Middle East & North Africa

29 June 2020; MEMO: Egyptian authorities last week arrested a doctor who criticised the prime minister on Facebook.

Mohamed Moataz Al-Fawal, 39, a radiology lecturer at Zagazig medical school and treasurer of the doctor’s union, requested that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly apologise for statements he made that ignited outrage among medics.

Last week Madbouly blamed doctors for the worsening covid crisis in the country due to their absence from work, “which, in a way, led to cases worsening and deaths.”

(Reuters) - The shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran in January was due to human error and not an order from senior military authorities, the military prosecutor for Tehran province, Gholam Abbas Torki, said on Monday, Tasnim news agency reported.

There was no indication that the downing of the airliner, which killed all 176 people aboard, was due to a cyber attack on Iran’s missile or air defence systems, Torki said, adding that three people were under arrest related to the accident.

ISTANBUL, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained three Syrians in northwestern Turkey over their suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, state-run Anadolu Agency said on Monday.

Police launched operations simultaneously in several locations in the Bolu province to capture the suspects who were believed to be IS members.

Many organizational documents and digital materials were also seized during the raids, it added.

The IS was blamed for a spate of deadly attacks over past years in Turkey, in which more than 300 people were killed.

JERUSALEM, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Monday he is willing to negotiate with the Palestinians on the basis of U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast "peace plan."

The remark was made overnight in a pre-recorded address to a conference organized by "Christians United for Israel," a U.S.-based pro-Israeli evangelical group.

Speaking two days before his set date for annexing part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Netanyahu urged the Palestinians to "embrace" Trump's plan.

AMMAN, June 29 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan, on Sunday, condemned an Israeli decision, to install an elevator, linking parts of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem, with the Buraq Wall, which is also known as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall.

Expressing Jordan’s rejection to all unilateral Israeli measures, Daifallah Fayez, spokesman of the kingdom’s foreign ministry, said, this project will change the nature of the Old City and its Arab identity, according to a ministry statement.

BEIRUT, June 29 (NNN-NNA) – A number of Hezbollah supporters protested on Sunday, in Dahie, Beirut’s southern suburbs, against the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon, for her remarks blaming Hezbollah for the economic crisis in the country.

The envoy, Dorothy Shea, announced earlier this week that, Hezbollah stands behind the economic and financial crisis in Lebanon.

The ambassador’s remarks prompted Lebanese judge, Mohammad Mazeh, to prevent the Lebanese media from covering any speeches by Shea.

The U.S. embassy then criticised the judge’s decision.

DAMASCUS, June 29 (NNN-SANA) – Fresh airstrikes targeted Iranian-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, killing nine, a day after similar strikes hit the same area, a war monitor reported.

The airstrikes targeted positions of Iranian-backed forces in the desert region, in the countryside of al-Bukamal city in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based watchdog group said, the death toll could likely rise due to the number of critically wounded fighters.

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s foreign minister summoned the U.S. ambassador to Beirut over comments she made recently in which she criticized the militant Hezbollah group, state-run National News Agency reported Sunday.

In Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut, some 500 protesters marched on foot and motorcycles through the streets chanting: “Oh America, you are the Great Satan.”

The agency gave no further details other than saying that the meeting between Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti and Ambassador Dorothy Shea is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Tehran, June 27, IRNA - Flights between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) returned to normal, Iran's Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced on Saturday.

Iranian airlines can directly make their demands and receive permission from the UAE, the Embassy said through a statement.

After following-up measures taken by the Iranian Embassy, permission has been given to fly Dubai to operate flights from Iran to UAE.

Passengers should see https://smartservices.ica.gov.ae to get coronavirus test before flying, according to Iranian Embassy.

28 June 2020; MEMO: The proposals of the EU on the Cyprus issue, "which have never referred to the equal rights of the Turkish Cypriots on the island's natural resources, are "far from serious", said Turkish Foreign Ministry's spokesman on Saturday.

In a written statement, Hami Aksoy responded to the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell's proposal, which plans to bring together Turkey and the Greek Cypriot administration.