Middle East
Israeli police raid Palestinian bookstore, seize conflict-related books
Israeli police have conducted a raid on a long-standing Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem, detaining the owners and seizing books related to the protracted conflict, reports AP.
Authorities stated that the books contained material inciting violence.
Erdogan again rejects US proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza
The Educational Bookshop, which has been in operation for over 40 years, serves as a centre for intellectual activity in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it to its capital—a move not internationally recognised. The majority of Jerusalem’s Palestinian population resides in the east, and Palestinians aspire to establish their future state’s capital there.
The three-storey bookstore, raided on Sunday, offers a vast collection of books, primarily in Arabic and English, covering the conflict and broader Middle Eastern affairs, including works by Israeli and Jewish authors. It also hosts cultural events and is particularly frequented by researchers, journalists, and foreign diplomats.
According to May Muna, wife of co-owner Mahmoud Muna, police detained bookstore owners Ahmed and Mahmoud Muna, confiscated hundreds of books concerning the conflict, and ordered the shop’s closure. She described how the soldiers selected books based on Palestinian titles or flags, using Google Translate to interpret Arabic titles before taking them away in plastic bags.
A similar raid took place last week at another Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem’s Old City.
In a statement, police claimed the two owners had been arrested for “selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism.”
Palestinian Crisis: Egypt to host emergency Arab Summit on Feb 27
As an example, police cited an English-language children’s colouring book titled From the River to the Sea, a phrase referring to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing present-day Israel, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Both Palestinians and hard-line Israelis consider the entire territory as their rightful homeland. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government opposes Palestinian statehood, has asserted that Israel must retain indefinite control over all land west of the Jordan River.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have intensified since Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023 from Gaza triggered the ongoing war. A ceasefire has temporarily halted hostilities, leading to the release of several Israeli hostages taken in the attack and hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel. Meanwhile, tensions remain high in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted approximately 250 others in the 7 October assault. The ensuing war has resulted in over 47,000 Palestinian deaths, more than half of whom were women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not specify how many casualties were fighters. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants but has not provided evidence.
Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians seek all three territories for their future state. The last significant peace negotiations collapsed after Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.
5 days ago
Bittersweet feeling for Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons
Freedom carries a bittersweet feeling for Palestinians released from Israeli prisons.
When Dania Hanatsheh was freed this week from an Israeli jail and welcomed by jubilant crowds in Ramallah, it brought back uneasy memories for her. After nearly five months of detention, it marked her second release as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a pause in the Gaza conflict, reports AP.
2 killed in an Israeli strike in the West Bank, Palestinians say
While Hanatsheh was overjoyed to be free again, she expressed sadness about the ongoing destruction in Gaza and uncertainty about her future, with many in her community sharing her fears of future detentions. “Palestinian families are ready for arrest at any time,” she explained. “It feels helpless, like there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself.”
Hanatsheh was one of 90 women and girls freed by Israel in the first phase of the ceasefire deal. The deal involves the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, halting fighting for six weeks, freeing 33 hostages from Gaza, and increasing aid to the region. Some prisoners are held for minor acts like throwing stones, while others are convicted of killing Israelis.
Hanatsheh was initially arrested in November 2023, shortly after the war began, and released briefly during a ceasefire in exchange for hostages. She was arrested again in August when Israeli forces raided her home with explosives. Despite being detained twice, she was never told the reasons for her arrests. Israel’s justice ministry claims she was detained for “supporting terror,” but she was neither charged nor given a trial and is not affiliated with any militant group.
Her experience is common among Palestinians, where nearly every family across Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem has a relative who has spent time in an Israeli jail. The ongoing conflict has caused significant family trauma, with many children growing up without one or both parents. Since the war began 15 months ago, the number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons has risen to over 10,000.
Palestinians navigate rubble to return home as Gaza ceasefire takes effect
The Israeli practice of “administrative detention” allows authorities to imprison individuals based on secret evidence without charges or trials. This has been a source of frustration for many, including Amjad Abu Asab, head of the Detainees’ Parents Committee in Jerusalem, who highlighted the lack of transparency in the process.
The terms of the ceasefire stipulate that the released prisoners cannot be re-arrested for the same charges or returned to jail to complete sentences for past offenses. No documents are signed upon release.
Conditions for prisoners deteriorated severely after the war in Gaza began. Israel’s then-national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, vowed that prisons would no longer be “summer camps.” Released prisoners reported inadequate food, medical care, and overcrowded conditions. Prisoners, both male and female, have been subjected to beatings, pepper spray, and deprivation of family visits or even clean clothes.
One of the most prominent prisoners released was Khalida Jarrar, 62, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction involved in armed resistance. Human Rights Watch condemned her repeated arrests as part of Israel’s unjust crackdown on non-violent political opposition.
While some families celebrated the release, others expressed concern that the ceasefire wouldn’t last long enough to see the return of their relatives. Negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire will aim to release all remaining hostages and secure long-term peace, but uncertainty remains.
For Yassar Saadat, the release of his mother, Abla Abdelrasoul, who had been in “administrative detention,” was a bittersweet moment. His father, Ahmad Saadat, a high-profile leader of the Popular Front, remains imprisoned, and it’s uncertain whether he will be released.
The release of some prisoners convicted of killing Israelis has sparked controversy, particularly among families who have lost loved ones to such attacks. Micah Avni, whose father was murdered by a Hamas member in 2015, expressed his belief that such prisoner exchanges might not lead to lasting peace.
Despite the controversy, some Palestinians see the prisoner exchanges as justified due to Israel’s arbitrary detention policies. Others, like Amal Shujaeiah, focus on the personal toll of lost time with their families. Shujaeiah, who spent over seven months in prison, was accused by Israel of participating in pro-Palestinian activities and hosting a podcast on the Gaza conflict. She expressed immense joy at being reunited with her family.
“Today I am with my family and loved ones. It’s an indescribable joy, a moment of freedom that helps you forget the sorrow,” Shujaeiah said.
3 weeks ago
A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
In Damascus, the streets were buzzing with excitement Tuesday as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar Assad’s government weeks earlier.
While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade, where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises.
War-weary Palestinians in Gaza who lost their homes and loved ones in 2024 saw little hope that 2025 would bring an end to their suffering.
The last year was a dramatic one in the Middle East, bringing calamity to some and hope to others. Across the region, it felt foolish to many to attempt to predict what the next year might bring.
In Damascus, Abir Homsi said she is optimistic about a future for her country that would include peace, security and freedom of expression and would bring Syrian communities previously divided by battle lines back together.
“We will return to how we once were, when people loved each other, celebrated together whether it is Ramadan or Christmas or any other holiday — no restricted areas for anyone,” she said.
But for many, the new year and new reality carried with it reminders of the painful years that came before.
Abdulrahman al-Habib, from the eastern Syrian city of Deir el-Zour, had come to Damascus in hopes of finding relatives who disappeared after being arrested under Assad’s rule. He was at the capital’s Marjeh Square, where relatives of the missing have taken to posting photos of their loved ones in search of any clue to their whereabouts.
“We hope that in the new year, our status will be better ... and peace will prevail in the whole Arab world,” he said.
Read: Last functional hospital in Gaza torched
In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group a little over a month ago. The country battered by years of economic collapse, political instability and a series of calamities since 2019, continues to grapple with uncertainty, but the truce has brought at least a temporary return to normal life.
Some families flocked to the Mzaar Ski Resort in the mountains northeast of Beirut on Tuesday to enjoy the day in the snow even though the resort had not officially opened.
“What happened and what’s still happening in the region, especially in Lebanon recently, has been very painful,” said Youssef Haddad, who came to ski with his family. “We have great hope that everything will get better.”
On Beirut's seaside corniche, Mohammad Mohammad from the village of Marwahin in southern Lebanon was strolling with his three children.
“I hope peace and love prevail next year, but it feels like more (challenges) await us,” he said.
Mohammad was among the tens of thousands displaced during more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Now living in Jadra, a town that was also bombarded during the conflict, he awaits the end of a 60-day period, after which the Israeli army is required to withdraw under the conditions of a French and U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
“Our village was completely destroyed,” Mohammad said. His family would spend a quiet evening at home, he said. This year "was very hard on us. I hope 2025 is better than all the years that passed.”
In Gaza, where the war between Hamas and Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, brought massive destruction and displaced most of the enclave's population, few saw cause for optimism in the new year.
Read more: US warns of a famine for north Gaza amid aid groups' concern
“The year 2024 was one of the worst years for all Palestinian people. It was a year of hunger, displacement, suffering and poverty,” said Nour Abu Obaid, a displaced woman from northern Gaza.
Obaid, whose 10-year-old child was killed in a strike in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi, said she didn’t expect anything good in 2025. “The world is dead,” she said. “We do not expect anything, we expect the worst.”
The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.
Ismail Salih, who lost his home and livelihood, expressed hopes for an end to the war in 2025 so that Gaza's people can start rebuilding their lives.
The year that passed “was all war and all destruction," he said. “Our homes are gone, our trees are gone, our livelihood is lost.”
In the coming year, Salih said he hopes that Palestinians can “live like the rest of the people of the world, in security, reassurance and peace.”
1 month ago
Blinken to visit Mideast for talks amid regional tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to embark on his 12th trip to the Middle East since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict last year.
This visit marks his first since Syrian President Bashar Assad’s recent departure to Russia, an event that has heightened regional uncertainty.
Blinken’s two-day itinerary will include stops in Jordan and Turkey, with discussions centered on Syria and broader efforts to end the Gaza conflict that has ravaged the Palestinian territory since October 2023.
According to the State Department, Blinken will meet Jordanian leaders, including King Abdullah II, in Aqaba on Thursday before heading to Ankara for talks with Turkish officials on Friday. Additional regional visits remain a possibility.
The Biden administration is intensifying its diplomatic engagement in the Middle East as it navigates complex crises during its final weeks in office.
President-elect Donald Trump has stated that the US should avoid entanglement in Syria, while the Biden administration continues to conduct airstrikes and maintain a military presence to prevent an Islamic State resurgence amid Syria’s ongoing turmoil.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized that Blinken’s visit aims to reaffirm US support for a Syrian-led transition to a representative and accountable government.
Discussions will address minority rights, humanitarian aid delivery, terrorism prevention, and the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
US warns Russia may use new lethal missile against Ukraine soon
Blinken has signaled US willingness to back a new Syrian government meeting these conditions. While American officials maintain the foreign terrorist organization designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), once linked to al-Qaida, they have not ruled out dialogue with its members.
Ahead of his trip, Blinken spoke with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE to reinforce US positions on Syria and stress the urgency of a Gaza ceasefire. The US continues to push for the release of hostages taken by Hamas and a framework for post-war governance, security, and reconstruction in Gaza.
Blinken’s visit follows Syrian President Assad’s flight to Russia over the weekend. Meanwhile, other senior US officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Army Gen Erik Kurilla are engaging with leaders across the region.
Trump’s designated Middle East envoy, Stephen Witkoff, is also active in the region as the US prepares for a presidential transition.
Source: With inputs from wires
2 months ago
Israel kills Hezbollah official set to be next leader
Israel said Tuesday that one of its airstrikes outside Beirut earlier this month killed a Hezbollah official widely expected to have replaced the militant group's longtime leader, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last month.
There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah about the fate of Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders.
Safieddine was killed in early October in a strike that also killed 25 other Hezbollah leaders, according to Israel, whose airstrikes in southern Lebanon in recent months have killed many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, leaving the group in disarray.
Last week, Israel killed the top leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, during a battle in Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a trip to Israel that leaders there should “capitalize” on Sinwar's death as an opportunity to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages taken during the deadly Hamas attack that started the war. Blinken also stressed the need for Israel to do more to help increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called his meeting with Blinken, which lasted more than two hours, “friendly and productive.”
The Beirut suburb where Safieddine was killed was pummeled by fresh airstrikes Tuesday, including one that leveled a building Israel said housed Hezbollah facilities. The collapse sent smoke and debris flying into the air a few hundred meters (yards) from where a spokesperson for Hezbollah had just briefed journalists about a weekend drone attack that damaged Netanyahu's house.
Tuesday's airstrikes came 40 minutes after Israel issued an evacuation warning for two buildings in the area that it said were used by Hezbollah. The Hezbollah news conference nearby was cut short, and an Associated Press photographer captured an image of a missile heading towards the building moments before it was destroyed. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Hezbollah’s chief spokesman, Mohammed Afif, said the group was behind the Saturday drone attack on Netanyahu’s home in the coastal town of Caesarea. Israel has said neither the prime minister nor his wife were home at the time.
Blinken's meetings with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders was part of his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. He landed hours after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in populated areas and at its international airport, but causing no apparent damage or injuries.
Hospitals in Lebanon fear being targeted by Israel
An Israeli airstrike late Monday in Beirut destroyed several buildings across the street from the country’s largest public hospital, killing 18 people and wounding at least 60 others. The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah target, without elaborating, and said that it hadn’t targeted the hospital itself.
AP reporters visited the Rafik Hariri University Hospital on Tuesday. They saw broken windows in the hospital’s pharmacy and dialysis center, which was full of patients at the time.
Staff at another Beirut hospital feared it would be targeted after Israel alleged that Hezbollah had stashed hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold in its basement, without providing evidence.
The director of the Sahel General Hospital denied the allegations and invited journalists to visit the hospital and its two underground floors on Tuesday. AP reporters saw no sign of militants or anything out of the ordinary.
The few remaining patients had been evacuated after the Israeli military's announcement the night before.
“We have been living in terror for the last 24 hours,” hospital director Mazen Alame said. “There is nothing under the hospital.”
Many in Lebanon fear Israel could target its hospitals in the same way it has raided medical facilities across Gaza. The Israeli military has accused Hamas and other militants of using hospitals for military purposes, allegations denied by medical staff.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that 63 people have been killed over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll over the past year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah to 2,546. Three Israeli soldiers were killed on Tuesday, one in Gaza, one in Lebanon, and one in a rocket attack in northern Israel, according to the military.
Blinken trying to restart efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza
During his meeting with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, Blinken underscored the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. The need for more aid in Gaza is something Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week.
Miller said Blinken also stressed the importance of ending the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated earlier this month when Israel began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have brokered months of talks between Israel and Hamas, trying to strike a deal in which the militants would release dozens of hostages in return for an end to the war, a lasting cease-fire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
But both Israel and Hamas accused each other of making new and unacceptable demands over the summer, and the talks halted in August. Hamas says its demands haven't changed following the killing of Sinwar.
Israel said it invaded Lebanon to try to stop near daily rocket attacks from Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has said it plans to strike Iran — which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah — in response to its ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month.
War rages in Lebanon and northern Gaza
The U.S. has also tried to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, but those efforts fell apart as tensions spiked last month with a series of Israeli strikes that killed Nasrallah and most of his senior commanders.
Israel has carried out waves of heavy airstrikes across southern Beirut and the country’s south and east, areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets, missiles and drones into Israel over the past year, including some that have reached the country’s populous center.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Around 100 of the captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel says more strikes coming against Hezbollah-run financial institution
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded tens of thousands, according to local health authorities, who don't say how many were combatants but say more than half were women and children. It has also caused major devastation and displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million.
3 months ago
Israel expands its bombardment in Lebanon as thousands flee widening war
Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, also striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
The strong explosions began near midnight and continued into Sunday after Israel's military urged residents to evacuate areas in Dahiyeh, the predominantly Shiite collection of suburbs on Beirut’s southern edge. AP video showed the blasts illuminating the densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.
Israel's military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.
The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Lebanon’s only international airport, and another building formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar. Social media reports claimed that one of the strikes hit an oxygen tank storage facility, but this was later denied by the owner of the company Khaled Kaddouha.
Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah claimed in a statement that it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers near the Manara settlement in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.”
On Saturday, Israel's attack on the northern Beddawi camp killed an official with Hamas’ military wing along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palestinian militant group said. Hamas later said another military wing member was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. The aftermath showed smashed buildings, scattered bricks and stairways to nowhere.
Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began , in addition to most of the top leadership of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah as fighting has sharply escalated.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, calling it a show of support for the Palestinians. Hezbollah and Israel's military have traded fire almost daily.
Read: Israeli airstrike cuts major highway linking Lebanon with Syria
Last week, Israel launched what it called a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon after a series of attacks killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others. The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister said the unnamed countries putting forward initiatives include regional states and some outside the Middle East.
Araghchi spoke a day after the supreme leader of Iran praised its recent missile strikes on Israel and said it was ready to do it again if necessary.
On Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and respond to these attacks, and it will do so.” On Lebanon, he said ”we are not done yet."
Fleeing Lebanon on foot
Israel’s military earlier Saturday said about 90 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most were intercepted, but several fell in the northern Arab town of Deir al-Asad, where police said three people were lightly injured.
At least six people in Lebanon were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.
Nearly 375,000 people have fled from Lebanon into Syria in less than two weeks, according to a Lebanese government committee.
Associated Press journalists saw hundreds continuing to cross the Masnaa Border Crossing on foot, crunching over the rubble after Israeli airstrikes left huge craters in the road leading to it on Thursday. Much of Hezbollah’s weaponry is believed to come from Iran through Syria.
“We were on the road for two days,” said Issa Hilal, one of many Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are now heading back. “The roads were very crowded … it was very difficult. We almost died getting here." Some children whimpered or cried.
Read more: An Israeli airstrike cuts a major highway linking Lebanon with Syria
Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut’s famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes. “We don’t care if we die, but we don’t want to die at the hands of Netanyahu,” said Om Ali Mcheik.
The Israeli military said special forces were carrying out ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. It said troops dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.
More evacuation orders in Gaza
Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the Health Ministry there, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Almost 90% of Gaza’s residents are displaced, amid widespread destruction.
Palestinian medical officials said Israeli strikes in northern and central Gaza on Saturday killed at least nine people. One in the northern town of Beit Hanoun killed at least five, including two children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Another hit a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least four, Awda hospital said.
Israel's military did not have any immediate comment but has long accused Hamas of operating from within civilian areas.
An Israeli airstrike killed two children in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the civil defense first responders’ group that operates under the Hamas-run government.
Read more: Israeli strike in Beirut kills 9 as troops battle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
Israel's military warned Palestinians to evacuate along the strategic Netzarim corridor in central Gaza that was at the heart of obstacles to a cease-fire deal. The military told people in parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps to evacuate to Muwasi, a coastal area it has designated a humanitarian zone.
It’s unclear how many Palestinians are in those areas. Israeli forces have often returned to areas in Gaza to target Hamas fighters as they regroup.
4 months ago
Yearender: 2023 brings a tapestry of challenges and progress to the Middle East
It was a turbulent year for the Middle East. The region witnessed bouts of reconciliation, conflict and disaster. Despite an unsettling year, a glimmer of hope remains on the horizon.
HISTORICAL RAPPROCHEMENT PROGRESS
Reconciliation and cooperation were prominent features in the Mideast during 2023, the landmark event of which was the normalization of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
With the mediation of China, the two arch-rivals agreed in March to restore ties after a seven-year hiatus and re-established respective embassies and consulates. The visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Riyadh in November to attend the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit marked the first visit by an Iranian head of state to Saudi Arabia in over a decade.
Osama Danura, a Syrian political expert, said that China played an important role in restoring Saudi-Iranian diplomatic relations, with the country's efforts welcomed by the two sides and other regional players.
Israel launches heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza after widening its offensive
At the end of 2023, the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and the Houthi militia committed to implementing a nationwide ceasefire, lifting economic restrictions, and engaging in preparations to resume inclusive UN-led political negotiations.
Hadeer Said, a professor of international relations at the Cairo-based Institute of Arab Research and Studies, said that rapprochement between Riyadh and Teheran helped in defusing the crisis between Houthis in Yemen and Saudi, which will contribute to settling the inflaming Yemeni crisis.
Furthermore, several reconciliation developments have been achieved in the region in 2023. Syria regained its membership in the Arab League after a suspension of over a decade, Türkiye and Egypt exchanged ministerial visits for the first time in years, and Qatar resumed diplomatic relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"Peace, unity, cooperation and development are in the interests of the people of Arab countries," said Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the 32nd Arab League Summit held in May, stressing that "we will not let the region become a conflict zone."
In the meantime, countries in the Middle East have played an increasingly important role in international and regional multilateral organizations. In July, Iran officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In August, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran were invited to join the BRICS cooperation bloc.
Afghan schoolgirls are finishing sixth grade in tears. Under Taliban rule, their education is over
DEADLY DISASTERS & CONFLICTS
Yet multiple disasters, including earthquakes in Türkiye and Morocco, hurricanes in Libya, and conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Yemen, all cast a shadow over the region.
On Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake struck southern Türkiye near the border with Syria, killing more than 50,000 people, leaving millions homeless and causing an estimated 100 billion U.S. dollars in damage in the country.
On Sept. 8, another quake hit Morocco, killing about 2,900 people and injuring more than 5,000.
In addition to natural disasters, armed conflicts shattered peaceful hopes. On April 15, fierce clashes broke out in Sudan's capital Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force, which continues up to the present.
On Oct. 7, a large-scale armed conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, causing the deaths of more than 20,000 Palestinians and about 1,200 Israelis. The Palestinian-Israeli issue has once again become the focus of attention of the international community, which has disrupted the reconciliation process between Israel and Arab countries.
Serkan Demirtas, a Turkish foreign policy analyst, said the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict has dramatically increased geopolitical tensions across the Middle East, with a far-reaching impact on international relations.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
Many economies in the region entered a downturn over 2023. Türkiye, Lebanon, Syria and Iran suffered from sharp depreciation, high inflation or soaring unemployment. The Lebanese pound, Egyptian pound and Turkish lira repeatedly hit new lows against the dollar.
Lose a limb or risk death? Growing numbers among Gaza's thousands of war-wounded face hard decisions
What's worse, the ongoing Gaza conflict heavily impacted the economies of both sides and neighboring countries, such as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. The World Bank reported in October that the gross domestic product of the Middle East and North Africa was expected to decline sharply, from 6 percent in 2022 to about 1.9 percent in 2023.
Zhao Jun, an associate professor of the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, said the economic downturn in many countries in the Middle East could hardly be reversed in the short term due to low oil prices resulting in oil production cuts, a tense global financial environment, the continued raising interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the spillover effect of the Ukraine crisis on food and raw materials prices.
The good news was that the world's largest single photovoltaic power station, Al Dhafra, was completed recently in Abu Dhabi. The plant will generate electricity to power 200,000 homes annually. It will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2.4 million metric tons, again demonstrating the determination of the oil-and-gas-rich Gulf state to diversify its energy resources and green development.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its growth, gradually evolved from blueprint to reality. According to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund, Saudi Arabia is in a period of strong economic growth with a sound fiscal position.
1 year ago
PM Hasina likely to attend Qatar Economic Forum May 23-25
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to attend the Qatar Economic Forum, the Middle East's leading voice dedicated to global business and investment, to be held in Doha on May 23-25.
However, there is no official announcement yet regarding the visit.
Strategically located in Doha, the Forum draws on Qatar’s ability to link Asia with Africa and beyond, as well as its position as a key global diplomatic hub and a leader in LNG energy technologies.
Also Read: Economic cooperation needed among countries in South and Southeast Asia: PM tells outgoing Korean envoy
The forum features a curated group of global leaders and innovators exploring solutions for some of today’s more pertinent challenges as they draw up a blueprint for our shared future, said the organisers.
Mohammed S. Al-Sudani, Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Irakli Garibashvili,
Prime Minister of Georgia, Paul Kagame,
President of the Republic of Rwanda, Akbar Al-Baker, Group CEO of Qatar Airways, Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of Investment,
Also Read: PM Hasina: Election-time government can include opposition MPs in Parliament
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, State of Qatar, President & CEO of QatarEnergy are among the guests.
The organisers of the event put Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s name as one of the guests among Heads of State and Government.
Qatar Economic Forum 2023 will focus on prominent global challenges that affect societies and economies around the world.
Also Read: PM Hasina: Climate-induced disasters may disrupt Bangladesh’s smooth LDC graduation
The 2023 edition will revolve around global growth and establishing a new roadmap for global growth in this challenging economic environment.
Once finalised, the Prime Minister will be heading for Doha on May 22 and will return home on May 26, says a diplomatic source.
1 year ago
IMF says inflation to slow growth across Mideast this year
Economies across the Middle East and Central Asia will likely slow this year as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates bite into their post-pandemic gains, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
The IMF's Regional Economic Outlook blamed in part rising energy costs, as well as elevated food prices, for the estimated slower growth. The report said that while oil-dependent economies of the Gulf Arab states and others in the region have reaped the benefits of elevated crude prices, other countries — such as Pakistan — have seen growth collapse after an unprecedented flooding last summer or as economic woes worsened.
The regional slowdown also comes as an explosion of fighting in Sudan between two top rival generals — who only a year ago as allies orchestrated a military coup that upended the African country's transition to democracy — threatens a nation where IMF and World Bank debt relief remains on hold.
Rising interest rates, used by central banks worldwide to try to stem inflation's rise, increase the costs of borrowing money. That will affect nations carrying heavier debts, the IMF warned.
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“This year we’re seeing inflation again being the most challenging issue for most of the countries," Jihad Azour, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, told The Associated Press. "For those who have high level of debt, the challenge of increase in interest rate globally, as well as also the tightening of monetary policy, is affecting them.”
The IMF forecast predicts regional growth will drop from 5.3% last year to 3.1% this year. Overall, regional inflation is expected to be at 14.8%, unchanged from last year, as Russia's war on Ukraine continues to pressure global food supplies and affect energy markets.
It will be even worse in Pakistan, where the IMF projected inflation to more than double, to about 27%. Pakistan and IMF officials have held repeated talks over the release of a stalled key tranche of a $6 billion bailout package loan to Islamabad.
The IMF warned that financial conditions worldwide will tighten this year, brought on in part by two bank failures in the United States in March. The sudden collapse of Credit Suisse before it was purchased by UBS also strained markets.
For Sudan, Azour acknowledged the challenge as the country faces a humanitarian crisis brought on by the weeks of fighting there. The violence has also worsened a debt crisis that has gripped the country for decades as it faced Western sanctions.
“We have worked with the government of Sudan, for the Sudanese people, in order to help them by achieving a debt operation that would allow Sudan to have a debt relief of more than $50 billion," Azour said.
"But unfortunately, the recent developments ... put in a halt to all of of those efforts,” he added.
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Why US troops remain in Iraq 20 years after 'shock and awe'
Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding explosions of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in what has become a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East.
The roughly 2,500 U.S. troops are scattered around the country, largely in military installations in Baghdad and in the north. And while it is a far cry from the more than 170,000 U.S. forces in Iraq at the peak of the war in 2007, U.S. officials say the limited — but continued — troop level is critical as a show of commitment to the region and a hedge against Iranian influence and weapons trafficking.
A look at America's evolving role in Iraq:
HOW DID IT START?
The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003 in what it called a massive “shock and awe” bombing campaign that lit up the skies, laid waste to large sections of the country and paved the way for American ground troops to converge on Baghdad. The invasion was based on what turned out to be faulty claims that Saddam Hussein had secretly stashed weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons never materialized.
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Saddam was toppled from power, and America's war shifted the country’s governing base from minority Arab Sunnis to majority Shiites, with Kurds gaining their own autonomous region. While many Iraqis welcomed Saddam's ouster, they were disappointed when the government failed to restore basic services and the ongoing battles instead brought vast humanitarian suffering.
Resentment and power struggles between the Shiites and the Sunnis fueled civil war, leading ultimately to America's complete withdrawal in December 2011. The divide was a key factor in the collapse of the nation's police and military forces when faced with the Islamic State insurgency that swept across Iraq and Syria in 2014.
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THE U.S. RETURNS
The rise of the Islamic State group — its roots were in al-Qaida affiliates — and its expanding threat to the U.S. and allies across Europe sent the U.S. back into Iraq at the invitation of the Baghdad government in 2014. Over that summer and fall, the U.S.-led coalition launched airstrike campaigns in Iraq and then Syria, and restarted a broad effort to train and advise Iraq's military.
The coalition's train and advise mission has continued, bolstered by a NATO contingent, even after the Islamic State group's campaign to create a caliphate was ended in March 2019.
The roughly 2,500 troops deployed to Iraq live on joint bases with Iraqi troops, where they provide training and equipment. That troop total, however, fluctuates a bit, and the Pentagon does not reveal the number of U.S. special operations forces that routinely move in and out of the country to assist Iraqi forces or travel into Syria for counterterrorism operations.
“Iraq is still under pressure from ISIS,” said retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, who led U.S. Central Command and served as the top U.S. commander for the Middle East from 2019 to 2022. “We still help them continue that fight. We’ve done a lot of things to help them improve the control of their own sovereignty, which is of very high importance to the Iraqis.”
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WHY THE U.S. PRESENCE CONTINUES
The much-stated reason for the continued U.S. troop presence is to help Iraq battle the remnants of the Islamic State insurgency and prevent any resurgence.
But a key reason is Iran.
Iran's political influence and militia strength in Iraq and throughout the region has been a recurring security concern for the U.S. over the years. And the presence of American forces in Iraq makes it more difficult for Iran to move weapons across Iraq and Syria into Lebanon, for use by its proxies, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, against Israel.
The same is true for the U.S. troop presence around the al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, which is located on a vital road that can link Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon — and Israel’s doorstep. In both Iraq and Syria, U.S. troops disrupt what could be an uncontested land bridge for Iran to the eastern Mediterranean.
U.S. troops in Iraq also provide critical logistical and other support for American forces in Syria, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces battling the Islamic State group. The U.S. conducts airstrikes and other missions targeting IS leaders, and also supports the SDF in guarding thousands of captured IS fighters and family members imprisoned in Syria.
Military leaders successfully beat back efforts by then-President Donald Trump to pull all troops out of both Syria and Iraq. They argued that if anything were to happen in Syria that endangered U.S. forces, they would need to be able to quickly send troops, equipment and other support from Iraq.
In a recent visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said U.S. forces are ready to remain in Iraq, in a noncombat role, at the invitation of the government.
“We’re deeply committed to ensuring that the Iraqi people can live in peace and dignity, with safety and security and with economic opportunity for all,” he said.
IRAQ BY THE NUMBERS
By the time Washington withdrew its last combat troops in December 2011, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians were dead, along with 4,487 American troops.
More than 3,500 troops were killed in hostile action and nearly 1,000 died in noncombat deaths from 2003 to 2011. More than 32,000 troops were wounded in action; tens of thousands more have also reported illnesses to the Department of Veterans Affairs that are believed to be linked to toxic exposure from the burn pits in Iraq. Legislation signed into law by the Biden administration has expanded the number of those veterans who will qualify for lifetime care or benefits due to that exposure.
From 2003 through 2012, the United States provided $60.64 billion to fund Iraq's security forces and civilian reconstruction, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Of that total, $20 billion went to funding, equipping, providing uniforms for and training Iraq's security forces.
There were roughly 100,000 contractors each year in Iraq supporting U.S. forces and the U.S. mission from 2007 until 2010, according to the Congressional Research Service. As of late last year, there were about 6,500 contractors supporting U.S. operations in Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. Central Command.
1 year ago