Russia Accuses Israel Of Sending Mercenaries To Ukraine
Plus: Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr 2022, Eight children killed in a vehicle accident in Egypt, Iran-Saudi tensions near the end, Hamas fears warming in Turkey-Israel ties, and more.
Hello readers. Welcome back to Inshallah, your newsletter about news from the Middle East delivered to your inbox every week.
I am Dario Sabaghi, ready to handpick for you the most newsworthy stories of the week. Subscribe to be up to date about the latest development in the Middle East. It's free.
Before digging into our week's news, I suggest reading my latest article published on Al-Monitor.
Beirut blast families fight to keep ruined silos up until justice is served as the Lebanese government approved plans to demolish the grain silos.
Families of the victims and activists say the Lebanese government is in an undue hurry to bring down a massive symbol of the 2020 Beirut port explosion.
Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr 2022
Muslims around the world celebrated the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival, which marked the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Eid al-Fitr, or "the festival of breaking the fast," begins with the first sighting of the new moon, and it often varies from country to country.
Celebrations begin with a special early morning prayer in mosques and open-air spaces and later move on to feasts and festivals.
Here you find some of the most significant pics of the event taken worldwide.
Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow accuses Israel of sending mercenaries to Ukraine
A diplomatic spat between Russia and Israel escalated again on Wednesday, April 4, as a spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry claimed that Israeli mercenaries are fighting Russia as part of a far-right Ukrainian regiment.
"Israeli mercenaries are practically shoulder to shoulder with Azov militants in Ukraine," said Maria Zakharova, director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in an interview on the pro-Kremlin Sputnik radio.
Azov has been a highly controversial battalion since it joined the fight against Russian aggression in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.
Formed by far-right activists as a response to Russian separatists trying to take over the Donbas region, Azov has subsequently been fighting under the Ukrainian military.
Israeli officials have not yet responded to the implication that Israelis are fighting alongside neo-Nazis.
The remarks came after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov compared Ukraine's Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to Adolf Hitler, saying they both had Jewish blood.
"The wise Jewish people said that the most ardent antisemites are usually Jews. Every family has its black sheep, as we say," he said on Italian TV on Sunday, May 1.
Although Israel, a longtime ally of both Russia and Ukraine, has attempted to maintain a degree of neutrality since Russia's invasion in February - to protect geopolitical interests in the region, particularly relating to Iran and Syria - recent comments by Russian officials have provoked a furious response.
Egypt: Eight children were killed in a vehicle accident in Nile Delta
At least eight children died Saturday, April 30, when a passenger tricycle overturned and sank in an irrigation channel in Egypt's Nile Delta.
The children were workers at a factory in the city of Itay el-Baroud in the Mediterranean province of Beheira., around 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of the capital of Cairo.
The three-wheeled vehicle was carrying at least 13 people when it overturned and sank into the channel. Rescuers retrieved the bodies of eight children between 12-and 15 years old.
At least four others survived, and rescue workers searched for at least one other.
Prosecutors opened an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Iran-Saudi tensions near the end, Iraq PM says
The end of tensions between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia is near, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said in an interview on April 30.
Iraq, a neighbor to both countries, has hosted five rounds of talks to restore ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the past year.
Following the latest round in Baghdad, Iraqi officials have sounded increasingly optimistic, talking of an imminent sixth session and even going so far as to raise the prospect of a resumption of diplomatic relations severed in 2016.
"Our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran approach the dialogue with a big responsibility as demanded by the current regional situation," Kadhemi said in his interview with the state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper.
"We are convinced that reconciliation is near," which would benefit regional stability, Kadhemi added.
Hamas fears warming in Turkey-Israel ties
Turkey has requested dozens of Hamas activists to leave its territories while preventing others from entering the country. The alleged request coincides with the rapprochement between Ankara and Tel Aviv.
Relations between Turkey and Hamas have greatly improved since the latter achieved a landslide victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.
However, Hamas showed restraint amid the Turkish-Israeli rapprochement. The Islamic movement contented itself with criticizing Israeli President Herzog's visit to Turkey on March 8. It, however, did not mention Turkey or Erdogan and called in a March 9 press statement for "not providing the Zionist entity the opportunity to infiltrate the Arab and Islamic region and tamper with the interests of the Arab and Islamic peoples."
Tunisia: President Saied announces the establishment of ''national dialogue"
Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced the establishment of a "national dialogue" expected for months but from which will be excluded all political parties that he considers responsible for the political and economic crisis shaking the country.
Four organizations will participate, including the trade union UGTT, the employers' organization UTICA, the Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH), and the National Bar Association.
Since the summer of 2021, President Saied, democratically elected at the end of 2019, seized all powers and ruled the country by decree.
At the end of March, he dissolved the parliament, which had been dominated for ten years by coalitions led by the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, his bête noire.
In recent weeks, he has also changed the composition of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, which governs the judicial system, and of the high electoral authority Isie.
UAE releases Lebanese physician held for weeks over a tweet
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) released on Thursday, April 28, a Lebanese physician after holding him for more than three weeks over a tweet he published years ago.
The case of Dr. Richard Kharrat came to attention in early April when local media reported that he went missing from his hotel in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.
Days after Kharrat's disappearance, Lebanon's state news agency quoted Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib as saying that Lebanese authorities are following the case of Kharrat, "who is in detention in the United Arab Emirates."
Lebanese activists have launched a campaign on social media calling for Kharrat's release.
A person familiar with the case, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the arrest was linked to tweets that Kharrat wrote years ago and were seen offensive to the UAE. In one of the widely circulated tweets, Kharrat poked fun at the names of people in the UAE and Lebanon.
Read more on Associated Press.
Syria: Biden will meet with parents of US journalist abducted in Syria 10 years ago
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Monday, May 2 he will meet with the parents of American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria 10 years ago.
The meeting with Marc and Debra Tice was expected to take place at the White House.
Tice, who is from Houston and whose work had been published by the Washington Post, the McClatchy newspaper group's publications and other outlets, disappeared in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus.
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
Did I miss any important news from the Middle East? DM me on Twitter.
Cover photo: google.com