Contents: Egypt’s worst terrorist attack in modern history kills 235 people in Sufi mosque; Friday’s attack creates another roadblock for Hamas-Fatah unity; Friday’s attack is a major escalation in north Sinai terrorism
Egypt faces high expectations from Saudi Arabia and its other Gulf Arab benefactors that it will have their back as tensions rise with their rival Iran, including throwing the weight of its military — the largest standing Arab army — into the crisis if needed.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has expressed fear that Islamic State terrorists will flee to Egypt as the caliphate continues to crumble at the hands of the U.S.-led coalition in Syria and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry asked all Saudi citizens visiting and living in Lebanon leave the country as soon as possible on Thursday, additionally advising Saudi nationals not to travel to Lebanon from other countries.
CAIRO – Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ruled out a constitutional amendment to extend his term, saying an election would be held next year and he will not run again in 2022, in an interview with CNBC Monday.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Monday for discussions on advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing a Palestinian diplomat.
RAFAH – Hamas handed over control of the Gaza Strip’s borders with Egypt and Israel to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday in the first key test of a landmark Palestinian reconciliation accord agreed last month.
In movie theatres, concert halls or out on the streets, culture in Egypt is faced with increasing curbs as the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expands censorship, critics say.
Contents: Dozens of Egyptian police massacred in ambush by jihadists; Officials point to Hasm Movement, armed wing of Muslim Brotherhood
Israel on Saturday said it “strongly” condemned an attack in which 16 Egyptian policemen were killed outside Cairo, urging countries to unite to fight terror.
TEL AVIV — Hamas has decided to hand the Palestinian Authority responsibility over “everything above ground” in the Gaza Strip, according to a report Thursday in the London-based international Saudi newspaper Al Hayat.
Contents: Palestinian reconciliation talks ignore Hamas commitment to destroy Israel; Palestinian unity talks face disagreement on Hamas’s ‘resistance weapons’
During his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi departed from his prepared remarks to plead for peace between the Palestinians and Israel.
UN Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday opened his first General Assembly speech with a call to renew steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In town for the 72nd UN General Assembly session, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu and his wife Sara hit the streets of Manhattan on Monday to meet the locals.
Contents: Hamas announces it will reconcile with the Fatah and Palestinian Authority; Egypt forces Hamas to capitulate to Fatah and reconcile.
Ismail Haniya, head of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, travelled on Saturday to Egypt for his first visit there since his election, the group said.
Russian media said Monday that Egypt has finalized a deal to build a nuclear power plant with funding from Moscow after nearly two years of negotiations.
Egypt is expected to reopen religious training camps to reportedly promote female Muslim preachers for the first time and combat Islamic extremism, six years after they were shut down.
CAIRO – Egypt’s foreign ministry on Wednesday snubbed White House adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. officials who arrived with him in Cairo, apparently in protest over the Trump administration’s move to cut and delay aid to Egypt.
The United States has decided to deny Egypt $95.7 million in aid and to delay a further $195 million because of its failure to make progress on respecting human rights and democratic norms, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
With remarkably little comment or fanfare, the U.S. government denied $95.7 million in aid to Egypt on Tuesday afternoon, with another $195 million put on hold. The decision was made due to concern with civil liberties and human rights in Egypt, particularly a law regulating non-governmental organizations that took effect in May.
TEL AVIV – Royal Dutch Shell Plc is considering buying natural gas from Israel and Cyprus in a measure that could turn the Mediterranean region into a major gas-producing hub, Bloomberg News reported Monday.
TEL AVIV – The Israeli Energy Ministry officially presented its development plan Tuesday for the Karish and Tanin undersea natural gas fields, the same day that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed legislation that could pave the way for his country to become a major consumer of Israel’s natural gas.
Contents: Israel announces that it will ban al-Jazeera in Israel; Al-Jazeera gives bitter, angry response to Israel’s move; BBC vs Al-Jazeera: Which is more biased?
On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued a decree forming the National Council to Confront Terrorism and Extremism. Membership in the council includes a number of government ministers, plus religious leaders such as the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque and the Coptic Christian Pope.
CAIRO — Egyptian police have killed three top Islamist militants in two separate operations, including two caught trying to move to a new hideout on Cairo’s outskirts, the government said Tuesday.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is expected to sit down on Sunday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a meeting that is being described as critical to the future relations of the two sides.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to Cairo over the weekend to meet with Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for “urgent” talks, the PA’s envoy to Egypt said Tuesday, amid tensions over Egypt’s involvement in an internal Palestinian rift.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is reportedly stranded in Gaza while Arab countries refuse to host the Palestinian terror group’s political chief.
Contents: Egypt’s president al-Sisi hands contested Red Sea islands over to Saudi Arabia; US troops in Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) not affected by island handover
Contents: Saudi Arabia, UAE leak 13 demands to end Qatar crisis; UAE threatens ‘parting of the ways’ unless Qatar meets 13 demands; Al-Jazeera takes center stage in the Gulf crisis
TEL AVIV – Jewish American leaders on Friday slammed the murder of at least 28 Egyptian Christians by masked Islamists south of Cairo.
Egypt is expected to move ahead with more airstrikes against jihadists in neighboring Libya in response to the most recent attack against the Christian minority in the North African country that killed at least 29 people and injured about 24 others.
Contents: Terrorists massacre dozens of Coptic Christians in Egypt; Egypt’s warplanes bomb al-Qaeda jihadist training camps in Libya
On Friday afternoon, Egyptian warplanes attacked militant camps in eastern Libya to retaliate for the slaughter of 28 Coptic Christians by masked gunmen.
Contents: Trump’s Mideast visit triggers renewal of sharp split between Saudi Arabia and Qatar; Qatar claims that it was cyber-attacked after media reports supporting Iran; Vitriolic Saudi-Qatari fault line reopened this week by Trump’s visit; Some useful information that’s good to know
The Egyptian government announced on Wednesday that it was blocking a list of 21 websites for “having content that supports terrorism and extremism as well publishing lies.”
President Donald Trump broke the Internet once again during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology Sunday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
US President Donald Trump will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday for their first face-to-face talks, with the PA leader hoping the billionaire businessman’s unpredictable approach can inject life into long-stalled peace efforts.
