FinPol Digest

Here’s something interesting about what I read today. Initially, it might give the idea that the new split among the Arab ideological groups in Israel is steady with the regular example of political and philosophical divisions that have burdened the Arab body politic for a long time. This time, in any case, the explanations for the split are very extraordinary.   Looking at it, Israel prepares for its fourth broad political decision in under two years, planned for March 23, Israel's Palestinian Arab parties appear to be in a place of force, scheduled to turn into the kingmaker in the country's future alliance government. In any case, something curious has occurred. The Joint List, which has effectively joined the Arab vote in past decisions, endured a significant mishap a month ago with the flight of the United Arab List.

 A number of Arab countries have condemned an attack on a fuel transport ship anchored at Jeddah port on Monday. Being labelled as a "terrorist attack", the oil tanker was hit by an explosive-laden boat, according to a statement released by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy. Singaporean shipping firm Hafnia also confirmed that the oil tanker was struck by a blast from an "external source" at the Jeddah terminal. Reportedly, the ship was carrying 60,000 tons of gasoline that caused an explosion on board. Releasing a statement on its website, the shipping company confirmed that all 22 sailors on board the BW Rhine escaped the blast without suffering any injury. “BW Rhine has been hit from an external source whilst discharging at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at approximately 00:40 local time on 14 December 2020, causing an explosion and subsequent fire on board,” Hafnia said in its statement, as reported by Reuters. According to the Saudi energy ministry spokesperson, the ...

 After a heated discussion on Wednesday and a final ultimatum by the United States, Sudan has decided to normalise its relationship with Israel. The US had reportedly issued an ultimatum of 24-hours to the North African country to make a decision on normalising ties with Israel only after which it will remove Sudan’s name from the blacklisted countries. The US had presented Sudan with offers such as removing travel ban, making attempts towards increasing aid towards Sudan, commitment to facilitate private investment in Sudan, arranging an investment conference within the country and forgiveness of billions of dollars of Sudanese debt to the US, reports Jerusalem Post quoting a Sudanese journalist. The deputy chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had earlier said in an interview that they are open to the proposal of normalising ties with Israel and even exploring other options with Israel. Experts have said that it was only a matter of time that Sud...

  Diplomatic relations in the Middle East, between the Gulf States and Turkey, are deteriorating. UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash on Saturday condemned the presence of Turkish troops in Qatar, saying it was contributing to "severe political divisions" in the region. This is fueling diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which were at loggerheads in 2017 when the Gulf States cut ties with Qatar. The UAE's foreign minister has described Turkey's military presence in the Gulf as a state of emergency, contributing to deep divisions in the region. The minister pointed out that this strengthens the divisions in the regional governments, and does not take into account the sovereignty of the states and the interests of the Gulf and its people, so our region does not need regional protection and the establishment of traditional colonial ties. The minister described Turkey as a threat to regional security. Gargash expressed concern about Erdogan's visit to Qa...