Middle East & North Africa

22 May 2021; MEMO: Baghdad announced on Thursday its readiness to receive Palestinians injured during the Israeli aggression to receive treatment in Iraq's healthcare facilities.

Spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Health Saif Al-Badr announced that all Iraqi healthcare institutions are ready to receive wounded Palestinian citizens and provide them with healthcare services.

22 May 2021; MEMO: Israeli forces rounded up 50 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said on Saturday.

The NGO, however, did not give details about the accusations against the detainees.

On Wednesday, the NGO said more than 1,800 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and Arab towns inside Israel since mid-April.

21 May 2021; MEMO: At least 20 Palestinian worshippers have been injured after praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem today after Israeli occupation forces stormed the Muslim holy site and fired at them, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported.

Cairo, May 22 (AP-PTI) Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry has spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, about stabilising the Cairo-brokered Gaza cease-fire deal.

A statement by Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the two diplomats on Friday discussed shoring up the deal, which has mostly brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Palestinians. They hope that will facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza.

TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday rejected a recent rule of a Canadian court on the Ukrainian plane which crashed near Tehran in January 2020.

"Everyone knows that the Canadian court has no authority to rule about this plane crash ... which took place outside of Canada," spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said at the ministry's website.

SHADDADI, Syria (AP) — The Iraqi government for the first time is expected to bring home about 100 Iraqi families from a sprawling camp in Syria next week, a move that U.S. officials see as a hopeful sign in a long-frustrated effort to repatriate thousands from the camp, known as a breeding ground for young insurgents.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians rallied by the thousands Friday after a cease-fire took effect in the latest Gaza war, with many viewing it as a costly but clear victory for the Islamic militant group Hamas. Israel vowed to respond with a “new level of force” to further hostilities.

BEIRUT, May 21 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese army, yesterday, thwarted an attempt to smuggle 125 Syrian refugees by sea, in the area opposite to the Arida village, in northern Lebanon, a statement by the army reported.

A patrol of the Lebanese army intercepted a boat that was carrying refugees several kilometres away from the shore.

The arrested were referred to judicial authorities for further investigations and legal procedures.

Lebanon’s security forces also thwarted earlier this month, the smuggling of 40 Syrian refugees by sea to Cyprus.

(Reuters) --- Israeli police fired stun grenades towards Palestinians who threw rocks and petrol bombs at officers outside Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, hours after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in Gaza.

Police raids of the compound and clashes with Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan helped touch off violence between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, who after 11 days of fighting agreed to a truce early Friday.

(Reuters) --- Iran has hand picked hundreds of trusted fighters from among the cadres of its most powerful militia allies in Iraq, forming smaller, elite and fiercely loyal factions in a shift away from relying on large groups with which it once exerted influence.

The new covert groups were trained last year in drone warfare, surveillance and online propaganda and answer directly to officers in Iran's Quds Force, the arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) that controls its allied militia abroad.