“Israeli” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday defended his soldiers who shot dead an injured Palestinian in occupied East Jerusalem.

"The officers acted outstandingly, exactly as is required from fighters in an operational situation like this," Bennett said in a weekly cabinet meeting.

Mohammad Salimah, 25, was shot dead by Israeli police on Saturday near the Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City for allegedly carrying out a knife attack.

A video shot by activists showed an “Israeli” police officer shooting Salimah when he was already lying on the ground. Another video showed “Israeli” police officers with guns drawn preventing medics from reaching the injured youth.

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called the “Israeli” killing of Salimah an "extra-judicial execution."

Bennett, however, insisted that the video of the shooting was "edited", saying that "I suggest to everyone: Never rush to make a judgment about the behavior of officers in complex operational situations in the face of terrorism. It’s always better to wait a minute.”

For his part, “Israeli” Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej denounced the deliberate killing of the Palestinian, saying “assailants should be shot to save lives, not to take (the attackers’) lives when they no longer pose a threat.”

Arab-Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh, who is the head of the Joint List, said "opening fire on a person who doesn't pose a threat must be condemned not supported."

Several Palestinian and international rights groups have accused “Israeli” forces of shooting at Palestinians who do not pose any threat or danger to them and of being indifferent towards Palestinian lives./aa

Lebanon has officially requested permission from Jordan to transport Qatari gas via Jordanian territories, the Jordanian energy minister said on Sunday.

“Jordan has given its initial approval of the request,” Saleh al-Kharabsheh told the local Hala Akhbar radio.

The minister said Amman will examine the quantities of gas that need to be transported.

“Jordan is ready to review any proposal to (transport gas supplies to Lebanon) in case Beirut reaches an agreement with any supplying party,” he said.

Lebanon suffers from a severe shortage of electricity supply due to insufficient fuel needed for power generation, in addition to a sharp rise in the prices of derivatives due to the collapse of the lira, and the lack of foreign exchange needed for imports.

On Tuesday, Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad held talks in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi to discuss ways to secure gas for Lebanese electricity plants.

In September, the energy and oil ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon agreed on a road map to supply Beirut with Egyptian electricity and gas, to resolve the country’s energy crisis.

As for supplying Lebanon with electricity via Syria, al-Kharabsheh said the Syrian interconnection lines are being maintained before supplying Lebanon with Jordanian electricity.

Jordan and Syria are electricity-interconnected via a 400 kV transmission line since 2001, but it has been out of service since 2012 due to technical reasons.

Meanwhile, Syria has interconnection lines with Lebanon by transmission lines of 400 kV, 230 kV, and 66 kV./aa

At least five people including civilians were killed and more than six others wounded when a bomb blast went off at a busy restaurant in southern Somalia on Sunday, officials said.

The bomb blast took place in the vicinity of Awdhegle, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the city of Baidoa, the provincial capital of the Bay region, in the South West state.

"The attack was a remotely controlled bomb which was camouflaged and smuggled into the restaurant and killed at least five people, including one soldier," Omar Mahamed, a police officer in Baidoa, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

Eyewitness told Anadolu Agency that they had seen several wounded civilians, including a woman who was in the vicinity for shopping.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group based in the Horn of Africa country, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted soldiers of the South West state and killed at least two.

​​​​​​​In October 2017, at least 300 people were killed in a truck bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu blamed on al-Shabaab – the deadliest terror attack in Somalia’s history./agencies

Russia criticized Saturday a new round of sanctions against Belarus that is being held responsible for the migrant crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border.

“These sanctions are illegitimate, like any restrictions imposed in circumvention of the United Nations Security Council. They are inhumane due to their negative impact on the lives of ordinary citizens of Belarus,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement about the penalties imposed by the EU, US, UK and Canada.

The statement argued that the new sanctions that took effect Thursday are politically biased and an example of interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.

Urging western countries to act to resolve the migrant crisis in cooperation with Belarusian authorities, the statement said: “The history of previous migration crises proves that their solutions can be found only through close cooperation between the countries of origin, transit and destination of migrants.”

The EU accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of taking revenge against EU sanctions imposed on his regime for human rights violations related to a crackdown on protests against last years’ rigged presidential elections, the diversion in June of a Ryanair flight to the capital of Minsk and the detention of Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich.

According to the EU, the regime reached out to potential travelers via seemingly official channels and invited them to Belarus by offering visas and guiding them to the EU border.

NATO and the EU consider Belarus’ approach to migrants a hybrid attack meant to destabilize and undermine security in European countries through non-military means./aa

Kuwait is not considering imposing a total or partial curfew amid growing global concerns over the spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, a senior official was quoted as saying.

“It is necessary to continue complying with health and preventive measures to maintain the stable epidemiological situation in Kuwait,” the ministerial source added, according to Al Rai newspaper.

So far, Kuwaiti authorities have said that the new strain has not been detected in the country, and have suspended flights from nine African nations.

The health scene is stable in Kuwait, the government spokesman Tareq Al Mazrem said Wednesday evening.

He added that all people in the country can get a booster shot against COVID-19 without prior appointments provided that six months have elapsed since they obtained the second dose of vaccination./GN

Two Bangladeshi citizens have been arrested in Kuwait for practising the medical profession with fake university certificates, Kuwaiti media reported.

Acting on a tipoff, Farwaniya police caught Bangladeshi doctor and nurse red-handed while treating people in their apartment in Al Hasawi area, which they turned it into an unlicensed clinic to 'treat' patients.

According to Al Qabs newspaper, the two suspects have been under surveillance for three days.

Upon raiding the apartment, the police caught the two suspects red-handed and found large quantities of drugs in their flat. During interrogation, the duo admitted that most of their customers are violators of residency laws and repeat offenders who cannot visit hospitals./GN

More than 40,000 people in the Austrian capital took to the streets to protest against the ongoing lockdown and plans to make COVID-19 vaccination compulsory from next year.

The demonstrators gathered in Heldenplatz, one of the historical squares of Vienna, shouted slogans and clashed with the police.

Vienna police said they deployed 1,200 personnel to control the protesters and ensure COVID-19 regulations such as mask-wearing are complied with. Some of the protesters who resisted were arrested.

On Nov. 22, despite protests, Austria implemented a 20-day national lockdown to stem a surge in coronavirus cases.

The new restrictions require everyone to stay at home except for essential services such as going to markets, pharmacies, or visiting a doctor.

All hospitality venues – pubs, restaurants, cafes, and hotels – and close contact services, e.g. hairdressers and beauty salons are also closed.

Earlier, a curfew was imposed for the unvaccinated only, with fines to those caught breaking the rules. But cases continued to rise.

The overall caseload in the European country has reached 1.19 million including 12,753 related deaths.

Nearly 67% of the population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer is set to become the next chancellor as the ruling conservative People's Party has chosen him as party leader.

Earlier this week, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said he will step down, less than two months after taking office from Sebastian Kurz./aa

At least one person has been killed and dozens injured after Indonesia’s Semeru volcano erupted on Saturday, belching out thick clouds of smoke and ash that blanketed villages and sent residents scrambling for safety.

Videos shared by authorities and broadcast on local news channels showed people running as massive plumes of smoke and ash rose from the towering volcano in East Java province.

Indah Masdar, deputy chief of Lumajang district, told a news conference that one person died and 41 people suffered burns.

She said around 400 families were moved out of nearby areas, but at least 10 people remain trapped in places difficult for rescuers to reach.

Camps are being set up for the evacuated people, according to Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB).

BNPB chief Suharyanto said two helicopters have been mobilized for evacuation efforts.

However, operations are being hampered by thick smoke, the official said.

The eruption started at around 3.20 p.m. (0820GMT), according to the agency.

Mt. Semeru, which stands 3,676 meters (over 12,000 feet) above sea level, previously erupted in December 2020 and January this year.

Indonesia, an archipelago home to nearly 275 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area with several fault lines, making it prone to frequent volcanic activity and earthquakes.​​​​​​​/aa

Police in Pakistan have arrested close to 120 people believed to be involved in Friday’s lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager over allegations of blasphemy.

Priyantha Kumara was beaten to death and his body burnt publicly by a mob in Sialkot, a city in the northeastern Punjab province, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of the capital Islamabad.

A total of 118 suspects, including the key accused, have been arrested and booked under terrorism charges, a Punjab police spokesman said in a statement.

According to media reports quoting officials, workers of the factory accused Kumara of tearing down posters bearing the name of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Videos circulating on social media showed the mob chanting a popular slogan of the far-right group, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, which has gained prominence in the country with its hardline stance on blasphemy.

Friday’s attack was the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent years, coming less than a week after a mob set a police station on fire in northwestern Pakistan because officials refused to hand over a mentally unstable man accused of blasphemy.

A highly sensitive issue in the Muslim-majority country, blasphemy charges carry the death penalty in Pakistan, but many people have been killed by mobs without their cases ever making it to court.

Rights groups believe Pakistan’s blasphemy law is often used to settle personal scores against religious minorities, while its supporters contend that the law prevents vigilante action.

Currently, over 600 blasphemy cases are pending in Pakistani courts, more than 400 of which involve Muslims, according to official records.

‘An act of individuals’

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he had spoken with his Sri Lankan counterpart Gamini Lakshman Peiris and promised that the government “will ensure all perpetrators will be brought to justice swiftly.”

“Such acts have no place in our faith and country. The Sialkot incident is an act of individuals, not the government’s. It will not affect relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” he said.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said it “expects that the Pakistan authorities will take required action to investigate and ensure justice.”

It also welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks on the issue, who said the “horrific vigilante attack … is a day of shame for Pakistan.”

“I am overseeing the investigations and let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law,” Khan vowed.

Local and international rights groups, along with politicians and religious leaders in Pakistan, have widely condemned Friday’s attack.

“The savagery with which a Sialkot mob has tortured a Sri Lankan man to death on flimsy allegations of blasphemy should bring home the grim reality of spiraling radicalization in Pakistan,” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent NGO, said in a statement.

Calling for an immediate and impartial investigation, Amnesty International said it was “deeply alarmed by the disturbing lynching and killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot, allegedly due to a blasphemy accusation.”

Mufti Taqi Usmani, a globally renowned Islamic scholar, said the perpetrators of the “heinous act” had tarnished Islam’s image.

"There is no justification of blaming someone for blasphemy and taking the law into your own hands. The culprits involved in this heinous act must be brought to justice,” he said.

Siraj ul Haq, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s leading mainstream religious party, also condemned the attack, terming it against the basic teachings and norms of Islam.

The Pakistani military also denounced the “extremely condemnable and shameful” incident.

“Such extra judicial vigilantism cannot be condoned at any cost,” read a statement, adding that army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered “all out support to civil administration to arrest perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice.”/aa