Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli security forces early Friday hunted down and killed a Palestinian man who had opened fire into a crowded bar in central Tel Aviv, killing two and wounding over 10 in an attack that caused scenes of mass panic in the heart of the bustling city.

It was the fourth deadly attack in Israel by Palestinians in three weeks, and came at a time of heightened tensions around the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank were set to enter Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

07 April 2022; MEMO: A spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said Thursday, that the Israeli authorities continue to flagrantly violate international laws and humanitarian covenants by besieging the Gaza Strip, preventing the entry of medical equipment and devices into it, and preventing Palestinian patients from travelling abroad for treatment, as well as practicing medical negligence against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

07 April 2022; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said on Thursday his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, invited him for talks on 18 May, which would mark the first in three years between the NATO members that have taken steps to improve long-strained ties, Reuters reports.

Ankara and Washington have jousted over several issues, including Turkiye's purchase of Russian S-400 defences, which triggered US sanctions and Ankara's removal from a F-35 fighter jet programme where it was a buyer and manufacturer.

07 April 2022; MEMO: Leader of the Israeli opposition and former Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called Thursday on members of the right to form a new party and bring down the government of incumbent Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett.

Netanyahu's call came in the wake of the resignation of Idit Silman; a coalition party's chief whip, which led to throwing the coalition government off balance and raised the possibility of new parliamentary elections less than a year after the government took office.

08 April 2022; MEMO: A senior US diplomat said the proposed pipeline to transport gas from the eastern Mediterranean to European markets, via Israel, Cyprus and Greece, was "not viable", stressing that "Europe needs to swiftly find alternative sources of energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine", Reuters reported.

RAMALLAH, Apr 7 (NNN-WAFA) – The Palestinian UN mission, sent memos to the UN, urging an end to Israeli actions against Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Palestine envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said yesterday.

Mansour told the “Voice of Palestine” that, memos were sent to the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, and the UN General Assembly President, “to contain the Israeli violations in the city,” namely the recent Israeli measures and actions against Palestinians during the Muslim month of Ramadan, at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem.

ADEN, Apr 7 (NNN-YPA) – UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said yesterday that, the presence of hostile military activities, near the country’s oil-rich province of Marib, sparks concerns on the fifth day of the two-month ceasefire.

In a statement, the UN envoy briefed on the status of the truce that went into effect on Apr 2, pointing out that, he has seen a “significant reduction of violence” but he noted, there are reports of some hostile military activities, particularly around Marib.

KHARTOUM, April 7 (NNN-SUNA) — Sudan’s Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries announced the resumption of livestock exports to Saudi Arabia after renewing the protocol with the Saudi Ministry of Animal Resources, Agriculture and Environment in the field of health requirements.

BEIRUT (AP) — Rising food prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are increasing the risk of malnutrition of millions of children in the Middle East and North Africa, the U.N. children’s agency warned Thursday.

UNICEF added that families are struggling to put food on the table during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been hard hit by wars and poverty and the coronavirus has only made things worse.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A proposed pipeline to deliver natural gas from deposits in the east Mediterranean to European markets is too expensive, not economically viable and will take too long to help countries seeking alternatives to Russian gas any time soon, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades that countries in the region have understood that dependence on Russian oil and gas is “an extremely bad bet” following its invasion of Ukraine.