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Egypt to Evacuate Nationals Escaping Ukraine

A view of a residential building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv on 26 February 2022. [SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images]
A view of a residential building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv on 26 February 2022. [SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images]
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Egypt to Evacuate Nationals Escaping Ukraine

A view of a residential building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv on 26 February 2022. [SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images]
A view of a residential building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv on 26 February 2022. [SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images]

In the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and upon directives from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, an EgyptAir plane flew on Tuesday afternoon to Bucharest to evacuate Egyptian nationals who fled the conflict in Ukraine to Romania, the government announced.

Cabinet Spokesman Ambassador Nader Saad said the cabinet issued the orders upon receiving the presidential directives to make all necessary coordination between the Foreign Ministry, the Egyptian embassies in the countries surrounding Ukraine, the Ministry of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
He said they agreed to send a plane to fly home Egyptian students from Bucharest.

Also, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad Salah Eddin al-Sadek headed to Bucharest on the same plane to follow up on all the arrangements, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv called on its citizens to quickly head to the Egyptian embassy in Bucharest, where a list of passengers taking the evacuation plane was prepared.

It also advised them to directly head to the airport from the embassy in one group.

In Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expats Nabila Makram confirmed that the state is keen to follow up on the conditions of Egyptians in Ukraine in light of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

She commended the role of Egyptian embassies in the countries neighboring Ukraine, saying the diplomatic teams were capable of “providing facilities for Egyptians crossing the borders and of solving any problem facing them during their move to safe areas.”

On Monday, the government said that Makram renewed her appeal to the Egyptian community in Ukraine to be cautious and abide by instructions issued by the concerned authorities.

“When they decide to move, Egyptians should continue to communicate with the Egyptian embassy and with representatives of the community to solve any problem they may face, and until they reach safe border areas,” the Minister said.

She said the Egyptian state spares no effort towards its nationals in Ukraine, and is working in full swing to help them return safely to their country.

The Minister had also directed all Egyptians in Ukraine not to believe unreliable news and to follow only the data issued by Egyptian government agencies and the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv.

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Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways.

The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial.

Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7.

Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common.

An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked.

“All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell.