Middle East Experience

A new round of meetings between the Nile Basin countries has resumed as Sudan and Egypt try to unite on controlling damage from the Ethiopian dam.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt, Sudan kick off another round of Nile dam talks

On average, some 1,378 people are diagnosed with the virus per day.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Coronavirus: Israel surpasses 100,000 cases, death toll over 800

Lebanon's nightlife is key to its economy and spirit.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Beirut’s club scene gets creative in wake of blast

The Trump administration says it supports Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's progress so far in working out a budget agreement with the Kurdistan Region.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US backs Iraqi progress on budget deal with Kurdistan Region

Saudi Arabia’s price for normalizing relations with Israel is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, said former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US Prince Turki Al-Faisal on Friday.Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced last week a historic agreement to normalize diplomatic ties, in exchange for Israel’s suspension of annexation of Palestinian lands.The deal raised speculation that other US-backed Gulf Arab countries might follow. But Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf Arab power which has traditionally guided policy towards Israel, expected a higher return from Israel.“Any Arab state that is considering following the UAE should demand in return a price, and it should be an expensive price,” he wrote in the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set a price for concluding peace between Israel and the Arabs - it is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital, as provided for by the initiative of the late King Abdullah.”That 2002 Arab League plan offered Israel normalized ties in return for Israeli withdrawal from all territories - the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - captured in the 1967 Middle Eastwar, and a Palestinian state there.But Prince Turki also voiced understanding for the UAE’s decision, noting that Riyadh’s close ally had secured a key condition - a halt to Israeli annexation plans.In the first Saudi reaction to the UAE-Israeli deal, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Wednesday Riyadh remained committed to the Arab peace initiative.Read more:Israel deal boosts Jordan’s security, closes ‘gate on annexation’: UAE AmbassadorSaudi Arabia terminates al-Ula, Red Sea project officials on suspicion of corruptionCoronavirus: UAE could reimpose lockdowns as COVID-19 cases rise, official says
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s price for ties with Israel is Palestinian state: Prince Turki

Escalation on Israel-Gaza border: Israel Defense Forces jets struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip three times, after 12 rockets and projectiles were launched during the night from Gaza.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel carries out multiple airstrikes after 12 rockets from Gaza

The UAE’s historic agreement with Israel has “closed the gate” on Israeli annexation of Palestinian land and will directly benefit Jordan, according to UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba.The UAE’s treaty with Israel “bolsters Jordan’s stability and reaffirms its importance in future initiatives,” Al Otaiba wrote in an op-ed for Israeli news outlet Ynet.Last week the UAE became the third Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel, following Jordan’s agreement in 1994 and Egypt’s in 1979.Jordan’s King Abdullah warned in June that Israel’s plans to annex Palestinian territory, which the UAE agreement has since put on hold, would undermine regional stability.Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said last week that the UAE-Israel deal would “move the region towards a just peace” - if Israel approached it as an incentive to end occupation of Palestinian land.Annexation on holdIn exchange for the normalization of diplomatic ties with the UAE, Israel agreed to halt its plans to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.Al Otaiba said the most immediate and significant outcome of the agreement is Israel’s decision to “suspend its annexation plans for Palestinian territory.”The UAE and Israel “closed the gate on annexation” and “unlocked a gate toward a better future across the Middle East,” he said.The agreement “maintains the viability of a two-state solution as endorsed by the Arab League and international community,” he added.The Arab League has long advocated for the Arab Peace Initiative, first presented by then-Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud in 2002.Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Wednesday that the country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, which asserts that Arab countries only normalize relations with Israel in return for Palestinian statehood and Israeli withdrawal from territory occupied since the 1967 war, such as East Jerusalem.Moving forwardNormalization with Israel will “progress in phases,” according to Al Otaiba.The most imminent plans include collaboration on health and water, discussions on air travel, and ministerial level visits.“An exchange of Ambassadors and diplomatic missions will follow,” Al Otaiba said.The op-ed comes after major developments in UAE-Israel relations this week. On Tuesday, UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Yossi Cohen, head of Israel's foreign intelligence, the Mossad.The two discussed bilateral cooperation in several fields, according to state news agency WAM.On Monday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin invited Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Jerusalem.The UAE confirmed on Sunday that a phone link had been set up with Israel, unblocking phone calls between the countries.Read more:Several Arab countries on way to relations with Israel: UAE Minister GargashIsrael likely won’t stamp passports of UAE tourists: Israeli foreign ministryEight moments that led up to the UAE’s agreement with Israel
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israel deal boosts Jordan’s security, closes ‘gate on annexation’: UAE Ambassador

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday ordered another ancient Orthodox church that became a mosque and then a popular Istanbul museum to be turned back into a place of Muslim worship.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The decision to transform the Kariye Museum into a mosque came just a month after a similarly controversial conversion for the UNESCO World Heritage-recognized Hagia Sophia.The 1,000-year-old building's history closely mirrors that of the Hagia Sophia -- its bigger neighbor on the historic western bank of the Golden Horn on the European side of Istanbul.The Holy Savior in Chora was a medieval Byzantine church decorated with 14th-century frescoes of the Last Judgement that remain treasured in the Christian world.It was originally converted into the Kariye Mosque half a century after the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks.It became the Kariye Museum after World War II as Turkey pushed ahead with the creation of a more secular new republic out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.A group of American art historians then helped restore the original church's mosaics and opened them up for public display in 1958.But Erdogan has in the past few years placed a greater emphasis on the battles that resulted in the defeat of Byzantium by the Ottomans.Turkey's top administrative court approved the museum's conversion into a mosque in November.An AFP reporter who visited the site shortly after Erdogan's decree was published said the museum remained open to visitors -- unlike the Hagia Sophia which was shut for conversion right away.Read more:Istanbul's Hagia Sophia opens as a mosque for Muslim Friday prayersArab media calls Erdogan hypocrite, says he supports extremism on Hagia Sophia moveTurkish magazine calls for founding Islamic caliphate after Hagia Sophia conversion
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Turkey’s Erdogan converts former ancient Orthodox church into mosque

Jordan has always been a staunch supporter of the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative, but that might not mean much anymore after Israel and the UAE agreed to normalize ties under a historic US-brokered deal.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Jordan worries Israel-UAE deal will scuttle two-state solution

The girl was allegedly violently raped by dozens of men when she was inebriated during her trip to the southernmost part of Israel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Netanyahu: Rape of 16-year-old by 30 men is crime against humanity