Muslim Brotherhood Announces ‘Overcoming Power Struggle,’ Denies Concluding Deal with Cairo

Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Muslim Brotherhood Announces ‘Overcoming Power Struggle,’ Denies Concluding Deal with Cairo

Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Acting leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front” Ibrahim Munir (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Muslim Brotherhood’s “London Front,” led by acting leader Ibrahim Munir, published on Saturday the so-called “political document,” in which it announced overcoming the struggle for power.

The Front denied concluding any “political deals” with the authorities in Egypt in exchange for releasing the convicts and those jailed on charges related to violence and terrorism.

The Front affirmed that the Muslim Brotherhood was not seeking power in the north African country, according to the document dated September 18 and published on Saturday.

The document identified three political priorities the front seeks to implement to address what it described as a “critical moment” in Egypt’s history.

These include ending the issue of what it called “political prisoners,” achieving societal reconciliation, and building a broad national partnership that eventually achieves Egyptians’ aspirations for political and economic reform.

It stressed that these priorities require “overcoming the power struggle,” pointing out that it has adopted an approach that includes “various options and paths.”

According to the document, “the Brotherhood’s political role and presence in all public affairs has been, and will remain, a focus of its reform project.”

However, the organization views politics much broader than partisan work and competition for power, the document read.

It stated that “its political responsibility requires it to continue working with national action partners without excluding any party, through a broad national coalition to achieve the goals of living, freedom, social justice and human dignity.”

Conflict has recently risen between the “Istanbul Front” led by former Sec-Gen Mahmoud Hussein and the “London Front” following the emergence of a third front called the “Change Front,” which represented an attempt by the youth to resolve differences among between the Muslim’s foreign fronts.

The majority of Brotherhood leaders lie in jail in Egypt on charges of violence and murder. They were charged after the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi, of the Brotherhood, in July 2013, amid popular protests. The group was shortly banned in Egypt and death and life sentences against its top leaders soon followed.

The Brotherhood has been excluded from the national dialogue called for by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi earlier this year because of its violent past.

The expert in Islamic movements, Amr Abdul Moneim, said the document preempted the Change Front’s conference, which indicates major differences between the two fronts.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdul Moneim pointed out that the London Front announced in the document overcoming the struggle for power, and Munir announced in July his full withdrawal from political life.

He pointed to ongoing discussions within the Front during the past three months to issue a document related to political action, those jailed on terrorism charges, and violence.

He stressed that this is “a war between the organization’s two fronts.”

He referred to the Change Front’s document, which was issued after the London Front published its document.



Israel Clears Final Hurdle to Start Settlement Construction That Would Cut West Bank in Two

Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Clears Final Hurdle to Start Settlement Construction That Would Cut West Bank in Two

Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Construction cranes tower above a construction site in Givat HaMatos, an Israeli settlement suburb of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on January 2, 2026. (AFP)

Israel has cleared the final hurdle before starting construction on a controversial settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank into two, according to a government tender. 

The tender, seeking bids from developers, would clear the way to begin construction of the E1 project. 

The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, who runs the group’s settlement watch division, said initial work could begin within the month. 

Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations. 

The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. 

The E1 project is especially contentious because it runs from the outskirts of Jerusalem deep into the occupied West Bank. Critics say it would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory. 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees settlement policy, has long pushed for the plan to become a reality. 

“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said in August, when Israel gave final approval to the plan. “Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.” 

The tender, publicly accessible on the website for Israel’s Land Authority, calls for proposals to develop 3,401 housing units. Peace Now says the publication of the tender “reflects an accelerated effort to advance construction in E1.” 


Three Killed in Aleppo Attacks, Syrian Government, SDF Trade Blame

Syrian forces are seen during a military parade in Aleppo marking a year since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2025. (Syrian Defense Ministry)
Syrian forces are seen during a military parade in Aleppo marking a year since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2025. (Syrian Defense Ministry)
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Three Killed in Aleppo Attacks, Syrian Government, SDF Trade Blame

Syrian forces are seen during a military parade in Aleppo marking a year since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2025. (Syrian Defense Ministry)
Syrian forces are seen during a military parade in Aleppo marking a year since the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2025. (Syrian Defense Ministry)

At least three people were killed and several others wounded in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, state news agency SANA said on Tuesday, citing Aleppo's health director, after deadly attacks for which Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces traded blame.

Syria's defense ministry said in a statement that the SDF had continued its "escalation" by targeting army positions and residential areas in Aleppo. The SDF denied its responsibility, saying that the ‌casualties were caused by "indiscriminate" ‌artillery and missile shelling by ‌factions ⁠aligned with ‌the Damascus government.

The violence came days after a meeting between senior officials from the SDF and the Damascus government on implementing a deal agreed nearly 10 months ago that aimed to fully integrate the semi-autonomous Kurdish region into the central Syrian government.

The agreement was ⁠meant to be implemented by the end of 2025, but ‌the two sides have made ‍little progress, each accusing ‍the other of stalling or acting in bad ‍faith.

The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main US ally during the war, which left it with control of ISIS prisons and rich oil resources.

Integrating the SDF into Syria's army would mend Syria's deepest remaining fracture, ⁠but failing to do so risks an armed clash that could derail the country's emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Türkiye, which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.

As progress falters, several rounds of fighting have broken out. On December 22, Syrian government forces and SDF agreed to de-escalate in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave ‌of attacks that left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.


African Union Calls for Immediate Revocation of Somaliland’s Recognition by Israel

Somalis burn the Israel flag and an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration, after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, at the Mogadishu Stadium in Warta Nabada district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Somalis burn the Israel flag and an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration, after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, at the Mogadishu Stadium in Warta Nabada district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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African Union Calls for Immediate Revocation of Somaliland’s Recognition by Israel

Somalis burn the Israel flag and an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration, after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, at the Mogadishu Stadium in Warta Nabada district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Somalis burn the Israel flag and an image depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration, after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, at the Mogadishu Stadium in Warta Nabada district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 30, 2025. (Reuters)

The African Union's Political Affairs Peace and Security council called on Tuesday for the "immediate revocation" of Israel's recognition ‌of Somaliland.

Israeli ‌Foreign ‌Minister ⁠Gideon Sara ‌visited Somaliland on Tuesday on a trip that was denounced by Somalia, 10 ⁠days after Israel ‌formally recognized the ‍self-declared ‍republic as ‍an independent and sovereign state.

"The (AU) Council strongly condemns, in the strongest terms, the unilateral recognition of ⁠the so-called 'Republic of Somaliland' by Israel," it said in a post on X after a ministerial meeting.