Holocaust Remembrance Day in Gulf
Plus: What to expect from the Diaspora vote in Lebanon? Saudi-led airstrikes killed more than 70 people in Yemen. The Palestinian Authority intensifies its crackdown on political opponents and more...
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Before starting with the most newsworthy news from the Middle East this week, I suggest reading my latest article published on The New Arab. Lebanon's expat community has registered to vote in the upcoming May elections in record numbers. Still, it remains to be seen whether the diaspora vote will succeed in shaking the political establishment.
Yemen
On Friday, January 21, Saudi-led airstrikes killed more than 70 people, including women and children, in the Yemeni cities of Hodeida and Saada. Doctors Without Borders reported the hospital in Saada has received around 200 people injured in the strike and that many bodies remain at the scene. The Saudi-led bombing campaign follows the Houthis's drone and missile attack on the United Arab Emirates last week, killing three people in Abu Dhabi. The fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led military coalition backing the government has created what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Read more on Al-Monitor.
Holocaust Remembrance Day in Gulf
On Thursday, January 27, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host Holocaust Memorial Day with prayers and survivors' testimonies, Dr. Elie Abadie, the Emirates' senior rabbi in residence, said. Holocaust Remembrance Day will also be celebrated in Bahrain. Rabbi Abadie said the memorial is "a testimony to the welcoming view of the authorities here in the UAE and Bahrain, to the pledge of tolerance and coexistence in their region."
Such celebrations in Gulf follow a historic resolution signed in September 2020 by the UAE and Bahrain to establish ties with Israel. The Abraham Accords were seen as one of the most significant breakthroughs in the Middle East peace process, stalled for years. They opened the door for diplomatic, trade, travel, and business ties between signatory countries. Read more on The National News.
Iran nuclear deal
According to a U.S. nuclear negotiator, the United States is unlikely to strike an agreement with Iran to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal unless Tehran releases four U.S. citizens Washington says it is holding hostage.
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners in recent years, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.
The indirect talks between Iran and the United States on bringing both countries back into full compliance with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal are in their eighth round. Iran refuses to hold meetings with U.S. officials.
The deal between Iran and major powers lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities that extended the time it would need to obtain enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb if it chose to. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Read the exclusive reporting on Reuters.
Syria
The PKK-linked Revolutionary Youth movement has continued its campaign of child recruitment in northeast Syria despite efforts from local authorities and SDF chief Mazloum Kobane to stop the practice, leaving a trail of frantic parents in its wake.
Children are trained and dispatched to fight in one of the PKK's military units. The rights organization Syrians for Truth and Justice documented nine boys and eight girls taken in the last three months of 2021. An April 2021 U.N. report documented over 400 cases of child recruitment into the PKK-linked Syrian Kurdish People's and Women's Protection Units from July 2018 to June 2020. Although the report did not mention the Revolutionary Youth by name, the movement was likely behind many incidents. Read the full report on Al-Monitor.
Lebanon
Former PM Saad Hariri announced on January 24 he will suspend his involvement in political activities and will not run in upcoming elections scheduled in May 2022. The Sunni pollical party Future Movement leader's announcement was expected for a long time as his political allies weakened and adversaries, notably Iran-backed Hezbollah, became more prominent in government. The Hariri family has dominated Lebanon's Sunni political landscape for more than three decades since the end of the country's civil war in 1990. Most Sunni lawmakers are part of Hariri's Future Movement party in Lebanon's sectarian system, where parliamentary seats are allocated based on a sectarian quota. Researcher Karim Merhej analyzes whether anyone can step out of his shadow and assume leadership of the Sunni community. Read the full analysis on Middle East Eye.
Egypt
United States President Joe Biden's administration has approved a massive arms sale to Egypt valued at about $2.5bn, despite continued calls for Washington to curtail its support until Cairo improves its human rights record.
The possible sale, which is not finalized, includes 12 Super Hercules C-130 transport aircraft and related equipment worth $2.2 billion and air defense radar systems worth an estimated $355 million.
"The proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a major non-NATO ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East," the State Department said on Tuesday, January 25.
The deals come despite ongoing concern in Washington over the Egyptian government's poor human rights record under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with rights groups estimating that Egypt currently holds about 60,000 political prisoners.
The Biden administration has promised to pursue a human rights-led foreign policy, including taking a hard line with el-Sisi. However, it has avoided a more significant overhaul of U.S. military aid and sales to Egypt, which it considers a key ally in the region. Read the full article on Al-Jazeera.
Palestine
According to several analysts, the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) has intensified its crackdown on political opponents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over the past months. Since November 2021, the P.A. run by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party has obstructed welcome events held upon the release of Palestinian prisoners affiliated with other political parties, particularly the Gaza-based resistance groups, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).On several occasions, P.A. security forces turned violent, including the firing of tear gas at crowds.
This new trend of obstructing funeral and prisoner release processions can be traced to the decline in the P.A.'s popularity, owing to the failure of its political project to form a state for the 4.5 million Palestinians living in the 1967-occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, popular support for Hamas dramatically increased during the 11-day Israeli bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, following Israel's attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem and the widespread confrontations with Israeli forces that ensued across historic Palestine. According to analysts, this is "a sign of weakness" and shows that the P.A. fears for its survival. Read the complete analysis on Al-Jazeera.
That's all for this week. Thanks for reading Inshallah. Share this article and subscribe to be up to date about news from the Middle East every week. It's free.
About me
My name is Dario Sabaghi, a freelance journalist. I am interested in human rights and international news focusing on the MENA region.
Check out my work at dariosabaghi.com.
You can follow me on Twitter: @DarioSabaghi
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