ARABINFOCUS

                              TUNISIA: DEMOCRACY OR DICTATORSHIP? Tunisians have voted massively in favor of the new Constitution proposed by President Kais Saied, which grants extraordinary powers to the latter, while the opposition formations, in particular the Islamists of Ennahda, accuse him of having imposed "a dictatorship on the Ben Ali” in memory of the deceased president, whose fall opened the doors to the so-called “jasmine revolution”, also considered the “Arab spring”. The United States has shown its "concern" over the turn of events in Tunisia, which seem to place the president as the holder of extraordinary powers that could compromise the march of democracy in this North African country. On the 25th of last year, Saied dissolved the Parliament, while the economy was collapsing dangerously. He handpicked several ministers to replace the cabinet. The government, now staffed by loyalists, is effective...

HRW publishes an accusatory report against Morocco for repression and violation of human rights. Read the report: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2022/07/morocco0722_web.pdf

                               CROWN PRINCE IN FRANCE T he Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Bin Salman, has held his second leg of his European tour in France, with the aim of strengthening relations and reiterating his country's desire to strengthen ties with the outside world, both politically as well as in economics, with special interest in the current energy crisis, caused by the war in Ukraine. The Prince and his delegation held a working dinner offered by President Emanuel Macron, who pointed out the importance of Saudi Arabia, both in the Middle East and in the rest of the world. MBS reiterated that he bears no personal responsibility in the murder of the opposition journalist, Khashoggi, and that the culprits have been tried and convicted. The French government has indicated that due to the crisis unleashed by Russia's aggression against Ukraine, it is "absolutely essential" to deal with its co...

Mohammed bin Salman in Greece and France Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  began a two-day official visit to Greece on Tuesday before a stopover in France. Mohammed ben Salmane, known as MBS, must discuss with "the leaders of Greece and France the bilateral relations and the means of strengthening them in various fields", wrote the official agency SPA, quoting a press release from the royal court. Accompanied by three ministers and a large delegation of entrepreneurs, MBS arrived in Athens on Tuesday evening and met with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mistotakis, before signing agreements on maritime transport, energy , defense technologies, waste management and culture. "Relations between the two countries are historic and we will have the opportunity to finalize" a series of bilateral projects, MBS said at the start of his meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Among them is the installation of an electric cable that will connect Saudi Arabia to Greece and wi...

                     FRANCE – ARAB EMIRATES: CLOSE RELATIONSHIP France and the United Arab Emirates have consolidated their relations, particularly in the field of energy, during the visit made to Paris by the new Emirati president, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed. Both countries have signed an agreement to cooperate in the energy sector. This Comprehensive Strategic Energy Association (CSEP) aims to identify joint investment projects in France, the Emirates or third countries in the hydrogen, renewable and nuclear energy sectors. These agreements demonstrate Abu Dhabi's interest and commitment to closer energy ties with Europe. "The Emirates wishes to support energy security in the world in general and in France in particular," said Sheikh Bin Zayed.

                                             MOROCCO: COMPLICITY WITH ISRAEL Morocco continues to take a radical turn in its new relations with Israel, forgetting and turning its back on the Palestinian conflict and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Now the only thing that interests the Kingdom of Mohamed VI is complicity with Israel in all sectors, particularly Defense and Intelligence. Morocco has sold her soul to the Devil, no doubt to appear as the power of the Maghreb to the detriment of Algeria. A goal that you will not achieve no matter how hard you try. This Monday the chief of the General Staff of the armed forces of the Jewish state, General Aviv Kochavi, arrived in Rabat; It is the first time that such a high-ranking Israeli military officer has visited an Arab country. During his three-day trip, Aviv Kochavi, former head of military intelligence,...

                                SAUDI ARABIA-USA: STRENGTHENED RELATIONS Relations between the two powers have been strengthened after the meetings of the American president, Joe Biden, with the Saudi king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman. The two parties understand that in order to preserve peace in the Middle East, defend the solution of the Palestinian problem based on two independent states, and sustain the take-off of the world economy, an understanding between Riyadh and Washington is absolutely necessary. The crown prince has reiterated that he had nothing to do personally with the death of the Saudi journalist, Khashoggi, and Biden has taken this into account, in order to conclude this unfortunate matter. The important thing, both for Mohamed bin Salman and for Biden, is that both countries cooperate in a coordinated manner in favor of a sustained world economy,...

  President Joe Biden arrived in Saudi Arabia today and held a first meeting with Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman. Biden will also be received by the king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It is hoped that this visit will serve to strengthen the ties that unite the two countries, in defense of their interests and world peace. This is the wish of the leaders of the Kingdom, which also vigorously defends the rights of the Palestinian people and does not maintain official relations with Israel.

                                  ALGERIA: 60 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE Algeria celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence on Tuesday with the largest military parade since 1962, a key date that marked its break with the former French colonial power. Along the avenue that borders the Mediterranean, for more than an hour, the most modern weapons on land, sea and air could be observed. More than 98 percent are of Russian origin, the main supplier of its armed forces, with the rest being of Chinese, Arab Emirates and French origin. The highlight were the different armored vehicles, including the T-80 that are among the most prominent of the Russian forces. Missile launchers, rocket launchers and T-400s from the anti-missile range followed, as advanced as the American Patriots. In the maritime range, the six submarines owned by the fleet were exhibited; a group of missile frigates; corvettes and coasta...

  US says Israeli military gunfire likely responsible for Shireen Abu Akleh's death  An examination of   the bullet that killed   Al Jazeera correspondent and Palestinian-American citizen Shireen Abu Akleh "could not reach a definitive conclusion" regarding its origin, due to the condition of the bullet, but the US Security Coordinator has "concluded that gunfire from [Israel Defense Forces] positions was likely responsible" for her death, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement Monday. Price said that conclusion on the likely responsibility for the killing came "by summarizing both" the IDF and Palestinian Authority investigations -- probes to which the US Security Coordinator was granted "full access" over the past several weeks. The Security Coordinator, Price said, "found no reason to believe that this was intentional but rather the result of tragic circumstances during an IDF-led  military operation against facti...