Middle East & North Africa

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: Israeli settlers yesterday attacked a number of Palestinian homes in Einabous village, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, Wafa news agency reported.

According to Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement construction in the northern West Bank, scores of settlers from the illegal Yitzhar settlement were provided heavy military protection as they attacked a Palestinian neighbourhood in Einabous.

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: The Israeli military will impose a total closure on the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip during Tuesday’s parliamentary election, Anadolu Agency reports.

“According to the security situation evaluation and directives of the political level, total closure will be imposed in the areas of the West Bank and the terminals of the Gaza Strip,” the army said in a statement.

The closure will be applied Monday midnight for 24 hours.

17 Sep 2019; MEMO: The Saudi-led military coalition battling Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday that the attack on Saudi Arabian oil plants was carried out with Iranian weapons and was not launched from Yemen according to preliminary findings, Reuters reports.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said that an investigation into Saturday’s strikes, which had been claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, was still going on to determine the launch location.

17 September 2019; AFP: Benny Gantz, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main challenger in Tuesday's elections, is a respected former military chief who says he can restore honour to the premier's office.

Gantz, a 60-year-old ex-paratrooper, had no previous political experience when he declared himself as Netanyahu's electoral rival in December.

(Reuters) - A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday drowning at least two people with nine rescued and another 14 missing, a coastguard official said.

The boat sank six miles (10km) from the coastline near the city of Sfax, Houssem Jebabli told Reuters, adding that the rescue operation continued.

There have been two migrant shipping disasters off the Tunisian coast this year, with 86 African migrants drowned after their boat capsized having set off for Europe from Libya in July.

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, will not face any supply disruption after a reduction in production at its No. 2 supplier Saudi Arabia, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

"Following the attacks on the oil stablization centres of @Saudi_Aramco, top executives of Aramco have been contacted," he tweeted. "We have reviewed our overall crude oil supplies for the month of September with our OMCs. We are confident there would be no supply disruption to India. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation."

DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday ruled out talks with Washington after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities that knocked out half the kingdom’s output.

Trump said on Monday that it looked like Iran was behind the weekend strike at the heart of the Saudi oil industry, which cut 5% of global production, but stressed he did not want to go to war. Iran denied it was to blame.

BOSASSO, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Arab Emirates no longer plans to establish a military airport in Somaliland and the facility currently being built will be turned into a civilian airport, the region’s president said.

Somaliland said last year that the UAE would train military in the semi-autonomous region, part of a deal to host a UAE base in the region.

“The Berbera airport which was being built by the UAE and designed to be a military base will become a public airport for civilians,” Muse Bihi Abdi said.

BEIRUT, Sept 17 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, called for a stronger commitment to the Palestinian cause and warned about Israel’s “conspiracy” plans in the region, Lebanese presidency’s website, said.

“Israel believes that, circumstances are very suitable now to implement its plans in Arab countries, such as the ‘Deal of the Century,’ in light of fragmentation among Arab countries,” Aoun said.

SANAA, Sept 17 (NNN-SABA) – Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned that, the attacked sites of Saudi Arabian national energy giant Aramco are still in their “sights.”

“We warn companies and foreigners to stay away from Aramco plants that we struck, because they are still in our sights and could be hit at any time,” Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea said.

“We reaffirm to the Saudi regime that our hands can reach any place at any time … Saudi Arabia should stop its aggression and economic blockade against Yemen,” Sarea said.