Middle East & North Africa

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran summoned Russia’s ambassador on Wednesday after Moscow released a joint statement with Arab countries earlier this week challenging Iran’s claim to disputed islands in the Persian Gulf.

It marked a rare spat between Iran and Russia, which have deepened ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine, with Iran supplying killer drones that have been used to devastating effect there. Iran and Russia are also strong backers of President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war.

11 July 2023; MEMO: The Kuwaiti government has announced plans to publish 100,000 copies of the Quran in the Swedish language for distribution in the Scandinavian country, in response to the provocative Quran burning incident in Stockholm on the day coinciding with Eid Al-Adha last month.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Israeli police arrested dozens of protesters on Tuesday, amid demonstrations against the passing of a bill that would curb the powers of the Supreme Court, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, police said 16 were arrested in Tel Aviv, 15 in areas in central Israel, 8 in Jerusalem and three near the coastal city of Netanya.

The Israeli opposition staged a series of protests across Israel on Tuesday against a Knesset vote on a bill to limit the Court's powers.

11 July 2023; MEMO: "Things are going off the rails," in Israel, outgoing US Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Tom Nides, said yesterday in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Nides will be stepping down from his post after nearly two years as Washington's envoy. Before departing, he sent a parting message about Israel, where he expressed concerns over the planned judicial overhaul and its divisive impact.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Israel has turned Palestine into an "open-air prison" where Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, are "constantly confined, surveilled and disciplined," according to Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories.

11 July 2023; MEMO: The French-inspired campaign with Britain to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 was a disastrous error, according to France's spy chief in Libya at the time, the Times reports.

According to the report, the story of the secret operations to bring down the Libyan dictator has been told by Jean-Francois Lhuillier, a former Tripoli station chief of the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE). His book has angered the Secret Service, where he worked for 27 years.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye in consultation with Congress, US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO, Reuters reports.

12 July 2023; MEMO: Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Social Equality Minister Amichai Chikli yesterday accused US President Joe Biden of fuelling anti-government demonstrations in Israel.

In an interview on Sunday with CNN, Biden criticised the Israeli government and plans to overhaul the judiciary.

12 July 2023; MEMO: US President Joe Biden has told CNN that the Palestinian Authority has "lost its credibility." Biden made the claim earlier this week.

"I think that the fact [is] that the Palestinian Authority has lost its credibility," he said, making clear that this assessment had nothing to do with Israel, but is related to the nature of the PA itself. "It has created a vacuum for extremism… among the Palestinians," he added.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli protesters took to the streets on Tuesday and blocked highways leading to Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv as part of countrywide demonstrations against the government’s planned judicial overhaul that has divided the nation.

The demonstrations came the morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval to a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with contentious proposed changes to the judiciary despite widespread opposition.