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Palestinians disappointed with US policy ahead of Biden’s visit

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 Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle East, the Palestinians are disappointed with the US’ failure to present any new peace initiative and fulfill its promises on the Palestinian cause.

Biden is scheduled to visit Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia during his first trip to the region which starts on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the past weeks, the Palestinians ramped up their voices calling on the Biden administration to deliver its promises by reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Washington, and removing the PLO from the US terrorism list.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians criticized the US for its silence over the escalation of Israeli unilateral practices in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Ramzi Rabah, a PLO executive committee member, said that within the PLO executive committee, there is widespread criticism of the US policy as its members urged the Palestinian Authority “not to bet on any actual US role in the region”.

The Palestinian leadership “must go to alternative options in dealing with Washington,” Rabah told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that as the US refuses to take any serious steps to stop Israel from escalating its practices against the Palestinians, “there is a need to go to the UN and the UN Security Council to create an international political initiative.”

“I think that the essence of Biden’s visit to the region is to arrange a regional alliance, to secure the American interests and confront Iran,” Rabah noted, expressing the Palestinians’ disappointment at the US inaction to break the protracted stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Wassel Abu Yousef, another member of the PLO executive committee, ruled out major positive results from Biden’s visit on advancing the Palestinian cause, citing that the US has increased support for Israel and its practices against the Palestinians, including confiscating land, demolishing homes and expanding settlements.

The Palestinians “do not expect anything new from Biden’s visit to the region regarding the implementation of the US promises, except that it will result in more support for Israel,” he told Xinhua in an interview.

Frustration and despair are prevailing among the Palestinians as nearly 29 years have passed since the Palestinians signed the Oslo peace agreement with Israel, under the US sponsorship, to end the conflict between them.

The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been deadlocked since 2014 mainly due to Washington’s refusal to change its biased pro-Israeli policy that ignores the political rights of the Palestinian people, who hope to establish an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Abdulmajid Sweilem, a Palestinian analyst from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said that Biden’s visit to the Palestinian territories is just “a political courtesy”.

Biden is expected to “repeat Washington’s old slogans of adhering to the two-state solution and protecting the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and security, among other cliches,” he told Xinhua in an interview.

“Ultimately, these cliches mean improving the lives of the Palestinians under the framework of Israeli domination and limited Palestinian self-rule,” Sweilem added.

International News

Iran launches attacks on US assets in Jordan and Kuwait

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Tehran, July 20: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that its forces earlier in the day launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US assets and facilities in Jordan and Kuwait.

In statements published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said it struck with ballistic missiles the US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft at an airport in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, and heavily damaged a number of them.

It added that its forces attacked with drones and destroyed an American early warning radar system in Kuwait, and targeted a warehouse of equipment and aircraft parts as well as a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting on fire a number of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The IRGC said the attacks were in retaliation to the US’ frequent “aggressions” against Iran’s territory, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a post on social media platform X early Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had “successfully completed the ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran.”

It added, “CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

In another statement released early Monday, the IRGC reiterated its warning that as long as the United States continues its “malicious actions” in the West Asia region, the Strait of Hormuz will not be safe for the shipment of oil, gas and chemical fertilisers.

Earlier in the day, the IRGC also said that it had attacked a US early-warning radar system and several military facilities in Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said that the US early-warning radar system was “completely destroyed” in a drone strike. It said that a warehouse sheltering aviation equipment, spare parts and a drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base was struck in a separate attack, setting several drones ablaze, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

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International News

Iran claims targeting US radar system, military facilities in Kuwait

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Tehran, July 20: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it had attacked a US early-warning radar system and several military facilities in Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base in retaliatory action against Washington, local media reported.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said that the US early-warning radar system was “completely destroyed” in a drone strike. It said that a warehouse sheltering aviation equipments, spare parts and drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base were struck in a separate attack, setting several drones ablaze, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The IRGC urged people of Kuwait to not allow their country’s territory to be used as a base to conduct military operations that continue to kill Muslims in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

The statement reads, “Kuwaiti territory must not serve as a safe haven for a terrorist army that has attacked at least 10 Muslim countries over the past decades and killed millions of Muslims,” adding that the US military is considered an aggressor under the rulings of religious scholars from all Islamic schools of thought.

Addressing the people of Kuwait, the IRGC stated, “We expect you to fulfill your religious duty and restore the dignity of the Islamic lands,” urging them not to allow their country to be used for carrying out aggression and killing Muslims.

On Sunday, IRGC said that it has intercepted and shot down the United States’ MQ-9 drone in Iran’s Ahvaz.

The advanced air‑defence system operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force under the command of Iran’s integrated air defence network shot down the MQ‑9 drone, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said. The announcement comes as Iran continues to carry out retaliatory action against the US military targets in West Asia.

Meanwhile, Commander of the central Khatam al‑Anbiya headquarters, Major General Ali Abdollahi, has warned that Iran’s Armed Forces will give a devastating response to the US for any act of aggression, IRNA reported.

Abdollahi said that Iran will give a decisive and destructive response to any act of greed, bullying, expansionism, or brutality, and it will face costs “heavier than those of the second and third imposed wars.”

He termed Iran’s defensive power as a guarantee of nationwide security and a foundation allowing officials to work for the welfare of the people of Iran, IRNA reported.

Abdollahi said that the US, after facing repeated military failures, is trying to create division between the people and officials. He described Iran’s internal unity as the key to defeating this “satanic scheme.”

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International News

Fresh Iranian attacks reported in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, prompting calls for de-escalation

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Cairo, July 20: Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain reported fresh Iranian attacks as renewed US-Iran hostilities spilled into neighbouring countries, prompting calls for de-escalation across the Middle East.

Jordan’s air defenses intercepted three missiles launched from Iran toward Jordanian territory, while a fourth fell in a remote area in southern Jordan without causing casualties or material damage, state broadcaster Jordan Radio and Television Corporation said on X.

The missiles were aimed at US military aircraft stationed in the southern Jordanian coastal city of Aqaba, which directly borders the Israeli city of Eilat, Xinhua news agency reported quoting media reports.

Following the incident, Israel’s Channel 13 News reported that the US military evacuated refueling aircraft from Ramon Airport in southern Israel, about 18 km north of Eilat, after the missile launches toward Jordan.

Israel’s state-run Kan TV News said commercial passenger flights at the airport were delayed following the incident.

Earlier in the day, the US Embassy in Amman issued a security alert saying Aqaba’s airport and seaport had been evacuated because of a “specific and credible threat,” urging Americans to avoid the sites until further notice.

Jordanian authorities later rejected the embassy’s claim, saying both facilities were operating normally.

Also on Sunday, Kuwait’s Armed Forces said air defenses intercepted hostile ballistic missiles and drones over the country, while another attack struck a power generation and water desalination facility, causing fires and extensive damage.

In a statement posted on X, the Kuwaiti Army said the incoming missiles and drones had been detected and engaged since dawn. It did not specify how many projectiles were involved.

The military accused Iran of continuing to target civilian and vital infrastructure, saying facilities operated by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy had been hit.

Bahraini authorities also said the country’s air defenses intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks.

The expanding hostilities raised fresh concerns across the region and prompted renewed calls for restraint.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy warned of the serious consequences of the ongoing escalation in the region, urging efforts to avoid a renewed cycle of violence.

In a statement, Fahmy called on the United States and Iran to immediately work to de-escalate tensions, noting that continued escalation would only bring further losses to all sides.

He warned of the risk that the situation could spiral out of control, leading to mutual destruction and worsening economic conditions in the region and beyond.

Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi held separate phone talks with his Turkish and Kuwaiti counterparts on the regional escalation and efforts to restore stability.

During his call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Safadi stressed the need to end the escalation, implement the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement and return to negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution addressing the root causes of tensions, according to a foreign ministry statement.

In his call with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Safadi expressed Jordan’s solidarity with Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the face of Iranian attacks.

The two sides stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis, restore calm and achieve lasting security and stability.

The latest developments came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East as the United States and Iran have traded rounds of attacks. The United States has conducted eight waves of strikes on Iranian targets, while Iran has responded by striking US bases and facilities in several regional countries.

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