SYDNEY (AP) — A group of Afghan women’s cricketers has again approached the sport’s international governing body asking for backing to reform as a refugee team based in Australia.
The women sent a letter to the International Cricket Council in the wake of the Afghanistan men’s historic run to the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean last week.
More than two dozen women who’d been in the Afghanistan Cricket Board system sought refuge in Australia in 2021 after the Taliban took over and enforced bans on women’s sports.
The group first approached the ICC in 2023 but didn’t get the outcome it needed.
Many have continued playing in domestic competitions in Australia but haven’t had access to international cricket, despite ICC regulations requiring all test-playing members to support men’s and women’s national teams.
“A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers,” the women wrote in a letter to ICC chairman Greg Barclay, the Australian Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
"We are asking the ICC to assist us in setting up a refugee team in Australia. Through this team we aim to represent all Afghan women who dream of playing cricket but are unable to in Afghanistan.”
The letter said ICC support for the refugee team would give Afghan refugees a chance to play, coach and administer the team without borders.
“The creation of this team will allow all Afghan women who want to represent their country to come together under one banner," the letter continued. "Our goals in having a refugee team are to develop and showcase our talent, give hope to the women remaining in Afghanistan, and to draw attention to the challenges women of Afghanistan face.
“Like the Afghanistan men’s team are afforded, we aim to compete at the highest levels."
Cricket Australia has previously provided support to the Afghan women’s players in Australia, and has refused to play a bilateral series against the men’s team until the gender disparity is addressed.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
FILE - Afghanistan team logo is seen on a player's uniform during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Monday, June 24, 2024. A group of Afghan women’s cricketers has again approached the sport’s international governing body asking for backing to reform as a refugee team based in Australia. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)
Afghan cricket fans watch the men's T20 World Cup semi final cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, on a big screen in the city of Jalalabad, east of Afghanistan, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Shafiullah Kakar)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet was to convene Thursday to discuss Hamas’ latest response to a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire in Gaza, as diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the nine-month war stirred back to life after a weekslong hiatus.
Fighting, meanwhile, intensified between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, with the militant group saying it fired more than 200 rockets and exploding drones into northern Israel to avenge the killing of a senior commander in an Israeli airstrike the day before.
The relatively low-level conflict has literally set the border ablaze and raised fears of a potentially even more devastating war in the Middle East. Hezbollah has said it will halt its attacks if there is a cease-fire between Hamas — a fellow Iran-backed ally — and Israel.
The United States has rallied world support behind a plan that calls for the release of all of the scores of hostages still held by the militant Hamas group in return for a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
But until now, neither side appears to have fully embraced it. Hamas suggested “amendments” to the proposal last month, some of which the U.S. said were unworkable, without providing specifics.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given conflicting stances. He confirmed that the original proposal was an Israeli one. But he has also said he would accept only a partial deal, after which Israel would return to its military campaign to destroy Hamas.
Hamas confirmed Wednesday that it had sent another response to Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks, without providing details. A U.S. official said the Biden administration was examining the response, calling it constructive but saying more work needed to be done. The official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu would convene a Cabinet meeting Thursday to discuss the latest developments surrounding the negotiations. The official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the meeting with the media, spoke on condition of anonymity. Israel would likely hold additional consultations before making a final decision on any amended proposal.
As cease-fire talks appeared to be gaining new steam, Gaza's Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed by Israel's campaign in Gaza had climbed past 38,000. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
Hamas political official Bassem Naim said the group has neither accepted nor rejected the American proposal and has “responded with some ideas to bridge the gap” between the two sides, without elaborating. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top political leader, shared suggestions with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials, the group said in a statement late Wednesday.
U.S. officials have said the latest proposal has new language that was proposed to Egypt and Qatar on Saturday and addresses indirect negotiations that are set to commence during the first phase of the three-phase deal that President Joe Biden laid out in a May 31 speech.
The first phase calls for a cease-fire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older people and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The proposal called for the parties to negotiate the terms of the second phase during the 42 days of phase one. Under the current proposal, the negotiations are meant to lead to a “sustainable calm” and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza – with the release of all remaining men, both civilians and soldiers, held captive by Hamas in return for an Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase would see the return of the remains of hostages.
The transition from the first to the second phase has appeared to be the main sticking point.
Hamas is concerned that Israel will restart the war after the first phase, perhaps after making unrealistic demands in the talks. Israeli officials have said they want the negotiations to lead to Hamas’ removal from power in Gaza — a provision not spelled out in the proposal. They have also pushed for a time limit on negotiations to keep pressure on Hamas and prevent it from drawing out talks and the initial cease-fire.
In a lengthy television interview last month, Netanyahu said that he was prepared to make a “partial deal,” but was committed to continuing the war “after a pause” in order to annihilate Hamas. Later, speaking before Israel’s parliament, he said Israel remains committed to the deal outlined by Biden.
The war began when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel, attacking multiple army bases and farming communities and killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted another 250 people. more than 100 of whom were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November. Militants are still holding around 80 hostages and the remains of 40 others.
In its campaign in Gaza since the attack, Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, who don’t say how many were civilians or militants. Israel’s bombardment, ground offensives and restrictions on Gaza have caused vast destruction across the territory, displaced most of its population of 2.3 million — often multiple times — and caused widespread hunger, raising fears of famine.
Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo /Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo /Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo /Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo /Jehad Alshrafi)
