Egypt’s interior ministry yesterday said it had killed 12 individuals in the capital city of Cairo for allegedly “planning to cause chaos across the country.” “We’ve monitored a number of individuals linked to the Islamist Hasm Movement at an apartment located in 6 of October district, wast of Cairo,”...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement targeted an arms depot at Najran airport in Saudi Arabia which caused a fire to break out in the facility, the group’s Al Masirah TV said on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Reuters reports that earlier the Saudi-led military coalition said a civilian facility in Saudi Arabia’s...

Palestinian Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP) condemned, Monday, renewed US sanctions on Cuba, Safan news agency reported. In a statement reported by Safa, the PDFLP said that the renewed sanctions and economic blockade, which are being imposed by the US President Donald Trump, are designed to...

The Palestinian Awqaf Ministry in Gaza announced, Monday, the distribution of frozen meat sent by Saudi Arabia to the besieged enclave, Al-Resalah newspaper reported. In a press conference, Amir Abdul-Amrin, director of services in the ministry, said that the meat shipment arrived in Gaza on Thursday and it included...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday Iran would be met with “great force” if it attempted anything against US interests in the Middle East, adding that Tehran has been very hostile toward Washington, Reuters reports. Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for an event in...

Al-Qaeda’s former Mufti Mahfouz Ould Al-Walid, known as Abu Hafs Al-Mauritani, has criticised the Saudi war on Yemen and its reliance on the United States against Iran. Ould Al-Walid explained, on his Facebook page, that it is unlikely that a US-Iranian war is planned. But a confrontation “by mistake...

Saudi Arabia has been holding two Arab journalists for several months, global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Monday, amid ongoing international scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights record, Reuters reports. Yemeni Marwan al-Muraisy has been missing since June 2018, and Jordanian Abdel Rahman Farhaneh, who had...

In an interview with a Kuwaiti newspaper, former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, discussed the “Iranian threat” to the Gulf States, the so-called “Deal of the Century” and Israel’s efforts to carve out Egyptian territory and use it establish a Palestinian State. Mubarak told Al-Anba newspaper, Monday, that the so-called...

Talks between Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council and an alliance of protesters and opposition groups failed for the second day in a row to produce a breakthrough on the country’s political transition, the council said early on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Street protests and a sit-in outside the defence ministry...

EU said on Monday that it did not start study about the Palestinian school textbooks and there are no plans for such a probe, Maan news agency reported. However, this denial appears to contradict previous statements suggesting a planned study of textbooks. The EU had said in a statement,...

Foreign Minister of UAE, Anar Qarqash, said, Monday, that the solution to the Libyan crisis is based on ending the ongoing escalation and return to the process led by the UN, leading to transparent elections, RT reported. Qarqash, according to RT, said in an article published by the French...

The Israeli District Court in occupied Jerusalem sentenced a group of Palestinian youths to prison after taking part in the wedding of a freed prisoner, Arabs48.com reported on Monday. The Committee for Prisoners’ Families in Jerusalem said it sentenced the freed prisoner Rami al-Fakhouri to 60 days in prison...

Renowned Shite Cleric in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, said that a war between Iran and America would be the end of Iraq, stressing that if anyone wants Iraq to be a battlefield, the are enemies of Iraqis, Arabi21.com reported on Monday. On twitter, he wrote: “I do not want a...

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lolwah Al-Khater, has hit back and commented by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir. Al-Khater told Al Jazeera TV channel, Monday: Al-Jubeir’s statements are paradoxes. He started talking about the need for Arab unification … and then started attacking Qatar. She...

Rim Banna, a famous Palestinian singer who translated Palestine’s most moving poetry to song, passed away on March 24, 2018, at the age of 51. Rim captured the struggle for Palestinian freedom in the most dignified and melodious ways. If we could imagine angels singing, they would sound like...

Praising Turkey’s efforts for Syrian refugees, a UN official said its policies should be model for others, reports Anadolu Agency. “Turkey did a great job for Syrian refugees. It will continue to respond to the need of them,” Jean-Marie Garelli, deputy representative of UN Refugee Agency in Turkey, told...

Manchester United’s star Paul Pogba travelled to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, a ritual Islamic pilgrimage reports Anadolu Agency. The French midfielder posted a photo on Instagram of the Kaaba, the most sacred monument of Islam, in Mecca where he is performing Umrah during the Holy Month of Ramadan.  ...

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement denied Saudi media reports on Monday that it had fired a ballistic missile towards Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Gulf Arab states allied to Washington, reports Reuters. “The Saudi regime is trying, through these allegations, to rally...

He sat like a peacock, fanning out his feathers as he warned and threatened the Iranians that an attack on Saudi Arabia will result in Iran’s destruction, as Riyadh possesses a huge arsenal of weapons and fierce men who will retaliate strongly, making Iran a mere memory. “He” is...

Iran called on Monday on the United States to address the Islamic Republic with respect, not threat of war, a day after US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran in a tweet, raising concerns about a potential US-Iran conflict, reports Reuters. Tensions between Washington and its Gulf Arab allies on...

In the heart of Egypt’s capital, an ancient Indonesian martial arts sport is helping dozens of women stand up to harassment, reports Reuters. With the help of Indonesian students, over 1,200 women and children are learning the sport at a cultural centre in Cairo. “Of course there are problems...

Palestinians will stay away from a US-led conference in Bahrain next month that the Trump administration has cast as an overture to its own plan for peace between them and Israel, a Palestinian cabinet minister said on Monday, reports Reuters. Washington announced the conference on Sunday, describing it as...

Gunmen have cut off the main water pipeline to Libya’s besieged capital Tripoli, spelling more misery for residents already reeling from weeks of fighting, reports Reuters. The group on Sunday raided a station of the Great Man-Made River Project, a pipe network supplying groundwater from the Sahara, the company...

The World Food Programme is considering suspending aid delivery in the areas under the control of Yemen’s Houthi group because of fighting, insecurity and interferences, the agency said on Monday, reports Reuters. “Humanitarian workers in Yemen are being denied access to the hungry, aid convoys have been blocked, and...

Arab leaders have been forced to call emergency meetings following last week’s escalation of tension in the region, but Qatar has not received an invitation to the summits. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman yesterday suggested two summits be held on 30 May after drone attacks on oil installations in the...

Palestinian activists have launched an online campaign to highlight the discrimination towards Palestinians in Israeli public life. EuroPal Forum organised the initiative titled “Israeli racism in quotes” to visualise and document discriminatory statements made by individuals that hold a prominent position in the contemporary Israeli society. Since it began...

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs has condemned the Israeli Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel’s storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday morning. The ministry said in a statement that Ariel’s actions come at a time when the Israeli government is expelling Muslim worshippers from the holy site on...

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A political elite is usually defined by those who have the real authority in the state. Its circle may be broadened to include influential people, those who influence decision-making, and those who have religious, economic, military, ethnic and tribal authority and dominance. However, what makes the Palestinian political elite...

The Council of the European Union has extended sanctions against the Syrian regime for another year and added 11 prominent businessmen and five entities to its embargo list originally imposed in 2011. Their inclusion brings the sanctions list to 270 persons and 72 entities that will be targeted with...

An investigation by the Israeli army has found “no evidence” that it killed disabled Palestinian Ibrahim Abu Tharayya, who was shot dead during a protest in the Gaza Strip in December 2017. The Israeli army’s criminal investigation division on Friday closed its probe into the killing of 29-year-old Abu...

Qatar has provided additional liquefied gas supplies to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the main gas pipeline from Qatar to the UAE experienced an outage for several days last month. Reuters news agency reported sources as saying that the Dolphin pipeline, which carries two billion cubic feet of...

Kuwait’s Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Mariam Al-Aqeel, has affirmed her country’s keenness to protect the rights of expatriate workers in general and domestic workers in particular, stressing that Kuwait will not allow the rights of any foreign worker to be violated. In response to remarks by Philippine’s...

A slim majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign once the Attorney General formally files indictments, a new poll has shown. The survey, conducted by the Panels Politics polling agency on behalf of Walla! News, was published this morning. Some 51 per cent of Israelis say...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has abandoned plans to advance a new immunity law, reported the Times of Israel, in the face of opposition from the public and politicians – including from members of his own Likud party. Instead, according to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu will “make do...

Israel’s top court has ruled that details about archaeological digs in the occupied West Bank may remain secret, reported Haaretz, rejecting an appeal by two NGOs. The Supreme Court’s decision upholds the state’s position, as well as a lower court ruling; the state had argued that “releasing the names...

The Trump administration yesterday announced an economic “workshop” in Bahrain in June, as the White House begins to roll out its so-called “peace plan” for Israel and the Palestinians. As reported by CNN, the gathering is intended to “encourage investing capital in the West Bank, Gaza, and the region”,...

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has backed the country’s Minister of International Relations, Lindiwe Sisulu, who has come under attack for her role in downgrading South Africa’s embassy to Israel. Sisulu has been attacked from a number of fronts, including by South Africa’s Jewish Board of...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iraqi leaders that if they are not going to stand with the US against Iran, then they should stand aside, AP reported. Pompeo’s message came last week as he met with Iraqi leaders to discuss the mounting tension between Washington and Tehran....

The United States has been holding Iranian stem cell specialist, Masoud Soleimani, for at least seven months without trial, the official IRNA news agency reported. The agency quoted Rasul Soleimani as saying that his brother Masoud, a professor at a University in Tehran, went to the US on 22...

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Secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat has stressed that the Israeli occupation is the reason behind the conflicts and bloodshed in the region, Safa news agency reported yesterday. Israel continues to impose its occupation policies on the ground, mainly through settlement, the Judaisation of Jerusalem, committing war...

The relations between the Palestinian Authority and the United Arab Emirates are not at their best; the two are almost totally and officially estranged due to their growing differences over various issues. These include the UAE’s growing normalisation with Israel; Abu Dhabi’s support for PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s archenemy,...

Saudi Arabia on Saturday released Shia cleric Tawfiq Al-Amer from prison after he completed his eight-year jail term, Arabi21 reported. Al-Amer was arrested in 2011 on the grounds that he delivered speeches which incited against the Saudi ruling regime. Supporters of Al-Amer said that he arrived in Al-Ahsa Governorate...

Israel’s leading Likud party might agree on moving powers of running settlement affairs to ministries instead of the Civil Administration, a condition set by the Union of the Right-Wing Parties to join the government coalition, Israeli radio reported yesterday. The Civil Administration is part of the Defence Ministry which...

Former head of Hamas, Khalid Meshaal, stressed on Saturday that the Palestinian people and their factions are united against the US’ “deal of the century”, Al-Watan Voice reported. Speaking at a Friend of Palestine event at the Turkish parliament, Meshaal said the US has been trying to attract some...

Palestinian Authority (PA) said yesterday that it sees the German decision to class BDS anti-Semitic “very dangerous”, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported yesterday . In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the PA said that this decision proves that Israel still imposes its agenda on representatives of European nations,...

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said that he did not succeed in forming a coalition government because some parties are insisting on their positions and refuse to budge, Arab48 reported. He said he hoped to find a way to return these parties onto the right track in order...

It was the result that nobody predicted: the winner of Eurovision 2019 is… Palestine! Despite the organisers describing the Eurovision Song Contest as a non-political event, the issue of Palestine took back, front and centre stage in Tel Aviv over the weekend, which may make Israel come to regret...

Sudan’s ruling military council said it had restarted talks late on Sunday with an alliance of protest and opposition groups that is pushing for a civilian-led transition to democracy, Reuters reports. The Transitional Military Council (TMC) had suspended the talks late on Wednesday after two outbreaks of violence around...