Middle East & North Africa

11 October 2022; MEMO: Palestinian Authority (PA)'s Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh yesterday described the Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories as organised state terrorism and called for settlers to be added to terror lists.

"What is happening on the ground is organised state terrorism, which the Israeli occupation government is solely responsible for," Shtayyeh said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah.

AMMAN, Oct 10 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan, yesterday, expressed regret that the truce in Yemen was not renewed, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

The truce, which originally came into effect in Apr, 2022, and expired on Oct 2, has helped in alleviating Yemenis’ suffering, notably by providing humanitarian assistance, the statement quoted ministry spokesperson, Haitham Abu Al Foul, as saying.

The spokesperson also reiterated Jordan’s support for efforts to end the Yemeni crisis, through a political solution, based on all agreed-upon initiatives.

ANKARA, Oct 10 (NNN-XINHUA) – Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), yesterday, killed a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and his bodyguard, in northern Iraq, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Okkes Deveri, codenamed Kendal Pirsus, was responsible for the health committee of the PKK, the news agency reported, quoting anonymous Turkish security officials.

Deveri and his bodyguard, Kayhan Kartal, were killed in a cross-border operation in Gara.

RAMALLAH, Oct 10 (NNN-WAFA) – An escalation of tension in the West Bank would fuel an atmosphere of fear, hatred and anger, between Israelis and Palestinians, a senior UN official warned.

“It is necessary to reduce tensions immediately, to open the way for decisive initiatives, aimed at creating a viable political horizon between the two sides,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said, in a press statement.

JERUSALEM, Oct 10 (NNN-PNA) – The Israeli top court, yesterday, overturned a ban preventing the Arab party of Balad from running in the country’s parliamentary elections, due on Nov 1.

The Supreme Court’s nine-judge panel, unanimously decided to cancel the decision by the Central Elections Committee, to disqualify Balad from running in the elections, according to a statement released by the court, that did not mention reasons for the decision.

SULIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Growing up under a repressive system, Sharo, a 35-year-old university graduate, never thought she would hear words of open rebellion spoken out loud. Now she herself chants slogans like “Death to the Dictator!” with a fury she didn’t know she had, as she joins protests calling for toppling the country’s rulers.

9 October 2022; MEMO: Israel on Sunday started to test the pumping of gas from the disputed Karish gas field amid tension with Lebanon, according to local media, Anadolu reports.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israel's security establishment has given the US gas drilling company Energean the green light to start its tests.

Public broadcaster KAN said full pumping operations from the site may be ready within weeks after the completion of the tests.

10 October 2022; MEMO: The Qatar Emiri Air Force yesterday received the No 12 Squadron Typhoon which will help support air security at the FIFA World Cup next month, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

The state-run agency added that the No 12 Squadron was established on 24 July 2018 with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the Emiri Air Force and the British Royal Air Force.

10 October 2022; MEMO: The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday overturned a ban on the National Democratic Assembly (Balad) from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for 1 November 2022.

In a statement, the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah) said that the Israeli Supreme Court overturned a decision by Israel's Central Elections Committee (CEC) to disqualify Arab parties from running in Israeli national elections, calling the move "historic".

9 October 2022; MEMO: Qatar's population has surged by 13.2% over the last year, official data showed, as the tiny Gulf Arab state recruits thousands of overseas workers ahead of hosting the soccer World Cup next month to cope with an unprecedented influx of fans, Reuters reports.

The wealthy gas producer's population stood at 2.94 million after some 370,000 additional people moved to Qatar over the last year, based on data collected in September and released by Qatar's statistics authority last week.