Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Mother’s Day in the Middle East is March 21. Yesterday in Gaza, mothers and their families faced war, death and starvation: not the best environment for a cake, gifts and flowers. While people across the Middle East were celebrating with their mothers, the people in Gaza were wondering why Arab leaders were unable to come to their aid.Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and the UN warns starvation has begun.One woman in Gaza said, “Why are they worried about…

The bloc will continue to look at options for using proceeds from frozen assets, leaders have said in a summit declaration 

New York-Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Qusay Al-Dahhak, said that the claims of some Western countries about keenness on Syria and its people, security and stability of the region require them to change their approaches that have been overtaken by events, and to abandon policies of misinformation and distortion of facts, and to follow the approach of diplomacy and dialogue, and to support the efforts of the Syrian State aimed to improve the humanitarian and living conditions of its people, and to re-establish the rule of law over its entire territory. “In this month of every year,…

Twenty-seven leaders of the European Union have called for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the Gaza Strip leading to a sustainable ceasefire. The EU leaders requested a statement on Thursday after a meeting of the European Council in Brussels. “The European Council calls for an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire,” the leaders said, while also calling for “the unconditional release of all hostages.” They also urged Israel not to launch its planned ground operation in Rafah, saying it would worsen the “already catastrophic humanitarian situation” in Gaza. They added that Rafah offensive would also prevent the provision…

Israeli forces have prevented hundreds of Muslim worshippers seeking to perform Friday prayers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Wafa news agency. Witnesses told the news agency that troops greatly intensified their military presence in the vicinity of the Qalandiya, Zeitoun and Bethlehem checkpoints leading to the mosque, which is holy for Muslims. The Israeli forces reportedly returned hundreds of worshippers from these checkpoints, claiming they did not have the necessary permits. The agency added that hundreds of soldiers have been deployed around the mosque. Israel restricted the entry of Palestinians and Muslim Israelis to the mosque in…

Kuwait’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, arrived in Jeddah on Thursday to begin an official visit to the Kingdom. He was greeted at King Abdulaziz International Airport by the deputy governor of Makkah, Prince Saud bin Mishal, the Saudi ambassador to Kuwait, Prince Sultan bin Saad, and other senior officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Also present were the Kuwaiti ambassador to the Kingdom, Sheikh Sabah Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and the country’s consul general in Jeddah, who is also its permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Mohammad Saud Al-Mutairi, the Kuwait News Agency reported. Source:…

China renewed its criticism of the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, stressing that they constitute a serious violation of Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. Since the outbreak of the current events in Palestine, “Israel” has launched repeated air strikes across the occupied Golan Heights on various sites in Syria, which constitute a serious violation of its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Xinhua News Agency quoted China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, as saying at a UN Security Council session on Syria. Geng called on the international community to make collective efforts to increase humanitarian…

Iran’s ambassador to the UN warned that the unilateral sanctions imposed on Syria would only prolong the crisis in the Arab country and worsen the suffering endured by the Syrian people. Addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council on “the situation in the Middle East: (Syria)”, held in New York on Thursday, Saeed Iravani said the Syrian people have greatly suffered over the past thirteen years, with the conflict also having adverse consequences on the peace, security, and stability of the entire region. “Since the start of the conflict in 2011, certain countries have pursued their political agenda in…

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, discuss the latest developments concerning the Israeli aggression on Gaza over the phone. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, discussed the latest developments in the situation in occupied Palestine and Gaza during a phone call today, Friday. Amir-Abdollahian confirmed that the world has become fully aware that the head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, “has reached the end and is making his last moves in order to survive.” He added during the call that the Israeli…

Selling weapons to Israel that murder more Palestinian civilians is a “war on human rights” and nothing justifies continuing arms sales, according to the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders. In an op-ed published yesterday by the British daily The Guardian, Mary Lawlor condemned the continued arms sales to Israel in the face of the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 32,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7th last year. “There exist no moral arguments that can justify the continued sale of weapons to Israel by states that respect the principle of…