Here is a recap of Al Jazeera’s Middle East coverage this week.
Iran executes two more prisoners, Israel’s far-right government orders the Palestinian flag to be removed and Saudi Arabia announces Hajj numbers will be at pre-pandemic levels. Here is your summary, written by Abubakr Al-Shamahi, Middle East and North Africa Editor at Al Jazeera Digital.
Mohammad Mehdi Karami’s father did what he could and asked the Iranian authorities to spare his son’s life. It didn’t help. Instead, they hanged the 22-year-old along with another man, Mohammad Hosseini, on Saturday. Both had been found guilty of killing a member of Iran’s paramilitary forces during nationwide anti-government protests. This despite claims that their confessions were extracted through torture. Amnesty International described their trial as a “sham”.
On Monday, reports that two more men were about to be executed drove protesters into the prison where they were being held. Among them was the mother of one of the men who says her son has a history of mental illness and should be spared.
Officials in Iran have so far chosen to ignore calls from Western countries to halt executions in what a UN human rights lawyer has described as “arming criminal justice”, which amounts to “state-sanctioned killing”.
[READ: Ex-Iranian official sentenced to death for espionage]
Palestinian flag an act of “terrorism”
Israel’s new far-right government has begun what it intends to do next. Recently announced measures include weakening the judiciary, withholding tax revenue for the Palestinian Authority, halting Palestinian construction in the 60 percent of the occupied West Bank known as Zone C, and imposing further restrictions on Palestinian officials traveling abroad .
Palestinians and left-wing Israelis responded with a protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday, but that only led to further restrictions when displaying the Palestinian flag so enraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he tweeted it was “wild incitement.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir must have been listening because he went on to order the police to order the removal of the Palestinian flags, calling their display an act of “terrorism”.
“We are only going into a dictatorship for the sake of one person.”
Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to expand illegal settlements and weaken the Supreme Court have been met with protests as thousands of people took to the streets ⤵️
🔗: https://t.co/R908XheQut pic.twitter.com/gk52QYZcWy
– Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 8, 2023
The government is now getting used to a term full of seditious decisions that will likely push the prospect of a two-state solution with the Palestinians even further into the distance. The natural question that arises from all of this is what will the reaction be in the occupied West Bank? Our correspondent in Ramallah, Zena Al Tahhan, has an answer, stating that the likelihood that the situation on the ground will lead to a broader insurgency is increasing.
Hajj after the pandemic
Saudi Arabia has announced that the number of pilgrims at this year’s Hajj in late June is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. Since 2020, authorities have severely restricted the number of pilgrims to stop the spread of COVID-19, but now they expect almost 2.4 million participants.
And now for something else
If you haven’t heard of deq, neither have I, so it looks like we’re all here to learn together. In Turkey, a deq is a traditional Kurdish tattoo similar to that found in the Middle East and North Africa. The old craft is dying out among the Kurds there, as in the rest of the region, so Jaclynn tracked down Ashly Fatê Temel, one of the few young tattoo artists left in Diyarbakir. She explains how each tattoo has a meaning that connects the Kurdish people to “a past that will be forgotten”.
Fatê Temel tries to bring back the traditional Deq tattoo [Jaclynn Ashly/Al Jazeera]
Briefly
Egypt thwarts plan to steal 10-ton statue of Ramses II – Gas leaks from malfunctioning household heaters kill nearly 20 in Algeria – US Navy says thousands of Iranian assault rifles seized for Yemen – Egyptian pound has halved since March lost value – Qatar seeks to bolster its stock market to diversify economy – Ronaldo takes on Messi’s PSG in Saudi Arabia – UN Security Council extends aid to northern Syria by six months – Sweden says it can meet Turkey’s demands Failing to meet NATO membership Amid economic crises, Pakistan’s new army chief visits Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates At least five dead as boat carrying migrants and refugees capsizes off coast of Tunisia Former Human Rights Watch head denies Harvard fellowship over ‘ Israel Bias” – World’s “Most Wanted People Smuggler” Arrested in Sudan
Iraq and the Gulf Cup
It has been more than 40 years since Iraq has hosted a global sporting event. During that time, people there have faced wars, political unrest, isolation, and the rise and fall of ISIL (ISIS). But one could say that the Iraqis did their best this week when they hosted the Arabian Gulf Cup, a football tournament that, along with Iraq, also brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Yemen participate. Journalist and filmmaker Ahmed Twaij says the Gulf Cup gives the region an opportunity to unite behind Iraq and help the country “heal its recent wounds,” much like the Arab world joined forces to help Morocco at its recent to support the World Cup in Qatar.
[READ: Iraq’s ‘Arabian Gulf Cup’ tournament name sparks anger in Iran]
quote of the week
“Neither I nor any other media professional dare speak openly about the Houthis in a similar way [YouTuber Ahmed] Hajar did. We understand the consequences: arrest, imprisonment or death.” — Mohammed, a journalist in Sana’a, after the Houthi rebel group that controls the Yemeni capital arrested three of the country’s most prominent YouTubers for criticizing the group’s policies, further restricting the space for freedom of expression.