Middle East Experience

The news follows reports of suspected Israeli airstrikes against Iranian and Syrian military targets in the country in December and January.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syria reports Israeli airstrikes in south

US President Joe Biden is expected to appoint Timothy Lenderking as his special envoy for Yemen, sources familiar with the decision said Thursday.Biden has pledged to increase US efforts and pressure to end the yearslong war in Yemen.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. WSJ quoted a senior administration official as saying that the one thing which was missing from the US approach on Yemen was not having “a senior US person who was empowered to work on this full time.”The US president is expected to make one of his first foreign policy-focused speeches since entering the White House later Thursday, during a visit to the State Department.Lenderking is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran, Iraq, and Regional Multilateral Affairs in the Near East Bureau and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.His experience in the region includes time at the US embassies in Riyadh and Baghdad.Biden will also announce an end to US support for “offensive operations in Yemen,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press briefing.Sullivan said that Washington had spoken and consulted with senior officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia and would pursue a policy of “no surprises” with its partners and allies.Read more:Terrorist Houthi militia responsible for Yemen humanitarian crisis: State DepartmentUN report accuses Yemen govt of money laundering, Houthis of taking $1.8 bln in 2019
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Biden to appoint former US diplomat in Saudi Arabia as special envoy for Yemen

The International Criminal Court of Justice rejected the case brought by Qatar accusing the UAE of discrimination during the Gulf dispute which has since been resolved.Qatar filed the case in 2018 saying the UAE’s actions during the rift breached the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a UN treaty.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, had severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism – a charge Doha denied.The Gulf dispute has been resolved and restrictions on Qatar were lifted at AlUla summit in January. The UAE reopened its borders to Qatar days later.The ICJ said it “upholds the first preliminary objection raised by the UAE” and “finds it has no jurisdictions to entertain the application filed by Qatar.”Qatar’s application said: “The UAE had enacted and implemented a series of discriminatory measures directed at Qataris based expressly on their national origin,” resulting in alleged human rights violations.ICJ President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said in The Hague the UAE’s measures "are not capable of constituting racial discrimination within the meaning of the convention."Read more:UAE says transport to, trade with Qatar may resume within a weekSaudi Arabia’s FM: AlUla declaration ends dispute with Qatar, restores all tiesGCC Summit: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince meets Qatar’s Emir, reviews bilateral ties
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: International Court of Justice rejects Qatar’s case against UAE in final judgement

Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb discussed a high-level commission to spread a greater mutual understanding and solidarity..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Pope, Muslim leader celebrate fraternity anniversary

Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim, found shot dead Thursday at age 58, was an outspoken critic of the Shiite movement Hezbollah and an advocate for preserving the memory of his country's civil war..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lokman Slim: daring activist, admired intellectual

The attempt to seize Iranian oil stands in stark contrast to the….
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: US trying to 'seize illegal Iranian oil', as Biden signals tougher stance toward Tehran

Israel nearing 5,000 dead.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Coronavirus in Israel: Gov't presents three-stage lockdown exit plan

Analysis: Warming ties between Israel and Turkey is of particular interest for Baku given the emergence of a new geopolitical order in the South Caucasus..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Why is Azerbaijan trying to rekindle Israeli-Turkish ties?

The United States will end its support for “offensive operations” in Yemen, a senior Biden administration official said Thursday.President Joe Biden will “announce an end to American support for offensive operations in Yemen,” Biden’s National Security Advisor said.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Sullivan also confirmed earlier reports that Biden would appoint a special envoy for Yemen. Sources familiar with the move have told Al Arabiya English that Timothy Lenderking was tapped by Biden for the role. Lenderking was previously a senior official at the US Embassy in Riyadh.Asked if the move was discussed with officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Sullivan said yes and added: “We are pursuing a policy of no surprises.”Sullivan said the US was in contact with his partners in allies in the region and that they understood the decision.Biden will discuss US policy on Yemen in further detail later Thursday. “He will talk about the US playing a more active and engaged role in diplomacy to bringing an end to the conflict in Yemen,” Sullivan said.Read more:Biden to appoint former US diplomat in Saudi Arabia as special envoy for YemenAfter Biden freezes F-35 sale to UAE, Otaiba: We expected a review under new US admin
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Biden to announce the end of US support for 'offensive operations' in Yemen

Jerusalem's deputy mayor responsible for international affairs, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, is promoting a plan to develop an embassy district in the south of the city.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Jerusalem deputy mayor advances embassy district