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Media Summary

Security forces raid Egyptian news site

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BBC News, the Guardian, Independent and FT report that the office of Egypt’s last major independent media outlet has been raided by plain clothes security officers. On Facebook, Mada Masr said laptops and phones were confiscated and three staff members arrested.  The authorities have not commented. There has been a crackdown on dissent and free speech under President Sisi.

In the Guardian, Omar Robert Hamilton argues that “Sisi’s thugs think they can get away with abducting Shady Zalat. Don’t let them”.

The Times, FT and Reuters report that former education minister and minister for the interior Gideon Sa’ar has announced his candidacy for the Likud leadership. “I haven’t heard one person who thinks that after a third election, or a fourth, or a fifth, or a sixth, Prime Minister Netanyahu will succeed in forming a government,” Saar said. He called on his Likud colleagues to hold an immediate party primary, which Israeli media have reported will be held in six weeks.

BBC News, the Telegraph and Reuters report that Iraqi security forces have opened fire on protesters in southern Iraq, killing at least five people. Since anti-government demonstrations began in October, more than 300 people have died and thousands injured. The FT argues that the authoritarian tactics used by the Iraqi government echo the Saddam Hussein period.

Reuters reports that a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has urged the country’s judiciary to mete out harsh sentences to what he described as “mercenaries” involved in protests against a fuel price hike last week, the judiciary’s Mizan news site reported.

In the Guardian, Martin Chulov examines “how street protests across Middle East threaten Iran’s power”: “Demonstrations from Baghdad to Beirut reveal the extent to which Shia dominance across the region has weakened”.

The Independent and Reuters report that US Vice President Mike Pence has attempted to reassure the Iraqi Kurds of US support during a surprise visit to the region. Pence rejected criticism that Washington had betrayed its Kurdish allies as he met with Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

Reuters reports that the US and France are boosting Saudi Arabia’s radar systems following the September 2019 drone and cruise missile attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure. The chief of the US Central Command and France’s defence minister, also touted rival versions of maritime missions to protect Gulf waters at a Bahrain security forum on Saturday.

The Times reports that the Iraqi Defence Ministry has strenuously denied allegations that Defence Minister Najah al-Shammari holds dual citizenship and has been fraudulently claiming benefits as a resident of Sweden while living and working in Baghdad.

Reuters reports that Saudi Aramco met investors in Dubai on Sunday to market its IPO, after attempting to secure demand from the Kuwait Investment Authority for the deal, worth up to $25.6bn, which relies heavily on local and regional buyers.

Reuters reports that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is monitoring banking indicators on a daily basis and is not seeing any impact on liquidity from Saudi Aramco’s IPO.

The Times reports that the monumental public construction projects that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned into a hallmark of his rule may soon grind to a halt after some of the contracts to finance them were pulled.

The Times reports that a personal assistant to the Qatari ambassador in London has stated that she was pestered for sex by her boss before he turned his attentions to her 16-year-old daughter.

The Observer maintains that Home Secretary Priti Patel’s resistance to repatriating British orphans in Syria is “not only wrong but it could create a security threat in the future”.

In the Independent, Natasha Self asks “after a century of complicity in war crimes against Palestinians, will this election make any difference? According to Self, the “tools which Britain imposed on Palestinians to suppress revolt in the 1930s have been ‘inherited’ by Israel and are widely implemented today. And in 2019, Britain supplies more arms to Israel than ever before”.

In the Independent, Borzou Daragahi issues a stark warning to Western leaders: “ ignore the fall of Isis at your peril – there’s still every possibility of a second uprising”.

In the Independent, Patrick Cockburn argues that “the rising political cost for foreign powers in Yemen’s brutal conflict could usher in an end to the fighting that has destroyed a nation”.

In the Independent, Kim Sengupta argues that “: More than a year on, there’s still much to learn” about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Iran planning more attacks: The Israeli media report comments by Prime Minister Netanyahu at yesterday’s cabinet meeting where he warned, “Iran’s aggression in our region, and against us, continues” and highlighted comments by General McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, that “Iran is planning more attacks.” The Israeli papers also report that the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrived in Israel yesterday for meetings with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and other senior Israeli defence officials.

Israel can reach long-term truce with Hamas: Writing in Haaretz, Amos Harel suggests that the IDF has identified a rare opportunity to reach a long-term arrangement with Hamas. He says the defence establishment believes that the assassination of the senior Islamic Jihad leader, and Hamas’s decision not to participate in the resulting conflict, created optimal conditions for an agreement.  Furthermore, senior IDF officers support implementing far-reaching relief measures for the Palestinians in in Gaza in exchange for a long term ceasefire deal and believe that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is “showing great interest” in reaching a long-term understanding.

Lebanese businessman donates Nazi memorabilia to Jewish causes: The Israeli media report that a Lebanese businessman spent 600,000 euros at an auction in Germany buying Nazi memorabilia. Among the items bought was Hitler’s top hat and personal cigar box as well as a silver plated copy of Mein Kampf that belonged to Hermann Goering. The Lebanese businessman, Abdullah Charolais, who lives in Geneva explained that he bought the objects so they could not be bought by far right supporters and used for neo-Nazi propaganda. He had originally planned to buy the items and then destroy them, but instead donated them to Keren Hayesod, an Israeli charity.

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in Hebron: Haaretz reports that five people, including a baby, were wounded in Hebron on Saturday when dozens of settlers threw stones at several houses. Palestinian sources also said businesses and shops were also targeted in the northern entrance to Hebron’s Old City.