Middle East & North Africa

Iran will confront Israel 'wherever it feels necessary': Quds Force commander

15 April 2022; MEMO: Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic will confront Israel "wherever it feels necessary," the semi-official Nour News Agency reported.

"Wherever we identify a Zionist threat, we will harshly confront them. They are too small to confront us," said Qaani, whose unit is in control of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations, according to Reuters.

Tunisia to raise fuel prices by 30% until end of 2022

15 April 2022; MEMO: Tunisia will raise local fuel prices every month this year by no less than 3 per cent, an official in the energy ministry said on Thursday, which may mean an increase of at least 30 per cent by the end of 2022, Reuters reported.

Tunisia raised fuel prices by 5 per cent on Wednesday, its third hike this year, following a sharp rise in oil prices in an effort to rein in its budget deficit, according to the Reuters report.

Islamic-Christian Committee calls for mobilisation to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque

15 April 2022; MEMO: The Islamic-Christian Committee in Support of Jerusalem and its Sanctuaries have called on Palestinians everywhere to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday and to repel any attempt by Israeli extremist settlers to storm the mosque and implement their aggressive scheme to desecrate and violate its sanctity.

Israel: 'Palestinians should have separate political, not geographical, entity'; Gantz

16 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced on Friday that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be based on creating two different political, not geographical, entities, Arab 48 reported.

Speaking with the Walla news website, Gantz asserted that the Israeli entity must maintain its military superiority over the Palestinian entity.

Egypt: BDS condemns hosting Israel music festival in Sinai

16 April 2022; MEMO: Egypt's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has strongly condemned hosting an Israeli music festival at Egyptian army-owned facilities in the Sinai Peninsula, The New Arab news website reported on Friday.

Tolip hotel, located in Sinai, plans to host the Israeli music Nabia Festival as part of the Jewish celebration of Passover.

Palestinians begin strike to protest Israeli killings

15 April 2022; MEMO: Palestinians staged a general strike in the occupied West Bank on Thursday in mourning for the killing of four people by Israeli army forces, Anadolu Agency reports.

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem on Wednesday. Two other Palestinians were fatally shot on Thursday during an Israeli raid in the town of Kafr Dan, northwest of Jenin city.

Two Killed, 10 Wounded In Anti-Terror Operations In N. Iraq

BAGHDAD, Apr 15 (NNN-NINA) – An army officer and a soldier were killed, and 10 others wounded yesterday, during operations against the Daesh militants, in the northern Iraqi provinces of Kirkuk and Salahudin, a police source said.

In Kirkuk, a roadside bomb detonated near an army patrol, in the rugged area of Wadi al-Shay, some 250 km north of the capital Baghdad, killing an officer and injuring three soldiers, said Col. Mohammed al-Bazi, from the Salahudin provincial police.

Abbas Calls For Int’l Protection To Palestinians

RAMALLAH, Apr 15 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, yesterday, called on the international community to provide protection to the Palestinian people, amid a significant Israeli escalation of tension in the West Bank.

It was reported that, Abbas made the remarks during his meeting with Sven Koopmans, European Union’s special representative for the Middle East peace process.

According to the report, Abbas reviewed Isreal’s continuous attacks against the Palestinians, referring to the ongoing escalation of tension as “unbearable.”

United Nations: US, Russia clash over cause of food price rises

United Nations, Apr 15 (AP) The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations accused Russia on Thursday of making the precarious food situation in Yemen and elsewhere even worse by invading Ukraine, calling it just another grim example of the ripple effect Russia's unprovoked, unjust, unconscionable war is having on the world's most vulnerable.

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