Middle East Experience

State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines plans to return to profitability by 2024, its chief executive officer said on Monday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Global airlines industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many planes grounded or flying near empty.However, Saudi Arabian Airlines was seeing domestic demand exceed capacity, CEO Ibrahim Koshy told the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.Read more: First international flights resume from Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh airportSaudi Arabia lifts quarantine requirement for COVID-19 vaccinated foreign visitorsTravel to Saudi Arabia to resume Monday after year of restrictions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudia Airlines eyes return to profitability by 2024: CEO

Kuwait summoned Monday the ambassador of the Czech Republic in the Gulf country after a social media post in support of Israel stirred nationwide online criticism.This comes as Israeli air strikes continued to hammer the Gaza Strip after a week of violence that has killed more than 200 people, the large majority Palestinian.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Martin Dvorak uploaded on his personal Instagram account an image of himself, with an Israeli flag, along with a statement that said: “I stand with Israel.”On Monday, he deleted the post and issued a letter of apology that said he was “extremely remorseful.”The foreign ministry of Kuwait – which has no official ties with Israel – said it summoned the ambassador earlier that day to express their “absolute rejection of his actions that go against the nature of his diplomatic position.”It said in a statement that the ministry “categorically rejects and strongly disapproves” of Dvorak rhetoric on his personal Instagram account.Dvorak said in the letter uploaded on the embassy’s Twitter account that “it was extremely insensitive of me towards the feelings of many of my close Kuwaiti and Muslim friends, and I want to apologize to them, as well as to all Kuwaitis and Palestinians, and to anyone else who feels aggrieved by this.”Thousands of Kuwaiti residents took to social media to express their discontent, with some calling for Dvorak’s departure, along with the hashtag #FreePalestine.“It is not enough to apologize. The ambassador should be expelled,” said one Twitter user.Another commented on the ambassador’s Instagram account, saying: “Think twice before you support a country that kills children.”“You are not welcome in Kuwait” and “shame on you,” others said.In the past week, Kuwaiti residents have held multiple protests in support of the Palestinians. Another demonstration is expected to take place on Monday.The renewed Israeli airstrikes on Monday come a day after 42 Palestinians in Gaza – including at least eight children and two doctors, according to the health ministry – were killed in the worst daily death toll in the enclave since the bombardments began.In total, 197 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 58 children, and more than 1,200 wounded since Israel launched its air campaign against Hamas on May 10 after the group fired rockets.In Israel, 10 people, including one child, have been killed and 294 wounded by rocket fire launched by armed groups in Gaza.Read more:Three children injured in Israeli raids on Gaza every hour: Save the ChildrenPalestine’s PM urges UN to declare Israeli measures in Gaza, West Bank illegal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Kuwait summons Czech envoy after pro-Israel post

Although a new unity government was formed in Libya, ending years of division in state institutions, conflicts still plague some financial institutions that control the country's economy, namely the central bank.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Rifts plague Libya’s central bank

A third of the victims who were killed in Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza are children, the Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila told Al Arabiya on Monday.Israeli raids have injured more than 7,000 people across Palestine, she said, adding that it is difficult to determine the exact number of people who were hurt in the attacks.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We are living in an unparalleled state of emergency,” the minister said.Palestinian children are in need of urgent psychological support as a result of Israel’s continuous attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, she added.Israel has been launching several airstrikes on Gaza and areas in the West Bank for the past two days, killing at least 220 people.The raids are currently ongoing, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent in Palestine who said that dozens of homes are currently being targetted by Israeli aircrafts.In Gaza alone, the number of deaths from Israeli raids reached 200, with the toll expected to be much higher as rescuers continue to uncover bodies underneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.Gaza is facing a shortage of medics to help treat the injured, the health minister said, adding that the health ministry was looking to increase the number of medical teams in the city.On Sunday, the London-based children’s charity Save the Children issued a statement saying that three children are injured every hour in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.“Almost 60 children have been killed in Gaza in a week. How many more families need to lose loved ones before the international community takes action? Where can children run to when airstrikes rain down on their homes?,” Jason Lee, Save the Children’s Country Director for Gaza, said in the statement.Critically ill and injured children are also unable to leave the blockaded city for treatment, Save the Children said.The raids have damaged power lines across the city and fuel supplies – the soul source of power and electricity in the Gaza Strip – are low. Health facilities and civilian infrastructures could soon be left without the power they need to deliver crucial supplies and emergency treatment, the organization said.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday released a similar statement, condemning the raids and saying Israel’s “bombardment” in Gaza is preventing the ICRC and other organizations from helping civilians injured or affected by the bombings.“For people in Gaza, access to hospitals and other vital infrastructure has become very complicated because of the incessant airstrikes and major damage to roads and buildings,” Robert Mardini, ICRC’s director-general, said.Read more:Three children injured in Israeli raids on Gaza every hour: Save the Children Death toll of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza rises to 200; Dozens of children killedPalestine’s PM urges UN to declare Israeli measures in Gaza, West Bank illegal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Third of airstrike victims in Gaza are children, minister says as Israel renews raids

As fighting between Palestinian factions and Israel entered a second week, the UN Security Council had its hopes dashed by the United States on Monday to release its first statement on the conflict that has seen an onslaught of Israeli airstrikes on what Tel Aviv says are militant targets in response to Hamas rocket attacks.Last week, the United States blocked multiple attempts by the Security Council member states to hold a public meeting on the matter. US officials hoped diplomatic efforts would lead to a ceasefire or de-escalation of tensions, but as fighting raged, it finally agreed to the first public meeting on Sunday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The latest draft statement by the Security Council, obtained by Al Arabiya English, urged an immediate cessation of violence and respect for international humanitarian law, “including the protection of civilians, especially children.”No direct mention of Hamas was included, neither was there a condemnation of rocket attacks on Israel.Sources familiar with the matter expected the US to block the release of the statement as it did not “unequivocally” condemn rocket attacks by Hamas, as Israel has demanded.“The Members of the Security Council emphasized that civilian and humanitarian facilities, including those of the UN, must be respected and protected, called on all parties to act consistently with this principle and stressed the need for immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza,” the draft statement read.Egypt and Qatar have been at the center of outreach from Washington and other European capitals as they have significant influence over Palestinian factions. Egypt reportedly tried to broker a ceasefire but to no avail.The Biden administration dispatched an envoy to the region last week with the hopes of pressing both sides to make concessions and de-escalate. Hady Amr’s efforts so far have also failed to make any headway.While the Security Council draft statement welcomed international efforts, the member states expressed their concern about violence in East Jerusalem and “urged the exercise of maximum restraint, for the respect of the historic status quo at the holy sites and the right of Muslim worshippers to pray in peace at Al Aqsa mosque.”The UNSC also condemned Israeli efforts to evict Palestinian families “from homes they have lived in for generations in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and voiced opposition to unilateral actions.”Nevertheless, the Security Council called for a two-state solution where Israel and Palestine live side by side “in peace within secure and recognized borders, and urged for the intensification and acceleration of diplomatic efforts and support towards this aim.”Read more: Biden administration approves sale of $735 mln in weapons to Israel
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Once again, US blocks UN Security Council statement on Palestine-Israel violence

The Biden administration has yet to explicitly call for a cease-fire in Israel and the Palestinian territories, resulting in criticism from his own party.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Senate Democrats, one Republican call for Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire

With Israel’s relentless military campaign against the Islamist Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip entering its second week with no letup, fears are growing in Lebanon that the Gaza war might spill over to the south and spark a new bout of hostilities between the Israelis and Hezbollah..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hezbollah unlikely to join Gaza battle: analysts

It is time that Arab states lead the world community in standing up against Israeli practices which jeopardize the national and human rights of the Palestinian people..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Enough with Words

Egypt, the United States and France are concentrating effort on a cease-fire as Gaza rockets and Israeli retaliation continue.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: As rockets, retaliation shake region, Israel silent on global mediation

Israel says the building was used by the Palestinian militant group, but it has not publicly provided any evidence to back up that claim.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Intel: Blinken hasn't personally seen evidence that Hamas used the building housing AP, Al Jazeera