Mideastwire.com

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While there is a broad range of Arabic language media outlets reporting stories from and about the Middle East, there is currently no affordable and reliable means for English speakers to gain access to this content. As a result, many English speaking businesspersons, students, journalists and others who have an interest in the affairs of the region are largely unaware of what the Middle East media is covering and how they are covering these stories.

Mideastwire.com aims to close this gap by offering a daily menu of translations covering some of the key political, cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the media of the 22 Arab countries and the Arab Diaspora. Through this effort, we hope to address at least one aspect of a global disconnect that continues to threaten a wide spectrum of socio-political and economic relationships, both here in the region and beyond.

It is also important to note that, since our founding in 2005, Mideastwire.com is wholly funded by the content license fees paid by individuals and organizations. As such, there is no government, commercial or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides a relatively independent platform for better understanding.

Our Corrections Policy: We adhere to an honest and open corrections policy. Please email info@mideastwire.com if you notice any typo or if you disagree with our translation choices. Since we do not produce our own content, we only will consider corrections that highlight typos or dispute our translations, not the veracity or accuracy of the original content. Accepted corrections are applied directly to the relevant translations as soon as they are approved by the editor and our database is updated accordingly for all subscribers.

TODAY’S DAILY BRIEFING

06-Nov-2023

Egypt

Opinion

“Stop the mouthpieces of normalization” (Al-Ahram, Egypt)

Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process

On November 5, the state-controlled Al-Ahram newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Farouk Goweda: “During the last few years, Israel managed to form groups and teams working for it. And these teams are turning into mouthpieces, which are disseminating Israel’s viewpoint as it is being reiterated by the Zionist media. Indeed, thousands of voices were recruited by Israel during the years of normalization, and have now turned into mouthpieces that do not hesitate to falsify the facts, mislead the people, and embellish the image of Israeli society under the slogans of liberties and human rights. The worst thing about the convoys of normalization is that they now have someone to encourage them and pay them millions of dollars and are practicing their activities by lying and misleading the people on television, in the papers, and on social media… (Read More)

Jordan

Politics

“The Brothers in Jordan embarrass King Abdullah II’s position” (Newspaper, Middle East)

Monarchies/Dictatorships

On November 5, the London-based Al-Arab daily newspaper carried the following report: “The Muslim Brothers group is intentionally embarrassing King Abdullah II’s position at a time when the Jordanian leadership and the army are being subjected to a campaign of suspicions regarding their position on the war in Gaza… During a protest march organized by the MB group with thousands of protestors on Friday in Amman, MP Yanal Fureihat, gave a speech where he said: “We ask His Majesty the King to place the Wadi Araba in one hand, and the halt of the assault on Gaza in the other hand.” Fureihat recalled the action of the late King Hussein when the Israeli Mossad tried to assassinate the head of the Hamas Movement’s external politburo, Khaled Mashal, back in 1997… (Read More)

Lebanon

Politics

“Why did Osama Hamdan thank Hassan Nasrallah?...” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Military and Security

On November 5, the Qatari-owned London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report from London: “Behind the scenes, “highly important discussions” took place in detail between the representatives of the leaders of the Palestinian resistance factions and key figures in the “resistance axis” under the sponsorship of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in the context of a “quasi-collective” attempt to answer the following question: When exactly will the axis move to the stage of an open confrontation? These discussions preceded the last speech delivered by Nasrallah…, which means that the main points of the speech that generated a storm of controversy were the object of a certain level of “understanding and agreement” before it was made public… (Read More)

“BBC sacks Lebanese journalist Nada Abdel Samad due to Hamas” (Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom)

Media

On November 10, the Qatari-owned London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report from Beirut by its correspondent Nada Elias: “The decision of the British BBC network to sack Lebanese journalist Nada Abdel Samad due to her position toward the Palestinian cause and her participation in an article describing the Hamas Movement as a “resistance,” generated condemning reactions in Beirut. Hence, many politicians expressed their solidarity with Abdel Samad and their condemnation of this step, at the head of whom is former Leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Junblatt, who said: “We express solidarity with the BBC correspondent Nada Abdel Samad, who was expelled from her jobs after 27 years of service for calling Hamas a resistance. But this does not surprise us from Britain, which sold Palestine to the Israelis through the Balfour Declaration… (Read More)

“The speech of the difficult moment…” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

On November 4, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “The popular and political reactions to the speech by the Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, varied between some who welcomed the fact that the Resistance leader did not act in an emotional manner despite the harshness of the Palestinian moment, and some others who were “disappointed” because they had been waiting for “firmer” positions against the Occupation… (Read More)

Libya

Politics

“Who bears responsibility for stalemate affecting political process in Libya?” (Asharq al-Awsat, United Kingdom)

Peace Process - United Nations

On November 5, the Saudi-owned London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper carried the following report from Cairo by its correspondent Gamal Gawhar: “Libyan politicians are afraid that the crisis in their country will enter a “dark tunnel” unless an agreement is reached between the influential powers in the country over the presidential and parliamentary elections laws, wondering about the side responsible for the stalemate affecting the political process and the wasting of yet another opportunity to organize the elections. And while the accusations escalated between the supporters of the Parliament speaker and the chairman of the High Council of State, i.e. Aguila Saleh and Mohammed Takala, with each side blaming the other for “placing obstacles” in the way of the elections, Libya sources pointed to a potential meeting between the two men in Cairo during the coming days… (Read More)

Middle East

Politics

On the latest Amman meetings (Website, Middle East)

Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process - USA Europe

On November 5, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following report: “We still don’t know what circumstances and political, security, and diplomatic considerations have surprisingly turned a bilateral meeting between the US and Jordanian foreign ministers, Antony Blinken and Ayman Safadi, into extensive meetings with several Arab officials and a six-sided meeting attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and the PLO. Nevertheless, there are two possible explanations for these extensive meetings in the Jordanian capital, Amman… (Read More)

Palestine

Opinion

“What will the day after the war look like?” (Asharq al-Awsat, United Kingdom)

Military and Security

On November 6, the Saudi-owned London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper carried the following opinion piece by Egyptian-American writer Mamoun Fandy: “There are many talks about the day that will follow the Gaza war, some in closed rooms in Washington, Tel Aviv, Brussels, London, and some Arab capitals, others in serious think tanks, and many others in the media. Most of them are based on assumptions that do not stand the test of time, but they still need to be addressed, seeing as how the next-day scenarios are not local and carry regional and international dimensions. The next day for Israel is probably more important than the next day for Gaza…, as it primarily reveals that the theory about reshaping the Middle East, which Israel adopted since Sharon’s days in 1982…, has proven to be a failure. Also, the next day for Israel cannot erase the fact that the invincible army and the intelligence services that do not sleep failed to anticipate Hamas’s attack… (Read More)

Politics

“Egypt is leading the Arab pressure: Features of a détente” (Al-Akhbar Lebanon, Lebanon)

Arab Diplomacy - Peace Process - USA Europe

On November 4, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “The coordination meetings between Egypt, the Occupation State, and the United States in addition to Jordan over the past few days saw a state of tension be it on the level of the group meetings or the bilateral calls in light of the clear warnings that Cairo is constantly voicing against the danger of the persistence of the present situation in Gaza, and the disastrous repercussions that shall affect the whole world, especially since this situation paves the way for opening the Syrian and the Lebanese fronts… (Read More)

“Sinwar spoke about “full readiness” for a long war so will Israel resist for six months…?” (Website, Middle East)

Military and Security

On November 5, the electronic Rai al-Youm daily newspaper carried the following report: “Some sources that are close to the Palestinian Resistance said that the head of the Hamas Movement, Yahya Sinwar, is giving signs indicating that the Movement is ready for a long battle and for a time ceiling that is way higher than expected by the Occupation. In special correspondence regarding this matter, there was no specific set time frame. However, the impression that some officials got is that the Hamas Movement went to the battle of October 7 while ready for a battle that shall last for months rather than weeks. The number of these months is not determined… (Read More)

“Fatah is accusing Hamas of risking the blood of the Gaza people” (Newspaper, Middle East)

Media

On November 5, the London-based Al-Arab daily newspaper carried the following report: “The spokesperson for the Fatah Movement, Munir al-Jaghoub, launched wide criticism against the Hamas Movement by describing its attack on October 7 as being an adventure. He was commenting on the speech by the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. He added that the pro-Iran group “chose its people and the security in Lebanon as a result of internal pressure and Iran’s decision not to be part of this war,” and warned against being pulled into adventures, in reference to the Al-Aqsa Flood operation… (Read More)

Syria

Politics

“Iran uses Russia-protected Latakia Airport after Damascus, Aleppo airports were put out of service” (Newspaper, Middle East)

Military and Security

On November 5, the Qatari-owned London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper carried the following report from Paris and Mersin by its correspondents Adnan Ahmad and Wissam Slim: “Local sources in Syria said that Russia allowed an Iranian plane coming from Tehran to land at the Khmeimim Airbase, which Russia controls in western Syria after it could not reach the Damascus and Aleppo airports that went out of service after being targeted by the Israeli occupation. Hence, the local Voice of the Capital website mentioned that a plane belonging to Mahan Air, which has ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, landed at the Khmeimim base on Thursday and remained there for more than six hours before returning to Tehran. The Khmeimim base is located near the Latakia Airport (Bassel al-Assad Airport) and shares some of its runways… (Read More)

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