2020: Not all doom and gloom despite Middle East’s coronavirus woes

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Updated 30 December 2020
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2020: Not all doom and gloom despite Middle East’s coronavirus woes

  • Arab region saw political and space breakthroughs during a year otherwise dominated by news of the pandemic
  • Diplomatic successes and great leaps for mankind were tempered by disasters, attacks and high-profile assassinations

JANUARY


Qassem Soleimani killed in US drone strike
Just days into the new year, the Gulf appeared to be on the brink of all out war. Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani — commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s extraterritorial Quds Force — was eliminated in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on Jan. 3. Iran retaliated with a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting US bases in Iraq. In the process, Iran accidentally shot down a Ukranian commercial jet, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The confrontation followed months of tit-for-tat exchanges since the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. (Image credit: AFP)


FEBRUARY


Coronavirus pandemic hits the Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa were not spared the ravages of COVID-19, with communities enduring the same medical, economic and mental health challenges felt across the globe. GCC countries quickly suspended international flights, devastating the region’s leisure and hospitality sectors. Religious tourism was not exempt, disappointing millions of pilgrims. Face masks, sanitizers and social distancing quickly became the norm, while job losses, school closures and a shift to online shopping and remote work radically changed daily life. Meanwhile, in the region’s conflict zones, the pandemic further hampered humanitarian interventions, making life even harder for millions of displaced families. (Image credit: SPA)


MARCH


Houthi missiles continue to target KSA
Spring arrived with more violence on the Arabian Peninsula, when Saudi Arabia intercepted three ballistic missiles fired from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthi militias. Two civilians suffered minor injuries caused by falling debris in Riyadh, while another missile was shot down over the southern city of Jazan. It was the first major assault on Saudi Arabia since the devastating twin strikes on Saudi oil installations in September 2019. John Abizaid, the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, condemned the targeting of cities, while GCC Secretary-General Dr. Naif bin Falah Al-Hajraf said the “terrorist attack” had not only targeted Saudi Arabia but the collective security and stability of the Gulf. (Image credit: AFP)


APRIL


Lebanon legalizes cannabis for medicinal use
Lebanon became the first Arab country to pass a law legalizing cannabis cultivation for medicinal and commercial use. Lebanon had previously outlawed the growth, sale and consumption of cannabis, rejecting attempts to legalize its production. Attitudes began to shift after US consultancy firm McKinsey touted the legalization of cannabis in a study on how the government could revitalize the economy. In 2018, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ranked Lebanon among the world’s top five cannabis producers. In 2019, Raed Khoury, Lebanon’s then-minister of economy, said medicinal marijuana exports could generate up to $1 billion in annual revenues. (Image credit: AFP)


MAY


Veteran Egyptian actor and comedian Hassan Hosny dies
Hassan Hosny, actor, comedian and veteran of Egyptian cinema, died on May 30 at the age of 88 following a heart attack. His career in theater, film and comedy spanned over 50 years, earning him the affectionate nickname of the “Joker” of Egyptian cinema. Born in Cairo in 1931, the young actor discovered his love of the stage while at school before becoming a regular performer in the military’s theatrical group in the 1960s. He went on to star in countless films and TV shows, including “Nasser 56” and “El Nazer,” receiving several prestigious awards. He was laid to rest in the Hosny family cemetery outside Cairo. (Image credit: Social Media/Instagram)


JUNE


Explosions and fires break out in Iran
Still reeling from the killing of Soleimani in January and wrestling with one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the region, Iran entered the summer of 2020 with a rash of suspicious explosions at its nuclear enrichment facilities, missile sites, petrochemical centers, power plants and medical clinics. A blast at the Parchin military complex east of Tehran was downplayed by state media as a gas storage incident. Later, fires broke out at a power station in Ahvaz and at the Natanz nuclear facility and 19 people died in an explosion at a clinic in northern Tehran. The cause of the blasts remains unclear to date. (Image credit: Reuters)


JULY


UAE successfully launches Mars mission
Midsummer heralded a remarkable achievement: the first unmanned Arab space mission to Mars. At 21:58 UTC on July 19, the Emirates Mars Mission launched its probe “Hope” from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan. It is scheduled to arrive in orbit around the Red Planet in February 2021 to coincide with the UAE’s 50th anniversary, where it will study Martian weather cycles and atmospheric events. A team of experts at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai is supervising the probe's seven-month voyage. (Image credit: AFP)


AUGUST


Port blast compounds Lebanon’s misery
Tragedy struck Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Aug. 4 when a massive explosion ripped through its port area. The blast, caused when tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate caught fire, sent a gigantic shockwave tearing through the city. The explosion was so massive it was reportedly heard as far away as in Cyprus. More than 200 people were killed and over 6,000 injured, while thousands more lost their homes and businesses. The country was already embroiled in a banking crisis, social unrest, sectarian rivalries and the coronavirus outbreak. (Image credit: AFP)


SEPTEMBER


UAE-Israel agreement sets in motion peace deals
With the onset of autumn came the news that Israel and the UAE had normalized relations in a watershed deal brokered by the US known as the Abraham Accords. Similar deals quickly followed with Bahrain and Sudan. The first ever commercial flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi were established and an Israeli delegation landed in Abu Dhabi to finalize the pact. The  Accords were hailed by the US administration as a historic breakthrough. The Palestinian leadership meanwhile branded the normalization a “betrayal” of its cause to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders with its capital in Jerusalem. (Image credit: AFP)


OCTOBER


Sudan eyes end to war with rebel groups
The government of Sudan signed a peace agreement with 10 of the country’s rebel opposition groups, potentially ending 17 years of ethnic strife and civil war. Representatives signed the agreement following year-long talks at a ceremony in the South Sudanese capital Juba. The deal covered issues from land ownership, reparations and compensation, to wealth, power sharing and the return of refugees. Following the deal, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok welcomed rebel leaders to the capital Khartoum, where crowds celebrated the end of hostilities. (Image credit: AFP)


NOVEMBER


Riyadh hosts virtual G20 Summit of leaders
Owing to COVID-19 travel restrictions, this year’s G20 Summit took place virtually for the first time in its history. Under Saudi Arabia’s presidency, the two-day summit hosted by Riyadh laid the foundations for a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The conference also explored collective responses to environmental protection, urban planning, women’s empowerment and technological change. The theme of this year’s presidency was “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All.” In his closing remarks to summit delegates, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said: “Due to its unique stature regionally and internationally … the Kingdom will continue to play a key role within the G20 to achieve global cooperation and find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.” (Image credit: AFP)


DECEMBER


Iran executes journalist as it struggles under sanctions
The year concluded on a dark note with the execution of activist-journalist Ruhollah Zam by the Iranian state a little more than a year after authorities tricked him into traveling to Iraq where he was abducted. Zam’s work helped inspire nationwide protests against economic injustice in 2017 as Tehran struggled under the weight of US sanctions. The 47-year-old, who had lived in Paris, is among several opposition figures seized by Iranian operatives in recent months while based overseas. His execution comes as Iran seeks to pressure France and other European powers into salvaging the nuclear deal in the waning days of the Trump administration. (Image credit: AFP)

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Prominent Gaza doctor killed by torture in Israeli detention

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Prominent Gaza doctor killed by torture in Israeli detention

  • Al-Bursh died in Ofer Prison, an Israeli-run incarceration facility in the West Bank, says the Palestinian Prisoners Society

GAZA: Adnan Al-Bursh, a Palestinian surgeon and former head of orthopedics at Gaza’s Al-Shifa medical complex, was killed on April 19 under torture in Israeli detention.

According to a statement from the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Al-Bursh, 50, died in Ofer Prison, an Israeli-run incarceration facility in the West Bank.

His body remains held by the Israeli authorities, according to the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society described the doctor’s death in Israeli custody as “assassination.”

Al-Bursh, who was a prominent surgeon in Gaza’s largest hospital Al-Shifa, was reportedly working at Al-Awada Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip when he was arrested by Israeli forces.

The Israeli prison service declared Al-Bursh dead on April 19, claiming the doctor was detained for “national security reasons.”

However, the prison’s statement did not provide details on the cause of death. A prison service spokesperson said the incident was being investigated.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Thursday she was “extremely alarmed” at the death of the Palestinian surgeon.

“I urge the diplomatic community to intervene with concrete measures to protect Palestinians. No Palestinian is safe under Israel’s occupation today,” she wrote on X.

Since Oct. 7, when Israel launched its retaliatory bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has carried out over 435 attacks on healthcare facilities in the besieged Palestinian enclave, killing at least 484 medical staff, according to UN figures.

However, the health authority in Gaza said in a statement that Al-Bursh’s death has raised the number of healthcare workers killed in the ongoing onslaught on the strip to 496.

Palestinian prisoner organizations report that the Israeli army has detained more than 8,000 Palestinians from the West Bank alone since Oct. 7. Of those, 280 are women and at least 540 are children.


ICC prosecutor calls for end to intimidation of staff, statement says

Updated 2 min 59 sec ago
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ICC prosecutor calls for end to intimidation of staff, statement says

  • The ICC prosecutor’s office said all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately
  • The statement followed Israeli and American criticism of the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza

AMSTERDAM: The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor’s office called on Friday for an end to what it called intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offense against the world’s permanent war crimes court.
In the statement posted on social media platform X, the ICC prosecutor’s office said all attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence its officials must cease immediately. It added that the Rome Statute, which outlines the ICC’s structure and areas of jurisdiction, prohibits these actions.
The statement, which named no specific cases, followed Israeli and American criticism of the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave.
Neither Israel nor its main ally the US are members of the court, and do not recognize its jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories. The court can prosecute individuals for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Last week Israel voiced concern that the ICC could be preparing to issue arrest warrants for government officials on charges related to the conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel expected the ICC to “refrain from issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli political and security officials,” adding: “We will not bow our heads or be deterred and will continue to fight.”
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any ICC decisions would not affect Israel’s actions but would set a dangerous precedent.
In October, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said it had jurisdiction over any potential war crimes committed by Hamas fighters in Israel and by Israeli forces in Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.
A White House spokesperson said on Monday the ICC had no jurisdiction “in this situation, and we do not support its investigation.”


Houthis offer education to students suspended in US protest crackdown

Updated 37 min 45 sec ago
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Houthis offer education to students suspended in US protest crackdown

  • Sanaa University applauded the “humanitarian” position of students in US campuses and said they could continue their studies in Yemen

SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, which has disrupted global shipping to display its support for Palestinians in the Gaza conflict, is now offering a place for students suspended from US universities after staging anti-Israeli protests.
Students have rallied or set up tents at dozens of campuses in the United States in recent days to protest against Israel’s war in Gaza, now in its seventh month.
Demonstrators have called on President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel’s right to defend itself, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and demanded schools divest from companies that support Israel’s government.
Many of the schools, including Ivy League Columbia University in New York City, have called in police to quell the protests.
“We are serious about welcoming students that have been suspended from US universities for supporting Palestinians,” an official at Sanaa University, which is run by the Houthis, told Reuters. “We are fighting this battle with Palestine in every way we can.”
Sanaa University had issued a statement applauding the “humanitarian” position of the students in the United States and said they could continue their studies in Yemen.
“The board of the university condemns what academics and students of US and European universities are being subjected to, suppression of freedom of expression,” the board of the university said in a statement, which included an email address for any students wanting to take up their offer.
The US and Britain returned the Houthi militia to a list of terrorist groups this year as their attacks on vessels in and around the Red Sea hurt global economies.
The Houthi’s offer of an education for US students sparked a wave of sarcasm by ordinary Yemenis on social media. One social media user posted a photograph of two Westerners chewing Yemen’s widely-used narcotic leaf Qat. He described the scene as American students during their fifth year at Sanaa University.


Israel confirms death of hostage held in Gaza

Updated 03 May 2024
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Israel confirms death of hostage held in Gaza

  • Or was killed and his body held in Gaza since October 7
  • His wife was killed in the initial attack while two of their three children were abducted

Jerusalem: An Israeli man held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack has been confirmed dead, the government and the kibbutz where he had lived said early Friday.
Dror Or, 49, is the latest hostage to have been confirmed dead by Israel after begin captured during the Hamas attack that triggered war with Israel.
Or was killed and his body held in Gaza since October 7, the Beeri kibbutz said. It was one of the communities hardest hit in the Hamas attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.
His wife Yonat was killed in the initial attack while two of their three children, Noam and Alma, aged 17 and 13, were abducted and then freed in November as part of a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by militants during their attack remain in Gaza. The military says 35 of them are dead including Or.
“We are heartbroken to share that Dror Or, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, had been confirmed as murdered and his body is being held in Gaza,” the Israeli government said on X.
The two children and their brother Yahli are now orphans, it added.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it will provide assistance to Or’s family.
The forum and Israeli government did not say how they learned of Or’s death.
“Only by securing the release of all hostages, the living for rehabilitation, the deceased for burial can our people’s revival and future be ensured,” the forum said in a statement.
“Israeli government must exhaust every effort to bring Dror and... the other murdered hostages back for honorable burials in Israel.”
Or’s death was announced as mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt await Hamas’s response to a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release.
In late November during a week-long truce, 105 hostages were released including 80 Israelis and people from other countries in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held by Israel.
The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.


Hamas sending delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks in latest sign of progress

Updated 03 May 2024
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Hamas sending delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks in latest sign of progress

  • After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage
  • Question remains whether Israel will accept end to war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas

BEIRUT: Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.

After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the ceasefire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. But chances for the deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
The stakes in the ceasefire negotiations were made clear in a new UN report that said if the Israel-Hamas war stops today, it will still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed by nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza. It warned that the impact of the damage to the economy will set back development for generations and will only get worse with every month fighting continues.
The proposal that US and Egyptian mediators have put to Hamas -– apparently with Israel’s acceptance — sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate six-week ceasefire and partial release of Israeli hostages, but also negotiations over a “permanent calm” that includes some sort of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Egyptian official. Hamas is seeking guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal and complete end to the war.
Hamas officials have sent mixed signals about the proposal in recent days. But on Thursday, its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “stressed the positive spirit of the movement in studying the ceasefire proposal.”
The statement said that Hamas negotiators would travel to Cairo “to complete the ongoing discussions with the aim of working forward for an agreement.” Haniyeh said he had also spoken to the prime minister of Qatar, another key mediator in the process.
The brokers are hopeful that the deal will bring an end to a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis. They also hope a deal will avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought shelter after fleeing battle zones elsewhere in the territory.
If Israel does agree to end the war in return for a full hostage release, it would be a major turnaround. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack stunned Israel, its leaders have vowed not to stop their bombardment and ground offensives until the militant group is destroyed. They also say Israel must keep a military presence in Gaza and security control after the war to ensure Hamas doesn’t rebuild.
Publicly at least, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that is the only acceptable endgame.
He has vowed that even if a ceasefire is reached, Israel will eventually attack Rafah, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza. He repeated his determination to do so in talks Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Israel on a regional tour to push the deal through.
The agreement’s immediate fate hinges on whether Hamas will accept uncertainty over the final phases to bring the initial six-week pause in fighting — and at least postpone what it is feared would be a devastating assault on Rafah.
Egypt has been privately assuring Hamas that the deal will mean a total end to the war. But the Egyptian official said Hamas says the text’s language is too vague and wants it to specify a complete Israeli pullout from all of Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the internal deliberations.
On Wednesday evening, however, the news looked less positive as Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas official, expressed skepticism, saying the group’s initial position was “negative.” Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, he said that talks were still ongoing but would stop if Israel invades Rafah.
Blinken hiked up pressure on Hamas to accept, saying Israel had made “very important” compromises.
“There’s no time for further haggling. The deal is there,” Blinken said Wednesday before leaving for the US
An Israeli airstrike, meanwhile, killed at least five people, including a child, in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. The bodies were seen and counted by Associated Press journalists at a hospital.
The war broke out on Oct. 7. when Hamas militants broke into southern Israel and killed over 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, taking around 250 others hostage, some released during a ceasefire on November.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Hamas is believed to still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has wreaked vast destruction and brought a humanitarian disaster, with several hundred thousand Palestinians in northern Gaza facing imminent famine, according to the UN More than 80 percent of the population has been driven from their homes.
The “productive basis of the economy has been destroyed” and poverty is rising sharply among Palestinians, according to the report released Thursday by the United Nations Development Program and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
It said that in 2024, the entire Palestinian economy — including both Gaza and the West Bank -– has so far contracted 25.8 percent. If the war continues, the loss will reach a “staggering” 29 percent by July, it said. The West Bank economy has been hit by Israel’s decision to cancel the work permits for tens of thousands of laborers who depended on jobs inside Israel.
“These new figures warn that the suffering in Gaza will not end when the war does,” UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said. He warned of a “serious development crisis that jeopardizes the future of generations to come.”