CAIRO: Jehan Sadat, widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the first Arab leader to make peace with Israel, died in Egypt on Friday. She was 87.
In recent weeks, the Egyptian press reported that Sadat had been in an Egyptian hospital and battling cancer. Last year, she received medical treatment in the United States but shortly after she returned home, and her condition had deteriorated, her family told Egyptian media. No further details about her illness were made available.
On Friday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s office said she had been a role model for Egyptian women, and granted her a national award posthumously. They also announced the naming of a key highway in Cairo after her.
In August 1933, Jehan Safwat Raouf was born in Cairo to an Egyptian middle-class father and a British mother. In 1949, she married Anwar Sadat, a military officer at the time who later on served as Egypt’s president from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. The couple had four children, daughters Noha, Gihan, Lobna and a son, Gamal.
Sadat had consistently defended her husband’s decision to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1979 after nearly three decades of war— a move that was controversial domestically and regionally.
During her husband’s tenure, Sadat established herself as a staunch advocate of women’s rights by pushing for a set of laws that granted women the right to alimony and custody of children in the case of divorce. She also made headlines with her volunteer work and charitable activities. Her high visibility in the 1970s drew criticism from observers who accused her of exploiting her husband’s position to gain political leverage for herself.
In 1977, Sadat graduated with an BA in Arabic literature from Cairo University. In 1986, she completed her PhD in comparative literature at the same university.
She authored two books: her autobiography “A Woman OF Egypt” and “My Hope for Peace,” about the Arab-Israeli conflict and the rise of Islamic extremism.
Widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat dies in Egypt
https://arab.news/5n9yw
Widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat dies in Egypt
- The Egyptian press reported that Sadat had been in an Egyptian hospital and battling cancer
- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s office said she had been a role model for Egyptian women
GCC praises Qatari, US efforts in Rwanda, DRC peace deal
- Fighting since 2021 between armed groups has intensified in the mineral-rich eastern DRC
- Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said Qatar’s role in driving the agreement signals growing involvement of GCC countries in supporting peaceful solutions
LONDON: Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, praised Qatar and the US for their mediation efforts that led to the signing of the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Albudaiwi hoped the agreement would reduce tensions and contribute to security and stability, fostering regional prosperity and international peace. Since 2021, fighting between armed groups has intensified in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, which has vast reserves of cobalt, coltan, lithium, tin and gold.
The peace agreement between the two countries raises hopes for an end to the fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, he said.
Albudaiwi added that Qatar’s role in driving the agreement shows a growing involvement of GCC countries in supporting peaceful solutions and promoting security and stability in various regions worldwide.
The GCC is committed to diplomacy and dialogue to address crises and achieve sustainable development, he said.
Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
- Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “not going to stand” for the continued prosecution
- In one of the cases, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods
JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Sunday postponed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial after he requested a delay, as US President Donald Trump called for the case to be thrown out.
“Following the explanations given... we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr.Netanyahu’s hearings scheduled” for this week, the Jerusalem district court said in its ruling, published online by Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Netanyahu’s lawyers had asked the court to excuse him from testifying over the next two weeks so he could focus on security issues following a ceasefire with Iran and amid ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held.
They had submitted Netanyahu’s schedule to the court to demonstrate “the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand.”
The court initially rejected the lawyers’ request but said in its ruling on Sunday that it had changed its judgment after hearing arguments from the prime minister, the head of military intelligence and the chief of the Mossad spy agency.
Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “not going to stand” for the continued prosecution, prompting Netanyahu to thank him in a message on X.
Earlier in the week, the US president had described the case against the Israeli premier as a “witch hunt,” saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid reacted by saying that Trump “should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country.”
Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in the corruption affair and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated.
In one of the cases, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.
In two others, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.
The prime minister has requested multiple postponements to the trial since it began in May 2020.
During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu’s government has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts and prompted massive protests that were only curtailed by the onset of the Gaza war.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, former prime minister Naftali Bennett accused Netanyahu of deepening divisions in Israeli society, and said that he “must go.”
Netanyahu “has been in power for 20 years... that’s too much, it’s not healthy,” Bennett said.
The former right-wing premier managed to form a coalition in 2021 that ousted Netanyahu from the premiership after 12 consecutive years, but it collapsed before the end of the following year.
Bennett is rumored to be planning a comeback, with public opinion polls suggesting he may have enough support to oust Netanyahu again. He declined to comment on that prospect in Saturday’s interview.
Egyptian foreign minister urges recognition of Palestine in talks with EU envoy to Middle East
- Badr Abdelatty met in Cairo with Christophe Bigot, EU special representative for the Middle East peace process
- Abdelatty’s remarks followed those of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said France is ‘determined to recognize the state of Palestine’
LONDON: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday emphasized the urgent need to recognize Palestinian statehood on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He made his comment during a meeting in Cairo with Christophe Bigot, the EU’s special representative for the Middle East peace process. Abdelatty said that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the only way to achieve lasting peace, security and stability in the region, the Wafa news agency reported.
He hoped for the broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and for the organization of an international conference aimed at resolving the Palestinian issue through peaceful means.
Abdelatty’s remarks followed those of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said on Sunday during an interview with the French LCI news channel that France is “determined to recognize the State of Palestine,” emphasizing the urgent need for international action in light of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
A French-Saudi conference to drum up international support for the recognition of the state of Palestine was due to start in mid-June, but the organizers postponed it because of the Iranian-Israeli conflict and elevated tensions in the region.
“We are committed to recognizing the state of Palestine, and this will happen as part of a joint initiative that encourages all parties to create the necessary conditions for the establishment of that state,” Barrot said.
He called the killing of hundreds of Palestinian aid seekers by Israeli forces in recent weeks in Gaza “a disgrace and an affront to human dignity.”
Syria denies reports of assassination attempt on President Al-Sharaa
- SANA did not provide further details about the reported incident or its origins
DAMASCUS: Syria’s Ministry of Information on Sunday denied reports that an attempt was made on the life of interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa during a recent visit to the southern city of Daraa, Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
A ministry source, quoted by state news agency SANA on Sunday, dismissed the claims as false, saying: “What was circulated by several media outlets about the Syrian Arab Army and Turkish intelligence foiling an assassination attempt on President Ahmad Al-Sharaa during his visit to Daraa is untrue.”
SANA did not provide further details about the reported incident or its origins.
Al-Sharaa has led the Syrian Arab Republic’s transitional administration since January, following the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime. Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly a quarter of a century, fled to Russia in December.
Israeli security service says 60 Hamas members arrested in West Bank
HEBRON: Israel’s security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group’s members.
The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that “a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed” in the West Bank town of Hebron.
It said it broke up 10 militant cells that “operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame.”
Hamas leaders “worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets,” according to the statement.
Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank “in the past decade.”
It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the statement.
