Middle East Monitor

The Taliban movement yesterday called on the United States to adhere to the peace agreement which was signed last year in the Qatari capital Doha, warning that any attempt to alter its terms would lead to the "failure of peace". "The Doha agreement has created a practical framework for bringing peace and security to Afghanistan. If any other pathway is pursued as a replacement, then it […]

The chairman of Tunisia's Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, on Saturday announced his keenness to cooperate with both the Tunisian president and prime minister despite differences between the parties, calling for a "joint dialogue". "We are keen for the President Kais Saied and the Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi to remain in their offices and to continue to play their roles," Ghannouchi said in a rally in the […]

Sudanese yesterday announced the adoption of a new plan to reform its economy based on imposing controls over smuggling gold, the New Khaleej reported. The plan is based on five pillars, foremost of which is imposing control over gold through the Central Bank which would purchase it for the same prices it is sold in international markets. Economic expert Mohammad Al-Tayeb said: "The government's control over […]

The Iraqi government has been negotiating with anti-government protesters in the Dhi Qar Governorate in a bid to convince them to halt their protests during Pope Francis' historic visit to the governorate, Russia Today reported. The agency quoted an Iraqi political source as saying that the government is trying to convince the protesters to calm the situation during the Pope's visit to the governorate, adding that […]

SAM Organisation for Rights and Liberties yesterday called on the international community to immediately intervene and stop death sentences issued by the Houthis against journalists and political opponents in Yemen. In a statement the organisation slammed the death sentences issued by courts affiliated with the Houthi group against a number of journalists, political opponents and activists saying the practices reflect the group's exclusionary mentality and violate […]

Anti-Semitism is very real, of that there is no doubt, but the greatest threat to Jewish people today comes not from those on the political left who criticise the Zionist state of Israel. It comes from those on the far right whose pernicious influence is spreading across North America and Europe. This is obvious to reasonable political observers. However, the facts are being masked by the […]

Yemen's Houthi group yesterday claimed responsibility for ballistic missile and drone strikes in Saudi Arabia, threatening to carry out more attacks, international news agencies reported. Houthi's Al-Masirah TV reported spokesman Yahya Al-Saree saying: "The operation was carried out with a ballistic missile and 15 drones… targeting sensitive areas in the enemy's capital of Riyadh." Al-Saree also said: "Our operations will continue and will expand as long as the aggression […]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Tunisia "need[s] to lower the wage bill and limit energy subsidies while prioritizing health and investment expenditure and protecting targeted social spending." According to a statement issued on Friday, the Executive Board of the IMF found that "Covid-19 pandemic hit Tunisia hard and led to an unprecedented economic downturn," leading to a real GDP contraction by 8.2 per cent in […]

The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Ankara, Mohammad Farazmand, to protest against statements by Tehran's ambassador to Iraq in which he accused Turkey of violating the country's sovereignty, Anadolu reported. The agency quoted Turkish diplomatic sources as saying that the Foreign Ministry has informed the Iranian ambassador that Ankara expects Tehran to support its fight against "terrorism", not to oppose it. The sources […]

In another example of the racism within the state of Israel that's driving Jews to question their identity and relationship to the occupation state, the son of a veteran Israeli soldier has said that he actually renounced Judaism after migrating to the Zionist state. "My dad's an IDF [Israel Defence Forces] veteran and my grandparents founded a kibbutz," explained Jotam Confino in Haaretz. "Growing up in […]

Prominent Saudi Arabian Princess Basmah Bint Saud, who is being held with her daughter Souhoud in Riyadh, is suffering from a heart condition that requires urgent medical treatment, her supporters have claimed. They have sent two letters, one to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the other to Commonwealth of Nations Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, urging both to intervene on behalf of the princess. The daughter of […]

Over three-quarters of Syrian refugees are believed to be suffering from serious mental health problems related to trauma, a charity has discovered 10 years after the revolution and civil war broke out in their country. According to a report by the UK-based charity Syria Relief, a survey of 721 Syrians living in Lebanon, Turkey and the rebel-held north-west Syrian province of Idlib found that 84 per […]

The long-awaited US intelligence report released last Friday about the Saudi government's role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi has been taken down off the website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) without explanation. It was replaced with another version that has removed the names of three people who were initially thought to have been complicit in the gruesome assassination over two […]

The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) today called on Morocco not to extradite Saudi-Australian academic [ to Riyadh, saying to do so "would would put his life at risk". In a statement released today, AOHR UK pointed out that Alhasani, who is a former faculty member at King Abdulaziz University, was arrested a few hours after arriving in Morocco three weeks […]

Israel will provide coronavirus vaccinations for 100,000 Palestinians who work in Israel or in its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israel will start administering the Moderna vaccines in the coming days at crossings and in industrial zones throughout the occupied West Bank. "During the coming days, a vaccination campaign will begin for Palestinian workers employed in Israel, and in the communities across Judea and […]

Iran has rejected an offer by the European Union to hold direct talks on a nuclear deal, potentially flaring up renewed tensions between Tehran and the bloc while further dragging out the negotiations on reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Last month, the EU proposed the idea of holding talks in a European capital as part of US President Joe Biden's efforts to return […]

The new head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, has arrived in Sabha to hold a series of meetings with the political, military and community representatives in the south of the country. Al-Menfi is accompanied by his two deputies, Ali Al-Lafi and Moussa Al-Koni. This is the first such visit made by Al-Menfi since he was elected by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) on […]

Morocco's Minister of State for Human Rights, Mustafa Ramid, has resigned from the government. The surprise move by the senior official in the Justice and Development Party came a few days after a prominent colleague, Abou Zayd Al-Mokri Al-Idrissi, resigned from the party because of the concessions made in relation to ending advocacy of the Arabic language and accepting normalisation with Israel. Sources reported previously that […]

Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Monday on one of the most contentious issues regarding Jewish identity in Israel, deciding to allow more non-Orthodox Jewish converts to immigrate to Israel and become citizens, reports Reuters. The country's "Law of Return" grants Israeli citizenship to any Jew from anywhere in the world, though there have been disputes when it comes to those who have converted to Judaism. More […]

At least five people were injured on Monday when Iraqi security forces wielding clubs broke up a street protest in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square, security and hospital sources said, reports Reuters. Pope Francis plans a March 5-8 visit to Iraq despite deteriorating security in some parts of the country which has seen the first big suicide bombing in Baghdad for three years. Dozens protested in Tahrir […]

Washington has wasted billions of dollars since 2008 on buildings and vehicles that were abandoned or destroyed in Afghanistan, a report by a US government watchdog revealed today. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported that about $2.4 billion in assets of the $7.8 billion "were unused or abandoned, had not been used for their intended purposes, had deteriorated, or were destroyed." While more than $1.2 billion was being […]

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei yesterday called to start uranium enrichment as of "today". A video on Khamenei's Arabic-language Twitter account saw him saying: "The day when oil runs out, nuclear energy that is produced more cleanly and at lower cost will become commonplace." "Enrichment cannot start at that time … We have to start from today, and we have to start now in order to […]

Turkey's economy grew 1.8 per cent in 2020, annual data showed today, in spite of coronavirus closures around the world, the country's statistical authority announced. According to Reuters, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices stood at 5.1 trillion Turkish liras (some $717.1 billion) last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). In the last quarter of 2020, the economy posted an annual growth […]

The Ministry of Justice in Algeria announced on Saturday that 59 prisoners of conscience have been released following a presidential pardon, the Algerian News Agency has reported. The pardon was issued to commemorate Martyrs' Day and the second anniversary of public protests organised by the popular Hirak Movement. Thousands rallied in the country on the protest anniversary. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has returned recently from Germany where […]

The General Directorate of Civil Defence in Gaza today called on the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation to force it to allow the entry of safety vehicles and equipment. The call came during a vehicle rally and press conference held to mark World Civil Defence Day. In a speech, Director General of Civil Defence in Gaza Zuhair Shaheen appealed to all human […]

Israel will provide the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) based in Egypt's Sinai peninsula with coronavirus vaccines. A request from the US to provide the MFO with some 2,400 vaccines was received by the Israeli Defence Ministry and approved by the relevant legal authorities, reported Reuters. An MFO official added that the force had requested vaccines for 1,200 personnel and was willing to pay for them but […]

The UN children's agency, UNICEF, called on Sunday for all children held in displacement camps or jails in north-east Syria to be allowed to go home. The UN body said the safe reintegration and repatriation of all children held by the Kurdish PKK/YPG terrorist group in Al-Hol camp and across the region is essential. "At least three children lost their lives and another 15 were injured […]

The Biden administration has finally authorised the Director of National Intelligence in Washington to release a report about the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Donald Trump blocked its release, challenged Congress and failed to implement the law proposed in this regard. In doing so, he helped Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to escape sanction for the heinous crime. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, looks […]

The impoverished south-eastern provinces of Iran have had their internet access disrupted by authorities over the past week as unrest swept the provinces after a fatal border shootings. Several human rights groups said in a joint statement that Iranian authorities shut down mobile data networks in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, describing the disruptions as a "tool to conceal" the government's harsh crackdown on protests […]

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement is mourning the death of one of its founders. Sheikh Nabil Al-Bishtawi passed away in the West Bank city of Nablus at the weekend. Citing his record of serving his people and cause, Hamas said on its website that Al-Bishtawi was one of the first members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and one of the movement's founders. The movement offered […]

Iraq's Parliament Speaker, Muhammad Al-Halbousi, yesterday called on the representatives of some diplomatic missions not to interfere in issues that "do not concern them". "The duty of the diplomatic missions' representatives in Iraq is to represent their countries and enhance bilateral cooperation," Al-Halbousi wrote on Twitter. "Some of those representatives have to realise this very well, and not to meddle and to respect the sovereignty of […]

An Iranian newspaper yesterday hinted that Tehran or one of its allies may have been responsible for the explosion that hit the Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman on Friday. "The attack on the ship in the Gulf of Oman is revenge by the resistance against the recent Israeli attacks and crimes in the region," Iranis Kayhan newspaper which is close to the country's Supreme […]

Five Palestinian factions and PLO members have agreed to run for Palestinian parliamentary elections on a united list with Fatah, member of PLO Executive Committee and Fatah Central Council Azzam Al-Ahmad said yesterday. Speaking to Palestine Radio, Al-Ahmad said that his movement had agreed and already started to make contacts with other factions to form alliances in the upcoming elections. He stated that his movement is […]

Jordan's King Abdullah II yesterday accepted the resignation of the interior and justice ministers for violating coronavirus measures. The move came after Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh asked Interior Minister Samir Al-Mobaideen and Justice Minister Bassam Al-Talhouni to resign for violating preventive measures to combat the pandemic. Local media said the two ministers had attended a ceremony where the number of attendees exceeded the maximum number allowed […]

Hundreds of Lebanese gathered at the seat of the Maronite church on Saturday to support calls by its leader for the country to be neutral in regional conflicts as a way to lead it out of political and economic crisis, reported Reuters. Lebanon has been in financial meltdown since 2019 and feuding politicians have been unable to form a government since the last one quit in […]

Iran on Saturday condemned US air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria, and denied responsibility for rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq that prompted Friday's strikes, reported Reuters. Washington said its strikes on positions of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group along the Iraq border were in response to the rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq. Western officials and some Iraqi officials have blamed […]

Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday his "initial assessment" was that Iran was responsible for an explosion on an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman, reported Reuters. The ship, a vehicle-carrier named MV Helios Ray, suffered an explosion between Thursday and Friday morning. A US defence official in Washington said the blast left holes above the waterline in both sides of the hull. […]

Israel has sent investigators to Greece to inspect a ship suspected of causing an oil spill that has covered much of Israel's shoreline with tar, the Environment Protection Ministry said on Saturday, according to a report by Reuters. Israel has been looking at a spill from a ship that passed about 50 km (30 miles) offshore on February 11 as the possible source of what environmental […]

The Vatican ambassador to Iraq, the point man for Pope Francis' trip to the country next week, has tested positive for COVID-19 but the visit will go ahead, he said on Saturday, reported Reuters. Archbishop Mitja Leskovar, who has been the key person planning the March 5-8 trip, told Reuters that he as well as several other staff at the nunciature (embassy) were in self-isolation. "This […]

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi group said on Saturday it had thwarted a ballistic missile attack by the Houthis on the Saudi capital Riyadh, and destroyed six armed drones launched towards cities in the kingdom's south, reported Reuters. Six drones aimed at targeting "civilians and civilian objects" were launched towards Jazan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried on Saudi state media. […]

Saudi Arabia's sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a US intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reports Reuters. Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the US-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The […]

President Joe Biden on Saturday said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday, following a US intelligence report that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reported Reuters. The Biden administration has faced some criticism, notably an editorial in the Washington Post, that the president should have been tougher on the crown prince, who was […]

Greece's efforts to exclude Turkey from the Eastern Mediterranean threaten regional peace and security, a former senior Greek diplomat said on Saturday, according to a report by Anadolu Agency. Speaking to the Gnomi newspaper, published in Greece's northeastern port city of Alexandroupolis, Panagiotis Ioakimidis, a former advisor to the Greek Foreign Ministry, discussed the Turkish-Greek relations and regional affairs. Ioakimidis said that Greece's efforts to make alliances with some […]

Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday supported Saudi Arabia in rejecting a CIA report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reports Anadolu Agency. The move came a day after the CIA released an unclassified report that blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi in Istanbul. The report concluded that bin Salman approved […]

Israeli forces arrested a Lebanese national for allegedly crossing the border into Israel, Anadolu Agency reported the Israeli military as saying  on Sunday. "Overnight, our troops apprehended a suspect crossing the Blue Line from Lebanon into Israel," the army said in a statement. It said the suspect tried to infiltrate into Israel from the border area of Mount Dov, also known as Jabal Ross, adding that […]

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz allegedly met secretly with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday. The newspaper said the meeting took place in Jordan, but did not specify the precise date of the meeting. Gantz, who is leading the Blue and White party in the upcoming Israeli elections, told his party members earlier that he was conducting secret meetings with top […]

At least nine al-Shabaab militants were killed in Somalia Sunday when the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group mounted an attack Sunday morning on an army base in the country's southwest, reports Anadolu Agency. Mohamed Mukhtar, the district deputy commissioner in the town of Qasahdhere in the Bay region, told local media that the army, backed by Ethiopian forces serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission forces in the Horn of Africa country (AMISOM) killed […]

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein during his second visit to Tehran this month held wide-ranging talks with senior Iranian officials on Saturday, reported Anadolu Agency. In a meeting with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the two officials discussed the "expansion of bilateral ties, besides regional and international issues." In a Twitter post, Zarif said he "welcomed Iraq's constructive efforts for regional security," while stressing "Iran's commitment to Iraqi stability." […]

Israel on Sunday broadened its search for the ship behind an oil spill that blackened its beaches with tar after investigators ruled out one of the suspected tankers, reports Reuters. An Israeli team, in coordination with Greek authorities, carried out a surprise inspection of the Minerva Helen while it was docked at Athens' Piraeus port. The ship is no longer suspected of being responsible for the spill, said Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection. […]

An Israeli-owned ship hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman will be assessed in Dubai where it is due to arrive on Monday, a spokesman for Dubai state port operator DP World said on Sunday, according to a report by Reuters. The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, was hit overnight between Thursday and Friday by a blast above the water line that a […]

Schools in the occupied West Bank will shut down for 12 days in an effort to stop a sharp rise in coronavirus variant infections, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said on Saturday, reported Reuters. High schools will be exempt from the closure which will begin on Sunday, Shtayyeh said in a televised address, adding the new restrictions were prompted by a large number of cases of […]

Tunisia's biggest political party rallied tens of thousands of supporters in the capital on Saturday in a show of strength that could fuel a dispute between the president and prime minister that has paralysed the government. It is the biggest demonstration in Tunisia for years, and party faithful bussed in from across the country chanted "the people want to protect institutions" and "the people want national […]

United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock has stated that some 60 per cent of the Syrian population do not receive enough regular safe and nutritious food. "Around 60 per cent of the Syrian population, that's 12.4 million people, do not have regular access to enough safe and nutritious food," he announced. "An additional 4.5 million people have fallen into this category over the last year." […]

The Tunisian government confirmed a positive step last Thursday after a phone call between Prime Minister Hisham Mechichi and President of the Republic Kais Saied eased tension between the two heads of state following the recent crisis over the government reshuffle. During the phone conversation, Mechichi thanked the president after the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani responded positively to Saied's request to postpone […]

The Kremlin announced on Friday that it is closely monitoring the situation in Syria in the wake of the US airstrikes in the country and maintaining close contact with the Syrian authorities. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters via teleconference that he could not say whether the US had informed Moscow of its plans in advance, adding that communications on operations occur through the army. The […]

Director-General of Forests in Algeria Ali Mahmoudi announced that his country witnessed 37 forest fires this February and expressed his suspicions regarding the unusual occurrences of these fires in the middle of the winter season, describing them as "arson and criminal acts of vandalism". During an interview with state radio on Thursday, Mahmoudi stated: "The high temperature during 5, 6 and 11 February coincided with the […]

The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Thursday extended the international sanctions imposed on Yemen for another year, as well as the mandate of the group of experts on monitoring the arms embargo. The renewed resolution was issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which implicates the legitimacy of using armed force to implement the decision, such as the: "System of financial sanctions and travel […]

On 4 February, representatives from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, visited Moscow to inform the Russian government of the latest development in the unity talks with the other Palestinian factions, especially Fatah. This was not the first time that Hamas officials had travelled to Moscow on similar missions. In fact, Moscow continues to represent an important political breathing space for Hamas, which has been isolated […]

The Tunisian Ministry of the Interior announced on Friday that the National Guard's naval units had managed to thwart three illegal immigration attempts made by 27 people, who were heading for Italy. This came in a statement issued by the ministry, of which Anadolu Agency obtained a copy. The statement disclosed: "The naval units of the National Guard in the governorates of Nabeul and Bizerte managed […]

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Friday condemned Israeli violations against Islamic holy sites in the occupied cities of Jerusalem and Hebron, Anadolu Agency reported. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, the PA announced: "Israel imposes measures and arbitrary restrictions to block worshippers from reaching worship houses, and it is working hard to extend its domination of them and Judaise them." The statement disclosed that […]

A Senior Iran-backed militia official in Baghdad has revealed that the January drone attack on the Saudi royal palace was launched from Iraq, Associated Press (AP) reported. On Thursday, the militia official told AP that three drones were launched from Iraqi-Saudi border areas by a relatively unknown Iran-backed faction in Iraq, and crashed into Riyadh's royal complex on 23 January. The comments by the senior Iraqi […]

In a clear violation of the Riyad Agreement, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sent another batch of military equipment to separatist militias on the Yemeni island of Socotra, a local governor has revealed. Socotra Governor Ramzi Mahrous on Thursday posted on Facebook that an Emirati ship unloaded military vehicles at Socotra port: "In a flagrant defiance of the legitimate government and local authorities, and a clear attempt to […]

The Israeli District Court of Beersheba on Friday indicted an Israeli-Arab citizen for allegedly collaborating with the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, Israeli media reported. The man was identified as Mohammad Abu Adra, 43, who was arrested on 3 February following Israeli police and Shin Bet investigations, The Times of Israel divulged. His indictment included security offenses related to membership of a: "Terror organisation, a decision to […]

The National Assembly Party (NAAS) welcomes the decision of the US administration to release the unclassified CIA report on the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Congress. We also welcome the public engagement of the US administration with the Saudi government  to promote respect for human rights and the release of several political prisoners. We always call for involving the Saudi public through civil society […]

Former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane said that the Arab Spring was not over yet, Anadolu Agency reports. Speaking at the second conference of the Arab Council via video conference yesterday, Benkirane called on Arab leaders to reconcile with their people. "A day will come when authoritarian rulers in the Arab world will be searching for a shelter to hide in and will not find it," […]

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said today it had intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia, Anadolu Agency reports. "Coalition forces managed to intercept and destroy an unmanned explosive-laden drone launched by the Houthi towards Khamis Mushait city" in southern Saudi Arabia, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki, said in a statement cited by the Saudi SPA News Agency. Al-Maliki said the Houthis […]

The propagandists are having an increasingly hard time explaining Israel's vaccine apartheid. Broadly speaking, there are about six million Israeli Jews and 6.5 million Palestinian Arabs (mostly Muslims and Christians) living in historic Palestine. This is the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip and so-called "Israel proper". Israel controls the entirety of historic […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi called today for calm in the southern Dhi Qar province following days of protests that killed five and injured scores, Anadolu Agency reports. On Friday, Governor Nazim al-Waili resigned after the demonstrations in the provincial capital Nasiriyah. Abdul Ghani Al-Asadi, the head of the National Security Service, was named as a new governor. In a statement, Al-Kadhimi's media office said the […]

Allegations that authorities in Lebanon have smuggled money out of the country have sparked widespread anger here when one considers that Lebanese have not been able to withdraw money from banks since October 17, 2019, Anadolu Agency reports. Following protests that started in 2019 because of the financial crisis, banks tightened limits on foreign currency withdrawals to $200 – $300 per week. And when the coronavirus […]

Jordan, Libya, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Palestine announced new coronavirus infections and fatalities yesterday as efforts continue to contain the deadly virus, Anadolu Agency reports. Jordan The Health Ministry announced 3,644 more cases, bringing the number of infections to 383,912. A total of 343,840 people have recovered from the disease so far. The death toll rose by 23 to 4,650. Libya Libya reported 18 deaths, 625 new cases and […]

Ethiopian officials and militia fighters are carrying out a systematic ethnic cleansing operation in the state of Tigray, according to a confidential US government report, Anadolu Agency reports. The report obtained by the New York Times documents a land of looted houses and abandoned villages where tens of thousands of people have gone missing. Written earlier this month, it notes that officials and fighters from neighbouring Amhara […]

Twenty-seven years ago, on 25 February, 1994, an Israeli settler named Baruch Goldstein shot at hundreds of Palestinians gathering for Al-Fajr prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied city of Hebron. Goldstein took advantage of the gathering of the worshippers in the prostration position and the closure of the mosque's doors by the occupation soldiers, to kill 29 Palestinians and wound more than 150 others. The massacre […]

Following remarks that the US would continue its support for Saudi Arabia to defend itself, a group of 41 progressive lawmakers have sent a letter to US President Joe Biden asking him to clarify his pledge to halt US support for Saudi "offensive operations" in Yemen. In his first foreign policy address earlier in February, Biden said his administration was: "Ending all American support for offensive operations in […]

Israeli occupation forces on Friday placed military barricades at the entrances of the Old City, obstructing Palestinian worshippers from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque, Safa Press Agency reported. According to a Safa Press Agency reporter, the Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from Israel and the occupied West Bank from entering the Old City. The Israeli occupation forces stopped the Palestinian worshippers and inspected their ID cards, allowing very few […]

The visit of Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla to Israel carried many political and economic implications. The visit resulted in the signing of an agreement between the occupation and Cairo to link the Leviathan gas field with the Egyptian liquefied natural gas facilities via an underwater pipeline, from which gas can be exported to European markets. Israeli circles familiar with El-Molla's visit confirmed […]

The Israeli army yesterday arrested 11 Palestinians, including a police officer, after raiding their homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and ransacking them. The Israeli army said in a statement that its soldiers had arrested a number of Palestinians in the West Bank and referred them for investigation for "participating in popular resistance actions" against Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers. Israeli media […]

What is taking place in Myanmar right now is a military coup. There can be no other description for such an unwarranted action as the dismissal of the government by military decree and the imposition of Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as an unelected ruler. However, despite the endless talk about democratisation, Myanmar was, in the years leading up to the coup, far […]

Hamas yesterday released 45 prisoners who are affiliates with opposition faction Fatah. The Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip said in a statement that the detainees had been arrested over security and criminal charges and denied that their arrest was politically motivated. The statement added that the move is a goodwill gesture aimed at setting a positive atmosphere ahead of the Palestinian elections slated […]

Six progressive Jewish American organisations have called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to revoke a directive from his predecessor that all exports from illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian occupied lands be labelled as "made in Israel". "We believe the [policy] is inconsistent with current US policy on the status of the occupied territories, requires inaccurate and misleading labelling on the origin of […]

Lebanon said yesterday that President Michel Aoun is following up on reports concerning an oil spill on Israel's shores which reached Lebanon's southern beaches. "President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, followed up on available data concerning the oil spill on the shores of occupied territories [Israel]. The President also followed up on measures which must be taken to limit its negative impact on the Lebanese […]

Israel is currently in talks with the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the purpose of forming a defence alliance, a report by the Israeli news outlet i24NEWS claimed yesterday. According to the report, the alliance would serve the purpose of countering the "growing Iranian threat" that all four nations face, especially amid Tehran's increased influence in neighbouring Iraq and Syria […]

Palestinian divers in the Gaza Strip have launched a search mission in an effort to locate the remains of Egyptian sailors lost at sea during stormy weather last week. "I joined this team with my fellow divers as part of a humanitarian mission that expresses Arabism, nationalism and loyalty from the Palestinian people to the Egyptian people," said Mohammed Asad an expeditionary diver and MEMO photographer. Stormy weather drowned seven […]

Israel today banned the raising of the Muslim call to prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in occupied Hebron under the pretext that settlers were celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ban was "a call for religious war" and went on to urge the international community and the relevant UN organisations and councils to assume their legal and moral […]

Turkey saw nearly $1 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into the country from Italy in 2020, the head of the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said yesterday. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Livio Manzini said despite the pandemic, there was not a significant drop in bilateral trade between the two countries, adding Italy continued its status of being the second-biggest trading partner of Turkey in Europe. […]

A captured Russian-built missile defence system which was reported last month to have been taken by the US military is now said to have been shared between the US and Turkey, according to Libyan officials. In a report last month by the Times in London, the truck-mounted Pantsir S-1 missile battery – made by Russia and given to the UAE, which then gave it to Khalifa […]

UN agencies expressed alarm today at intensified clashes in Yemen's Marib region and said the increasing number of displaced people are on the verge of food insecurity, Anadolu Agency reports. "The International Organisation for Migration is watching with growing alarm increasing numbers of people are displaced in Yemen adding to the already worrisome few food security concerns there," IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said. "Hostilities in Yemen's […]

Algeria has recorded the first two cases of the new UK coronavirus strain, said a medical institute specialised in epidemiology, Anadolu Agency reports. "Two cases of the new British strain were confirmed, and this came after analysis of positive PCR samples, on February 19," the Pasteur Institute of Algeria said on its website. One of the cases was found in an employee of a mental health […]

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi held talks Thursday with US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking on the possibility of ending the war in Yemen, Anadolu Agency reports. According to the Oman News Agency, the parties discussed developments in Yemen and efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. They also emphasised supporting efforts to reach a political settlement between the warring Yemeni parties. […]

The US intelligence community formally blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today for the grisly 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Anadolu Agency reports. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's long-sought declassified report concluded, based heavily on the CIA's analysis, that the Kingdom's de facto ruler "approved" and almost certainly ordered the murder. "We base this assessment on the Crown Prince's control […]

Turkey is opposed to all kinds of coups, the country's president said today, referring to recent developments in Armenia, Anadolu Agency reports. "We are against all kinds of coups. It is especially not possible for us to accept coups," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul following Friday prayers. He called the Armenian military's coup attempt "unacceptable" and added that the public is already in a […]

Scores of Yemeni refugees, mostly women and children, arrived in Somalia's coastal city of Bosaso, Somali authorities announced on Wednesday, according to the Yemen Shabab, an independent website. This is the third boatful of Yemeni refugees to arrive in Somalia. It had 164 families on board. Somali authorities said that the refugees will undergo medical checkups before they are distributed between the cities of Bosaso and Qardho. […]

A UK-born woman who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Daesh should not be allowed to return to Britain to challenge the government taking away her citizenship because she poses a security risk, Britain's Supreme Court ruled today according to Reuters. Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 and went to Syria via Turkey with two school friends. While there, she married […]

A Bahamas-flagged ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman yesterday, Reuters reported the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and a maritime security firm said today. The cause of the explosion is not clear. "Investigations are ongoing. Vessel and crew are safe," the UKMTO's advisory notice said, advising vessels in the area to exercise caution. The incident occurred at 20:40 […]

Iran is investigating an incident in which at least two Iranians were shot dead this week at the border with Pakistan, and Islamabad has handed over the body of one of the victims, Reuters reported the Iranian Foreign Ministry saying today. Monday's shooting of at least two people carrying fuel across the border led to protests that spread from the city of Saravan to other areas in the […]

One of the most active pro-Palestine groups in Britain has now teamed up with a global environmental movement which uses nonviolent civil disobedience in order to exert pressure on governments and authorities. Palestine Action made an impact after its launch last year by targeting the arms factories across Britain as well as the London headquarters of Israeli-owned Elbit around fifty times in six months. Now the […]

US President Joe Biden raised human rights in a call with Saudi King Salman after reading a forthcoming US report into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the White House announced according to the Wall Street Journal reports. Biden and Salman discussed "regional security, including the renewed diplomatic efforts led by the United Nations and the United States to end the war in Yemen, and the U.S. commitment […]

The Dutch parliament yesterday delcared the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China a genocide in a non-binding motion, Reuters reported. "A genocide on the Uighur minority is occurring in China," the Dutch motion said. This is the first such move by a European country on Uyghur Muslims, with human rights activists praising the move. Founder of East Turkistan National Awakening Movement Washington based activist Salih Hudayar […]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised retired General Khalifa Haftar's failure to hand over the commander of Al-Saiqa Brigade Colonel Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, despite his involvement in war crimes and the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him, noting that despite all this, "he is still at large." The international human rights organisation added in a report published on its official website, that Al-Werfalli is wanted […]

On this day four years ago, the veteran British Member of Parliament Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman died at the age of 86. The Labour Party MP left a legacy as one of Britain's most vocal pro-Palestine political figures. Kaufman was born in Leeds on 21 June 1930, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. He won a scholarship at Leeds Grammar School and went on to […]