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JaFaJ

Kurdistan Parliament strongly condemns rocket attack on Khor Mor gas field

Security sources reported that a rocket attack targeted the Khor Mor gas field operated by the United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas company in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province on Monday evening.
 Dler S. Mohammed   2022/07/26 15:07 

Kurdistan Parliament, Erbil, Kurdistan Region (Photo: Kurdistan Parliament)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Parliament strongly condemned the latest rocket attack against the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province on Monday.
“Unfortunately, once again, the outlawed groups attacked Khor Mor gas field,” read a statement issued by parliament following the attack. “This is an extension of a series of cowardly attacks on the Kurdistan Region’s energy infrastructure, which was established in accordance with the Iraq constitution.”
The parliament also called on the Iraqi government “to commit to its responsibility in cooperating with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and fill in the security gaps from where these attacks were launched.”
“The Kurdistan Parliament believes that it is the responsibility of the Iraqi government to arrest the outlaw groups behind the attack,” read the statement. “The parliament will form a committee to investigate the reasons behind these repeated attacks against the Kurdistan Region’s energy infrastructure.”
Security sources reported that a rocket attack targeted the Khor Mor gas field operated by the United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas company in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province on Monday evening.
Sadiq Mohammed, the mayor of Qadir Karam district, said in a statement to Kurdistan 24 that three Katyusha rockets were fired at the facility but did not cause any casualties.
Read More: Rocket attack targets Kurdistan Region’s Khormor gas field
Other sources said the attack ignited small fires on the facility’s grass. However, the attack did not affect operations at the field, which is the largest in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
On June 26, the same facility was also targeted by two rockets.

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Turkey’s consulate in Iraq’s Mosul comes under attack

Foreign ministry says no causalities in the attack, and condemns the incident ‘in the strongest terms’.

 Vehicles parked outside the Turkish consulate in Mosul following the attack [Ziad al-Obeidi/AFP]

Published On 27 Jul 202227 Jul 2022

Turkey’s consulate-general in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been attacked, but there were no reported casualties, according to the Turkish foreign ministry.
“We condemn this attack … in the strongest terms and expect those responsible to be brought to justice as soon as possible,” the ministry said on Wednesday.

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“We firmly request from the Iraqi authorities to fulfil their responsibilities in protecting diplomatic and consular missions.”
The ministry said the attack coincided with a United Nations Security Council meeting held at the request of Iraqi authorities to discuss an attack in northern Iraq last week “at a time when our country was unfairly accused and targeted”.
The source of Wednesday’s attack on the consulate was uncertain; a provincial lawmaker told AFP that four rockets hit – causing damage to cars parked in the street near the consulate, but another official and security sources told Reuters that mortar rounds had fallen close to the building and within its perimeter.
A car riddled with shrapnel stands in the vicinity of the Turkish consulate in Mosul [Ziad al-Obeidi/AFP]
Ankara rejects claims
Eight people were killed and 23 were wounded in an attack on a mountain resort in Iraq’s northern Dohuk province on July 20.

Turkey has rejected claims by Iraqi officials and state media that it carried out the attack.

Turkey regularly carries out air raids in northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its offensives against fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) based there.
The PKK launched an rebellion against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. It is regarded as a “terrorist” group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
“We once again reiterate our call to the Iraqi authorities to focus on the fight against terrorism and to put an end to terrorist presence on their territory,” the ministry said.

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The Impact the Jordan Option Will Have Upon Israel

www.JihadWatch.org –  27, 2022 9:00 AM BY 


The Jordan Option, as articulated by me and Mudar Zahran, the Secretary General of the Jordan Opposition Coalition, anticipates that King Abdullah will abdicate, willingly or otherwise, and that Mudar Zahran will take over Jordan as its leader.
Dr Mudar Zahran is very open as to what his intentions are once in power.
He wants to cooperate with Israel rather than confront Israel.
Jordan will uphold its own Citizenship Act of 1952 which grants everyone who has lived in Palestine while under the Hashemite rule, and their descendants, an automatic citizenship
Jordan will allow all Palestinians, living elsewhere, to emigrate to Jordan.
Jordan will replace UNRWA as the provider of services to all Palestinian refugees of which 2 million live west of the Jordan River
Jordan will invite the said two million refugees to emigrate to Jordan to receive the said services which include social security, healthcare and education.
The Peace Treaty between Jordan and Israel will be reaffirmed as will the Jordan River be reaffirmed as the international boundary.
The Palestinian textbooks will be rewritten by a joint task force to reflect in the main the Jewish narrative with appropriate nods to the Arab perspective. These new text books will be studied by all Palestinians in Jordan or Israel.
Jordan will join the Abraham Accords.
This new reality will affect Israel in the following way:
The Palestinians living west of the River will no longer be stateless. They will be Jordanian citizens living in Israel as foreign residents.
Thus, Israel will be able to extend its sovereignty over the entire area without the need to grant citizenship to the Palestinians living west of the River. The reason this is so is because when you annex land or claim sovereignty over land, there is no law which obligates you to grant citizenship to citizens of foreign countries who may live there.
These Jordanian/Palestinians will be entitled to live in Area A and B as delineated by the Oslo Accords, as foreign residents with full autonomy just as they do now.
Over the next few years Jordan will replace the PA as the administrator of these areas and the PA will wither away.
All Palestinians will be incentivized to emigrate to Jordan with funds provided by Israel, the Gulf States and the US as announced in the Bahrain Workshop
The Oslo Accords will be subsumed in the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty.
Gaza will be designated as another Area A. Hamas will be outlawed and Jordan will administer it.
The notion that both sides had more to gain by cooperating rather than confronting is what gave the Abraham Accords impetus and inspiration, and is at the root of the Jordan Option.
Such a notion drove the short-lived Feisal/Weizmann Agreement of 1919. The essence of this agreement was that Palestine, as it then was, was to be divided into two states, one for the Arabs and one for the Jews. Chaim Weizmann, on behalf of the Jews, agreed to help develop the Arab state and King Feisal agreed to welcome Jewish settlement in the Jewish state and favored friendly cooperative relations.
The Jordan Option, when implemented, will prove to be the biggest game-changer since the Six-Day War.

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Parliament deputy speaker briefs EU envoy on current state of Armenia-Turkey normalization process

Parliament deputy speaker briefs EU envoy on current state of Armenia-Turkey normalization process

16:29, 27.07.2022

Vice President of the National Assembly (NA), Ruben Rubinyan, on Wednesday met with the French Ambassador to Armenia, Anne Louyot, the NA informs Armenian News-NEWS.am.
At the French envoy’s request, Rubinyan, who is also Armenia’s special representative in the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations, presented the current situation in this process, and touched upon the respective agreements reached recently.
A number of matters regarding regional security were also discussed.

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Parliament elects 3 new Guardian Council jurists

Parliament elects 3 new Guardian Council jurists

Tuesday, 26 July 2022 11:35 [ Last Update: Tuesday, 26 July 2022 11:58 ]

Tehran (IP) – The Parliamentarians have elected three legal members of the Guardian Council for six years.

Iran PressIran News: The Parliamentarians have elected three jurists of the Guardian Council during its open session, so, out of 254 votes, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei got 182, Siamak Rahe Peik 116, and Khairullah Parveen 149 votes.
The Constitutional Council — also known as the Guardian Council — is a body of Islamic and legal jurists that acts in many ways as a Supreme Court.
Half of the body’s 12 members are legal jurists. They are nominated by the head of the Iranian Parliament and put to vote the Parliament, while the rest are specialists in Islamic law, and are appointed by the country’s highest-ranking authority, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Membership in the Council is for phased six-year terms, which means half the membership changes every three years at random.
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Read More:
Guardian Council does not interfere in electoral system type
Guardian Council verifies presidential election’s results

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Lebanon approves $150 million World Bank wheat loan

 MENA
Published: 2022-07-27 12:17 — Last Updated: 2022-07-28 04:01

Credit: Arab News

Lebanon’s parliament approved on Tuesday a $150 million World Bank loan to import wheat, as shortages of subsidized bread intensify in the cash-strapped country, local media reported.
Long lines have formed in front of bakeries and supermarkets where people wait hours for a bag of subsidized Arabic bread — in short supply as a years-long economic crisis depletes state coffers.
Lebanon imports 80 percent of its wheat from Ukraine, according to a representative of Lebanon’s wheat importers.
But wheat-exporting powerhouse Ukraine has struggled to sell and sow its crops since Russia’s military operation in February, putting consumers in poorer countries at risk of poverty and even famine.
Lebanon’s capacity to store large quantities of wheat has also taken a blow after a deadly mega-blast at Beirut’s port in August 2020 heavily damaged the country’s main grain silos.
The price of subsidized Arabic bread has gone up since the onset of an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon in 2019.
Lebanese bakeries have begun rationing subsided bread, with the government and bakeries trading blame for shortages.
Bakeries accuse cash-strapped authorities of failing to provide enough subsidized flour, an accusation the economy ministry denies.
Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam accuses bakeries of hoarding subsidized flour and using it for unsubsidised products such as sweets.
Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis, branded by the World Bank as one of the planet’s worst since the 1850s.
The small Mediterranean country defaulted on its debt in 2020, the local currency has lost around 90 percent of its value on the black market, and the UN now considers four in five Lebanese to be living under the poverty line.

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This is a breakthrough that will contribute greatly to developing and strengthening the region,” says Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

“This is a breakthrough that will contribute greatly to developing and strengthening the region,” says Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

By  Tamir Morag and ILH Staff
Published on  08-01-2022 09:43 Last modified: 08-01-2022 09:43

Prime Minister Yair Lapid with King Abdullah II of Jordan, July 27, 2022 | Photo: GPO/Haim Tzach

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a proposal to accelerate the creation of a joint industrial zone straddling both sides of the border with Jordan, according to a statement by Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office.

Known as the “Jordan Gateway,” the initiative is geared toward increasing cooperation between Israelis and Jordanians and was first proposed during talks on the 1994 peace accord.

“Twenty-eight years since the peace agreement with Jordan, we are taking the good neighborly relations between our two countries another step forward. This is a breakthrough that will contribute greatly to developing and strengthening the region. The final details regarding this initiative were addressed last week during my visit with King Abdullah II in Amman.

“This is an initiative that will increase employment in both countries, advance our economic and diplomatic relations, and enhance the peace and friendship between our two countries. I thank Transportation and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli for mobilizing all of the relevant officials for this process.
“This is a joint industrial zone on the border. It will allow Israeli and Jordanian entrepreneurs and businesspeople to communicate directly. It will produce joint initiatives in trade, technology, and local industry,” he said.

The plan includes an existing bridge joining the Israeli and Jordanian sides of the park, and Sunday’s decision calls for advancing the construction of a terminal in Israel for pedestrian crossings that will house a facility for hosting businesspeople and guests who arrive from Jordan.
Plans to immediately build an entrance to the facility along with the necessary structures for operating the park will now be evaluated, and resources will be allocated in order to complete the project, the statement said.
The government will also begin devising medium- and long-term proposals for attracting commercial entities to the industrial zone.
“Increasing efforts on the ‘Jordan Gateway’ project has been one of the main missions of the Regional Cooperation Ministry in the past year,” said Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi  Frej. “We have succeeded in bringing about significant progress after a period replete with impediments and obstacles.
“This is part of the major progress that we have carried out in strengthening relations with Jordan in the past year. We started with the agreement to export water in exchange for solar energy and now have this decision which takes the vision of the civil peace, not just between the countries but also between the peoples, an additional step further. The peace between us is not a peace devoid of economic and civil cooperation that enables the citizens of both countries to enjoy its fruits.

“Advancing the project will facilitate the strengthening of economic cooperation with the Kingdom and contribute greatly to the economies of both countries and of the region as a whole.”
Transportation and Road Safety Minister Merav Michaeli said: “I welcome every action to improve relations with the Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan is a strategic partner and is of decisive importance for the stability of the entire region.
“I am committed to doing whatever proves necessary to establish our relations with the Kingdom and assist in advancing the goals it has in common with the State of Israel,” she said

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Iraqi parliamentary Shiite blocs name candidate for new PM

Xinhua, July 26, 2022

The Shiite political blocs in the Iraqi parliament on Monday nominated Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani for the post of prime minister, months after failing to form a government due to a political row.
The Coordination Framework, an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties, said in a statement that the nomination came after a meeting held earlier in the day, during which the leaders of the Framework parties unanimously agreed to nominate al-Sudani for the post.
The Coordination Framework became the largest alliance in the Iraqi parliament after the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers in the Sadrist Movement, the biggest winner in the elections held on Oct. 10, 2021, with 73 seats, to withdraw from the parliament.
During the past months, the continuing disputes among the Shiite parties have hampered the formation of a new Iraqi government, as the parliament has been unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament under the constitution.
According to the power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003, the presidency should be reserved for the Kurds, the speaker’s post for the Sunnis, and the prime minister’s post for the Shiites.
However, the dispute is continuing between the main Kurdish parties: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, over the nomination of a new candidate for the president post.
If elected, the president will appoint the prime minister nominated by the largest alliance in the parliament, the Coordination Framework, to form a new government that would rule the country for the coming four years.

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Meet Egypt’s Commander in Chief: Sisi’s Wife, Entesar

1. Summary: The wife of Egypt’s president Abdelfattah Sisi has become known to everyone who deals with him as “the woman behind the throne”. Strong and dedicated, Entesar has been serving as Sisi’s confidant and the matriarch of the Sisi family. Intelligent, fearless and strong, Entesar will not stop at anything to achieve her ambition of turning her family into a dynasty to rule Egypt for generations. Nonetheless, Entesar’s tactics and grip over her husband and the Egyptian state have provoked many top tier Egyptian generals and mostly senior intelligence officers.
2. Despite the macho façade exhibited by Egypt’s president Abdelfattah Sisi, it has become known across his inner circle that his boss is his wife, Entesar. JaFaJ intelligence sources have confirmed that Entesar controls most of her husband’s decisions on state affairs, and even has input into foreign matters. Described as “intelligent”, “cunning”, “soft-spoken” and “totally not interested in showing off”, Entesar’s approach to politics is ruthless and rather violent – she believes in eradicating rivals and keeping potential competition to her reign under surveillance. Through her son, Mahmud, she has been keeping anyone she suspects under strict surveillance by Egyptian security agencies.
The Woman Behind the Throne
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3. A source from the Egyptian military intelligence described Entasar as “the de facto leader of this country”. Having worked directly with her and her husband, he said “She is strong and fearless, unlike Sisi who is weak and could easily be spooked”. For example, the source claimed that Entesar encouraged Sisi to sign the death sentence documents issued by Egyptian courts against young men who were arrested in 2013 protesting Sisi’s takeover. The source added that “They were kids, one of them was just 17 at the time of his arrest, while the rest were all under 20. We advised the President to award them life sentences, but Entesar resisted and would not budge. She pushed him into ratifying the sentences”.
4. A Western intelligence source reported to JaFaJ that “Entesar was the woman behind the throne”. The source added that “She micromanages her husband and eldest son’s actions”. The source continued by adding “She is the last person to whisper in Mahmud’s ears, and Mahmud sees his father as unintelligent and rightfully so.” The source explained, “Sisi is not competent and without his wife, he may have not lasted for so long”. [COMMENT: Mahmud Sisi is the president’s eldest son. His military career was fast tracked by his father who is considered the de facto president of the country by many. He now serves as the Deputy Director of the country’s fearsome General Intelligence Department. For more on this, Click Here to read the JaFaJ Report about Mahmud Sisi’s grip on power in Egypt. END COMMENT]
Fearless, Yet in the Shadows
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5. Entesar is very charming, witty, disciplined and ambitious. Unlike the wives of several Arab dictators, she chooses to remain in the shadows, making few public appearances and presenting herself as a loyal, Hijab wearing housewife. She has never given a TV interview, despite the temptation. This has proven to be a very wise move, as the wives of Arab rulers have a history of provoking their people with showy interviews and opulent dresses. Recent examples include the wives of Jordan’s king and the deposed president of Tunisia.
6. Entesar’s courage and resilience have become her main strengths. The largest test of her resilience came in 2019 when Egyptian military contractor, Mohammad Ali, fled the nation, went into exile and took social media by storm exposing what he described as the corruption of Sisi’s family and calling Entsar out as the mastermind behind it. While Sisi was heading to the United States to speak at the United Nations and then meet President Trump, anti-Sisi protests filled the streets in response. JaFaJ can confirm that President Sisi was so worried about the protests, that he told his wife that he didn’t want to return to Egypt, and discussed with her the possibility of flying the entire family to refuge in an Arab Gulf country instead. Despite his persistence, Enteasr insisted that he return to Egypt and refused to leave Egypt. A week after, she was proven right – the protests died down quickly upon his return.
7. COMMENT: Despite Entesar’s effort to remain invisible, President Sisi’s inner circle, as well as the nation’s top army officers, have acknowledged that “she is the one in charge”. One of the many terms used to mock Sisi within his inner circle is “Zwej Elsit”. This translates into the phrase: “The lady’s husband”, and this is an Egyptian term used to describe weak men who are controlled by their wives.
A Lady with Big Ambitions and Mystical Obsession(s)
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8. The 65 year old first lady of Egypt is very ambitious. Not only has she been the driving force behind her husband’s consolidation of power in Egypt, but she has also had monarchist aspirations for the Sisi family. A very well-connected and informed American source who has had close proximity to the Sisi family reported the following to JaFaJ: “The lady wants her family to rule Egypt forever and she has instilled this thought in her children and grandchildren”. The source added, “Her son Mahmud is her tool to achieve the dream of the family controlling Egypt for generations”.
9. Despite her intelligence, intellect and discipline, Entesar’s lust for power has extended into the world of magic. Obsessed with black magic and metaphysics, Entesar has surrounded herself with magicians, and sorcerers. An Egyptian asset reported to JaFaJ that “She has recruited the best black magic sorcerers in Egypt and has brought magicians to the palace from African nations and other countries.” They added that, “one guy who works for her had been relocated here from Italy and claims that he has ties to the Pope, can connect her to dead prophets and saints, and do miracles for her family that will keep them in power for eternity”. He explained, “She has become obsessed and has used the magicians to influence Western and Arab leaders and to protect her family from assassinations. She believes that she sees visions of herself for the future, and has forced her husband to act on some of the visions, in one case forcing him to fire a senior army general because a clairvoyant told her the general was a threat to her husband”.
The Army Establishment Has Had Enough with Entesar
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10. Entesar’s total power over her husband has put her on a constant and direct collision course with the army establishment which has been ruling Egypt since 1952. Army and intelligence officers feel marginalized by Sisi and bullied by his son Mahmud as both constantly ignore the advice given to them. Additionally, Entesar is the “last person to whisper in the ears of both”. Further, the army and intelligence establishment are concerned that the Sisis’ arrogance and ignorance, combined with Entesar’s obsession with power, could bring the regime down under its weight. A Western military official in contact with the Egyptian military establishment reported to JaFaJ that army officials have already complained to him about “the destructive and obstructive roles Mahmud and Entesar are playing, and requested that he pass their complaints on to the proper authorities”.
Conclusion
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11. Egypt is a vital and strategic part of the world thanks to it being the gateway to Africa from the Asian continent. As such, the nation’s politics impacts the region economically, politically and socially. With Entesar Sisi being the power behind the modern day Egyptian throne, obsessed with ensuring that her family becomes a modern day Pharaonic dynasty, one has to recall that a similar unhealthy obsession with power contributed to the demise of former President Mubarak, a scenario Entesar seems destined to repeat. The Sisi family’s popularity has evaporated even within their inner circle and Entesar’s ambitions and arrogance do not seem to end any time soon. With the army establishment fed up and scared for its future, Egypt’s political future may be determined from her history of military coups.

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Hamas youth camps in Gaza include weapons training, targets of ‘Israeli soldiers’

Senior officials said the facilities are “intended to raise a generation that possesses awareness and is capable of liberating [Palestine].”

Young boys hear a lesson about weapons in a camp in Jebalia, July 25-28, 2022. Credit: MEMRI.

(August 1, 2022 / JNS) As in previous years, the Hamas terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip is running summer camps for children and teens that promote jihad and armed struggle against Israel, incorporating the use and training of various weapons, along with other military skills.
“Saplings of Jerusalem” summer camps, which were launched on July 23, are attended by as many as 100,000 boys and girls, according to a report by MEMRI.
Their main opening ceremony was at Asda amusement park, built on a former Israeli settlement. Muhammad Farawneh, a member of the camps’ central committee, said holding the ceremony “on soil that has been freed of the contamination of the occupation is a sign that all [Palestinian] land will one day be regained,” said the report.
Muhammad Abu Mahmoud, the summer camp committee chair in Gaza’s central district, noted that the camp name was chosen “to stress our deep-rooted rights in Jerusalem and [convey] that the generation of liberation will continue to bear the banner until the occupation is removed from all of our occupied Palestinian land.”
A Hamas delegation, including senior official Maher Sabra and chair of the movement’s summer camps Muhammad Abu Askar, visited one of the facilities in southern Gaza, saying they are “intended to raise a generation that possesses awareness and is capable of liberating [Palestine].”

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A delegation member told the campers, according to MEMRI: ­“Oh lion cubs, you are the generation of liberation, and with your help, we will liberate Al-Aqsa, Allah-willing.”
As in past years, the youth training program emphasizes military, weapons, religious and nationalist content, along with recreation. Campers learn how to use and maintain various weapons and practice shooting “Israeli soldiers.”
Similar camps for Palestinian youth are run in the West Bank.
 
Palestinian boys learn how to assemble and disassemble a rifle, July 25-28, 2022. Credit: MEMRI.

 
 
Weapons training at summer camp in northern Gaza Strip; Among the spectators is Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri, July 25-28, 2022. Credit: MEMRI.

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