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In Brief: LFI chair writes to Raab as Iran welcomes lifting of arms embargo

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Steve McCabe. Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Iran has welcomed the lifting on Sunday of the 13-year arms embargo, labelling it as a “momentous day”. In a letter last week to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, LFI chair Steve McCabe expressed his disappointment that it has “not been possible to secure international consensus…

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In Brief: UAE ministers arrive in Israel after ratification of Abraham Accords

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Peace process
  Photo: Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons A high-level delegation of ministers from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Israel on Tuesday – the first-ever official such visit. It followed the parliamentary ratification by Bahrain and the UAE on Monday of their normalisation agreements with the Jewish state. The Knesset gave its assent…

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Analysis: The arms embargo on Iran ends this weekend – what next? 

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Middle East
Photo: Tasnimnews, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons A decade-old ban on the sale of conventional arms to Iran will come to an end this Sunday, potentially opening the way for Russia and China to assist the Islamic Republic in a major, potentially hugely destabilising, expansion and advancement of its military capability. Since 2010, the supply of…

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In Brief: EU tells PA to accept tax revenues from Israel and resume security ties

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The European Union has said it won’t bail out the Palestinian Authority with additional aid for so long as it refuses to accept tax revenues collected by Israel, it has been reported. President Mahmoud Abbas announced in May that the PA would stop accepting $150m a month in tax…

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In Brief: Lebanon and Israel aim to tackle maritime dispute in first talks in 30 years

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Hezbollah, Israel, Middle East, Peace process
Image: Haidar Almoqdad,CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Officials representing Israel and Lebanon sat down for their first talks in three decades this week. The discussions, hosted by the United Nations and mediated by the US, took place close to the border between Israel and Lebanon. Although sat in the same room, the Lebanese have insisted…

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Analysis: What would Joe Biden mean for Israel?

Posted 7 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Both Donald Trump and his supporters have repeatedly attempted to paint the Democratic party as anti-Israel and suggested that the election of Joe Biden would be detrimental to the Jewish state. This weekend, David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, went further and suggested that a victory for the…

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In Brief: Israeli foreign minister urges PA to return to negotiating table

Posted 7 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Israel’s foreign minister urged the Palestinians to “return to the negotiating table” this week. Gabi Ashkenazi was speaking after his historic first meeting with the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Berlin on Tuesday. “Only through direct negotiations can we advance a solution for the conflict,” Ashkenazi, a member of…

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In Brief: LFI chair welcomes normalisation agreement in parliamentary debate

Posted 29 September, 2020 in Analysis, Coexistence, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Steve McCabe has welcomed the normalisation agreements signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain earlier this month. In a parliamentary debate last week, LFI’s chair also urged the government to restore funding to peace-building coexistence projects. “I hope other countries in the region will follow [the UAE…

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Analysis: After the Abraham Accords – what next for the Palestinians?

Posted 22 September, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons In their steadfast opposition to the historic agreement signed last week between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have found a rare common cause. Earlier this month, President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a meeting in Ramallah which brought together all 14 major…

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In Brief: US and Europe tangle over reimposition over Iran sanctions

Posted 22 September, 2020 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The United States and European countries, including Britain, are at loggerheads over efforts by the Trump administration to reimpose all sanctions on Iran lifted after the 2015 nuclear deal. The so-called “snapback” clause in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was triggered when the…

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