Arabic press review: Algeria makes international complaints over Morocco incident
Algeria issues international complaints about Morocco
Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra has sent messages of complaint about Morocco to several international organisations, including the United Nations, after accusing the kingdom of killing three Algerians near the Mauritanian border on Monday, according to the Algerian Press Service.
The complaints were sent to the secretary-general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the secretary-general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
In the statement, Lamamra stressed "Algeria's will and ability to assume its responsibilities in protecting its nationals and their property in all circumstances".
On Thursday, Algeria's presidency said that three of its citizens were killed near Western Sahara after their trucks were bombed in the desert region on the border with Mauritania, stressing that "the crime will not go unpunished".
The Algerian presidency attributed the operation to the Moroccan army, which it described as "the Moroccan occupation forces".
Tensions between Morocco and Algeria over the disputed territory of Western Sahara have risen of late.
Egyptian spy chief to visit Israel
Sources in Cairo revealed that the head of the Egyptian intelligence service, Abbas Kamel, will visit Tel Aviv in late November and is expected to resolve some points related to the Gaza Strip during the visit, reported the London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper.
The expected visit will be Kamel's second since the new Israeli government assumed its duties on 13 June.
The sources said: "Major General Abbas Kamel's visit is not limited to the Gaza file only, or the truce file and the establishment of a cease fire, but there are major files of common interest, which are subject to personal supervision by Kamel."
"The Iranian file and the security situation in Syria are very sensitive files, and there have been Egyptian consultations recently on them," the sources said.
They also revealed that Egypt and Israel exchanged intelligence about types of weapons supplied by Iran to its allies in the region, pointing out that "these weapons represent a direct threat to the security situation in the entire region, not just Israel," according to the newspaper.
The sources pointed out that "Kamel will carry with him the outcomes of a series of meetings held by Egypt with the leaders of the Palestinian factions in Cairo".
According to the sources, "regarding the prisoner deal between Hamas and Israel, the stages of the deal and its full conception are ready, and they are waiting for the green light only from the Israeli side".
Sky News Arabia closes office in Turkey
Sky News Arabia closed its office in Turkey at the beginning of November, according to an announcement by its correspondent in Ankara via his personal Facebook account.
The correspondent said that the closure of the bureau was due to "administrative reasons" relating to "the restructuring of foreign bureaus".
The decision comes after the Turkish presidency, through its spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, denied allegations broadcast by the channel that Ankara had transferred batteries of the Russian S-400 defence system to the Incirlik Air Base, which is used by Nato, in the south of the country.
"It saddens me to inform you of the decision by the management of Sky News Arabia to close its bureau in Turkey, as of 1 November," said Mehran Issa, correspondent for the UAE-operated channel based in Abu Dhabi.
He added that the Abu Dhabi administration had informed him that the reasons for the decision were "administrative related to the restructuring of all foreign bureaus".
No official statement was issued by the channel's management in this regard, and it was not clear whether the Turkish government had asked Sky News Arabia to quit the country.
US lawsuit to support Palestinians
A Palestinian-American company has filed a lawsuit before the federal court in Texas to oblige the US state to drop a law against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in the United States, reported the Wafa news agency.
The company appealed a law passed by the state of Texas, saying it was unconstitutional and restricts the freedom of individuals and businesses, according to the lawsuit filed on Friday.
The lawsuit seeks the repeal of a law that prohibits Texas from doing business with contractors that support the BDS movement against Israel.
An attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations represented the Palestinian company that filed the suit in federal court in Houston on behalf of Rasmi Hassouna, owner and executive vice president of A&R Engineering and Testing Inc.
The lawsuit came after the state of Texas added a clause to renew a contract with the company on 13 October requiring it to "not currently participate in, and agree during the term of the contract to engage in, a boycott of Israel, as defined in Texas government law".
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