Middle East & North Africa

18 Jan 2023; MEMO: A far-right Turkish Party has launched a fundraising campaign for the apparent purpose of buying bus tickets to deport Syrian refugees, as anti-refugee sentiment continues to spread throughout Turkiye.

In a tweet on Monday, the Chairman of the Victory Party, Umit Ozdag, stated that "Ticket sales for Zafer Tourism's one-way trips to Damascus have begun." He also asked people to provide names of Syrians they want to have deported, promising to "make the reservation".

CAIRO, Jan 18 (NNN-MENA) – Leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine, highlighted the need to preserve the “legitimate” Palestinian rights, and continue joint efforts to achieve comprehensive, just, and permanent peace in the region.

During a tripartite summit held in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, discussed the Palestinian issue in light of the current developments in the occupied Palestinian territories.

RABAT, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco’s army said it had agreed with Israel to strengthen military cooperation, including in intelligence and cybersecurity, following defense meetings in Rabat.

The two countries “agreed to further strengthen cooperation and expand it to other areas, including intelligence, air defense, and electronic warfare,” the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said in a statement.

The announcement on Tuesday follows the first meeting of the monitoring committee for Moroccan-Israeli defense cooperation in the Moroccan capital.

JERUSALEM, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to remove a senior minister over a past tax fraud conviction, in a setback for the new right-wing coalition government.

The 10-to-one ruling on Shas party leader Aryeh Deri looks likely to further stoke tensions between the Cabinet and Israel's Supreme Court over government reform plans which aim to rein in the top court.

TEHRAN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian nuclear chief on Wednesday stressed that there is no undeclared nuclear activity or site in Iran, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

Making the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also announced the same thing repeatedly.

ANKARA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted on Wednesday that the next general and presidential elections could be held on May 14, nearly one month earlier than the scheduled date.

Addressing his party members at the parliament, Erdogan cited the polls on May 14, 1950 when Democrat Party beat Republican People's Party, which had been in power for 27 years.

"Our people will answer (the opposition) on the same day 73 years later," the Turkish president said.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must fire a key ally from the country’s new Cabinet, presenting the Israeli leader with a potential coalition crisis and deepening a rift over the power of the courts.

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Jordan summoned the Israeli Ambassador on Tuesday to protest police obstruction of the Kingdom's Envoy during his visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu News Agency reports.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli Envoy was handed "a strongly-worded letter of protest to be delivered immediately to his government."

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Terrorists in Syria are the main threat to the country rather than the presence of Turkish forces, a Turkish official has insisted after a recent demand by the Syrian regime for Turkiye to withdraw its military from the north.

17 Jan 2023; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Tuesday that Israel's main conflict is with Iran, Anadolu News Agency reports.

This came during Netanyahu's meeting with Betsy Korn, head of the pro-Israeli American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised that the main struggle has been – and remains – with Iran," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.