Middle East & North Africa

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Thursday, found himself in an intense argument with a journalist, both of whom accused each other of being behind the chaotic situation in Israel over the government controversial judicial reform plan, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Footage circulated on social media shows Ben-Gvir telling Doron Tsabari, a journalist from the daily Haaretz, to stop incitements against the government.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian man who entered a settlement in the occupied West Bank armed with knives and explosive devices was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on Friday, the Israeli military said, just hours after a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded Israelis in downtown Tel Aviv.

The new violence was the latest to grip Israel and the West Bank in one of the deadliest periods of unrest between Israelis and Palestinians in years.

JERUSALEM, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Israelis were stepping up on Thursday their protest against the controversial government plan to overhaul the judiciary, blocking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's route to the airport ahead of an official trip to Italy.

On a nationwide "Day of Resistance," dozens of demonstrations were being held in major cities and crossroads, paralysing traffic in several areas.

From the morning hours, convoys of protestors have been blocking the entrance to Ben Gurion Airport in order to disrupt Netanyahu's departure for an official visit to Rome.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s president has rejected accusations that he is stoking anti-Black racism, saying that he has sub-Saharan African friends and that his comments last month targeting migrants were misinterpreted by his enemies.

President Kais Saied drew international criticism and concern with those comments, in which he ordered a crackdown on sub-Saharan African migrants and lashed out at a perceived plot to erase Tunisia’s identity. The comments fanned racist abuse targeting Black people in Tunisia, and prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Women braved an official ban on an International Women’s Day march in Istanbul, Turkey, demonstrating for about two hours before police used tear gas to disperse remaining protesters and detained people.

Thousands converged on a central neighborhood Wednesday for a protest that combined women’s rights with the staggering toll of the deadly quake that hit Turkey and Syria a month ago.

JABA, West Bank (AP) — Three Palestinian militants were killed in a shootout with Israeli troops on Thursday, the latest deaths in a surge of Israeli arrest raids in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli security forces said they raided the village of Jaba in the northern West Bank to arrest suspects wanted for attacks on Israeli soldiers in the area. The suspects opened fire on Israeli troops, who shot back and killed three people, all affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, police said.

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: The United States continues to support the YPG "terror organisation" in Syria, Turkish diplomatic sources said yesterday.

Commenting on recent reports about a visit by the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to regions under the YPG's control in northeastern Syria, the sources told Anadolu Agency that the Turkish authorities had summoned the US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake to express the "necessary warnings and messages."

9 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) expressed its rejection of Israeli allegations ambulances are used by armed groups in Jenin.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: Troops from several elite military units in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have joined the protests against the overhaul of the judicial system planned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, local media have reported.

8 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Iranian Ministry of Interior yesterday announced the first arrests linked to a series of mysterious poisonings of schoolgirls across the country.

"A number of people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation," the Tasnim news agency quoted Deputy Interior Minister, Majid Mirahmadi, as saying.