Domestic Politics
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz of the Blue & White Party finally agreed to form a national unity government. The power-sharing agreement states that the incumbent Netanyahu, who is under criminal indictment in three corruption cases, will remain in office for the next 18 months, after which he will hand over the office to Gantz for the rest of the three-year term. [The Guardian]
On Wednesday, Iranian officials announced that the country had successfully launched its first military reconnaissance satellite, Nour, which orbited the Earth at 425 km. The US alleges that this programme is a cover for missile development. [Al Jazeera]
Algeria, on Sunday, adopted new amendments to its penal code that now criminalize the dissemination of fake news that aims to threaten the “country's security and stability”. [Algeria Press Service]
International Relations
The Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war has flooded the market with crude oil, unprecedentedly bringing down the price of US crude to negative $37.63 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time on history. The Kingdom’s demand has now dried up, leaving its tankers stranded at sea, with the latest reports stating that it is considering rerouting some 40 million barrels that were headed to the US. [Al Jazeera]
The seventh trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Russia on Syria was held on Wednesday via teleconference, where the leaders discussed Syria’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the political process and humanitarian situation in the country, and on-ground developments with respect to the return of refugees in Idlib and east of the Euphrates. [Anadolu Agency]
Indian security agencies, on Wednesday, submitted a report that links Gulf tweets about growing Islamophobia in India to Pakistani intelligence, stating that the effort was a cyber warfare conspiracy to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fuel anti-India sentiment by spreading “false propaganda”. [The Hindu]
Health
Israeli troops carrying out COVID-19 testing in Gaza have been ordered to stop by Defence Minister Naftali Bennett due to claims of a “lack of communication” and that Bennett himself was unaware of the army initiative. On 16 April, Israeli authorities also shut down a testing centre in occupied East Jerusalem without any official explanation. [Middle East Monitor]
Egyptian parliamentarians introduced a draft law that aims to regulate the spread of epidemic diseases in the country. The bill also attempts to criminalize burials that do not follow certain safety rules and procedures, as well as actions that delay, hinder, or prevent the burial of the dead. This has been done in a bid to preserve social and religious constants during the pandemic.[Middle East Monitor]
Image Source: National Interest
MENA in Review: April 24, 2020
This week’s news highlights from the Middle East and North Africa
April 23, 2020
