Middle East Experience

Jordan has closed the teachers' union and arrested dozens of members to quell recent protests. But the crackdown on civic dissent could come at a cost..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Teachers in Jordan are asking for fair pay. Instead, the government launched a violent crackdown

The US government has seized more than a million barrels of Iranian fuel contained in four tanker ships bound for Venezuela.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US seizes multi-million-barrel Iranian fuel shipment bound for Venezuela

After a period of calm on the Gaza Strip borders with Israel, incendiary and explosive balloons spark another violent exchange.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Gaza's balloon bombs spark new cycle of violence

Other Gulf states may follow.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Trump administration goes big with UAE-Israel peace deal

The State Department has yet to publicly acknowledge the activist's disappearance
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham arrests US citizen Bilal Abdul Kareem in Syria’s Idlib

The resolution failed by a 2-2 vote with 11 abstentions.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UN Security Council rejects US-sought extension on Iran arms embargo

The Israel-UAE agreement to normalize diplomatic relations was brokered by US President Donald Trump, and is a demonstration of Trump’s policy “revolution” compared to earlier administrations, one expert explained.Israel and the UAE announced the historic peace deal Thursday, with full normalization of diplomatic relations and bilateral agreements in investment, tourism, technology, and other areas to follow. As part of the deal, Israel agreed to suspend plans to annex parts of the West Bank, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed confirmed on Twitter.“The thing that they realized very smartly, which was a complete revolution from what the Obama administration was doing, was the Trump administration said: ‘We're going to deal with nation states and their leaders because nation states have interests’,” national security and political warfare expert David Reaboi told Al Arabiya on Friday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Former-US President Barack Obama’s administration had approached the Islamic world through a very specific identity, Reaboi explained, whereas Trump’s tactic of approaching nation states has been more successful – witnessed in Thursday’s announcement.“I think the Trump administration wisely put that aside and said, ‘We're going to be negotiating with states that have actual interests and leaders.’ And I think you see the fruits of some of that yesterday, and frankly since Trump's visit to the region in 2017,” he said.An end to endless talkingConflict regarding Israel’s position in the Middle East has existed virtually since the country’s founding in the late 1940’s. However, Reaboi believes that this conflict could have been solved earlier had not been for external forces that have a continued interest in keeping the conflict alive.“I think this conflict could have ended probably decades prior if it was not for external forces, mostly external Western forces,” Reaboi said.“The West, like the United Nations and certain, like the EU, certain US administrations that have built up an industry of what I would call peace processors, and people in the diplomatic industry really that have a vested interest in keeping the conflict alive and endlessly talking,” he explained.The Trump-brokered deal between the UAE and Israel could represent, however, an end this cycle, Reaboi said, with Trump’s focus on cutting deals with leaders “a lot more authentic” and “very positive.”“If Israel and the UAE have relations, and Saudi Arabia have relations, this is all very positive. And I know that from myself and a lot of people who are in the pro-Israel camp, we can't wait for the wonderful flowering of collaboration and genius to happen when there's finally peace and open relations with a country like Saudi Arabia. We think it’ll be wonderful,” he concluded.Read more:Israeli delegation headed to UAE as early as next week to discuss deal: ReportUN chief hopes Israel-UAE deal can help two-state solution for peace in MideastMassive Qatari media campaign targets Arab opinion following UAE-Israel peace deal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE-Israel peace deal is a victory for Trump’s policy ‘revolution,’ expert says

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s participation in the probe into the deadly Beirut port blast will bring more clarity into how the disaster occurred, former top CIA official Norman Roule said in an interview with Al Arabiya.“The FBI will bring an extraordinary array of technical and scientific capacity. They have great experiences in analyzing explosions. And they’re really, really capable of understanding very quickly, I think, how the explosion was ignited,” Roule said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The FBI’s presence on the ground has been approved by the Lebanese government, Roule noted.US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale had announced on Thursday that the FBI would “soon join Lebanese and international investigators at the invitation of the Lebanese … to help answer questions that I know everyone has” about the explosions.At least 178 people were killed and more than 6,000 others were injured in the capital on Tuesday when a warehouse storing 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded after catching on fire.The explosion had destroyed entire buildings and shattered windows, leaving around 300,000 people in Beirut homeless.“The FBI has great experience in examining explosive sites so what they’re going to be looking for is to see what type of ignition occurred, what type of heat occurred at the ignition site, they’re going to want to see stresses on metal, they’re going to want to test for residue of various types of explosive substances,” Roule added.The United States will be coordinating with French investigators and police, who have already been at the scene in Beirut for several days to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the blast.Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government resigned on August 10 after days of protesters demanding the political elite take responsibility for the disaster.Read more:Grieving Lebanese neighborhoods struggles to rebuild city after Beirut explosionWatch: Story behind ‘miracle’ baby George born amid Beirut’s blast
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: FBI involvement in Beirut blast investigation to bring more clarity: Ex-CIA official

The United Arab Emirates said its decision to normalize ties with Israel isn’t about countering Iran, and dismissed criticism of the pact from Turkey’s leader.“This is not about Iran. This is about the UAE, Israel and the United States,” Anwar Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, said in a phone interview. “This is in no way meant to create some sort of grouping against Iran.”While the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have sought to frame the agreement as part of their attempt to confront and further isolate Iran, Gargash signaled that the UAE isn’t looking to provoke its near neighbor.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We have a very complicated relationship with Iran,” he said. “While we have our concerns, we feel also that resolving these issues should be through diplomacy and de-escalation.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey could withdraw its ambassador to the UAE over the country’s agreement with Israel, saying it dealt a blow to Palestinian rights. Gargash dismissed the statement as a “double standard” which glossed over Turkey’s own significant trade links with Israel.“They receive over half a million Israeli tourists, have $2 billion worth of bilateral trade and an existing embassy there. And I ask myself whether this is a principled position or not,” Gargash said.Under the deal, Israel agreed to put aside for now its pledge to annex West Bank land the Palestinians want for a state. “We have been very concerned with the issue of annexation,” Gargash said. “Through this imaginative proclamation, we have at least been able to give negotiations space.”Read more:UAE-Israel peace deal is a victory for Trump’s policy ‘revolution,’ expert saysIsraeli delegation headed to UAE as early as next week to discuss deal: ReportMassive Qatari media campaign targets Arab opinion following UAE-Israel peace deal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE says Israel deal not about Iran, rejects criticism from Turkey’s Erdogan

A senior US official called on Saturday for a “thorough, transparent and credible” investigation into this month’s Beirut port blast that killed at least 178 people and injured 6,000.“We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or the borders of Lebanon that had to contribute to this situation,” David Hale, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Aug. 4 blast, which the authorities say was caused by more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been unsafely stored at the port since 2013, damaged swathes of the city and left 300,000 homeless. Some 30 people remain missing.“Every sovereign state controls its ports and its borders thoroughly and I imagine all Lebanese would like to return to that era,” Hale said after visiting the port.He added that FBI agents would be arriving this weekend to help find out what exactly happened and “what led to the circumstances of this explosion”.Read more:FBI involvement in Beirut blast investigation to bring more clarity: Ex-CIA officialUN launches $565 mln appeal to help Lebanon recover from Beirut explosionIn a visit to Beirut on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said international efforts should help Lebanon rather than “impose anything on it”.Iran backs the heavily armed Shia group Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful group, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Beirut blast investigation must be ‘thorough, transparent’: Senior US official