MIDDLE EAST October 22, 2020 7

tion for Security and Cooperation in Muslim... Europe (OSCE), a security and rights (Continued From Page One) watchdog. But Azerbaijan says mediation has ’s Exit From Crisis “The Emiratis will be disgraced for- achieved nothing in three decades and ever,” he said in his first reaction to wants Turkey involved in peacemak- the agreement between the UAE and ing. . “I hope they wake up and com- For decades, the group has failed to pensate for what they did.” stop the sporadic outbreaks of fighting Hinges on New PM: President Palestinians, who seek an indepen- and implement United Nations resolu- dent state in the occupied West Bank tions that demand the “withdrawal of (Dispatches) – Crisis- and Gaza, with East Jerusalem Al- armed forces from the occupied terri- Quds as its capital view the U.S.-bro- tories.” hit Lebanon’s next prime minis- kered deals as a “stab in the back” of Russia has brokered two ceasefires ter, the third in a year, will have Palestine. since Sept. 27 but neither has held. to spearhead reforms and battle On Tuesday, an Israeli pipeline com- There was no indication Lavrov had corruption, President Michel Aoun pany announced a preliminary deal made any breakthrough in his talks to transport oil from the United Arab with the Azeri and Armenian foreign said Wednesday. Emirates to Europe via a pipeline that, ministers, Jeyhun Bayramov and Zohr- Aoun was speaking at a tele- if finalized, will be one of the most ab Mnatsakanyan. vised news conference a day be- significant partnerships to emerge so In the latest fighting, both sides said fore his scheduled consultations far since the two regimes normalized clashes continued in several areas near with MPs to name Lebanon’s new relations. the line of contact. The Europe Asia Pipeline Company Nagorno-Karabakh said 834 of its premier. (EAPC) said it had signed a binding military personnel had now been killed “I hope that you will think well memorandum of understanding with since Sept. 27, in addition to 37 civil- about the consequences the nomi- MED-RED Land Bridge, a company ians. nation (of a premier) will have with Zionit and Emirati owners, in Abu Azerbaijan says 61 Azeri civilians Dhabi on Monday during a ceremony have been killed and 291 wounded, but on the process of forming a gov- with visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary has not disclosed its military casual- ernment,” Aoun said, addressing Steve Mnuchin. ties. lawmakers. The UAE oil will be transported It will effect “reform plans and through a pipeline that already con- nects the Red Sea city of Eilat and international rescue initiatives”, FM... the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon, (Continued From Page 2) he said. which was secretly built by the occu- Saad al-Hariri is poised to be pying regime of Israel and the former peaceful resolution of all regional named prime minister at formal Shah of Iran in the 1960s. tensions and conflicts through en- consultations on Thursday af- Along with UAE oil, the partners hanced communication and early said they also hoped to use their “land ter weeks of wrangling, political warning and ensure the freedom of bridge”, which saves time, fuel and navigation and energy security for all. sources said. But he would face Lebanese President Michel Aoun holds a televised press conference at the presidential palace in , costs, compared to having to cross the east of the capital Beirut. The top Iranian diplomat proposed major challenges to overcome Suez Canal to transport oil back and adherence to common principles such forth between other countries. discord and form a new govern- , a little known aca- lin, , was then tion of cabinet posts and portfo- as dialogue and mutual respect, equal But the deal is certainly bad news for footing, respect for each other’s sover- ment that can tackle a meltdown demic, was named as Hariri’s re- named in September but bowed lios. , as President Abdel Fattah el- deepening by the day. eignty, rejection of the threat or use of placement in December last year. out last month over the failure Aoun on Wednesday also ac- Sisi just spent $8 billion to widen the force, non-aggression and non-inter- Hariri quit as PM - a post he has His cabinet of so-called “tech- of political leaders to agree on a cused unnamed officials of block- canal, which could be undercut by a vention in the internal affairs of each already held three times - when nocrats” resigned in the wake of cabinet line-up. ing reforms long demanded by cheaper means of getting oil from the other and rejection of participation in Red Sea to the Mediterranean. alliances and coalitions against one an- the crisis erupted last year as the huge August 4 blast at Beirut The process can take months in international donors, including “There is no doubt that this agree- protests against the ruling elite other to achieve such goals. port widely blamed on govern- Lebanon, where consensus between power sector reform and a foren- ment is of high importance to the Is- “We believe that a new regional ap- gripped the country, toppling his ment negligence. most of its top political groups is sic audit of the central bank. raeli market, both economically and proach should be the outcome of col- coalition government. Lebanon’s worst peace-time di- required for major decisions. Aoun is due to hold consulta- strategically, with joint investments lective deliberations. Together, we can extending a decade into the future,” Lebanon has appointed two new saster killed more than 200 people Despite mounting international tions on Thursday with parlia- envisage a broad spectrum of coopera- EAPC Chairman Erez Halfon told Re- tion and confidence-building measures premiers since Hariri resigned and wounded at least 6,500 others. pressure, Lebanese parties are mentary blocs, postponed from uters. last October. that include water management, envi- Lebanon’s ambassador to Ber- still bickering over the distribu- last week amid political rifts. The firm did not disclose financial ronmental protection, nuclear safety, details but said the arrangement “is energy security, education, tourism, likely to increase the transferred quan- economic cooperation, trade, invest- 222 European MPs Ask Sisi to Release Prisoners of Conscience tities by tens of millions of tons per ment, poverty eradication and people year.” empowerment,” he said. CAIRO (Dispatches) – Over include political activist Ramy COVID outbreaks”. peatedly called for the release of The UAE exports the vast majority of He added that all the Persian Gulf lit- 200 European lawmakers sent a Shaath, whose French wife Ce- In a letter, the 55 politicians, led political prisoners in Egypt and its crude oil to Asia. A source familiar toral states can agree on regional early with the deal told Reuters that, if fi- warning systems and on military con- letter to Egypt’s President Abdel line Lebrun-Shaath has been lob- by Representatives Ro Khanna, called the country’s crackdown nalized, it could be worth $700-$800 Fattah el-Sisi on Wednesday, pub- bying the international commu- Jim McGovern and Senator Sher- on dissent “one of the worst in tacts and to establish joint task forces million over several years and that regarding practical measures to gradu- licly denouncing his government’s nity to pressure Egypt to release rod Brown, called on Sisi to re- recent history”. supplies could start at the beginning ally expand cooperation. continued human rights abuses as him. lease those “unjustly detained for Human rights groups estimate of 2021. Zarif warned that peace and dialogue a threat to the country’s security The letter is signed by 222 law- exercising their fundamental hu- that there are around 60,000 po- The occupying regime of Israel and cannot be achieved if one or two re- and stability, Middle East Eye re- makers from the European parlia- man rights”. litical detainees in Egypt, includ- the UAE were about to ink a deal on gional countries pursue confrontation Tuesday to allow 28 weekly commer- ported. ment and seven European nation- Senators Bernie Sanders and ing journalists, bloggers, political and wishfully wait for alien vampires cial flights between Tel Aviv’s Ben to “cut their neighbor’s head.” The letter also urged Sisi to al parliaments - including France, Elizabeth Warren, two former dissidents, lawyers and activists. Gurion airport, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, release human rights defenders Germany and Italy, all key allies candidates for the Democratic In their letter, the lawmakers He finally told regional states that Israel’s transportation ministry said. they can “choose to remain prisoners who are held in pre-trial deten- of Egypt. presidential nomination, also raised the cases of several activ- of the past and perpetuate instability tion, particularly with the health The letter comes a day after signed the letter. ists including Sanaa Seif, who Armenia... and tension. Or …can choose peace, risks associated with the COV- more than 50 U.S. Democratic “The wrongful imprisonment of was abducted outside the prose- (Continued From Page One) security, stability and prosperity for ID-19 pandemic. lawmakers urged Sisi to release prisoners of conscience and other cutor-general’s office in Cairo in all.” The letter read that “violations human rights activists, lawyers, gross violations of human rights June. accuses Azerbaijan of making a of human rights are neither nec- journalists and other prisoners fundamentally undermine that Her lawyers later said she was land grab even as the territory is in- Envoy... essary nor productive for estab- of conscience “before their un- partnership and those relations,” charged with “spreading false ru- ternationally recognized as part of the (Continued From Page 2) lishing security and stability”. just imprisonments become death the legislators said. mors, inciting to terrorist crimes” Muslim country. Detainees named in the letter sentences in the face of massive Amnesty International has re- and “misuse of social media”. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said certain Persian Gulf states with huge this month he believed there was a mil- military expenditures for turning the itary solution to the conflict and added region into “a powder keg” and com- in a speech on Tuesday: “We will drive mitting war crimes against the Ye- them (Armenians) out of our lands.” menis. Zionist Missile Hits School in Southern Azeri forces, boosted in recent years “It should be borne in mind that se- (Press TV) – An Israeli strike had hit Syria’s south- The Arab country has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy by increased military spending and the curity must originate from within and western province of Quneitra, Syria’s official news agency SANA re- since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Zionist regime purchase of weapons from close ally cannot be purchased from outside. ported. and its Western and regional allies are aiding terrorist groups that Turkey, say they have made territorial Those in our region who spend hun- dreds of billions of dollars on sophis- SANA reported that the missile targeted a school in al-Huriah vil- are wreaking havoc in the country. gains in the latest fighting. Nagorno- Karabakh separatists say they have ticated armaments annually should lage in Quneitra’s northern countryside near Syria’s Golan Heights The Zionist regime mostly keeps quiet about the attacks on Syrian repulsed repeated attacks and that the realize that huge military expenditures late Tuesday night, without providing additional detail. territories which many view as knee-jerk reaction to Syrian gov- situation is under control. neither create legitimacy nor long-last- The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also con- ernment’s increasing success in confronting terrorism in country. The fighting is the worst since Nago- ing security,” he said. firmed the missile attack on the area. The occupying regime has been a main supporter of terrorist rno-Karabakh broke away from Azer- “They have only turned our region The occupying regime frequently targets military positions in- groups that have opposed the government of President Bashar al- baijan as the Soviet Union collapsed, into a powder keg. And the only ben- side Syria, especially those of the Assad since militancy erupted in Syria nine years ago. resulting in a war in which about eficiaries are the exporters of these 30,000 people were killed. deadly weapons. Some GCC forces are which has played a key role in helping the Syrian Army in its fight Syrian government forces have taken back many areas once con- By 1994 when the war ended in a using these sophisticated armaments against foreign-backed terrorists. trolled by the terrorist groups. ceasefire, Armenian forces not only against the innocent people of held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but also who are experiencing the worst man- occupied substantial Azerbaijani areas made humanitarian catastrophe of con- Zionist Regime Detains Palestinian Child in Night Raid outside the breakaway territory’s bor- temporary history; a clear case of war ders. crime.” WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Zionist In Bethlehem, Zionist troops barged their Zionist troops carry out frequent arrest The violence has increased concern Takht-Ravanchi underlined the need troops have arrested 14 Palestinians, includ- way into Dheisha refugee camp, south of campaigns across the West Bank, includ- about the security of pipelines in Azer- for promoting cooperation on an equal baijan that carry Azeri gas and oil to footing as well as building mutual trust ing at least one child, in night raids across the city, where they rounded up four oth- ing occupied East al-Quds, on the pretext world markets. and respect for sovereignty and territo- the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian ers, including a 42-year-old man. Similar of searching for “wanted” Palestinians. Armenian President Armen Sarkis- rial integrity of states and no interfer- Prisoners’ Club (PPS) has reported. raids took place in Qalandia refugee camp Children living in occupied East al-Quds sian flew to Brussels Wednesday to ence in their internal affairs. According to the PPS, at least four Pales- north of al-Quds and al-Khalil, as well as are the most targeted, the PPS said. Many meet leaders of the NATO military alli- “Let me conclude by once again re- tinians were detained when Zionist troops Nablus. apparently face arrest at least once a month. ance and the European Union and seek iterating our call for a constructive broke into and ransacked their homes in Wafa news agency said that the raid trig- The PPS recorded the arrest of more than assistance in the face of Azerbaijan’s dialog with our neighbors with a view occupied East al-Quds late Tuesday night. gered confrontations with local residents 3,000 Palestinians by the Zionist regime military advances. to dispelling misunderstandings and Mediation has for years been led by restoring friendly relations among all One of those detained was a 15-year-old during which troops opened fire on protes- from the beginning of this year to the end Russia, France and the United States littoral States of the Persian Gulf,” he child from the Isawiyeh neighborhood. tors. No injuries were reported. of August. under the auspices of the Organiza- added