1) At the BESA Center, Dr Edy Cohen looks at ‘The Plight of Egyptians Living in Israel’.
“Egyptian PM Mustafa Madbouli, who is in charge of the Citizenship Law, recently revoked the citizenship of three Egyptians who live in Israel. Their only crime was having received Israeli citizenship. The official reason given for the revocation of their Egyptian citizenship was that they had not sought prior approval, but there is no such requirement for Egyptians seeking to attain dual citizenship with any other country. The more likely reason is found in the Egyptian Citizenship Law, which stipulates in Section 16, Subsection 10 that Egyptian citizenship may be revoked if the person has been identified with Zionism. […]
Over 6,000 Egyptians live in Israel. Most are married to Israeli Arabs and work in Israel. Most have legal visas, pursue business or studies, and have children or grandchildren. However, they do not live normal lives. They live in distress, as they are effectively barred from their home country.”
2) The ITIC has published an updated analysis of Palestinian Authority text books and teachers’ guides.
“As far as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was concerned, three fundamentals were found prominent in the examined schoolbooks: De-legitimization of the State of Israel’s existence, demonization of Israel and the Jews (“the Zionist enemy”), and advocacy of a violent struggle for the liberation of the Land of Israel (“Palestine”). Not a single call for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, or for co-existence with Israel, was found in any of the PA’s schoolbooks and teachers’ guides. During the year 2019, new editions of these schoolbooks appeared, with some changes, which necessitated an updating research. The examination of 133 books published in 2019 revealed that quite a few changes had been made there. But a thorough review of these changes made it clear that they strengthened the general picture regarding the conflict, as crystalized on the basis of the former studies, and that they did not change it.”
3) At WINEP Haisam Hassanein analyses Qatari media reactions to the Israel-UAE normalisation agreement.
“In the weeks since U.S., Emirati, and Israeli leaders announced a historic normalization agreement on August 13, Qatari media has leveled major criticism of the deal. Yet the motivations for this criticism seem to reflect direct competition between Qatar and the UAE as much as genuine critique. […]
…Qatar’s media response should be understood in the context of the ongoing intra-Gulf conflict. While there are other media outlets in the region criticizing the normalization deal, Qatari media has in some ways demonstrated itself to be the most aggressive. This may be because Qatar has much to lose from closer ties between Israel and the UAE. […]
Qatar had carved a unique space for itself in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as a bridge between Israel and Hamas, but the UAE’s new position threatens Qatar’s ability to influence the situation through its own less public efforts. Especially threatening is the UAE’s formidable financial capabilities, which stand in stark contrast to Jordan and Egypt.”
4) Joe Truzman examines how ‘Hamas Prioritizes Terrorism Over COVID-19 Outbreak in Gaza’ at the FDD.
“Amid a recent COVID-19 outbreak in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Israel agreed to a Qatari-brokered ceasefire last week but failed to reach a long-term truce. Hamas and other terrorist factions likely intend to resume terrorist activity in the near future rather than respond to the dire public health needs of Gaza inhabitants. […]
Hamas’ latest refusal to agree to a long-term truce with Israel in exchange for international assistance to combat COVID-19 provides clear proof that the terrorist group does not plan to ease up on its ill-intentions. As a result, the ceasefire will likely be short-lived.”
