Middle East & North Africa

21 March 2022; MEMO: All Palestinian people and factions are ready to defend the Negev and its resident, Quds Press reported a senior Islamic Jihad leader saying yesterday.

"Palestinian factions formed a support committee for the Palestinians in the lands occupied in 1948, mainly the residents of the Negev who have been subject to Israeli crimes and ethnic cleansing," Ahmed Al Modallal said.

20 March 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's presidential spokesman stressed Saturday the necessity of facilitating a "strategic meeting" between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia to reach a permanent cease-fire, Anadolu Agency reported.

Ibrahim Kalin told Al Jazeera news that Turkiye is trying to get "different views and channels together to bring an end to this war."

21 March 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation authorities yesterday released the Palestinian Authority's Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, on bail.

Ghaith had been in detention for 24 hours and was released on a bail of 10,000 shekels ($3,300), Arab48 reported.

Ghaith was banned by the Israeli occupation from travelling abroad via Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge between the occupation state and Jordan.

20 March 2022; MEMO: Iraq's Kurdish region has never been a threat to anyone, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement marking the Newroz holiday, Masrour Barzani said the KRG will continue defending and upholding its constitutional rights.

KRG "will not surrender its rights under any pressure," he added.

Barzani said the Kurdish region will remain a factor of stability in Iraq and the Middle East.

21 March 2022; MEMO: Germany and Qatar held talks to enter into a long-term energy partnership, news agencies reported yesterday.

This came as Germany, along with other EU member states, seeking to become less dependent on Russian energy sources following Moscow's war on Ukraine.

A statement issued by the Emiri Court said that Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani met German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in Doha yesterday.

21 March 2022; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces yesterday raided the Irahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and climbed onto its roof, the Wafa news agency reported.

Speaking to the news site, mosque Director, Ghassan Al-Rajabi, said: "Suddenly, the Israeli occupation forces raided the Ibrahimi Mosque, went upstairs and prevented Palestinian worshippers from entering it."

TUNIS, Mar 20 (NNN-TAP) – The number of bodies recovered off the Nabeul coast in north-eastern Tunisia has grown to 20, the private radio station, Shems FM, reported yesterday.

“Security personnel retrieved eight bodies off the coast of Nabeul today, raising the total number of bodies to 20,” Shems FM said.

“Most of the bodies that were retrieved belong to illegal immigrants with Syrian passports,” it said, adding, the rest of the bodies have been transferred to an autopsy agency for the verification of their identities.

AMMAN/BEIRUT, March 20 (Reuters) - Some Syrian paramilitary fighters say they are ready to deploy to Ukraine to fight in support of their ally Russia but have not yet received instructions to go, two of their commanders told Reuters.

Nabil Abdallah, a commander in the paramilitary National Defence Forces (NDF), said he was ready to use expertise in urban combat gained during the Syrian war to aid Russia, speaking to Reuters by phone from the Syrian town of Suqaylabiyah.

TEHRAN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The navy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday warned foreign forces off the regional waters, noting regional countries are responsible for security in the Gulf, Press TV reported.

The IRGC Navy has boosted control over the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and north of the Indian Ocean by equipping its units with advanced homegrown defense hardware, said Alireza Tangsiri at a meeting with officials and commanders of the IRGC Navy's bases.

BAGHDAD, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday condemned the latest attacks that targeted energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry "reiterated its stance calling for the adoption of dialogue to end these actions between the parties to the conflict, as the dialogue ensures mechanisms for all parties to avoid more losses," the statement said.