Netanyahu Plans Visit to Egypt, Seeks Engaging in Regional Programs With Palestinians https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2657701/netanyahu-plans-visit-egypt-seeks-engaging-regional-programs-palestinians
Netanyahu Plans Visit to Egypt, Seeks Engaging in Regional Programs With Palestinians
Archive photo of the Sisi-Netanyahu meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings in New York 2018
Political sources based in Tel Aviv revealed on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested making an official visit to Cairo. The visit, expected in coming weeks, is centered on strengthening overall bilateral relations and economic ties.
Netanyahu will also seek to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The Israeli prime minister, according to sources, does not want the thawing of relations with the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan to negatively impact Israel’s ties with Egypt. Netanyahu will seek to reassure Egyptian leadership that Tel Aviv’s new ties with the Arab world will not be at the expense of relations with Egypt.
The sources added that Netanyahu wants to discuss means for deepening relations between the two countries. Also, he wants to engage in Egyptian regional efforts.
More so, Netanyahu will review Egyptian-Jordanian-Palestinian contacts to advance the peace process and common positions on US policy.
A prominent Israeli advisor who is close to Netanyahu said that the prime minister is interested in establishing new foundations for improving relations with Palestinians.
After agreeing on those foundations, Sisi will mediate with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Additionally, Netanyahu is seeking to establish a united front in the Middle East with the aim of bettering cooperation with the US, underpinning the American pioneering role in the region, and reinforcing alliances with friends in the region.
Officials from both countries are currently in talks ahead of Netanyahu’s reported visit to Cairo in the coming weeks, Maariv daily reported.
In the future, a bilateral meeting is planned between the economic delegations of Israel and Egypt, where joint economic projects and the promotion of business relations between the two countries will be discussed, Maariv added.
Netanyahu has a history of meetings with Egyptian leaders. In 2010, he met then-president Hosni Mubarak. The two discussed attempts to open direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The visit took place in a tense atmosphere, following the call of then-foreign minister Avigdor Liberman for a complete disengagement of Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Another visit to Cairo was planned by Netanyahu’s office in the winter of 2016, about two years after Sisi came to power. The visit was canceled by the Egyptians following statements by Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, according to whom Egypt flooded Hamas tunnels at Israel’s request.
In September 2017, Netanyahu and Sisi were scheduled for a brief meeting in New York.
Houthis Spend Millions on Loyalists, Drawing Outrage from Struggling Yemenishttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5338477-houthis-spend-millions-loyalists-drawing-outrage-struggling-yemenis
Houthis Spend Millions on Loyalists, Drawing Outrage from Struggling Yemenis
Food aid distributed by the Houthis to families of their killed and wounded fighters in Sanaa (Facebook)
Yemen's Houthis have earmarked nearly $10 million in a single week for the families of fighters killed, wounded or missing in combat, sparking widespread outrage in areas under their control, where a deepening cost-of-living crisis has left public sector workers without salaries for years.
Late last month, the Houthi-run General Authority for the Care of Families of Fallen Fighters launched a sweeping aid program for the group's supporters and the families of its dead and wounded, worth a reported $9.34 million (5.443 billion Yemeni rials, at the group's fixed exchange rate of 530 rials to the dollar).
The spending is part of the group's annual commemorations, known as "Martyr's Week."
The program includes food and medical assistance as well as cash payments. At the launch, Saleh Hamza, the authority's deputy chairman and a senior Houthi official, said the projects would commemorate fallen fighters, provide regular welfare and economic empowerment programs, and expand support for the families of those killed, wounded or missing.
The Houthis also plan to distribute food baskets worth $3.36 million (1.8 billion rials) and symbolic gifts valued at $2.61 million (1.4 billion rials), alongside economic empowerment and welfare programs reserved exclusively for the group's members and their families.
The spending reflects a growing pattern in recent years of channeling financial and economic resources into the Houthi agenda. Hamza said billions of rials had been spent over the past year on cash, healthcare and food assistance exclusively for the families of fighters killed, wounded or missing.
Aid reserved for loyalists
The Houthis face accusations of diverting state resources and revenues from the Zakat and Endowments authorities, two parallel bodies they established in recent years, to fuel military mobilization and cement political loyalty rather than ease widespread economic hardship.
Residents of Sanaa say the group continues to pour money into programs for the families of its dead and wounded fighters and events promoting its sectarian ideology, while overlooking millions of Yemenis struggling to survive an increasingly severe humanitarian crisis.
For one public sector employee in Sanaa, the contrast is particularly bitter.
The employee, who requested anonymity, said he could no longer afford basic necessities for his five children, even as the Houthis allocated billions of rials to fighters' families and programs benefiting only their supporters.
He said the spending had deepened the bitterness felt by thousands of Yemenis unable to provide for their families.
He condemned the denial of food, healthcare and education to millions of Yemenis while such large sums were set aside for a relatively small number of families on the basis of political loyalty.
Poverty as a recruitment tool
Observers say the Houthis are exploiting the hardship of impoverished families to win their loyalty and persuade them to send more sons to fight on the front lines.
One father from a poor household expressed dismay at hearing of billions being spent on Houthi events and projects while struggling families face stark choices: cut back on basic necessities or sink deeper into debt.
With stable incomes scarce and access to aid dwindling, many families have few alternatives.
In rural areas around the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, an education sector employee said years of unpaid salaries had driven thousands of teachers to seek other work just to cover their families' most basic needs.
Meanwhile, Houthi mobilization campaigns and spending on supporters continue, he said, even as teachers who have devoted years to education struggle to provide for their own children.
The spending comes as the United Nations ranks Yemen's humanitarian emergency among the world's worst, with millions of people in Houthi-controlled areas facing food insecurity and deteriorating basic services.
Houthi Escalation Drives Up Casualties, Threatens Widespread Humanitarian Collapsehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5338395-houthi-escalation-drives-casualties-threatens-widespread-humanitarian-collapse
Houthi Escalation Drives Up Casualties, Threatens Widespread Humanitarian Collapse
The total number of casualties from the escalation through the end of October reached 9,730, including 7,959 injuries and 1,771 deaths. (Local media)
Local and international medical organizations in Yemen reported a sharp rise in daily casualties from the Houthi military escalation, to 132 from about 93 last week, with the Lahj governorate the hardest hit as fighting persisted and the Houthis targeted populated areas with missiles and drones.
The latest Health Cluster report put the total number of casualties recorded by the health emergency operations center through the end of October at 9,730, including 7,959 injuries and 1,771 deaths, an increase of 658 in just five days.
The southwestern province of Lahj accounted for 309 casualties, or 47% of the new cases. Marib recorded the highest fatality rate, with 36 deaths among 172 casualties, or 21%. Of those, 117 casualties, including 20 deaths, were reported on Oct. 30 alone in Al-Jubah and Harib districts and along the Al-Jawf front.
The Health Cluster, which comprises 31 health sectors, warned of deteriorating services along Yemen's western coast. All three partner-supported health facilities in Al-Waziyah district had stopped operating, while access restrictions prevented the collection of October data in Dhubab district.
The deterioration came as the number of displaced people exceeded 320,000, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with most of the displacement occurring over the past two months.
Yemenis displaced by Houthi attacks in Taiz gather to receive aid on the outskirts of Aden. (AP)
Diseases
Some 43,000 people have been displaced from Lahj's Al-Mudarabah and Al-Arah district since the start of last year, while the interim capital Aden currently hosts more than 56,000 displaced people. Prices of essential goods in Taiz have risen threefold to fivefold.
The report identified 28 new or reopened displacement sites sheltering 21,273 people without dedicated site management or humanitarian oversight. Another 105 sites, housing 74,456 people, were recorded in western Taiz districts that came under Houthi control during the same month.
The humanitarian response faces severe shortages. The World Health Organization (WHO) is funding just nine mobile medical teams against a target of 30 to 40, and four fixed health centers against a target of 25 to 35.
The report also highlighted an urgent need to coordinate with the Executive Unit for the Management of IDPs Camps to identify suitable locations for delivering services.
Cholera cases continued to fall across the five worst-affected provinces, dropping from 639 in epidemiological week 40 to 443 in week 43. Data for week 44, however, remained 23% incomplete.
The WHO consequently identified 23 districts with a combined population of 2.25 million as priorities for requesting a single dose of oral cholera vaccine from the International Coordinating Group.
Cholera cases continued to fall across the five worst-affected provinces. (UN)
Healthcare gaps
Restrictions have disrupted aid deliveries, forcing the cancellation of air bridge flights to Sanaa scheduled for Oct. 29 and Nov. 3.
The WHO's second pilot medical shipment, weighing 10 metric tons, also remains on hold pending coordination with the World Food Program for transport to Taiz.
The disruptions come amid a severe funding shortfall. Just 12% of the 90-day humanitarian response plan has been funded, with the WHO receiving $3.7 million of the $31 million required, leaving a $27.3 million gap.
Even if an additional $7.3 million under discussion with European donors and the Central Emergency Response Fund is approved, 65% of the plan would remain unfunded, threatening the response beyond year-end.
The report identified four critical, unfunded gaps in the care of injured patients: patient referral systems, a Level 2 surgical facility, expanded intensive care capacity, including fuel for 77 health facilities, and post-discharge rehabilitation services.
Without post-discharge rehabilitation, patients cannot be safely released from surgical wards, leaving beds occupied, reducing hospital capacity and preventing new patients from receiving treatment.
Iraq Braces for Possible US-Iran War with Emergency Military, Civilian Planshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5338393-iraq-braces-possible-us-iran-war-emergency-military-civilian-plans
Iraq Braces for Possible US-Iran War with Emergency Military, Civilian Plans
A rocket is launched by an Iraqi faction. (Popular Mobilization Forces)
Iraq has drawn up sweeping contingency plans for a possible military conflict between Washington and Tehran, deploying troops to border cities and giving commanders authority to respond to armed violations without seeking approval from the commander-in-chief, officials said on Friday.
The preparations also include possible shifts to remote learning and measures to accommodate people fleeing conflict zones.
Signs of imminent US strikes on Iran have mounted this week, fueling fears in Baghdad that Shiite armed factions could join the fighting on Tehran's side after updating their list of potential targets.
Borders under watch
A senior security official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraq had tightened surveillance of border cities on orders from the commander-in-chief, stepping up field monitoring and round-the-clock assessments of unusual movements.
The measures cover the Iranian border from Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan in the north to Basra in the south, near Kuwait and Iran, as well as army deployments along the Syrian border, said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Military commanders are paying particular attention to Basra amid fears that armed factions could operate in strategically sensitive locations with regional significance, the official said.
Another official, who attended a high-level meeting on the potential fallout from war last week, said Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had granted army commanders exceptional powers to confront armed violations by outlaw groups immediately, without referring decisions to him.
The commanders now have "exceptional powers to deter armed groups," the official said.
A military patrol in Kirkuk city on Friday. (Iraqi police)
Remote learning
Beyond military precautions, Iraq's Ministerial Council for National Security has discussed emergency measures that could see schools switch to remote learning, sensitive public-sector records moved and digitally preserved, and preparations made for an influx of people fleeing the fighting, a civilian official familiar with the discussions said.
The council, chaired by al-Zaidi as commander-in-chief, includes the national security adviser and the ministers of interior, defense, foreign affairs, finance and planning.
A government source, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat it was too early to decide on changes to schooling or government working arrangements.
The government first drew up emergency plans in March, when the war erupted following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and has updated them regularly as circumstances changed, the source said.
Revolutionary Guards update target lists
But political officials speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat this week described an "unprecedented" level of alarm over reports that armed factions had updated their lists of targets on orders from Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.
On Wednesday, Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, as saying resistance leaders had received a message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urging them to "confront the enemy without limits."
They had begun turning that message into action by issuing a written declaration of full allegiance, Qaani said.
One Iraqi official warned that al-Zaidi "could find himself heading the government of a country hostile to the United States if the factions enter the war this time."
US presidential envoy to Iraq Tom Barrack, in a statement after meeting al-Zaidi on Thursday evening, said the prime minister faced the toughest task of all: containing crises before they escalated.
Al-Zaidi, meanwhile, reaffirmed after a phone call with US President Donald Trump the same day that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to attack neighboring countries.
Kurdish sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Barrack was expected to brief officials in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah on Friday evening on the latest developments in the Iran crisis and the prospect of renewed military confrontation.
Head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zidan meets with US envoy Tom Brack in Baghdad on Thursday. (Government media)
Ruling alliance fears fallout
Al-Zaidi has also briefed Iraq's ruling alliance on his preparations for possible US strikes.
A political source familiar with the discussions said the prime minister warned the Coordination Framework, which includes the country's leading Shiite political forces, that a US military operation against Iran could be imminent.
He also raised concerns that Iran-aligned factions with ties to parties in the alliance could launch deterrent operations on Tehran's orders.
Al-Zaidi hopes the ruling parties can restrain those groups, the source said, although some within the alliance fear an Iranian defeat could threaten their own political survival.
Kataib Hezbollah faces scrutiny over business interests
The war preparations come amid a stream of reports about the business activities of armed factions, as Baghdad faces mounting pressure to stop the groups from attacking neighboring countries.
Activists known to be close to the factions have circulated details of business networks and companies run by, or linked to, faction leaders and their relatives.
The reports, which are difficult to verify and focus particularly on Kataib Hezbollah, have stirred debate over whether influential actors are trying to undermine the factions' legitimacy by exposing their financial ambitions.
The scrutiny comes as the factions, which have long presented themselves as champions of resistance in Iraq, appear poised to join a military confrontation alongside Iran.
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