Middle East & North Africa

Israel minister threatens to respond with 50 missiles for every rocket fired from Gaza

07 Feb 2023; MEMO: Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to shower 50 missiles on Gaza in response to each missile fired from the Strip toward Israel.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Ben-Gvir said the Israeli response to Palestinian resistance attacks must be comprehensive.

He said that he hopes that the government will implement his vision of responding to Hamas rockets, adding that he is optimistic and believes this will materialise.

Morocco to invest $1.95bn in renewable energy projects in disputed Western Sahara

07 Feb 2023; MEMO: Morocco has launched renewable energy projects worth 20 billion dirhams ($1.95 billion) in the disputed Western Sahara region, Anadolu reported the Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Dr. Leila Benali, saying yesterday.

Israel postpones home demolition after international pressure

07 Feb 2023; MEMO: The Israeli occupation authorities decided on Monday to postpone the demolition of a Palestinian building which is home to 100 families in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli media have reported. The building was scheduled by the Israelis to be demolished today.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the building was issued a demolition order in 2015. The implementation of the order has been postponed several times.

Volunteers stream into Istanbul airport to join rescue effort in Turkiye, Syria

Huge crowds of people have gathered in Istanbul Airport to volunteer in southeast Turkiye to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

They hope to join over 24,000 search and rescue firefighters, doctors, soldiers and civilians who are searching the rubble for survivors.

In the early hours of yesterday morning northern Syria and southern Turkiye were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by a second just hours later.

Turkey: Rescuers scramble in Turkey, Syria after quake kills 4,000

ADANA, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region.

Authorities feared the death toll from Monday’s pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.

Israeli High School Teachers Go On Strike For Pay Rise

JERUSALEM, Feb 6 (NNN-MA’AN) – The Israeli Secondary School Teachers’ Association, yesterday staged a one-day strike, in high schools in the country, for a pay increase.

Some middle school teachers, who are members of the association, also took part in the strike, which aimed to pressure the Finance Ministry into reaching a new collective agreement with teachers in time, as the previous one had expired more than a year ago.

The association said in a statement that, the ministry had yet to negotiate such an agreement, leaving the teachers with “no one to talk to.”

Security Coordination With Israel Still Halted, Said Palestinian President

RAMALLAH, Feb 6 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said yesterday that, the decisions of the Palestinian leadership will continue to be implemented, including halting security coordination with Israel.

Abbas made the remarks, during a meeting at the presidential headquarters, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, with chiefs of Palestinian security apparatuses.

Abbas underlined that the leadership’s decisions, “aim to protect the rights and national interests of the Palestinian people.”

Iran says "diplomatic dynamism" exists in talks to revive nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that "diplomatic dynamism" exists through different channels in the talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal and remove anti-Iran sanctions.

Exchange of messages between different sides to the deal is continuing at different levels, Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted Nasser Kanaani as saying during a weekly press conference.

Iran has always welcomed with goodwill efforts and measures aimed at resolving the issue and achieving a nuclear agreement, he noted.

Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinian gunmen in West Bank raid

AQABAT JABR, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces killed five Palestinian gunmen linked to the Islamic militant Hamas group in a raid on refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the latest bloodshed in the region that will likely further exacerbate tensions.

The Palestinian president’s office called the violence a crime, urging the United States to pressure Israel to hold back on its incursions. The military said the raid was meant to apprehend a militant cell that staged a botched shooting attack on a restaurant in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

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