Egypt uncovers Brotherhood-linked plot to target security and economic facilities: ministry
According to a press statement by Egypt's Interior Ministry, elements who plotted the attacks are linked to the so-called Hasm Movement, which is affiliated to the banned Muslim Brotherhood
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Arab News
8 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israel intercepts Houthi missile fired from Yemen
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, which the Iran-backed Houthi militants said they had launched. 'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted,' the Israeli military said. The Houthis targeted Israel's Ben Gurion airport 'using a 'Palestine 2' hypersonic ballistic missile,' their military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement. The militants have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. The Houthis, who say they are acting in support of the Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza that ended in March, but renewed them after Israel resumed major operations. Israel has carried out several retaliatory strikes in Yemen, targeting Houthi-held ports and the airport in the militant-held capital Sanaa.`
Arab News
38 minutes ago
- Arab News
Turkiye's Balkans policy offers it a stronger role in Europe
When focusing on Turkiye's foreign policy, its role in the Middle East or its relationships with the EU and the US take the most attention. Although the Balkans has not been a priority in either Turkish policy debates or in public opinion, it has been strategically important for Turkiye throughout its modern history. Given its geopolitical significance, Turkiye maintains a calculated policy toward this region, maintaining a balanced relationship with all actors there. As part of this policy, Turkiye launched a new diplomatic initiative for the Balkans — the Balkan Peace Platform — which held its inaugural meeting in Istanbul last week. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the meeting, announced that the platform would convene informally every six months, with Istanbul serving as the host for the time being. The meeting brought together high-level officials from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania. The Turkish-led platform's aim is to promote dialogue in the region, whose stability and security is not only critical for Turkiye but also for Europe. The Balkans region connects Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. However, it has a long history of conflict and great powers have competing interests there. This complex past has even led to the emergence of the term 'Balkanization,' which refers to a region marked by conflict, fragmentation and persistent instability. Recalling the region's history of chronic instability, Fidan warned that 'missed opportunities' can lead to serious economic and security consequences, emphasizing the need for 'regional solutions to regional problems.' The Western Balkans is a region where Russia and the Western powers maintain a particular strategic interest. In this context, Turkiye neither positions itself as a counterbalance to Russia nor as an alternative to the EU or the US. Instead, it seeks to play the role of a stabilizing force. At the heart of Turkiye's Balkans policy is the long-standing Serbia-Kosovo dispute, which is one of Europe's most serious challenges. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has since been recognized by several countries, including Turkiye. However, Belgrade has never accepted Kosovo's independence. Ankara, meanwhile, maintains strong diplomatic relations with both sides. In 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Serbia, where he was received with an unprecedented level of warmth. With this visit, Turkiye placed the last piece in its Balkans puzzle. During its presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process, Ankara also established the Turkiye-Bosnia-Serbia and Turkiye-Bosnia-Croatia tripartite dialogue mechanisms. These initiatives were part of its inclusive foreign policy approach in the Balkans. Maintaining good relations with all regional actors is key for protecting minority communities. This is a core principle of Turkiye's Balkans policy. Most importantly, Turkiye's Balkans policy closely aligns with broader Western goals. The Western Balkan states share aspirations to join both the EU and NATO and Ankara supports these goals. It has actively backed the accession of Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia to NATO and supports their official candidacy for EU membership. This support reflects Ankara's strategic aim of maintaining a strong presence in the region ahead of these countries joining the EU. The region connects Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. However, it has a long history of conflict. Dr. Sinem Cengiz Besides political support, Turkiye has free trade agreements with all of the Western Balkan states and is undertaking ambitious infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo motorway, which represents an ambitious Turkish investment at the heart of the Western Balkans. Improving infrastructure in the region is seen as a critical step toward supporting its integration into the EU. In addition, Turkiye is advancing its energy strategy in the region through new agreements. Most recently, it signed memorandums of energy cooperation with both Bulgaria and Romania. Turkiye also continues to assert itself as a security actor in the Balkans. It is already part of NATO's Kosovo Force, assuming the mission's command for the first time in 2023. Among the NATO member states and partner countries contributing to this mission, Turkiye holds the second-largest military contingent. In March, Turkiye took steps to ratify broad military framework agreements with Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, allowing it to deepen its defense cooperation with these countries. In May, military leaders from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro gathered in Istanbul to reaffirm regional military cooperation, offering a rare display of unity. The timing of the meeting was particularly significant as the Balkan states are significantly affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine. They are divided in their ties with the US and Russia, having varying threat perceptions toward these global actors. For example, Albanians largely see the US and, to some extent, Turkiye as key allies. Bosnians also tend to pivot toward Turkiye as their key partner, while Serbia continues to align itself closely with Russia. This reflects the complex picture in the Balkans, where the US, Russia and Turkiye, as well as EU states, all wield influence. However, despite these rivalries, Turkiye's carefully balanced policy, supported by diplomacy, military and economic incentives, not only provides it with a unique opportunity to solidify its role in the Balkans, but it also increases its leverage in Europe. Most importantly, Turkiye's involvement in the Balkan security, political and economic architecture should be seen as an asset by the EU, and the broader West, because Ankara's pursuit of close ties with the Balkan states aims to complement and reinforce Europe's broader objectives for this region.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
A stain on the face of humanity
The US is finally admitting that Gazans are starving. In the space of less than 24 hours, President Donald Trump shifted positions, from saying that he was not sure people are starving in Gaza to stating that there is 'real starvation' in the Israeli-blockaded enclave. In a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump said that the US would set up 'food centers' in Gaza as he acknowledged Israel 'has a lot of responsibility' for limiting aid to the Strip. His admission puts him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday denied that people are starving in Gaza. In March, Israel pulled out of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, negotiated through the US, and imposed a full blockade on more than 2 million Gazans. It stopped all aid trucks from entering the Strip, thereby denying civilians access to essential supplies such as food, baby formula, medicine, fuel and water. Israel has used starvation as a weapon from Day 1 of its onslaught on Gaza. Its officials are on record admitting and supporting the blockade. Far-right Cabinet ministers have objected to any proposal that would reopen the border crossings to allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter the beleaguered enclave. On the few occasions that aid trucks have been admitted, Israel attacked and killed aid workers, including foreign nationals. It accused Hamas of stealing the aid, but the US Agency for International Development debunked that claim. Israel banned the leading UN agency, UNRWA, which is responsible for delivering food and medicine to the Palestinians. It bombed food warehouses in Gaza and created a human-made humanitarian catastrophe that — so far — has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children and infants from acute malnutrition. And when pressure was put on Israel and the US to offer an alternative to the UN and other organizations, Netanyahu created the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-Israeli entity manned by armed contractors and protected by the Israeli army, which took responsibility for feeding more than 2 million souls. The outcome is tragic and, to say the least, criminal. So far, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been gunned down by Israel and the armed contractors as they huddled like animals to receive meals. But even then, Israel poured cement into water wells, denied hospitals access to fuel and medication, and continued to strike safe zones where hapless civilians were ordered to move by the Israeli army for their safety. The irony is that, even as Israel knowingly and deliberately pushed the Strip into starvation, Western governments, including the US, did nothing to stop it. It was only when the harrowing images of emaciated babies went viral on social media that real pressure was put on Israel. Netanyahu last week announced a humanitarian pause, allowing aid trucks into the Strip and facilitating airdrops. But while hundreds of trucks traveled from Egypt into an Israeli-controlled border point, only 100 were allowed in. Aid agencies estimate that between 500 and 700 trucks are needed daily to contain the humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Osama Al-Sharif The so-called humanitarian pause is a lie. Israel continues to bomb Gaza, mainly killing civilians, while the few functioning hospitals lack fuel, food, water and medication. Now, Trump wants to establish food centers in Gaza. Israel will find ways to sabotage that effort. What Trump fails or refuses to say is that Israel must open the border crossings to let aid trucks in without conditions. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Israel lost all sympathy for its war as it waged an open genocide on Gaza. The objective was never to defeat Hamas but to destroy Gaza and displace its people. US, Egyptian, Qatari and even Israeli negotiators know that Hamas was ready to deliver the hostages if Israel would commit to ending the war. However, Netanyahu and his far-right government partners have other ideas. They openly talk about reoccupying and colonizing Gaza. They have no sympathy for the high civilian toll and push for forcing Gazans to leave at any price. Israel's image in the West has been tarnished and no one believes it can ever be repaired. If and when the war stops and independent journalists and investigators enter the Strip, the complete picture of the horrors Israel has created there will become clear. Even Israeli reports now believe the final death toll in Gaza will be double or triple the current figures. Despite all the war crimes that Israel has committed in Gaza, the Palestinians are not leaving. Israel has had to abandon its grotesque proposal to set up a so-called humanitarian city on the remains of Rafah — a concentration camp no different to the ones the Nazis built for European Jews ahead of their 'final solution.' The images of starving Palestinian children are a stain on the face of humanity, but they will especially haunt Israelis and those who enabled this genocide. It could be brought to an end today. Trump must tell Israel to do so. Trump's admission that Gazans are starving and that the war must end requires bold action. Such action must be done in collaboration with Western countries that have leverage remaining over Israel. Ending the humanitarian crisis is a priority. This collective message must be sent to Netanyahu as soon as possible. Ending the blockade is the first step. This must be followed by a plan to end the war, retrieve the hostages and end Hamas' control of the Strip. Israel must pull out and allow an interim authority to take over, as was previously suggested. Gazans need protection and Israel needs assurances that Oct. 7 will never happen again. This is a moment where Hamas must put the safety and interests of the Palestinian people, who have paid a dear price over the past 22 months, ahead of its own. But even then, that is not enough. The Palestinian question must be addressed and a resolution to decades of war and death must be found. The core of instability in the region has always been linked to Israel's denial of Palestinian self-determination and rejection of the two-state solution. The need for international momentum to relaunch a genuine peace process has never been more urgent. Trump is in a position to change the current trajectory not only in Gaza, but in Israel and the West Bank as well. The Palestinian issue is, at its heart, not humanitarian but political and the time has come to address it.
