Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM (AP) — If, during your travels in the Holy Land, you decide to take the next step with your Palestinian sweetheart, you should notify the Israeli military within 30 days.

That’s what it says on page 30 of a new 97-page policy released by COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank. The policy, set to take effect later this year, specifies that the “start of the relationship” is the engagement, the wedding or when you move in together.

05 May 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian presidency announced on Wednesday that the "National Committee for the Establishment of a New Republic" will be responsible for carrying out reforms in the country, Anadolu has reported.

The announcement was made on the presidency's Facebook page. The committee will have two sub-committees. "The first will be dedicated to constitutional and political reforms, and the second will undertake economic and social reforms."

05 May 2022; MEMO: The Israeli army is deploying Iron Dome batteries in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in preparation for  a possible escalation in tensions with the Palestinian resistance after Jewish extremists called for storming Al-Aqsa Mosque today and later this month to mark the occupation state's 74th Independence Day, local media reported.

05 May 2022; MEMO: A senior Hamas delegation arrived in Moscow on Tuesday at the invitation of Russia's Foreign Ministry to hold "important discussions" with Russian officials, Tass reported yesterday.

Deputy Head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, led the delegation, which included Fathi Hammad and Hussam Badran, as well as the movement's representative in Moscow.

05 May 2022; MEMO: Jordan has warned Israel about the ongoing threats against Al-Aqsa Mosque from extremist Jewish settlers, the Jordan Times has reported.

Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places Mohamed Al-Khalayleh said that allowing extremist settlers to storm the mosque compound "provokes" Muslims around the world.

04 May 2022; MEMO: OPEC+ is set to agree on another small increase in production targets for June, delegates from the group say, as expectations that sanctions will crimp Russian output further counter demand growth concerns from Chinese lockdowns, reports Reuters.

OPEC+ ministers are set to meet on Thursday and are expected to agree to raise production targets by 432,000 barrels per day (bpd) for June, four OPEC+ delegates told Reuters.

05 May 2022; MEMO: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed yesterday that 8.5 million Iraqis live among deadly mines and unexploded remnants of war.

"Iraq is one of the most contaminated countries on the planet's surface with explosive munitions," ICRC spokeswoman in Iraq, Heba Adnan, told the Iraqi official news agency, adding that explosive remnants of war are spread across more than 3,200 square kilometres of land, "twice the size of the city of London".

05 May 2022; MEMO: Palestine has called on the United Nations Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities and stop the Israeli escalation against Palestinians and their sanctities, Anadolu news agency reported.

A statement issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on the Security Council to "take the necessary measures to pressure the Israeli government to stop its aggression and escalation against the Palestinians and force it to abide by international law."

05 May 2022; MEMO: The US and Israel have blocked leading Palestinian human rights activists from attending the UN Civil Society Forum in Mexico City, Quds Press reported yesterday.

The Director of Addameer for Human Rights, Sahar Francis, and the Director of Bisan Centre for Research and Development, Ubai Al-Aboudi, were both stopped by the Israeli authorities, apparently at America's request.

05 May 2022; MEMO: A group of illegal settlers and Israeli forces raised the Israeli flag on top of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in the occupied West Bank yesterday, Wafa news agency reported.

Flags were placed on top of the mosque and along its walls as part of Israel's preparations for its Independence Day celebrations on 14 May.