Sunday, April 28

Middle East

The Middle East is a significant region. Countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This region includes many of the “Arab Spring” countries, which underwent disruptive revolutions and protests in the 21st Century. It also includes Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Rafah Border Crossing Opens To Limited Convoy As Bombing Continued
21Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Rafah Border Crossing Opens To Limited Convoy As Bombing Continued

Bombing continues as a convoy of 20 trucks crosses into Gaza from Rafah. Source: Qatari-run Al Jazeera October 21, 2023—About 20 Red Crescent trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered southern Gaza today. It is the first time the Rafah border crossing has opened since the terror attacks of October 7 and ensuring war. But United Nations and humanitarian officials say relief is just a drop of what aid is urgently needed in Gaza. "This is miniscule. It's just a drop in the ocean of what is needed for the Gaza people," Palestine Red Crescent Director Marwan Jilani said in an interview today with the Qatari-run Al Jazeera. Millions of Lives At Risk Before the Israel-Hamas War, a million people in Gaza relied upon emergency food assistance from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Pa...
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State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Middle East Policy
20Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Human rights, Middle East, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Middle East Policy

Arms Transfer To Israel Contributes To 'Massive Civilian Casualties' October 20, 2023—Josh Paul isn't the only State Department official who has concerns about the U.S. policy on Israel's military assault on civilians. But he might be the first one to resign. The resignation comes as President Biden asks Congress for a $14 billion military aid package for Israel and $9.15 billion for humanitarian aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Gaza. It also comes as the United States vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that would have created safe corridors for humanitarians to assist civilians in Gaza. U.S. diplomatic staff are taking notice. Acknowledging the morale problem, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote to department staff saying the Middle East crisis "has not only been cha...
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US Vetos UN Resolution On Humanitarian Aid For Gaza
20Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

US Vetos UN Resolution On Humanitarian Aid For Gaza

Full Text of Security Council Resolution Offered By Brazil October 20, 2023—The same day President Biden negotiated a plan to allow 20 trucks to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza, the United States vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that would have called for protections for civilians, humanitarians, and UN personnel inside Gaza. The resolution would have created humanitarian corridors for distributing aid and helping civilians escape to safe zones. It also would have called for an immediate release of Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas. Fourth Resolution To Fail It was the fourth resolution related to the Israel-Hamas war to fail this week. It had the strongest chance of passing the Security Council. The veto by the United States, one of the five Perman...
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Hamas Opens The Gates Of Hell, Inviting The World In
16Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Human rights, Middle East, Types of News: Analysis

Hamas Opens The Gates Of Hell, Inviting The World In

Terrorist organization Hamas opened up the gates of Hell. Now the world must decide whether to enter or put out the flames. October 16, 2023—The Middle East blew up this month, inviting the world to join it on a downward track to a hellish world of murder, massacre, and a limitless cycle of revenge. It does no good to detail the specifics of the October 7 terror attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. To do so would only continue to crush the spirit of this writer and readers alike. The point is, it was a full-scale air, sea, and ground attack by Hamas militants. It was the largest terror attack against Israel. It left 1,400 Israelis dead, thousands more injured, and at least 199 people kidnapped. Americans were included in the numbers. Militants broadcast their terror on so...
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Algeria Hosts Arab League Summit
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

Algeria Hosts Arab League Summit

Algeria hosts Arab League The Summit Comes On The Heels Of Historic Agreement Uniting Palestinian Factions November 2, 2022—Member of the 22-member Arab League met for the first time since 2019 in Algiers, Algeria Tuesday. It is the first Arab League meeting since Israel normalized its relations with several Arab countries, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. It also comes on the heels of a successful effort on the part of Algerian President Abdulmajeed Tabboune to bring sparring Palestinian factions together. On Tuesday, Tabboune welcomed the guests, saying that the League's "central and primary cause" is the "Palestinian cause," according to reporting by TRT World, a Turkish news broadcaster. "The Palestinian question is the mother of all questions," Tabboune said. Econom...
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Israeli, Palestinian Authority Leaders Met In Person, And That In Itself Is Significant
30Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Israeli, Palestinian Authority Leaders Met In Person, And That In Itself Is Significant

December 30, 2021--Although there are no peace talks in place between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in central Israel this week. It's significant in that it was the first time Abbas visited Israel in a decade. It also marks a sign of support by Israel for the weak Palestinian government. Abbas represents Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. His leadership is often overshadowed by the Palestinian leadership in Gaza, which is controlled by militant Hamas. The year has seen rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, including a 22-day war between Israel and Hamas in May. Meeting Outcomes According to reporting by the Times of Israel, Gantz announced on Wednesday that Israel will offer the fol...
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Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say
23Dec By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say

Nuclear Inspectors Are To Partially Resume Monitoring Of Sites Editor's Note: Diplomats representing Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are working with Iranian representatives to restore the Iranian nuclear deal (JCPOA). The talks first started in 2019. They continued this year. Now diplomats involved say the next few weeks are critical make-it-or-break-it time. Iran is getting closer to building a nuclear weapon. Iran, meanwhile, is asking the United States to waive nuclear-related sanctions and add oil to the list of products that the country can trade. Journalist Ramsha Zubairi reports on recent developments. December 23, 2021--Talks to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in Vienna came to a halt on Friday. Today, they are offici...
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Palestinian State-Building Faces ‘Considerable Obstacles,’ Norway FM Says
18Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, Middle East, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

Palestinian State-Building Faces ‘Considerable Obstacles,’ Norway FM Says

Meeting in Oslo, Norway of the AHLC on Nov. 17, 2021. Credit: MFA/Mathias Rongved Separately, U.S. Ambassador to UN Tours Middle East, Emphasizes U.S.-Israel Ties & Remarks on Refugees November 18, 2021--Following a ministerial meeting of donors and interested parties supporting Palestinian governance, Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited "significant challenges" facing the Palestinian Authority, including budgetary problems, widespread unemployment, occupation, and an "enormous need" for investment. "Comprehensive, far-reaching measures are needed to reverse the negative economic trend in Palestine and strengthen the Palestinian institutions that the donors have been helping to develop for nearly three decades," said Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huit...
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As Israeli Leader Rejects Palestinian State, Norway Steps Up Diplomacy
17Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, Human rights, International Law, Legal Battles, Middle East, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

As Israeli Leader Rejects Palestinian State, Norway Steps Up Diplomacy

November 17, 2021--Amid a rejection of the two-state solution by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Norway's Foreign Ministry is hosting talks today with the goal of building up rule of law in the Palestinian territories. Today's meeting in Oslo, Norway represents the first in-person ministerial meeting by the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in two years. Norway's newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt led the discussion. It's significant on multiple fronts. First, Norway is often instrumental in achieving breakthroughs in diplomacy. Earlier this year, the country's representatives achieved a solution for aid workers to continue to use a border crossing between Turkey and Syria. Later they helped bring Venezuelan leaders together with its opposition ...
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Middle East Faces ‘Increasingly Desperate Reality’
2Nov By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Types of News: Analysis

Middle East Faces ‘Increasingly Desperate Reality’

UN Envoy Says Israeli Evictions Of Palestinians And Property Seizures Spurs Violence November 2, 2021—In recent weeks, a Middle East envoy to the United Nations expressed warnings about Israel-Palestinian relations. Demolition of homes by the Israeli military, construction of illegal housing by settlers, and evictions and displacement of Palestinians from their homes are causing a desperate and dangerous situation in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. For the Palestinians and the Bedouin community, these actions meant homelessness and loss of property. For Israeli citizens, the provocative actions by their government and illegal settlers put them at a greater risk of violence. In the following article, contributing writer Ramsha Zubairi reports. In his testimony to the...
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