albanese had referred to Israel as “the common enemy of humanity” during her address at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum earlier this month. Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic subsequently called for her resignation based on this manipulated content.

The UN committee clarified that Albanese’s actual remarks used the phrase “common enemy” in context of criticizing political, military, and economic systems that have enabled Israel’s military operations in Gaza, not referring to Israel itself. In her February 7th remote address, Albanese stated: “We now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy and the respect of fundamental freedoms is the last peaceful avenue that we have to regain our freedom.”

The expert panel urged European governments to redirect their efforts toward ensuring Israeli accountability under international law rather than targeting Albanese, who faces “persistent intimidation, coordinated personal attacks and unlawful unilateral sanctions” while performing her mandate. The committee specifically called for support of International Criminal Court proceedings against officials accused of committing war crimes in Gaza.

The situation has escalated to legal dimensions, with a group of French international lawyers filing a formal complaint with Paris prosecutors accusing French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot of disseminating false information in his calls for Albanese’s resignation.

This incident represents the latest development in ongoing tensions surrounding Albanese’s work. In July, the United States imposed sanctions against her related to her investigations into potential genocide in Gaza, effectively barring her from entering the US and freezing her assets there. These measures have reportedly disrupted her access to global financial systems and daily transactions.

Since October 2023, Albanese has produced three major reports characterizing Israel’s military operations in Gaza as genocidal and criticizing global systems supporting these actions. In a November interview, she specifically accused 63 states of enabling Israeli violations of international law, noting that major European powers continue providing diplomatic, military and political cover despite overwhelming evidence of atrocities.

In a significant escalation of rhetoric, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has publicly advocated for the migration of Palestinians from the West Bank and called for the formal cancellation of the Oslo Accords. Speaking at a meeting of his Religious Zionism party with settlement leaders near Ramallah on Tuesday, the far-right minister outlined his controversial vision labeled “Colonisation 2030.”

Smotrich declared that the Israeli government must “destroy the idea of an Arab terror state” and “encourage migration both from Gaza and from Judea and Samaria,” using the nationalist terminology for the West Bank. He emphatically stated that “there is no other long-term solution” while presenting his agenda at a local vineyard.

These remarks coincide with Israel’s advancement of plans to effectively extend annexed territories deeper into the West Bank. According to the Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now, the government recently approved a project to expand the illegal Adam settlement (also known as Geva Binyamin) northeast of occupied East Jerusalem. Though presented as a new “neighborhood,” the development would have no physical connection to the existing settlement and would instead extend Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries into the West Bank.

This expansion would mark the first formal extension of Israel’s boundaries deeper into West Bank territory since the 1967 occupation. Additionally, the security cabinet recently announced decisions to dramatically alter land registration and property acquisition procedures in the West Bank, a move condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “destabilizing” and “unlawful.”

Peace Now characterized these actions as “de facto annexation” and reported that Israel approved a record 54 settlements for 2025. Under international law, occupying powers are prohibited from undertaking land registration in occupied territories, with such processes widely viewed as tools for asserting sovereignty.

The recent measures expand Israel’s civil control in Areas A and B, regions that have officially been under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction since the Oslo Accords but contain all major Palestinian cities and towns.

A clandestine defense agreement between Algeria and Tunisia has ignited fierce political controversy and accusations of sovereignty erosion. The pact, signed in October by Algeria’s Army Chief of Staff General Said Chengriha and Tunisian Defense Minister Khaled Sehili, remains shrouded in secrecy, fueling widespread speculation and opposition criticism.

The diplomatic relationship between the North African neighbors has been characterized by increasingly familial rhetoric, with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf delivering President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s greetings to his Tunisian counterpart in January, emphasizing deepened partnership between “brotherly countries.” However, this official warmth contrasts sharply with growing public skepticism.

The controversy reached critical mass when a purported seven-page leaked document surfaced in December, containing provocative provisions including permission for Algerian troops to operate 50 kilometers inside Tunisian territory and authorization to intervene should Tunisia’s “institutional stability” be threatened. While both governments swiftly denounced the document as fabricated, the damage to public trust was already done.

Defense expert Mourad Chabbi from Grenoble Management School notes the agreement essentially updates a 2001 treaty, particularly institutionalizing intelligence-sharing mechanisms. “After securing the Libyan border through significant military deployment and maritime borders through EU agreements, the Tunisian army now seeks to secure its western flank,” Chabbi explained.

The military cooperation reflects strategic interests for both nations. Algeria, traditionally dependent on Russian military cooperation, gains access to Tunisia’s status as a US major non-NATO ally that regularly hosts international exercises. For Tunisia, it represents another layer of border security in addition to existing arrangements with the EU.

However, the partnership occurs against a troubling backdrop of democratic backsliding in both countries. President Kais Saied’s concentration of power since July 2021 has been accompanied by crackdowns on opposition figures, while Algeria has imprisoned prominent Hirak movement activists under Tebboune’s administration. The two leaders’ similar profiles—both coming to power after social movements destabilized security apparatuses—have facilitated growing alignment.

This alignment has manifested in concerning ways, including the extradition of Tunisian opposition figure Seif Eddine Makhlouf from Algeria to Tunisia in January, which Amnesty International condemned as an “international law violation.” Meanwhile, Tunisia has demonstrated increasing willingness to assist Algeria’s crackdown on opponents since 2021.

The relationship also extends to diplomatic matters, with Saied breaking Tunisia’s traditional neutrality on Western Sahara by hosting Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali in 2022—a move that signaled clear alignment with Algeria’s position against Morocco.

Despite the controversy, security sources confirm the leaked document was indeed fake, though the absence of transparency around the actual agreement continues to fuel distrust and speculation about the true nature of Algerian-Tunisian relations.

In a dramatic escalation of Philippine political tensions, Vice President Sara Duterte declared her presidential candidacy for the 2028 elections on Wednesday, triggering immediate backlash from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration and opposition groups. The announcement comes amid three pending impeachment complaints against Duterte and her father’s impending trial at the International Criminal Court.

President Marcos’ spokesperson, Claire Castro, delivered a terse response to Duterte’s announcement, stating, “Good luck, that’s all we can say,” in remarks widely interpreted as sarcastic. Castro notably challenged Duterte’s claim of responsibility for Marcos’ 2022 electoral victory, emphasizing that “it was the people who did it” rather than any single individual.

Opposition groups condemned Duterte’s presidential bid as a calculated diversion tactic. The activist alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) characterized the move as “a desperate, shameless, and opportunist act” designed to deflect attention from serious allegations of corruption and misuse of confidential funds. The Makabayan Coalition similarly denounced the announcement as “a cynical and desperate attempt” to control political narratives and evade accountability.

The timing of Duterte’s declaration coincides with the House of Representatives preparing to refer three impeachment complaints to its Committee on Justice. These complaints allege corruption involving hundreds of millions in public funds that were reportedly disbursed without proper documentation or oversight.

As the highest-ranking government official in her family following former President Rodrigo Duterte’s imprisonment by the ICC, Sara Duterte now represents the political dynasty’s standard bearer. Her relationship with Marcos has deteriorated significantly since their 2022 alliance, with recorded threats against the president and other officials.

The announcement has sparked polarized reactions across social media platforms, with overseas Filipinos largely supporting her candidacy while Marcos loyalists predict her potential imprisonment within the year. Prominent voices like stage actor Mae Paner have called for opposition unity to prevent another Duterte or Marcos from assuming the presidency in 2028.