Al-Monitor

NEWS: The 33rd Arab League summit held in the Bahraini capital, Manama, concluded on Thursday with a call for the “immediate” withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas in the Gaza Strip and an end of the siege imposed on the enclave, while condemning Israel’s ongoing offensive. The statement further expressed the Arab nation’s “firm position for a just and comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue,” and their support for an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The statement called on the international community to advance the peace process towards achieving a just peace based on the two-state solution. “We call for the deployment of international protection and peacekeeping forces affiliated with the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territory until the two-state solution is implemented,” the statement added. Read on ➡ https://lnkd.in/eDYaqcRv

#ICYMI Here's what we know about Iran and India's deal for the Chabahar port, as well as the US response. For Al-Monitor:

The 33rd Arab League summit kicked off in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Thursday amid a growing number of challenges facing the entire Arab world. The ongoing war in Gaza will dominate this year's summit. The agenda for the meeting, held under the chairmanship of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, will also cover the ongoing conflicts and unrest in Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

SCOOP from Amberin Zaman 🚨: More than 70 members of the US Congress have signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the State Department to press Turkey for justice and accountability over the 2017 attack by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail in Washington. The attack injured numerous protesters, some of them gravely, outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence on Sheridan Circle, in an incident that wrecked Ankara’s image in the United States and illustrated its impunity at home and abroad. The letter shared exclusively with Al-Monitor that was due to be delivered Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. EST recalled that Turkey has sought to dodge legal charges brought by two separate plaintiffs — Murat Yasa, an ethnic Kurdish man, and Lusik Usoyan, a Yazidi woman — on the grounds that it enjoys diplomatic immunity and that its appeal was rejected after being reviewed by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and rejected outright by the Supreme Court in keeping with the opinions of the Biden administration. “With its loss before the Supreme Court, Turkey has abandoned the … litigation, thus demonstrating its intention to avoid any and all accountability to the plaintiffs,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers said. The bipartisan letter includes heavyweights such as Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, a two-time House majority leader, and 10 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The lawmakers also recalled that Congress had unanimously passed a resolution in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and had made “the unequivocal declaration that such acts perpetrated by foreign actors on American soil against Americans, cannot and will not be tolerated — that there must be consequences.” “We call upon the State Department, acting on behalf of the United States government and respecting the will of Congress to press this matter with President Erdogan and Turkish authorities as an essential element for relations between our two countries,” the signees concluded. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eu-K8H6c

Over a cup of Arabic coffee in his one-room Beirut apartment, 31-year-old Ahmad al-Izzo said it has become “impossible” for Syrians to live in Lebanon. Nearly 60 times as many people, mostly Syrians, are leaving Lebanon by boats en route to Europe when compared with last year — a number expected rise in the next few months during peak migration season in August. Ibrahim Jouhari pointed out that the high season for maritime migration, typically in August, has not even begun. “With the economic crisis and the limited resources, the Lebanese police force, navy and internal security will definitely be overwhelmed” as the numbers rise, Jouhari said, noting that there will likely be “more organized crime, more accidents and more casualties.” “So it is a problem that is slated to become much worse in the next few months,” he said. Jouhari said that the boat departures from Lebanon began to significantly pick up, coinciding with the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. He said he has noticed a rise in the numbers of Palestinians attempting boat migration from Lebanon, according to his tracking of numbers from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). He also pointed to a growing trend of Syrians being smuggled into Lebanon from Syria for a few days and then embarking for Europe from the Lebanese coast. This may be due to the Syrian regime’s and Russia’s tight control of Syrian coastal cities, making it more difficult for boats to leave, he said. And now, because Cyprus stopped processing Syrians' asylum applications last month, more will likely head to Italy. “Now we’re back to the old modus operandi, where most of those who leave Lebanon by sea are trying to go to Italy,” Jouhari said. Latest w/ Al-Monitor https://lnkd.in/d4vY2rxN

Please join us in welcoming Kristi Pappalardo to Al-Monitor as Vice President of Business Strategy and Partnerships. Kristi brings with her a wealth of experience, having spent an impressive eight years at the Atlantic Council, where she most recently served as Director of Global Alliances and Business Strategy for the Council’s esteemed Global Energy Center. “Kristi did an outstanding job building and expanding the Atlantic Council partnerships, including for its global energy program,” said Andrew Parasiliti, president of Al-Monitor. “We are very pleased to have her join the Al-Monitor team.” Welcome, Kristi! Joyce Karam

Week in Review | Andrew Parasiliti's weekly column dove into how — despite the noise — the Gaza war, not outside agitators, is the cause of Columbia protests. Sign up to have the Week in Review in your inbox every Friday 📥 https://lnkd.in/ekFiY9bA

First in Al-Monitor: The State Department has notified US lawmakers that four Israeli security units flagged for gross violations of human rights under the so-called Leahy law have taken corrective measures and remain eligible for US military assistance, Elizabeth Hagedorn has learned.  

Gaza war, not outside agitators, cause of Columbia protests...my interview with Shayeza Walid, great reporting from Adam Lucente Jared Szuba Daoud Kuttab Amberin Zaman Kristen Talman Al-Monitor Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism #israel #gaza #hamas #saudiarabia

The latest sign of Oman Investment Authority's commitment to inject a new spirit into state-owned enterprises comes from Oman Air. The national carrier is undergoing "a number of radical changes" to curb the company's debt load and operational losses. The airline's network has been restructured with four international routes discontinued and frequencies adjusted on another 25 routes. Latest memo for Al-Monitor.