The Washington Post - USA (2021-11-22)

A14 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22 , 2021

for the inequities” at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as in high-profile neighborhoods in East Jerusalem where Jewish set- tlers have for years been attempt- ing to evict Palestinian residents. On Sunday afternoon, an 18- year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Jenin stabbed and wounded a 67-year- old Israeli man in Jaffa, Israel, police said. Police said they had arrested the assailant and that findings from an initial interro- gation indicate it was a terrorist attack. On Friday, the day that the wife of the gunman in the Jerusalem attack was said to have left the country, a Facebook account that appeared to belong to him re- shared a post from 2014 referring to the Koranic story of the proph- et Muhammad’s pilgrimage to al-Aqsa Mosque, near the loca- tion of the Sunday shooting. The mosque, located on an elevated esplanade on the east- ern edge of the Old City, is considered the third-holiest place of worship in Islam after

Mecca and Medina. The site is considered the most sacred in Judaism. Thousands of Jewish worship- ers have visited the Temple Mount in recent years, bolstered by increased support from far- right politicians within Israel’s ruling coalition. “Jews should be able to walk throughout the whole country, in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount, with confidence and without fear,” the firebrand Is- raeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who for years has called for increased Jewish access to the site, tweeted in response to the attack. The shooting follows a stab- bing attack last week by a 16- year-old Palestinian male who was killed at the scene by Israeli police. A fragile cease fire between Israel and Hamas was reached at the end of an 11-day conflict in May. [email protected]

Hazem Balousha in Gaza City contributed to this report.

BY SHIRA RUBIN

tel aviv — A Palestinian man
opened fire on a group of Israelis
near a holy site in Jerusalem’s Old
City on Sunday morning, killing
one and injuring four, according
to Israeli security forces. Police
said they shot the assailant to
death within a minute of the
attack, the second in the area in a
week.
Israeli Public Security Minister
Omer Bar-Lev said the assailant,
42, was an Islamic preacher and
known member of Hamas’s polit-
ical wing, who prayed on a daily
basis at the flash-point site
known by Jews as the Temple
Mount and by Muslims as the
Noble Sanctuary. Entrance to the

Old City was immediately closed and the area was being investigated as a crime scene. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered an increased security presence and continued high alert throughout the city “out of concern for copycat at- tacks.” Official Hamas media identi- fied the assailant, Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, as “the leader of the Hamas movement” in the Shua- fat refugee camp in East Jerusa- lem. Bar-Lev said the shooter’s wife had traveled overseas three days ago and that at least one of his four children also was abroad. He said the gun the attacker used had probably been smuggled.

One Israeli killed, four

injured in shooting in

Jerusalem’s Old City

Bar-Lev said footage showed that the assailant was wearing a long coat that was either a galabi- ya, a traditional full-length gown worn throughout the Arab world or an outfit meant to imperson- ate the ultra-Orthodox worship- ers who regularly come to the holy site.

The Israeli man who was killed, Eliyahu David Kaye, 26, had recently immigrated to Israel from South Africa and had worked as a tour guide at the Western Wall. Hamas said the operation was designed to be a warning to Israel, which it said would “pay

ARIEL SCHALIT/ASSOCIATED PRESS Israeli youths light candles at the site of a shooting Sunday.

BY SAMANTHA SCHMIDT AND ANA VANESSA HERRERO

caracas, venezuela — Ven-
ezuela’s socialist ruling party
claimed sweeping victories Sun-
day night in the first elections to
include the country’s top opposi-
tion parties in nearly four years, a
low-turnout vote that critics say
was rigged from the start.
Political allies of President Ni-
colás Maduro won 20 out of 23
gubernatorial offices across the
country, according to prelimi-
nary results from Venezuela’s
electoral council.
With turnout of just 41.8 per-
cent, one of the country’s lowest
rates in the past two decades, the
vote reflected an electorate apa-
thetic toward its leadership op-
tions in the crumbling socialist
state.
“We have the whole map al-
ready, clear and drawn,” Maduro
said in a speech after the release
of elections results, calling his
party “a determining force in the
history of this beautiful country
called Venezuela.”
The opposition chose to partic-
ipate in the elections, abandon-
ing a years-long boycott, in the
hopes of reviving a disillusioned
base and redefining the leader-
ship of the fractured and faltering
pro-democracy movement. But it
appeared it emerged from the
contest as weak as it entered,
facing a ruling party with far
greater campaign resources and
tight control of the country’s elec-
toral system.
It remained to be seen whether
that electoral system passed a key
test of legitimacy under the care-
ful watch of more than 130 Euro-
pean Union observers, the first
such mission here in 15 years. The
mission plans to release initial
findings on Tuesday. But as polls
closed Sunday, human rights ad-
vocates raised alarm at reports of
“irregularities, threats and at-
tacks” in the country’s electoral
process.
In Zulia state, at least one

person was killed and two wounded after being shot in front of an electoral center in what local media described as an attack by men on motorcycles. In Lara state, two human rights advocates taking a photo of a polling site said they were surrounded, attacked and robbed by about 20 people on motorbikes. Across the country, press free- dom advocates recorded at least two dozen cases of journalists denied access to polling sites or forced to delete images from their cameras. Candidates, pro-government and opposition alike, focused campaign messaging on pledges to fix the crumbling infrastruc- ture that has left most homes in Venezuela without reliable running water. Héctor Rodríguez, the pro-Maduro governor of Miranda running for reelection, promised “water through pipes” if he was reelected. An opposition rival, David Uzcátegui promised to dig wells. Henri Falcón, a candidate for governor of Lara, said that if elected, he would engage a team of experts. Voters were skeptical that any of them would make a difference. Major opposition parties an- nounced in September that they would participate in the polls on Sunday. The decision to field candidates was divisive from the beginning; opponents include one key leader: Juan Guaidó, recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela’s rightful president. Multiple opposition leaders and ordinary Venezuelans have cooled on Guaidó. But the United States has no plans to withdraw its support, Brian Nichols, U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, said recently. Guaidó did not vote in Sun- day’s elections. In a video state- ment released Friday, he accused the Maduro government of con- trolling the electoral authority, failing to release political prison-

ers, limiting media access and making use of public resources for the elections. “There is no fair game,” he said. “We cannot in any way normalize the dictatorship.” The electoral council, which consists of three people tied to Maduro’s party and two members of the opposition, has promised transparency. According to the council, two of the biggest TV stations in the country are being investigated for allegedly unbalanced cover- age. Candidates from both the opposition and the government are under investigation for using state resources for their cam- paigns. Maduro is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. He told state-run tele- vision that the elections would

show “the strength of Venezuelan democracy above any conspira- cy.” A senior State Department official said the Maduro government has prevented fair elections by barring candidates from running, subverting opposition parties, harassing and detaining opponents and restricting opposition access to media. “Taken to- gether, such actions make elections that reflect the popular will impossible,” the official wrote in an email, communicat- ing on the condition of anonym- ity. Human rights advocates on Sunday shared reports of “red points,” stations outside polling centers where state employees scan the IDs of voters who receive government benefits. Nelson Fre- itez, a human rights advocate who was monitoring elections in

Lara state on Sunday, said he saw red points at 10 of the 12 polling centers he visited. “They manage to intimidate those they have registered to re- mind them that if they do not vote for the government candidates, they will not receive social benefits,” Freitez said. While Freitez and another advocate, Yonaide Sánchez, were taking a photo of one site, he said, a group of 20 people surrounded their car, shoved them, tried to take their phones, stole Sánchez’s purse and grabbed her hair. A day earlier, outside the Elec- toral Council in the center of Caracas, a government employee said she was voting only because she was afraid of losing her benefits. “They force us to vote or they’ll take away our food boxes,” said the woman, who gave only her

first name, Sonia. The food box she receives once a month is part of a program initiated by the government years ago to help workers get basic products. “If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be voting,” she said. The elections come weeks after negotiations in Mexico between the government and opposition were put on hold. The government suspended participation after businessman Alex Saab, a Maduro ally, was extradited to the United States to face money- laundering charges. In races across Venezuela, divisions in the opposition appeared to help Maduro. In Miranda state, the opposition fielded two competing candidates. At the last minute, candidate Carlos Ocariz attempted to withdraw in favor of Uzcátegui in an effort to unify the opposition vote. But the Electoral Council ruled it was too late. With a movement so fragment- ed, political analyst Nicmer Ev- ans said, “the only thing that can come of November 21 is a new opportunity to reorganize the Venezuelan opposition.” Opposition lawmaker Tomás Guanipa, who ran for mayor in a Caracas municipality known as a Maduro stronghold, said the opposition had “to relaunch itself,” focusing less on its international support and more on connecting with Venezuelans. “We have to return to the clear role that we are the opposition and not the government,” he said. Lines seldom formed on Sun- day at El Liceo Andrés Bello , a polling site in Caracas. Longtime friends María Man- rique, 83, and Eunice Navarro, 72, said the division in the opposition led them to vote for an independent candidate for the first time in years. “There is nothing we can do but hope the other is not as bad as the one we have now,” Navarro said. [email protected]

Ruling party claims sweeping wins in Venezuelan v ote

CRISTIAN HERNANDEZ/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES People wait to vote in Caracas, Venezuela, during regional and municipal elections. Opposition candidates had not been expected to win top offices. The mural depicts the late president Hugo Chávez.

BY AMANDA COLETTA

toronto — In August, Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau pulled
the plug on his minority govern-
ment and called a snap election.
Canada, he said, was at perhaps
the most “pivotal” moment since
the end of World War II, and
voters deserved a say on how to
defeat the coronavirus and chart
an economic recovery.
They delivered their verdict in
September, reelecting the tele-
genic Liberal Party leader but
depriving him again of the major-
ity he sought. Now, a new session
of Parliament is set to open on
Monday — more than two
months after the election, a peri-
od opposition parties have com-
plained has been unnecessary
dillydallying.
As leader of a minority govern-
ment, Trudeau must depend on
the backing of opposition law-
makers to pass his agenda and
stay in power. But with his main
foes mired in internecine feuds
and alignment in key policy areas
with the left-leaning New Demo-
cratic Party, there’s opportunity
to address some unfinished busi-
ness.
“What’s at stake for him is to
try to make some progress on
what he will identify eventually
as his legacy pieces,” said Lori
Turnbull, a political scientist at
Dalhousie University in Nova
Scotia. “So can he do something
meaningful on climate change,
reconciliation, improving the
housing situation, getting his
child-care package through?”

Trudeau has noted “early pri- orities,” including reintroducing legislation to ban conversion therapy and guaranteeing 10 days of paid sick leave to federally regulated workers. His agenda will be detailed in the throne speech on Tuesday, which is read by the governor general, Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in Canada, but written by the prime minister’s office. The speech is typically put to a vote, which the government must win to stay in power. During the campaign, Trudeau promised more than $60 billion over five years in new spending in areas such as health care and housing. That’s in addition to the more than $80 billion in new spending over three years ear- marked in his government’s 2021 budget, and other big-ticket items such as a nationwide child- care program. Analysts said Trudeau is likely to face pressure from some opposition parties to roll back spending and/or address the rising cost of living. Canada’s inflation rate hit its highest level in nearly two decades in October, and consum- ers are feeling the pinch at gas pumps and supermarkets. The Bank of Canada has said inflation is temporary and tied to supply chain disruptions and energy prices. “While economists have used words like ‘transitory’ and ‘mi- nor,’ the rising cost of living is already being felt across income levels,” said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute,

a polling research group. “Eco- nomic policy will matter a lot.” Since the election, Trudeau has unveiled a mandate requiring federal civil servants, employees in some federally regulated in- dustries, and passengers travel- ing on planes, trains and some boats to be fully vaccinated. Those federal civil servants who don’t attest to being fully vaccinated by Nov. 30 risk being placed on unpaid leave. Trudeau has also overhauled his cabinet, putting women in charge of several key portfolios, including foreign affairs and de- fense. Chrystia Freeland, a close ally viewed in some circles as his heir apparent, remains deputy prime minister and finance minister. He named Steven Guilbeault, a former climate change activist, minister of the environment and climate change. Analysts said the move signaled that Trudeau, whose bona fides as a professed climate warrior were questioned after his government bought an oil pipeline in 2018, intends to take climate change more seri- ously. September’s election resulted in a Parliament with a makeup almost indistinguishable from the last one. For the second election in a row, Trudeau’s Liber- al Party lost the popular vote to the Conservative Party. Much has changed since Trudeau resurrected the mori- bund Liberals and swept to power in 2015 on a wave of adulation much like the Trudeaumania that

his father, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, generated several decades earlier. He promised “sunny ways” and a more transparent government and cast himself as a champion of diversity and feminism. But several ethics scandals and the rev- elation that he wore blackface makeup as a younger man have chipped away at that image. A favored attack of Trudeau’s political foes is that he isn’t really who he says he is. Such charges resurfaced in September after Trudeau took a beach vacation with his family in Tofino, British Columbia, on the day that Canada marked its first National Day for Truth and Rec- onciliation, a holiday to com- memorate Indigenous children who attended residential schools and the thousands who died there. Trudeau’s government passed a law establishing the holiday this year, after ground - penetrating radar uncovered evi- dence of hundreds of unmarked graves near former residential schools. The government-fund- ed, church-run institutions oper- ated for more than a century until the 1990s to forcibly assimi- late Indigenous children. Trudeau has often said that his government’s most important re- lationship is with Indigenous people. To his critics and several Indigenous leaders, decamping for the beach was an example of the gap between the prime minister’s rhetoric on reconciliation and his actions.

The prime minister later said that he regretted his personal travel that day. But Trudeau’s political opponents face their own challenges. At a time when climate change is a key issue for many Cana- dians, factions of the Green Party are feuding and its leader has resigned. The New Democratic Party and separatist Bloc Québé- cois failed to make notable gains in September’s vote, but they’ll probably be content to hold the balance of power rather than return to the polls. Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, Trudeau’s main rival, is also taking heat — from within his party. The former Canadian Forces helicopter navigator pitched himself as a “true blue” Conservative during the party’s leadership race, but his election platform was far more centrist. O’Toole’s opponents argued that he was willing to say any- thing to get elected. Some members of his own party worried that such an approach risked fractur- ing the “big blue tent.” One Con- servative senator launched a petition this month calling on members to back a review of his leadership within six months. “Mr. O’Toole has watered down and even entirely reversed our policy positions without the input of party or caucus members,” the senator, Denise Batters, said in a video on Twitter. “On carbon tax, on guns, on con- science rights — he flip-flopped on our policies within the same week, the same day and even the

same sentence.” The petition drew criticism from other conservatives. One lawmaker said that the Liberals had probably greeted it by pop- ping champagne. The next day, O’Toole booted Batters from the Conservative caucus — via voice mail, she alleged. The party has also been riven by divisions over coronavirus vaccines. O’Toole said during the campaign that he encouraged vaccination but wouldn’t mandate it. He has chided some lawmakers from his own party for spreading misinformation about vaccines. A group of them have formed a “civil liberties” caucus to oppose vaccination mandates. The mandates enjoy widespread support in Canada. Kurl said the Liberals won’t have to worry about the longevity of the new Parliament as long as the bickering between the right and more moderate wings of the Conservative Party continues. “But make no mistake, while the prime minister claims he has been given a mandate by Cana- dian voters, only 32 percent voted for his party,” she said. “This was, like 2019, a case of choosing the ‘least worst’ option.” Minority governments here don’t tend to last longer than two years. Trudeau has indicated that he intends to lead the Liberals into the next election. “At this point, I know of no challenger,” Turnbull said. “But people will get itchy at some point.” [email protected]

Canada’s Trudeau looks to address unfinished business

The Washington Post - USA (2021-11-22)

Get our desktop app

Company

Features

Documentation

Resources