Middle East Experience

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has to assess whether to allow entrance or not.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Palestinian workers entrance a tool for regional stability - analysis

Foreigners working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have gotten stranded throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Nigerians stuck in Saudi Arabia are flown home

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Friday condemned overnight violence in the city of Tripoli, where protesters angry over a strict lockdown clashed with security forces and set the municipality building on fire.Thursday was the fourth straight night of unrest in one of Lebanon’s poorest cities, after the government imposed a 24-hour curfew to curb a COVID-19 surge that has killed more than 2,500 people.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The criminals who set the municipality on fire and attempted to burn the court ... represent a black hatred for Tripoli,” Hassan Diab said in a statement.“The challenge now is in defeating these criminals by arresting them one by one and referring them to the judicial system.”Flames engulfed the government building after it caught fire just before midnight on Thursday. Police had been firing tear gas at protesters hurling Molotov cocktails.A funeral for a man who died after being shot by a bullet on Wednesday night had given fuel to the further protests.Security forces said they had fired live rounds to disperse rioters trying to storm the government building.Diab’s statement on Friday did not mention the killing; Human Rights Watch has called for it to be investigated.“We promise to work quickly to restore the municipality building of Tripoli so that it remains an expression of its dignity and pure heritage,” Diab said.The lockdown, in effect since Jan. 11, is piling extra hardship on the poor, now more than half the population, with little government aid.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Lebanon has been in the throes of its worst financial crisis since 2019 and anger has erupted into protests over the economy, state corruption and political mismanagement.A currency crash has triggered fears of rising hunger, but Lebanese leaders have yet to launch a rescue plan or enact reforms to unlock aid, prompting rebukes, including from foreign donors.Diab is steering the government in a caretaker role as fractious politicians remain unable to agree on a new administration since his quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion leaving Lebanon rudderless as poverty soars. Read more:Lebanon on edge: COVID-19 protests, violence escalate in TripoliClashes between protesters, security forces for third night in LebanonLebanese man dies of wounds after lockdown protests
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s caretaker PM condemns overnight violence in Tripoli 

The repeated attacks against Egyptian nationals in Saudi Arabia may have become a phenomenon that has even escalated into killings lately in the absence of any deterrence.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egyptians living in Saudi Arabia face attacks

A “very low intensity improvised device” exploded near the Israeli embassy in the Indian capital city of New Delhi on Friday, police and local media reported.No one was injured in the blast and police have blocked off the district around the embassy, according to the reports.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.According to police, three cars were damaged when the explosion hit.“Initial impressions suggest a mischievous attempt to create a sensation,” a police statement said.“An explosion occurred recently near the Israeli embassy in India. There were no casualties in the blast, and no damage to the building,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.“The incident is under investigation by the authorities in India, who are in contact with the relevant Israeli authorities.”Israel is treating the small blast near its embassy in New Delhi in India as a terrorist incident, according to an Israeli official.India’s Minister of Foreign Affairs S Jaishankar assured his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi that they would take the blast “very seriously”. “We take this very seriously. Assured him of the fullest protection for the Embassy and Israeli diplomats. Matter is under investigation and no effort will be spared to find the culprits,” he wrote on Twitter. (With Agencies)Read more:Massive India oil well fire extinguished after five monthsAfter Beirut blast, India seizes 740 tons of ammonium nitrate in south Indian port89 people killed in explosions at central India restaurant
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Small bomb explodes near Israeli embassy in India’s New Delhi

Saudi Arabia will be extending the travel ban for its citizens, and will reopen its air, land, sea on May 17, instead of March 31, as a coronavirus countermeasure, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior announced on Friday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Due to the current global delays in vaccine deliveries by manufacturers and in light of the second wave of the virus spreading rapidly around the world, the ministry said it will be extending its travel restrictions.Saudi Arabia was forced to reschedule appointments for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine after pharmaceutical company Pfizer said they would be delaying deliveries worldwide.The Kingdom wants to ensure that the majority of the public are immunized against the coronavirus before lifting the ban and reopening borders, the official Saudi Press Agency cited the ministry as saying.It also wants to maintain the low infection rate currently being reported in the Kingdom, the statement added.Earlier this month, officials had said that travel restrictions and international flights would resume starting from March 31. Land and sea ports were also expected to reopen on the same day.Saudi Arabia suspended flights in December 28 after the emergence of a more infectious strain of COVID-19.Read more:Coronavirus: More than 700,000 register to receive vaccine in Saudi ArabiaCoronavirus: Saudi Arabia reschedules COVID-19 second vaccine dose amid supply delayCoronavirus: Where to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia extends travel restrictions, border closure to May 17

Talks on a new Iran deal will need to have the participation of countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.“Dialogue with Iran will be rigorous, and they will need to include our allies in the region for a nuclear deal, and this includes Saudi Arabia,” Macron told Al Arabiya while speaking to reporters in Paris.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Macron also noted that there needed to be trust and confidence with Saudi Arabia, and “they need to be included in any [potential] agreement with Iran.”The French president said it was necessary to refrain from making the same mistakes made in 2015 when the first Iran nuclear deal was signed, one of which was distancing regional powers from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).As for a new deal, Macron said the time remaining before Iran creates a nuclear weapon was “very short.”Renewed discussions over a new nuclear pact have come to the fore since Joe Biden was elected as the new US president. Biden was the vice president under Barack Obama when the JCPOA was signed in 2015.But President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal and began what became known as the “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.Read more:The West’s blind eye towards IranNew US secretary of state addresses Biden administration priorities, Iran deal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Regional allies, including Saudi Arabia, needed in new Iran deal talks: Macron

Group “submitted a shareholder proposal for Morningstar’s annual meeting in May 2021 requesting the board prepare a report for investors on the risks associated with activism against Israel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: JLens places Illinois company on ‘Do Not Invest List’ due to BDS activity

The US military is signaling its show of force against Tehran may continue as the State Department explores paths toward a renewed nuclear agreement.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Pentagon reassures Middle East partners on deterring Iran

The Im Tirtzu activists brought the soldiers dozens of bottles of Coca-Cola and bags of Bamba snacks.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Im Tirtzu distributes snacks to IDF soldiers who thwarted terror attack