Tunisia
More Opposition Figures Arrested
The Ennahda party’s lawyer revealed in a Facebook post that armed police arrested former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri late Monday at his Tunis home on suspicion of participating in a “conspiracy against the country’s security.” Bhiri almost died in custody from health complications after a December 31, 2021 arrest for allegedly helping ISIS terrorists travel to Syria in 2014. The Interior Ministry ultimately released him from house arrest in March 2022.
An Islamist party influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, Ennahda was the largest faction in Tunisia’s parliament before President Kais Saied unconstitutionally abolished the legislature last March. Supported by the military, Saied assumed dictatorial powers in July 2021. Military courts quickly ordered the arrest of lawmakers, judges, and others objecting to Saied’s coup.
Security officers arrested Saturday Khayam Turki, a former MP from the social democratic FDTL party, and Abdelhamid Jelassi, a former senior Ennahdha leader. Authorities arrested Lazhar Akremi, Khayam Turki’s attorney as well as a former MP and minister from the Nidaa Tounes party, on Tuesday.
Iran
President Ebrahim Raisi’s Trip to China
Raisi began a three-day visit to China Tuesday. After a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported that Beijing “is ready to work with Iran to implement bilateral comprehensive cooperation plan[s], deepen practical cooperation on trade, agriculture, industry and infrastructure, and import more high-quality Iranian agricultural products.” The story noticeably omitted oil imports. Iranian oil exports to China surged last year. However, Tehran is reportedly concerned that China will increasingly rely on Russia to meet its energy needs.
Israel
West Bank Settlement Expansion
In a joint Tuesday press release, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Britain, and the US objected to Israel approving building permits for 10,000 new settlement housing units as well as retroactively authorizing nine illegal West Bank outposts:
We – the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, and the Secretary of State of the United States – are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s announcement that it is advancing nearly 10,000 settlement units, and intends to begin a process to normalize 9 outposts that were previously deemed illegal under Israeli law. We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution.
Israeli authorities announced on Sunday that they would consider nine illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank as legal under Israeli law. The European Union rejects this decision and reiterates its position that settlements are illegal under international law and that it will not recognise any changes to the 1967 borders other than those agreed by the parties. The EU renews its call on the Israeli authorities to halt settlement construction and to reverse these latest decisions as a matter of urgency. The EU is gravely worried by the heightened tensions and increased violence. In the current worrying context, it is important to consider steps to de-escalate the situation and avoid unilateral decisions and actions that would undermine the viability of a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, and fuel more tensions.
Democratic Lawmakers’ Oppose Judicial Reforms
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told Haaretz on Monday that Prime Minister Netanyahu is “dangerously putting his own narrow political and legal interests – and those of the troubling extremists in his coalition – ahead of the long-term interests and needs of Israel’s democracy.” Sen. Tim Kaine claimed outright that the proposed reforms “threaten Israel’s democratic institutions.” Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) warned the government’s proposed legislation would lack legitimacy without “a broad consensus” involving “input from opposition parties and civil society.” Finding Netanyahu’s conciliation efforts insufficient, Cicilline stated, “I stand with the hundreds of thousands of Israelis marching in the streets” and “the sweeping judicial overhaul proposal championed by Israel’s new far-right government would be catastrophic for the future of Israeli democracy and our shared democratic values.”
Some Democratic lawmakers interviewed by Haaretz compared Netanyahu with Donald Trump. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) said, “We have learned here at home, democracy is not something we can take for granted, and we must be vigilant about rooting out authoritarianism wherever it rears its ugly head, including with our closest allies like Israel.” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) was even more explicit: “Netanyahu is a lot like Trump in terms of his actions that have been seen to be outside of the law... Hopefully Israel will see the wrongs of what’s happening and force the elements that exist in the Knesset to resist the changes that they’re seeking... The Israeli people fell under the spell of a Svengali, just like the Republican Party fell under Trump.”
Kuwait
Oracle’s Middle East Investments
The Pentagon disclosed Tuesday that the State Department authorized selling $250 million worth of planning and support services to Kuwait’s military. Oracle will be the primary contractor. This comes a week after Oracle announced investing $1.5 billion to expand cloud infrastructure capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
Yemen
Redirecting Iranian Arms to Ukraine
According to the Wall Street Journal, US military officials are weighing providing Ukraine with Iranian weapons interdicted en route to their Houthi allies in Yemen. The haul of intercepted Iranian weapons includes “more than 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds of small arms ammunition, a small number of antitank missiles, and more than 7,000 proximity fuses.”
Syria
CENTCOM Downs an Iranian UAV
US Central Command tweeted on Tuesday: “On February 14th, at approximately 2:30 PM local time, US forces in Syria engaged and shot down an Iranian-manufactured UAV attempting to conduct reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco, a patrol base in northeast Syria.” Pro-Iranian militiamen previously attacked the site.
Iraq
Replacing Russian Helicopters with American Ones
The Defense Post reported that Iraq’s ministry of defense approved replacing its Russian Mi-17s with four Bell 412EPX and 16 Bell 412M medium-lift helicopters. Since Moscow’s priority is winning the war in Ukraine, Baghdad can no longer rely on receiving spare parts for its Mi-17s.
Egypt
Former Head Government Auditor Re-Arrested
Egyptian human rights activist Hossam Bahgat informed AFP that a civilian court on Tuesday charged former Central Auditing Organization (CAO) head Hisham Geneina with “joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.” The CAO audits public-sector companies and government departments. Mohamed Morsi appointed Geneina in September 2012 to lead the CAO, but President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi fired him in 2016.
Geneina planned to be one of Sami Anan’s running mates in the 2018 Egyptian presidential election. However, Egypt’s National Elections Committee disqualified Anan’s candidacy and he was arrested for forging official documents and inciting a rift between the Armed Forces and the Egyptian public. A court in April 2018 sentenced Geneina to five years in prison for “spreading news that harms the armed forces.” That prison term ended on Tuesday.
Natural Gas Cooperation
On the sidelines of the Egypt International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (EGYPS 2023), Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz discussed with Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tariq Al-Mulla increasing Israeli natural gas exports to Europe, which is searching for alternatives to Russian gas. Israel sends its natural gas to Egypt for liquefaction before exporting it to Europe.
