SDJW staff roundup
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Navi Pillay, on Saturday said the sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday were unheard of and unacceptable.
Rubio announced on Friday that after a six-month grace period any entity doing business with the International Criminal Court could be subject to strong economic countermeasures. Rubio’s announcement came just a few hours after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the coveted Peace Prize to South African jurist Pillay.
Pillay had served previously as a judge on the international court. Rubio’s superior, U.S. President Donald Trump, had campaigned openly to be awarded the Peace Prize.
Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in saying they “regret and strongly disagree with” the sanctions.
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FlyDubai Flight 1073 copilot Hamam al-Hammami had planned to crash the jet with 170 passengers, mostly Israelis, aboard into the passenger terminal at Ben-Gurion Airport and thereby achieve martyrdom in the eyes of fellow radical Islamists.
That was a conclusion of the United Arab Emirates’ attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, who said the co-pilot aimed to cause “the greatest possible loss of life.” The attorney general refrained from using Hammami’s name in his report.
Hammami grabbed a crash ax and attacked the pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, who stretched his leg to release the lock on the door separating the cockpit from the rest of the jet. This permitted passengers to get inside the cockpit and overpower Hammami.
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San Diego Jewish World staff roundup.