Middle East Monitor

Dubai airline Emirates on Monday began offering employees vaccinations against the COVID-19 disease with priority given to cabin crew, pilots and other operational staff, reports Reuters. The state carrier's management say global inoculation is key to any recovery for the travel industry, which they believe could happen this year if vaccines are rolled out at scale. Parent company Emirates Group said vaccines were being offered to all of its staff in the United Arab Emirates. […]

Israel is giving weekly data updates on its COVID-19 outbreak to vaccine maker Pfizer under a collaboration agreement that may help other countries fine-tune their inoculation campaigns and achieve "herd immunity", Reuters reported quoting Israeli officials. Israelis began receiving first shots of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on December 19 in one of the world's fastest vaccination rollouts. Israel's Health Ministry […]

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with the heads of Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence in Ramallah yesterday afternoon. The head of the PA Intelligence Services, Majed Faraj, also attended the meeting two days after Abbas announced that elections are to be held for the Palestinian presidency, parliament and National Council. According to Wafa news agency, the visit of the two intelligence chiefs was in the context […]

Militia fighters staged a deadly attack in Sudan's Darfur on Monday, residents said, as doctors said the death toll from a separate attack that began two days earlier in the region had risen to more than 100, reported Reuters. The surge in violence will add to concerns about the departure of an international peacekeeping force that stopped patrolling in Darfur on January 1 ahead of its […]

Syria said on Sunday it would import more crude oil to cover fuel shortages it blames on Western sanctions that disrupted regular Iranian oil shipments that had for years compensated for the country's loss of domestic oil production as a result of conflict, reported Reuters. The sanction-hit country has over the past year faced months of gasoline and fuel shortages, forcing it to ration supplies distributed across government-held areas […]

A report by the Israel Democracy Institute has uncovered shocking levels of racism among the country's Jewish citizens. Dubbed the Democracy Index, the think tank's 2020 report has been released after a leading human rights group branded Israel an apartheid state. The institute found that nearly half of the country's Jewish population support the idea of having ethnically separate communities. The report, which has been published […]

Israel's education minister is banning groups that call the country an "apartheid state" from making schools visits to present information to students, CBS News has reported. Yoav Galant tweeted yesterday that he had instructed the ministry's director general to "prevent the entry of organisations calling Israel 'an apartheid state' or demeaning Israeli soldiers from lecturing at schools." הנחיתי את מנכ"ל משרד החינוך לאסור על כניסתם של […]

Tunisia: 200 people arrested in protests An official in the Tunisian Ministry of Interior said yesterday that more than 200 people were arrested after "riots" targeting public and private property, has reported. Protestors were objecting to the measures put in place to restrict the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. "The security forces intervened to protect property from vandalism," explained ministry spokesman Khaled Al-Hayouni. On Saturday night […]

Insurance companies and the National Organisation for Insurance Supervision in Sudan has announced a donation of 100 billion Sudanese pounds ($1.8 million) to support the armed forces. According to Mohammad Sati, a representative of the insurance sector, employees throughout the country donated five days' salary to the army. He made the announcement at the launch of the private sector initiative to support the armed forces. This […]

French Muslim leaders approved a "charter of principles" on Saturday as part of President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to eradicate so-called "Islamist separatism" in the country. The charter was drawn up, at Macron's urging, by the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) after the gruesome murder of a schoolteacher who showed satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to students. The document enshrines French secular values within the practice […]

Footballer Mesut Ozil confirmed at the weekend that he is leaving Arsenal for Turkish club Fenerbahce. The 32-year-old, who has Turkish roots, arrived in Istanbul yesterday to have a medical and complete the deal. Ozil told Turkish NTV yesterday that he is "very happy, very excited" to be joining Fenerbahce and would "wear the shirt with pride". He was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying that […]

Fatah official Munther Hayek said on Sunday that the movement is determined to overcome all obstacles so that the Palestinian people can exercise their right to choose their representatives. "We are moving towards ending the division and achieving Palestinian and geographical unity to confront all projects aimed at eliminating our people's dream of freedom and independence," said Hayek. He explained that the decree issued by Palestinian […]

An Egyptian court has ordered the seizure of assets of 89 members of the Muslim Brotherhood – including the late President Mohammed Morsi – and their transfer to the treasury. The ruling issued by the Court for Urgent Matters will apply to the assets inherited by Morsi's family. Morsi died during a court session in June 2019 after years of being held in solitary confinement and […]

On Sunday, Iraq handed over to Iran the remains of 55 soldiers killed during the 1980-88 war between the two countries. Kazim Yasseri, director of the Shalamcheh border crossing in Iraq's province of Basra, told Anadolu Agency that the remains of the Iranian soldiers were found in: "An area between Iraq and Iran, where the battles took place." "Representatives of the International Committee of the Red […]

Chairman of the Israeli Opposition and Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid announced on Saturday that he is ready to form a government supported by the Arab Joint List, RT reported. Speaking to Israeli TV Channel 12, Lapid revealed that he was planning to add Arabs to his party's electoral ticket. "It was a loss that we did not do it in the current Knesset," he […]

Heavy rainwater has flooded prisoners' cells on Sunday in the Israeli Huwwara Detention Centre located in the occupied West Bank, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)'s Committee for Prisoners and Freed Prisoners revealed. Rainwater flooded a number of the prisoners' cells, Al-Mugtama Magazine reported, stating that the clothes of the prisoners and their blankets, mattresses and other personal properties were submerged in water. The lawyer of the […]

Iran is in the process of building up its nuclear weapons capacity and it is urgent that Tehran and Washington return to a 2015 nuclear agreement, France's foreign minister was quoted as saying in an interview published on Saturday, Reuters reported. Iran has been accelerating its breaches of the nuclear deal and earlier this month started pressing ahead with plans to enrich uranium to 20% fissile strength at its […]

Lebanon's top Christian cleric has urged President Michel Aoun to set up a reconciliation meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri to form a cabinet and end the country's political deadlock, Reuters reports. The country's fractious politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration since the last one quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion, leaving Lebanon rudderless as it sinks deeper into […]

A Libyan political dialogue arranged by the United Nations has made progress towards agreeing a new transitional government to oversee the run-up to elections in December, the UN said on Saturday, Reuters reported. Participants at talks in Geneva agreed on a mechanism for choosing the new government, whose formation has been the subject of wrangling among the main factions in a country that is a major oil producer. […]

Oman has introduced a new law for parliament stipulating that state budget talks and the questioning of ministers should be carried out in secret, reducing transparency as the indebted state tries to tackle its creaking finances and shore up the economy, Reuters reported. Since assuming power a year ago, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said has overhauled government and state entities and begun pushing through sensitive fiscal reforms such […]

Oman will close its land borders for one week from Monday to curb the spread of the coronavirus, especially a more contagious variant, state news agency ONA said on Sunday, Reuters reports. The measure will come into effect from 6 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday and can be extended for longer than the initial one week closure, ONA said, citing a decision by the Gulf state's coronavirus emergency […]

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday dismissed a claim by France that Tehran was in the process of building up its nuclear weapons, calling it "absurd nonsense", Reuters reports. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche published on Saturday, said Iran was building up its nuclear weapons' capacity and it was urgent that Tehran and Washington return to a 2015 nuclear […]

Human Rights Watch on Sunday called on the Israeli authorities to provide coronavirus vaccines to the more than 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported. In a statement, the New York-based rights group said Israel has ignored the plight of Palestinians living under its military rule. "While Israel has already vaccinated more than 20 percent of its citizens, including Jewish settlers […]

Iraq has given construction projects worth $20 billion in the southern province of al-Muthanna to a consortium of Chinese companies, an Iraqi official said on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reports. "The projects include the construction of a power station and a factory for floors and porcelain with a production capacity of 32,000 m2 per day, and a factory for ceramic walls and façades with a capacity of 36,000 m2 […]

A number of Israelis participated in the 2021 Dakar Rally car race in Saudi Arabia between Jan. 3 and 15, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported. The newspaper said the Israelis entered Saudi Arabia despite "a ban on Israeli travelers to the Kingdom." Two Israeli drivers Danny Pearl and Charly Gotlib entered the kingdom with their Israeli passports to represent Belgium in the race, while […]

Lebanon's caretaker health minister signed a final deal on Sunday to secure 2.1 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine as the country battles a steep rise in infections, Reuters reports. The vaccines are expected to arrive in batches starting February, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry is also cooperating with the private sector to secure 2 million vaccine doses from Astrazenca and Sinopharm, it added. […]

Two American Boeing B-52 Stratofortress military bombers were spotted on Sunday flying over Israeli airspace heading to the Persian Gulf, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Anadolu Agency reported. "This is the fifth time in recent months American aircraft of this particular model were seen passing in the area", the newspaper said, without giving further details. On Jan. 7, the newspaper reported that two B-52 bombers capable of […]

A bomb-laden vehicle exploded in the northwestern Azaz city of Syria on Sunday, killing at least one civilian and wounding six others, Anadolu Agency reported. The explosion took place in a popular market hall in Sicco village near the Turkish borderline. Local authorities cordoned off the area, and the wounded were shifted to nearby health facilities. No group has yet taken responsibility for the blast, however, the People's Protection Unit (YPG) […]

A European Commission spokesman on Saturday hailed Palestine's decision to hold general and presidential elections for the first time in 14 years, Anadolu Agency reported. "Palestine welcomes decree-law on holding legislative, presidential and National Council elections. Elected and democratic institutions are key for self-determination & state building. EU is ready to support the electoral process," Peter Stano said on Twitter. "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's enacted a decree-law on holding legislative, presidential and […]

Thousands of Israelis protested Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite a coronavirus quarantine, Anadolu Agency reports. Demonstrators gathered at bridges and crossroads from the north to the south of the country, intensifying protests in front of Netanyahu's residence, according to Haaretz newspaper. Protesters carried banners that read: 'Netanyahu is the great fraudster' and shouted slogans demanding his resignation. Demonstrators have continued anti-Netanyahu protests for 30 weeks because […]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the administration of President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in order to have a positive impact on the situation in Yemen. The organisation stated in a report published on its website: "The parties to the armed conflict in Yemen have continued to violate the laws of war […]

Turkey has renewed calls to the US to discuss solutions to the Russian S-400 defence system crisis while urging Washington to withdraw the sanctions imposed on Ankara in this regard. On Wednesday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar asserted: "We are frankly convinced of the necessity of dialogue because without dialogue and with moves such as imposing sanctions or extending threats, no result can be reached." Akar […]