Middle East & North Africa

21 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Yemeni government and the Houthis have agreed to free 887 detainees and to meet again in May, after 10 days of negotiations in Switzerland, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday, according to a Reuters report.

The deal which comes ahead of Ramadan adds to optimism for further releases and a final resolution to the conflict, following the resumption of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia this month.

21 Mar 2023; MEMO: President of the Civil Aviation Authority in the Sultanate of Oman, Naif Al-Abri, said the Sultanate will only allow Israeli flights to use its airspace but will not allow them to land on Omani territory.

Speaking to the local Atheer online newspaper on Monday, Al-Abri said the Civil Aviation Authority is a technical institution and is committed to international conventions, including the Chicago Treaty signed in 1944.

21 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Saudi Arabian authorities have freed a prisoner with dual Saudi-US citizenship after widespread pressure for his release, Associated Press has reported. Saad Almadi, 72, has lived in Florida for years, and was visiting his homeland when he was arrested a year ago.

21 Mar 2023; MEMO: Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has threatened that he will resign if the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persists in going ahead with its proposed judicial overhaul, Israeli media revealed on Monday.

Denouncing the wave of military personnel taking part in anti-government protests in Israel for almost three months, Gallant added that such "widespread insubordination may harm the IDF's ability to carry out its missions."

20 Mar 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia plans to reopen its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, nearly 12 years after it was closed due to the outbreak of the civil war, Russia's Sputnik news agency reported.

The agency quoted sources as saying that the kingdom may reopen the consulate in Damascus after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which follows the holy month of Ramadan.

19 Mar 2023; MEMO: Head of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for an official visit, the state news agency SANA reported, Anadolu reports.

Assad and his wife Asma were welcomed upon arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, SANA said.

Emirati news agency WAM said the two leaders held constructive talks aimed at developing relations between the two countries.

19 Mar 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has announced it will grant citizenship to certain to selected foreign nationals, following the passing of a law, allowing Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to do so, upon the proposal from the Minister of Interior earlier this year.

19 Mar 2023; MEMO: Opponents of the Israeli government's plans for judicial overhaul staged fresh demonstrations for the 11th straight week on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

Protesters held rallies in several Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, where several main roads were blocked, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.

Saturday's protests were joined by Arab-Israelis and members of the Bedouin community, marking their first appearance in the ongoing demonstrations against the judicial reform plans.

20 Mar 2023; MEMO: Palestine on Sunday appealed for US and international action to halt Israeli settler attacks against holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu reports.

Two Israeli settlers on Sunday broke into the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem and attempted to sabotage the content inside, but were confronted by a Palestinian man who was present at the church, according to the Governorate of Jerusalem.

20 Mar 2023; MEMO: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has received an official invitation froml Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to visit Riyadh, a senior Iranian official said.

Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy chief of staff for political affairs, said the Saudi king had welcomed the recent deal between the two "brotherly countries" on the normalisation of bilateral ties and called for strong economic and regional cooperation between Riyadh and Tehran.