…As Israeli officer killed during Gaza raid in which seven Palestinians died***
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the US will hold accountable all involved in the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist in a wide-ranging telephone call that also took in the conflict in Yemen.
Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident, was murdered in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on 2 October and the crown prince has been accused of orchestrating the killing, which has strained the decades-old alliance between Washington and Riyadh.
“The secretary emphasised that the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
The phone call came as about 200 people gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to honour Khashoggi. Supporters met to talk and watch videos of eulogies for the Washington Post contributor.
Turan Kislakci, head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (TAM), to which Khashoggi belonged, called for justice to be done “so that these barbaric tyrants can never do the same thing again”.
Pompeo has previously said Khashoggi’s killing “violates the norms of international law,” and that the US was reviewing possible sanctions on individuals identified as having been involved.
But Pompeo and US president Donald Trump have also both emphasised America’s important commercial, strategic and national security relationships with the petro-state.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday to call on Saudi leaders to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of Khashoggi and press for an end to the war in Yemen.
The foreign ministry said Hunt would meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Prince Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen and Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani.
Hunt, the first British minister to visit Saudi Arabia since the murder of Khashoggi a month ago, will also call on the Saudi authorities to do more to deliver justice and accountability for his family.
“The international community remain united in horror and outrage at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi one month ago. It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear,” he said.
“We encourage the Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death, so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world.”
Khashoggi was critical of Prince Mohammed and the country’s intervention in Yemen, a conflict which also came up during the call, said Nauert.
Pompeo “reiterated the United States’ calls for a cessation of hostilities and for all parties to come to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict,” she said.
Pompeo has previously called for an end to hostilities in the rebel-infested Arab state, emphasizing the need for the Saudi-led coalition to halt strikes in populated areas.
Prince Mohammed has overseen Saudi Arabia’s Yemen war effort, a highly controversial intervention to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government in the face of an insurgency by Houthi rebels.
Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine.
In the meantime, Israeli forces have killed seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in airstrikes and an undercover raid that Hamas said targeted one of its commanders and the Israeli military said left one of its officers dead.
The Israeli incursion and air attacks drew rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled enclave, with sirens sounding in Israeli communities along the border. The military said its defences intercepted two of the launches. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage on the Israeli side of the frontier.
The violence prompted the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to cut short a visit to Paris, where he had been gathering with world leaders for a first world war commemoration.
Hamas said the incident began when assailants in a passing car opened fire on a group of its armed men, killing one of its commanders. Hamas gunmen gave chase as the car sped back towards the border with Israel, Hamas said in a statement.
During the pursuit, Israeli aircraft fired more than 40 missiles in the area, according to witnesses.
Medics and Hamas officials said at least seven people were killed, four of them militants, including the Hamas commander Nour Baraka. It was unclear if the other fatalities included gunmen.
The Israeli military said in a statement: “During an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Special Forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved.”
One officer was killed and a second was wounded, it said.
A return by Israel to a policy of targeting individual Hamas commanders – tactics largely abandoned in recent years – could raise tensions along the border significantly.
Violence has flared frequently on the frontier since Palestinians began weekly protests on 20 March. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have been trying to broker a long-term ceasefire.
Guardian UK
