Middle East & North Africa

20 February 2024; MEMO: Israel’s economy shrank by almost 20 per cent in the last quarter of 2023, amid Israeli forces’ ongoing offensive and bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, preliminary figures showed that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by an annualised 19.4 per cent in the final three months of last year, which was almost double the market expectation of the decrease.

21 February 2024; MEMO: In a message to the Israeli army, IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, instructed them “not to film revenge videos” after footage was used as evidence in the case against the Israeli regime for genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

22 February 2024; MEMO: Families of Israeli soldiers fighting in the Maglan Unit in the besieged Gaza Strip have sent a joint letter to the army command saying their children are “frustrated and have lost motivation to fight” given the operational reality that has turned them into easy targets for Palestinian fighters, like “ducks on a shooting range”, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday.

22 February 2024; MEMO: Israeli Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Strook, on Thursday denied the existence of the Palestinian people, Anadolu Agency reports.

“There is no such thing as a Palestinian people,” Strook said in a video on her X account of her speech during a Knesset session.

26 February 2024; MEMO: Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has expressed hope that the trials at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will lead to bringing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the court for war crimes Israel is committing against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported.

26 February 2024; MEMO: A member of the Hamas Political Bureau said yesterday that there is going to be an official meeting with Fatah and the other Palestinian factions in Moscow because there is no official communication with the Palestinian Authority regarding the plan for the day after the end of the war in Gaza.

26 February 2024; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to risk the lives of hostages held by Hamas if it serves his image, a former premier remarked Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

26 February 2024; MEMO: Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, announced his resignation on Monday, as the Palestinian Authority looks to build support for an expanded role following Israel’s war against the group, Hamas, in Gaza, Reuters reports.

26 February 2024; MEMO: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that he will oppose any agreement that leads to freeing all Israeli captives held by Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza in exchange for ending the ongoing Israeli war against Palestinians in the besieged territory.

26 February 2024; MEMO: Yemen’s Houthis fired a missile that likely targeted the “Torm Thor” in the Gulf of Aden on 24 February, but missed the US-flagged oil tanker, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday, as the group steps up attacks on ships, Reuters reports.