EC keeps vigil on social media campaign: DC
Mangaluru, May 9: Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said that as social media is also being considered as electronic media, the Election Commission is keeping a strict vigil on the election campaigns in social media.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said that there is no provision in social media about campaigning in favour of any candidate or party. So, the Election Commission would watch the election-related posts in social media and record them. If there are any serious issues of violating election code of conduct, police would take action. So, before posting any such posts, people should take care, he said.
Voter slip is not mandatory
Already, 80 percent voters slips were distributed in the district. But in some places, voters were not given the slips. But such persons could get the slips from the respective BLOs at polling booths on voting day. But voters slip is not mandatory for voting. Instead, those who have their names in the voters list should produce either voter ID or any one of the 12 documents to cast their votes, the DC said.
To help the voters, the details regarding the polling booth, candidates and other information would be displayed in front of the polling booth. Total 517 sensitive polling booths were indentified in the district. Of which, 97 polling booths were installed web cameras and micro-observers were appointed for 221 polling booths, he said.
ADC Vaishaly was present at the press meet.
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Israel passes law that would allow it to deport the families of Palestinian attackers
Jerusalem, Nov 7: Israel's parliament passed a law early Thursday that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country's own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.
The law, which was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his far-right allies, passed with a 61-41 vote. But legal experts said that any attempt to implement it would likely lead to it being struck down by Israeli courts.
It would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed east Jerusalem who knew about their family members' attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”
They would be deported, either to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of seven to 20 years. The Israel-Hamas war is still raging in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced, often multiple times.
It was unclear if it would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a long-standing policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers. Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years.
Oded Feller, a legal adviser to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, dismissed the law as “populist nonsense.” He said it was unlikely to be applied, because there is no legal way for the Interior Ministry to send an Israeli citizen to another country or to Gaza.
His organisation doesn't plan to challenge the law unless authorities try to enforce it, in which case he expects any court challenge to succeed.
Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, agreed that the law was likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.
He said that if a resident of east Jerusalem was deported under the law, it could be seen by many in the international community as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, because they view the area as occupied territory, although Israel doesn't.
The deportation of an Israeli citizen could be seen not only as a violation of their constitutional rights under Israeli law, but also as a breach of their human rights under international law, he said. The law could also be seen as a form of collective punishment and as discriminatory, because it appears to only apply to Arab citizens and residents, and not to family members of Jews convicted under terrorism laws.
“The bottom line is this is completely nonconstitutional and a clear conflict to Israel's core values,” Shamir-Borer said.
Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war — territories the Palestinians want for their future state. It withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but has reoccupied parts of the territory since Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023 triggered the war.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most of the international community. Palestinians there have permanent residency and are allowed to apply for citizenship, but most choose not to, and those who do face a series of obstacles.
Palestinians living in Israel make up around 20 per cent of the country's population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. Many also have close family ties to those in the territories and most sympathise with the Palestinian cause.
