Israel has cancelled plans to participate in a major defence expo in the United Arab Emirates next week due to COVID-19 curbs on air travel, Israeli officials said on Monday. Dozens of Israeli defence firms had been due to take part in the IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi from Feb. …
Read More »Saudi decides to embrace Biden with open arms
Saudi Arabiaâs foreign minister said on Saturday the kingdom was optimistic that it would have âexcellent relationsâ with the new U.S. administration of President Joe Biden and that it would continue to talk with Washington regarding the Iran nuclear deal. âI am optimistic. Saudi Arabia has built solid, historical relations …
Read More »Abbas annouces long postponed Palestinian elections
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday announced dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote. Abbasâs Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas group, who hold …
Read More »BREAKING NEWS – Israel media claims Netanyahu secretly met with Saudi crown prince
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israelâs Kan public radio and Army Radio said on Monday. If confirmed, it would be the first publicly acknowledged trip by an Israeli …
Read More »Netanyahu quietly forgets Trump in favour of Biden
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden after his election win saying he looked forward to working together with the new administration and strengthening the two countriesâ alliance. âCongratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, weâve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, …
Read More »US insists Sudan pay to be removed from terror listing
President Donald Trump announced on Monday the United States would remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as soon as Khartoum sets aside the $335 million it has agreed to pay to American victims of militant attacks and their families. The deal could also set in motion …
Read More »Saudi dove of peace between Palestine and Israel
The main focus of Middle East peace efforts should be to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, the Saudi foreign minister said on Thursday in a comment suggesting that Israeli-Saudi normalization is unlikely any time soon. âI believe that the focus now needs to be on …
Read More »Israel says no to Qatar having American-made F-35 jets
Israel would oppose any U.S. sale of advanced F-35 warplanes to Qatar, Israelâs intelligence minister said on Sunday, citing a need to maintain Israeli military superiority in the region. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen made the comments in response to a Reuters report that Qatar – whose Iran links trouble Israel …
Read More »Palestinian businessman wants UAE to pressure Israel to stop settlements
A top Palestinian business executive said on Monday that new Gulf Arab ties with Israel, condemned by Palestinian leaders, could also be an opportunity to apply fresh pressure to halt Jewish settlement in occupied land. Bashar Masri, a Palestinian-American who runs two of the Palestiniansâ largest holding companies, said the …
Read More »UAE’s F-35 deal expected for December
The United States and the United Arab Emirates hope to have an initial agreement on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Gulf state in place by December, as the Trump administration studies how to structure a deal without running afoul of Israel. Sources close to the negotiations …
Read More »Dahlan supports arrested in occupied Palestine
Palestinian security forces arrested over half a dozen supporters of an exiled Palestinian politician who some have accused of involvement in the United Arab Emirates deal to forge ties with Israel, a spokesman for his faction said. Mohammed Dahlan has lived in the UAE since being driven out of the …
Read More »Palestinians weigh diverse diplomatic responses to Arab League
Israelâs rapprochement with Gulf Arab states has left the Palestinians feeling abandoned by traditional allies and clutching an old playbook in a rapidly changing Middle East, analysts and critics say. As the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain prepare to sign normalization accords with Israel at a White House ceremony on …
Read More »Hungary only EU country to submit to Trump’s will over UAE-Israel deal
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will be the only EU diplomatic leader to attend the signing ceremony on Tuesday in Washington for the Israel-United Arab Emirates peace deal, his spokesman said on Sunday. âAt the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, as the only European Union minister, Foreign Minister Peter …
Read More »Trump wants Oman to follow lead of UAE-Israel deal
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday spoke with Omanâs leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, about ways to enhance regional security and strengthen economic ties between the two countries, the White House said in a statement. Trump thanked the Omani leader for his statements of support following a U.S.-brokered agreement …
Read More »US mulls selling F-35s to UAE as normalisation mounts
Amid historic normalisation talks between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, American officials spent a morning at an Abu Dhabi air base housing U.S. stealth jets which the Gulf state hopes to buy despite Israeli objections. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner met Emirati military officials at the UAEâs Al …
Read More »Saudi king insists Palestinian issue demands just solution in phonecall to Trump
Saudi Arabiaâs King Salman told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Sunday that the kingdom was eager to achieve a fair and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, which he said was the main starting point of the kingdomâs proposed Arab Peace Initiative, the state news agency …
Read More »Abbas reconciling with Palestinian factions in face of UAE deal
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a rare meeting with rival factions on Thursday as they sought to present a united front over Israel and the United Arab Emiratesâ deal to normalise ties. The meeting was held through video-conference between Ramallah in the West Bank and Beirut, where Hamas chief Ismail …
Read More »UPDATE – Gas explosions hit tourists resorts in UAE in wake of Israel deal
Three people were killed and several others were injured on Monday in two separate explosions in the United Arab Emiratesâ capital Abu Dhabi and its tourism hub Dubai, the police and local media said. The Abu Dhabi government media office said two people were killed in the blast in the …
Read More »Trump, Netanyahu teams headed to UAE
Top aides to U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fly to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to put final touches on a pact establishing open relations between the Gulf power and Israel. Even before discussions start in Abu Dhabi, the delegates will have made aviation …
Read More »Israel hoping momentum of UAE deal will continue to Washington
Israel hopes to hold a signing ceremony in Washington for its normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates by mid-September, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuâs cabinet said on Sunday. The date for such an event could be decided by senior aides to Netanyahu and to U.S. President Donald …
Read More »UAE eager to get US F-35’s after peace deal with Israel – UPDATE
The United States is eyeing the sale of stealthy F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates in a side agreement to the UAEâs overtures to Israel, an industry insider who was part of the dialogue with government officials said on Wednesday. A sale, which could reduce Israelâs military advantage …
Read More »Saudi insists Arab peace plan outweighs all other priorities
Saudi Arabia remains committed to peace with Israel on the basis of the longstanding Arab Peace Initiative, its foreign minister said on Wednesday in the first official comment since the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise relations with Israel. Israel and the UAE said on Thursday they would normalise diplomatic …
Read More »UAE insists Israel deal not targeted at Iran, Israel extends welcomes to Saudi, Oman – UPDATED
The United Arab Emiratesâ agreement to normalise ties with Israel was a âsovereign decisionâ that was not directed at Iran, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Monday. The UAE on Sunday said it had summoned Iranâs charge dâaffaires in Abu Dhabi and given him a …
Read More »Stormclouds gather around UAE-Israel deal – Iran, France, Palestine, Gulf
Iranâs approach to the United Arab Emirates will change, the countryâs armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri was quoted as saying on Sunday, after a deal between the Arab state and Tehranâs arch foe Israel on normalising ties. âTehranâs approach to the UAE will change … If …
Read More »UPDATED – Reactions pour in to UAE-Israel deal, West Bank annexation only temporarily on hold
Israel talked of âhistoryâ and Palestinians of âbetrayalâ after Thursdayâs surprise announcement of a deal to normalise relations between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. In a nationwide televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal would lead to âfull and formal peaceâ with the Gulf …
Read More »Israeli defence contractors to help UAE with coronavirus
Two Israeli defense contractors said on Friday they were partnering with Abu Dhabi-based Group 42 to develop technologies that will help fight the new coronavirus. Israel has no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries, but common concerns over Iranâs regional influence have led to a limited thaw in ties. Last …
Read More »Netanyahu reveals cooperation with UAE on COVID
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates would cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus – a possible boost to Israeli efforts to normalise relations with Gulf Arab countries. Netanyahu said a formal announcement on working together with the UAE on confronting the …
Read More »UAE open about desire to work with Israel
The United Arab Emirates can work with Israel on some areas, including fighting the new coronavirus and on technology, while still having political differences with the state, a senior official said on Tuesday. Addressing a conference of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) advocacy group, minister of state for foreign affairs …
Read More »Culture wars reach new tempo with controversial MBC series
A period drama about the trials of a Jewish midwife airing on Saudi-controlled MBC for Ramadan has drawn both criticism as an attempt to promote Arab ânormalisationâ with Israel and praise for a rare exploration of the Gulfâs social history. âUmm Harounâ, a fictional series about a multi-religious community in …
Read More »Cuba’s Castro rebuts Trump at national assembly
Cuban President Raul Castro on Friday denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s partial rollback of the U.S.-Cuban detente, saying it ignored broad public support for better relations and would satisfy only a few Cuban-American hard-liners. In his first public riposte to Trump since the latter unveiled his new Cuba policy last …
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