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CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — As US President Joe Biden visits the Middle East this week, one issue on the table will be the status of two small Red Sea islands that are uninhabited but of key strategic value. Resolving the tricky status that stems from their location and turbulent history would help build trust between Israel and Saudi Arabia, two US allies now taking gradual steps that Washington hopes could one day lead to diplomatic […]
by Robbie COREY-BOULET Agence France Presse Saudi Arabia announced Friday it was lifting restrictions on “all carriers” using its airspace, an apparent gesture of openness towards Israel ahead of US President Joe Biden’s arrival. It was the latest conciliatory move by Riyadh concerning the Jewish state, which it has refused to recognise despite intensive efforts by the Israelis to establish ties with Arab countries. The Saudi civil aviation authority “announces the decision to open […]
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel has “no objection” to two strategic Red Sea islands being transferred to Saudi Arabia as a step towards any normalisation of ties between both countries, high-ranking officials said Thursday. The Jewish state hopes US President Joe Biden’s Middle East tour will hail the start of diplomatic ties between it and Saudi Arabia. After meeting Israeli officials on Wednesday and Thursday, Biden is on Friday to travel on to Saudi Arabia […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Joe Biden will hold bilateral talks on Thursday with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, where the two allies are expected to declare a “united stand” on common foe Iran. Biden touched down in Tel Aviv on Wednesday for the first Middle East tour of his presidency, which will see him meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders before flying onwards to Saudi Arabia. Tehran will top the agenda of talks slated for […]
by Aurélia End and Ben Simon Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Joe Biden lands in the Middle East on Wednesday for a trip that will see Israeli leaders urge tougher action against Iran, before a delicate stop in Saudi Arabia. The 79-year-old president’s visit to Jeddah on Friday will be the focus of the tour, after Biden branded Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist and US […]
by Gareth Browne Agence France-Presse RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Ahead of Joe Biden’s first visit to Jerusalem as US president, Washington’s ambassador said his team will “pound tables” to press Israeli officials into making concessions to the Palestinians. But ambassador Thomas Nides was talking about ensuring Palestinians have access to economic benefits such as 4G internet, not throwing American diplomatic muscle into reviving a peace process moribund since 2014. Biden’s first Middle East tour […]
by Guillaume LAVALLÉE Agence France-Presse TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) –Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid makes his first foreign trip as premier on Tuesday to Paris, where he will ask President Emmanuel Macron to intervene in a gas dispute with Lebanon. Lapid took over the premiership on Friday following the collapse of Israel’s coalition government, which will see the country return to the polls in November for its fifth election in less than four years. The […]
by Yasmin Zaher and Ben Simon Agence France Presse JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli lawmakers dissolved parliament on Thursday, forcing the country’s fifth election in less than four years, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid set to take over as caretaker prime minister at midnight. After the unanimous 92-0 vote, the centrist Lapid embraced outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose year in charge of an unwieldy, eight-party coalition was ultimately undone by its ideological divisions. Lapid, […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — A panel of Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday approved draft legislation to dissolve parliament, a key legislative step that pushes Israel closer towards its fifth election in less than four years. Members of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s outgoing coalition and the opposition led by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu have been sparring in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, since last week over a dissolution bill. The coalition said it wanted quick approval of the law […]
JERUSALEM, June 22, 2022 (AFP) – Israeli lawmakers were holding a first vote Wednesday on a government bill to dissolve parliament and call an early election, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his eight-party coalition was no longer tenable. The government has said it wants to fast-track the bill but the opposition led by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to block its passage in a bid to form a replacement government without the need for […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will visit Turkey next week, his office said Sunday, days after he urged Israelis to leave that country over threats of attacks by Iranian operatives. Sunday’s announcement came after Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke by telephone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and “thanked” him “for the efforts to thwart terrorist activities on Turkish soil”, according to a statement from the Israeli presidency. “President Herzog […]
DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — Syrian air defense intercepted Israeli missiles south of Damascus on Monday, with no casualties reported, a military source told Syria’s official news agency SANA. “The Israeli enemy carried out an airstrike from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting points south of Damascus,” with Syria’s air defense intercepting most of the missiles, SANA quoted the military source as saying. “The losses were limited to material damage.” An AFP correspondent in the capital Damascus […]
