Etidal Targets 3 Terrorist Organizations, Removes 43ml Items of Extremist Content

The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Etidal Targets 3 Terrorist Organizations, Removes 43ml Items of Extremist Content

The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, known as Etidal, removed more than 43.8 million extremist content, in addition to closing 6,200 extremist channels, in cooperation with the Telegram platform.

Etidal, in cooperation with messaging service Telegram, continues its efforts to counter the extremist propaganda of terrorist organizations. Between October and December 2023, joint efforts led to the removal of over 20 million items of extremist content and the banning of 801 extremist broad channels on the Telegram app.

The Etidal team monitored an increase in the dissemination of extremist propaganda during the last quarter of 2023 related to Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and Al-Qaeda.

Etidal said that it removed more than 14 million items of extremist content and closed 404 channels that are related to ISIS, in addition to 3.7 million items and 207 channels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and 2.2 million items and 190 channels belonging to Al-Qaeda.

Since the beginning of their collaboration in February 2022, Etidal and Telegram have removed nearly 59 million items of extremist content and banned over 13,008 broadcast channels.



Faisal bin Farhan, Shaibani Discuss Developments in Syria 

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani meet in Riyadh earlier in February. (Saudi Foreign Ministry) 
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani meet in Riyadh earlier in February. (Saudi Foreign Ministry) 
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Faisal bin Farhan, Shaibani Discuss Developments in Syria 

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani meet in Riyadh earlier in February. (Saudi Foreign Ministry) 
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani meet in Riyadh earlier in February. (Saudi Foreign Ministry) 

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received on Monday a telephone call from his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani to discuss regional developments.

They reviewed bilateral relations between their countries, as well as the latest developments in Syria and efforts exerted towards them.


GCC Calls on Iraq to Withdraw Contentious Coordinates, Map Lodged with UN 

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. (GCC)
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. (GCC)
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GCC Calls on Iraq to Withdraw Contentious Coordinates, Map Lodged with UN 

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. (GCC)
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. (GCC)

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi called on Monday Iraq to withdraw the list of coordinates and the map lodged with the United Nations, which includes claims regarding Iraqi maritime zones.

In a statement, Albudaiwi said the coordinates and map infringe on Kuwait’s sovereignty over its maritime areas and shoals, including Fasht Al-Qaid and Fasht Al-Aij.

He underscored the importance of resorting to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in a manner consistent with the understandings, agreements, and bilateral memoranda of understanding concluded between the two countries.

Albudaiwi reiterated the GCC’s steadfast positions and previous resolutions on Iraq's respect for Kuwait's sovereignty and territorial integrity and its categorical rejection of any violation of Kuwait's sovereignty.

"The GCC and Iraq are bound by deep-rooted historical relations and close ties based on mutual respect and good neighborliness," he stressed, noting that such claims undermine efforts to boost cooperation and bilateral relations between Iraq and Kuwait.

He hoped Baghdad would withdraw the list of coordinates and the map in order to bolster mutual trust, support the stability of relations, and enshrine commitment to relevant legal and international principles.


Saudi Arabia, Various Foreign Ministers Condemn Israel over West Bank Moves

FILE - This photo shows a construction site of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
FILE - This photo shows a construction site of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
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Saudi Arabia, Various Foreign Ministers Condemn Israel over West Bank Moves

FILE - This photo shows a construction site of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)
FILE - This photo shows a construction site of new housing projects in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Givat Ze'ev, Monday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

The ‌foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Brazil, France, Spain, Türkiye and various other states condemned Israeli decisions that they said introduce sweeping extensions to unlawful Israeli control over the West Bank.

"Changes are wide-ranging, reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land’, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration," said the joint statement, ‌issued late ‌on Monday by the ‌Turkish Foreign ⁠Ministry.

Other countries to ⁠sign the statement included Egypt and Qatar, as well as the heads of the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Reuters said.

Israel's cabinet on February 15 approved further ⁠measures to tighten Israel's control ‌over the occupied ‌West Bank and make it easier for ‌settlers to buy land, a move ‌Palestinians called a "de-facto annexation".

The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much ‌of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule ⁠in ⁠some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

The joint statement said the settlements, and decisions designed to further them, are "a flagrant violation of international law" and a step towards "unacceptable de facto annexation".

It said they also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region and threaten any meaningful prospect of regional integration.