King Salman turns new page on ties with Russia

Arab News

October 3, 2017

Jeddah, Oct 3: A new page will be turned in relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia on Thursday when King Salman arrives in Moscow for a historic visit.

The visit, the first to Russia by a reigning Saudi monarch, will boost already solid ties between the two countries, with shared interests in security, energy and trade.

King Salman is also expected to have talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on resolving the conflict in Syria.

“We are awaiting the king’s visit on Thursday,” senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Monday. King Salman will lead a high-powered delegation of government and private-sector figures, reflecting the importance of the visit to Moscow, which regards Riyadh as a potential source of investment to help Russia weather the economic sanctions imposed by the West.

During previous visits by Saudi officials, Riyadh pledged to invest $10 billion in the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

The Kingdom will also be looking to enhance its food and water security by investing in Russian land to boost its strategic reserves, benefiting from Russia’s relative political and economic stagnation.

Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said Saudi Arabia played a major role in Arab affairs and relations between Arab countries, and was a leader in the Arab world.

Russia would be seeking to bolster dialogue, he said, with discussions on the situation in the Middle East, and in Syria in particular.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a frequent visitor to Russia, met President Putin at the Kremlin in May, when they agreed to enhance cooperation on oil and energy, and to narrow the gap between them on the Syrian conflict.

There is optimism that King Salman’s visit comes at at the right time, as the MENA region undergoes critical and significant changes.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are also major oil producers, who have joined with other countries to reduce output and reduce the glut of oil supplies, pushing the price to about $55 per barrel.

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Israel launches bloody ground offensive into Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp

News Network

May 12,2024

Israeli military tanks have started to go deeper into the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza as part of a ground offensive months after claiming Hamas had been “dismantled” in the area.

Israeli forces are “carpet-bombing” the eastern areas of Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several Palestinians, Al-Jazeara reported citing local sources on Sunday.

Israeli military tanks have advanced further into the Jabalia refugee camp, crossing Salah al-Din Street amidst ongoing battles with Hamas fighters, reports added.

Media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the tanks are surrounding evacuation centers and residential buildings in the densely populated area, leading to mass evacuations and displacement towards the western part of Gaza City.

Also, Israeli drones targeted ambulances near the clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jabalia, according to Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the civil defense directorate in Gaza.

Basal stated that emergency crews in Rafah, al-Zaytounm, al-Sabra, and Jabalia have been inundated with distress calls, confirming that these areas were subjected to overnight bombardment.

Shortage of oxygen for patients

Imad Abu Zayda, an emergency doctor in Jabalia, warned of the critical conditions prevailing there due to the recent Israeli aggression in the area.

“No light due to the lack of fuel and there’s no medical supplement available as Israel has expanded their operation in the area. We have no oxygen to give to patients,” he said.

He added that the majority of those injured are children and women, and the medical team is grappling with limited resources to provide essential care.

All hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service, following a warning from the UN about the risk of running out of fuel in hospitals across the region.

Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing has also prevented aid trucks from entering the area since May 5.

The Jabalia refugee camp, established in 1948 to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced after the Nakba, or catastrophe, which refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, has become the most densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

With over 750,000 Palestinians forcefully displaced, this camp stands as a testament to the birth of Israel in 1948.

Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israeli forces carried out several attacks on Jabilia camp, leaving it in ruins by intense bombardment.

In early February, Israeli forces withdrew from the camp claiming it had destroyed Hamas as a fighting force in the northern areas.

On Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of the Jabalia Refugee Camp to evacuate “immediately”, as it prepares to launch military operations against Hamas.

However, the displaced residents have no place to seek refuge, as the UN reports a severe famine in the region.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 34,971 Palestinians and injured more than 78,641 others, mostly women and children.

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