EquipmentsFinder.com joins Project Iraq 2025 as official media partner
Now in its 13th edition, Project Iraq is set to welcome 300+ exhibiting companies from 20+ countries, with an expected footfall of over 20,000 trade visitors, including top-tier developers, contractors, government delegations, engineers, and industry investors. The exhibition is a cornerstone for rebuilding and shaping Iraq's infrastructure, with billions of dollars allocated in development and reconstruction projects.
Mr. Sufiyan Nadeem, CEO of EquipmentsFinder.com and a prominent voice in the construction tech ecosystem, shared:
'Partnering with Project Iraq 2025 reflects our long-term commitment to bridging global construction markets with Iraq's immense growth potential. Through our platform, we aim to amplify voices, showcase innovation, and connect stakeholders with real business opportunities.'
As the official media partner, EquipmentsFinder.com will drive multi-platform media coverage before, during, and after the event. This includes exhibitor interviews, real-time highlights, equipment showcases, and trend reports—delivering global exposure to one of the most dynamic construction markets in the Middle East.
About EquipmentsFinder.com
EquipmentsFinder.com is a pioneering B2B marketplace dedicated to construction and heavy equipment. The platform connects buyers, sellers, and rental providers with ease and transparency, offering tailored solutions for industry professionals across the GCC and beyond.
Learn More: www.equipmentsfinder.com
About Project Iraq 2025
Held under the patronage of Iraq's Ministry of Construction and Housing, Project Iraq is the country's largest gathering for the construction, building materials, HVAC, and infrastructure industries. With 13 successful editions to date, it is a launchpad for innovation and a driver of the nation's ambitious development goals.
Learn more: www.project-iraq.com
Media Contact: Muhammad Muaz
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Al-Ahram Weekly
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Standing up to Israel's schemes - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt is continuing to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza while firmly rejecting Israel's plans to displace the Palestinians from their land. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli reiterated Egypt's commitment to the continued delivery of various forms of humanitarian relief to the besieged Palestinians in Gaza this week, indicating that the country is exerting dual efforts by sending truck convoys through the Rafah Crossing, which operates around the clock, while also conducting airdrops in coordination with several other nations. In a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mohamed Mustafa this week, Madbouli also affirmed Egypt's continuing efforts to reach a ceasefire and end the war on Gaza in numerous international forums, as well as within the framework of mediation efforts with both Qatar and the US. It is ensuring the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and preparing to convene the Cairo Conference for the Early Recovery and Reconstruction of Gaza, Madbouli said. On Tuesday, Egypt sent its 18th humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza, including thousands of tons of essential goods, food, medical supplies, and medicines. Amal Imam, Executive Director of the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), indicated that since 27 July Egypt has sent 18 aid convoys to Gaza to help alleviate the suffering of starving Palestinians in critical need of humanitarian aid due to Israel's five-month deliberate blockade of the Strip. 'Egypt has sent more than 36,000 trucks carrying nearly half a million tons of humanitarian and relief aid to Gaza since the war erupted in October 2023,' Imam said, indicating that the 'ERC's trucks are carrying between 2,500 and 3,000 tons of aid to Gaza almost every day.' Madbouli also indicated that Egypt is exerting tremendous efforts to mobilise international support for the implementation of the Arab Plan for the Reconstruction of Gaza, including rebuilding infrastructure and restoring all aspects of life in preparation for the development of the Strip. He blasted Israel's plans for conquering the city of Gaza and displacing the Palestinians to other countries. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Egypt is following with deep concern reports of Israeli consultation with some other countries to allow the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza on their land. 'This is part of an unacceptable Israeli policy aimed at emptying Palestinian land of its inhabitants, occupying it, and liquidating the Palestinian cause,' the statement said. The Foreign Ministry called upon all peace-loving countries around the world not to be involved in Israel's crime of forcibly deporting the Palestinians in Gaza from their land. 'This is a war crime, ethnic cleansing, and a flagrant violation of all principles of international humanitarian law,' the statement said. The Ministry said it had contacted countries reportedly preparing to receive the Palestinians and had been assured that they had rejected Israel's proposals. 'We told the governments of these countries to reject this immoral crime that would violate the Geneva Conventions and that any party that might take part in such a scheme would bear the historical and legal responsibility for it,' the ministry said. Ambassador Rakha Hassan, a former assistant foreign minister, said in a TV interview that it was no secret that Egypt has conducted intensive contacts regarding joint American-Israeli plans to persuade certain countries to accept Palestinians from Gaza as immigrants or refugees, especially since the names of these countries have been circulated. However, these countries have denied the veracity of these reports, Hassan said. There had been reports that Libya, Ethiopia, Somaliland, South Sudan, and Indonesia had agreed to receive Palestinian immigrants or refugees, but these countries have categorically denied these reports, stressing their absolute refusal to receive any Palestinians who are forcibly displaced from their land, an international crime with legal consequences. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is working through 'different channels' to alleviate the burden and suffering of the Palestinians. He said Egypt has contributed 70 per cent of the assistance that has been delivered to Gaza since the war erupted in October 2023. 'There are also 5,000 trucks on the Egyptian side of the Crossing waiting to enter the besieged Strip, but the Israelis are not allowing them to enter,' Abdelatty said. He emphasised that accusations that Cairo has blocked the aid are 'a complete lie' and that Israel alone controls the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing, which its forces have destroyed four times. 'They are physically there, preventing any truck or person from moving in,' Abdelatty told the US network CNN on Monday. Abdelatty warned Israel that the mass displacement of the Palestinians from Gaza is a red line and that it would not be tolerated by Egypt because it is a risk to Egypt's national security and sovereignty. Asked whether the war places the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty at risk, Abdelatty said Cairo 'is respecting and honouring its commitments according to the Peace Treaty' but warned that any kind of displacement of the Gazans would be a 'big risk, and we will not allow any single party to risk our national security and the control of our border.' The minister's warnings are some of the harshest made since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that talks are underway with several countries about taking in Palestinians displaced by the war. Abdelatty told CNN that while Egypt maintains contact with Israel on the security and intelligence levels, it has not seen a desire from the political leadership there to conclude the war. During a press conference with the Palestinian prime minister on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing, Abdelatty stressed that Egypt will continue to support the Palestinian people in their quest to achieve their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state. He explained that what the Palestinian people are being subjected to is a flagrant violation of international law and conventions, adding that 'the Israeli killing machine is systematically targeting civilians, children, and those waiting for aid.' Abdelatty said Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, raising hopes that a long-awaited breakthrough in negotiations could come very soon. The plan would see Hamas release half of the Israeli hostages it still holds in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a partial Israeli troop withdrawal. Israel has yet to respond to the terms of the ceasefire. Abdelatty did not rule out the temporary deployment of Egyptian or international forces under a UN Resolution that ensures the creation of a Palestinian state. * A version of this article appears in print in the 21 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
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Sonallah Ibrahim (1937-2025): The sixties seer - Culture - Al-Ahram Weekly
Once, an artist from Jerusalem who was staying with me insisted that we go and see him. I called his home number. That may have changed more recently but, till the last time I saw him, Sonallah never owned a mobile phone. His hallowed answering machine came on and once I gave my name, I could hear his own perky, welcoming voice as he picked up… That must've been 2006. Sonallah was already a recipient of the prestigious Al-Owais Award (in 1993), a major literary figure by any count, but he was still—always—eminently approachable. A few months shy of seventy, he was so energetic he came across as much younger. I remember being lost, driving from Maadi to Sonallah's sixth-floor apartment in Heliopolis. I had been there before, but my state of mind was wrecking navigational havoc. This was a difficult time for me, with anxiety attacks and premonitions of doom marring almost every interaction. I remember Sonallah noticing how jittery I was, advising me against self-medicating. He was a reticent, measured, drily humorous interlocutor, but he managed to be among the warmest, most deeply empathetic people I knew. Above all I remember the awe with which my artist friend regarded the small, spiky figure as he bustled about, serving us hot drinks. What drew Palestinians to his work so much? Even among other paragons of the Generation of the Sixties—the literary movement that followed Naguib Mahfouz and others whose careers had started in the first half of the 20th century, and included many celebrated figures—Palestinians found no one as compelling as Sonallah. In 2007, the late novelist Gamal Al-Ghitani (1945-2015) told me there were only two original achievements in the Generation of the Sixties: his own return to canonical storytelling; and Sonallah's hyperrealism. Both novelists believed in the Sixties ethos, that mixture of socialism, Arab nationalism, and secularism that emerged out of Gamal Abdel-Nasser's revolutionary dictatorship (1954-1970). Both had been imprisoned for political activities. Sonallah had it harder, though: while a law student at Cairo University, in 1959, the Nasser regime arrested him for belonging to a communist organisation. He was barely 20, and he spent what would've been his university years in prison, five years in total. Still, Sonallah remained loyal, if not to the regime's repressive practices, then to Nasser's vision for national liberation: pan-Arab, anti-colonial, and devoted to the most dispossessed sectors of the population… Ghitani fought for these values from within the establishment. In 1993, under Nasser's neoliberal heir Hosni Mubarak, he founded the state's most successful cultural publication, Akhbar Al-Adab, a weekly. He not only edited Akhbar Al-Adab but, through this and other roles, gathered enough influence and visibility to function as a kind shadow culture minister. For his part Sonallah never accepted an official—or indeed any—position in his life. He never worked with private-sector publishers, either, preferring the independent Dar Al- Mustaqbal Al-Arabi for the most part. In retrospect I can see he was not just fiercely guarding his independence, since his work often dealt explicitly with political issues, but also living out the Sixties ethos as faithfully as possible. After his release in 1964, Sonallah was badly off and isolated, unsure how to proceed. As he later avowed, a diary in which he noted down what was happening to him in short, terse, verb-driven sentences helped to keep him sane. He was working on short stories at the time, more involved narratives in the vein of socialist realism. But it was this straightforward record of everyday suffering—freed not just of the strictures of socialist realism, which as a young, committed communist he felt he had to follow, but of any conscious attempt at artifice at all—that eventually commanded his attention. The diary gradually morphed into That Smell, a novella that—along with the Moroccan writer Mohamed Choukri's 1972 For Bread Alone—would form the core of my own literary aesthetic and sense of modern Arabic. By general consensus it is a seminal work, evidencing the kind of quiet, spare, first-person lyricism that would not resurface in Sonallah's writing until 2007 (in Stealth). That Smell exposed the horrors and hypocrisies of a world headed for resounding collapse: within a few years, indeed, the 1967 defeat to Israel would serve as a rude awakening from the Nasserist dream of dignity and development, arguably debilitating the young republic long-term. Completed in 1964, That Smell first appeared in 1966, enthusiastically introduced by the great short story writer Youssef Idris (1927-1991), a household name at the time. Several small editions followed, some appeared cut, others were banned on publication, not because the text contained political polemic but because its minute descriptions of masturbation, for example, were deemed offensive. Here was a narrator for the times, however: a figure who was neither hero nor antihero but simply frugal witness, able to evoke the full gamut of reality by sticking with the most basic, physical information, entertaining no emotional or intellectual flights. That Smell turned Sonallah into the voice of an era. And, like any writer who produces a truly original first book, he wasn't sure what to do next. In reality he wouldn't write anything like That Smell until Stealth, when he felt compelled to return to his childhood at the age of seventy. If Sonallah marked the end of Nasser's world with a whimper in That Smell, for some three decades after that he delivered a series of bangs: long, complex, inventive satires on specific topics. Sonallah had managed to get a job at the state Middle East News Agency, but by 1968 he was in Beirut dabbling in literary translation and editing. He worked as a journalist in the German Democratic Republic for three years, studying screenwriting at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow as of 1971. There he met the famed Syrian filmmaker Mohamed Malas, appearing in Malas' VGIK graduation project. Sonallah never worked in film, however, and by 1975—back in Cairo—he had freed himself of all journalistic commitments too. Soon his hyperrealist bangs, novels that incorporated found material—newspaper archives, personal letters, official documents—and experimented with structure, had already begun to appear: August Star (about the building of the High Dam, which he also documented in the 1967 book High Dam Human) in 1974, The Committee (a Kafkaesque critique of the ideological about-face Nasser's successor Anwar Al-Sadat undertook, allying himself with Washington and introducing 'open-door' economics) in 1981, and Beirut Beirut (an early reckoning with the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990 and its regional implications, drawing on Sonallah's earlier stay in the country) in 1984. Through this, even when there was no direct mention of Palestine, Sonallah dramatised and satirised the reality of Arab helplessness: not only occupation and ethnic cleansing without but Civil War, repression, and corruption within. In 2004, he became a founding member of Kefaya, the Egyptian movement for Change, which brought dissidents together in protest of the Mubarak regime. The previous year, he had spectacularly turned down the 2003 Award of the Conference on the Novel, an initiative of the government's Higher Council of Culture. For weeks after being notified he had won the EGP 100,000 honour, he kept his decision to decline it secret so that he could appear at the awards ceremony and read out a deeply moving speech turning down 'the honour of a government that does not have the credibility to bestow it.' In his statement, often remembered during the 2011 January Revolution, Sonallah made some points that have sounded truly prophetic since October 2023. 'At this moment, while we gather here, the Israeli forces are invading what remains of Palestinian territory, killing pregnant women and children and making thousands homeless, carrying out with obvious systematic precision the genocide of the Palestinian people and their displacement out of their land. Yet Arab capitals receive Israeli leaders with open arms, and only steps away from here,' that is, the Opera House grounds, where the ceremony was taking place, 'the Israeli ambassador resides, secure. And only steps away in another direction, the American ambassador occupies an entire neighbourhood while his troops spread into every corner of a homeland that was once Arab.' After Beirut Beirut, Sonallah published Zaat (1992) and Sharaf (1997)—about women and LGBTQ people in Egypt, respectively—as well as Warda (2000), a reckoning with the 1963-1976 Marxist revolution of Dhofar, Oman. The year he declined the Novel Award, he published another topical satire, Amri-kan-li (the title is a pun on 'American' and 'I am master of my affairs'). A hyperrealist response to his term as a guest lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley in 1999, its message chimed perfectly with his oppositional gesture at the Higher Council of Culture, reconfirming his commitment to speaking the political truth: a basic Sixties principle by which few had abided. Ten years later, in 2013, Zaat was made into a phenomenally popular TV show that finally turned Sonallah into a kind of household name, giving him some of the social kudos he had willingly forsaken for so long. In 2015 I ran into Sonallah at Cairo Airport. We were both on our way to the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, and before either of us knew I would end up moderating one of his panels, he greeted me like an old friend. At the event itself—reiterating his 2013 position against the Muslim Brotherhood—Sonallah spoke provocatively against unthinking religiosity, insisting we cannot take the alleged traditions of the Prophet Mohamed at face value, without understanding the political context in which they were cited (or, as he kept saying, made up in return for money). Many in the audience were visibly offended, but his tirade was hilarious. And I was incredibly proud to be sitting next to him. * A version of this article appears in print in the 21 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
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A deal or more escalation on Gaza? - World - Al-Ahram Weekly
Hours after Netanyahu spoke of his plans for a 'Greater Israel', Cairo began to pump up its criticisms of Tel Aviv this week. The announcement by all the Palestinian factions including Hamas this week that they are willing to move towards a ceasefire in Gaza on the basis of an amended US proposal has not confirmed hopes for a possible truce given the Israeli military action on the ground. Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions in Gaza announced their approval of partial truce proposals that were originally proposed by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and amended by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators who have been trying to stop the Israeli war on Gaza since it began on 7 October 2023. Since then, there have been fewer than eight weeks of pause in the hostilities in the entire 22 months of the war. The approval by Hamas of the proposals came after that of the other factions and hours after President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and visiting Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdul-Rahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met to discuss ways to give a push to a ceasefire in Gaza on Monday. The deal that Hamas, along with the other factions, agreed to includes the cessation of military operations in Gaza for eight weeks, a significant relocation of Israeli troops in Gaza, the uninterrupted entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza, and a partial release of the remaining Israeli hostages held since 7 October 2023 in parallel with the release of a number of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Two informed sources said on Monday evening that Hamas had agreed to the proposals after the mediators had accommodated its wish for the deal to include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Morag Corridor that Israel created in April this year in southern Gaza. Carrying the name of an Israeli settlement that was dismantled in 1995 upon the return of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in line with the Oslo Accords, this corridor was set to be the 'demarcation line' established by Israel for the Palestinian presence in Gaza. Earlier this week, Israel said it would provide tents to be put up south of the Morag Corridor to accommodate the close to 800,000 or more Gazans who will want to escape the anticipated hostilities that are forecast to start in less than two weeks after the plan announced by Netanyahu and his generals to reoccupy Gaza. 'The Morag Corridor is essential for the Israeli displacement plan, and Egypt supported the wish of Hamas to insist on having the Israeli troops pull out from it,' said an informed Egyptian source. He added that while Hamas is keen to avoid the displacement of half of the around two million Gazans from the north and middle to the south of the Strip, Egypt is also keen to avoid seeing a massive exodus of Palestinians to the south of Gaza near Rafah and on the borders with Egypt. None of the Egyptian and foreign sources who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly, expected Netanyahu to pull his troops out of the Morag Corridor. Consequently, none of them seemed to anticipate that a ceasefire would be agreed on by Israel or, even if it were approved, it could be sustained. What is more likely, the sources suggested, is a new phase in the Israeli offensive that will bring about the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into southern Gaza. They also agreed that it would be up to the Gazans to decide whether they want to move to the tents south of the Morag Corridor or continue to suffer hunger, illness, and military strikes leading to death in the north of the Gaza Strip. 'Once in the south, it would be up to them to decide whether they want to continue to be lumped together in a highly populated block or move on,' said one Cairo-based foreign diplomat. He added that Netanyahu was going to offer 'safe exits' out of Gaza and 'possible destinations' for those who would agree 'to just go'. Otherwise, the sources added, Netanyahu, with some regional support, wants to throw the ball into Egypt's court, forcing it to look after the section of Gaza where the vast majority of the population would be lumped together. All Egyptian officials have been opposed to all plans either to displace the Palestinians in Gaza or to have Egypt administer Gaza, either entirely or partially. On Monday, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt would not take part in inflicting a new major injustice on the Palestinian people. In a joint press conference with Abdelatty on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa praised Egypt's firm stance against the displacement of the Palestinians. However, Cairo-based foreign diplomats said that the issue of displacement could be much more layered because Israel has plans to move the Palestinians with or without the cooperation of Egypt. They said that Netanyahu believes he is unstoppable and that this is making him more aggressive to the dismay of pro-peace capitals inside and outside of the Middle East, including Cairo, which has abandoned its otherwise cautious statements on Israel. The developments came only days after Netanyahu talked about what he called his political and spiritual commitment to establish 'Greater Israel'. A political and biblical concept used by ultra-orthodox and radical Jews, the term is often used to refer to the expanded borders of Israel, established on parts of the historic land of Palestine in what is known as the Nakba in 1948, to include all of historic Palestine, parts of Jordan, parts of Egypt, and parts of some other neighbouring Arab states. It refers to the Arab territories that Israel occupied in June 1967 and extends to other areas in the region. While compatible with his political creed, Netanyahu's statement came as a shock to several Arab capitals. 'It is not so much that he is thinking about it; it is rather that he is now openly and shamelessly talking about it,' commented one Egyptian source. Both Amman and Cairo issued statements decrying Netanyahu's statements, with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry demanding an explanation of 'these media statements'. The Arab League issued a statement criticising Netanyahu's comments and blaming him for dragging the Middle East further away from peace. 'I cannot say that this is just something that he is saying to appease the radicals in his government or the extremist segment of the Israeli population. I think he really subscribes to the idea,' the same source said. It had been clearly reflected in all of Netanyahu's political choices. 'Netanyahu does not think that he can invade Egypt or Jordan, but he is certainly trying to eliminate the existence of a Palestinian population and a Palestinian nation,' the source said. It was for this reason that he has been 'playing all sorts of games to avoid signing up to a truce to end the war on Gaza.' Having always been sceptical about the possibility of a sustainable ceasefire in the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, this source said on Sunday that now more than ever it seems highly unlikely that Netanyahu will move towards one. Throughout the week, the Israeli military action on the ground in Gaza has indicated that what is happening now is a new phase of the invasion. On Sunday, the Israeli army chief spoke openly of plans to occupy most of Gaza. 'Today, we are approving the plan for the next phase of the war,' Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said during a field visit to the Palestinian territory, according to an Israeli army statement. He added that Israel will continue to strike Gaza 'until the decisive defeat of Hamas'. With no specific way of quantifying or defining the 'decisive defeat of Hamas', official sources in Cairo said that the statement was an indication of a longer and more deadly war. Since Israel started its war on Gaza, at least 65,000 people have been reported dead, including dozens who died of hunger, and over 120,000 have been wounded, with many left with crippling injuries. * A version of this article appears in print in the 21 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
