Middle East & North Africa

25 July 2021; MEMO: Israel on Sunday prevented the entry of fuel trucks allocated for Gaza's sole power plant via the Kerem Shalom crossing, the territory's main commercial trade route, Anadolu Agency reported quoting a Palestinian official.

"The [Israeli] occupation authorities barred the entry of 25 trucks loaded with fuel for the Gaza power plant," Rami Abu Elreish of Gaza's Ministry of Economy told Anadolu Agency.

25 July 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia re-opened the Muslim holy sites for the Umrah pilgrimage as of Sunday, according to the state news agency SPA.

"The Grand Mosque is ready to receive pilgrims and worshipers for Umrah" as of Sunday, July 25, SPA quoted the deputy head of the affairs of the Grand Mosque, Saad bin Muhammad al-Muhaimid, as saying.

He said pilgrims will be received in accordance with the necessary precautionary measures that will ensure the safety of visitors of the Grand Mosque.

24 July 2021; MEMO: Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita urged on Friday that those who accuse his country of spying must provide tangible proof, while hinting that Rabat might take legal action.

This came in an interview with the French magazine Jeune Afrique, at a time when Morocco faces accusations of spying on the phones of public personalities using the Israeli Pegasus spyware.

25 July 2021; MEMO: Jordan will start vaccinating children aged 12 years and older against COVID-19 from Sunday, Reuters reported the state news agency as saying on Saturday.

Children can be given the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine with the approval of a guardian with no prior appointment necessary, the agency quoted the health ministry as saying.

25 July 2021; MEMO: Iran on Saturday dismissed as meddling in its internal affairs criticism by the United Nations' human rights boss of the shooting deaths of protesters during demonstrations over water shortages, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile, rallies in support of the protests in the southwestern province of Khuzestan spread to the northwest of the country on Saturday, according to videos posted on social media.

Saudi-led coalition forces supporting the Yemeni government announced Sunday that bomb-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and a ballistic missile belonging to Houthi rebels were neutralised, reports Anadolu Agency.

Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile and dispatched three UAVs to the southern region of Saudi Arabia, but were intercepted by Saudi Airforce, according to a statement issued by the coalition, said Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The Houthis have yet to comment.

25 July 2021; MEMO: Iraq has signed an agreement allowing the cash-strapped Lebanese government pay for 1 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil a year in goods and services, helping Lebanon ease its acute power shortage, the two sides said on Saturday, reported Reuters.

Lebanon is in the throes of an economic meltdown threatening its stability. It has all but run down foreign reserves and faces a growing shortage of fuel, medicine and other basic goods. Most Lebanese face power cuts for many hours a day.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Two Turkish soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in an attack in northern Syria, Turkey’s defense ministry said Sunday.

The ministry tweeted that a Turkish armored vehicle was attacked. The assault occurred Saturday in the so-called Euphrates Shield area, which consists of a region between the Turkish border and northern Aleppo, including the towns of Jarablus and al-Bab.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Israeli airlines launched their first commercial flights between Israel and Morocco on Sunday, less than a year after the countries officially normalized relations.

Israir’s flight departed Tel Aviv for Marrakech with around 100 Israeli tourists, the company said, hours before Israeli national carrier El Al dispatched its first direct flight to the same destination.

NICOSIA, Jul 24 (NNN-NNA) – Cyprus and Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here yesterday, on cooperation in the energy sector, the Cypriot government said in a statement.

The document was signed by Foreign Minister, Nicos Christodoulides, and Lebanon’s Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Zeina Akar, during her official visit to Cyprus.

The statement said, the agreement establishes the general framework for the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries’ relevant ministries.