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Israel closes Palestinian rights groups it labeled terrorist

Israel raided the offices of several Palestinian advocacy groups it had previously designated as terrorist organizations, sealing entrance doors and leaving notices declaring them closed, the groups said Thursday.

Israel has claimed some of these groups had ties to the militant Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-wing movement with a political party as well as an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. The groups deny Israel's claim.

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Israel says will restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Wednesday his government will restore full diplomatic ties with Turkey, following years of strained relations between the Mediterranean nations.

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Egypt says central bank governor resigns amid economic woes

Egypt's central bank governor resigned Wednesday as the country struggles to address its economic woes.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi accepted the resignation of Tarek Amer and named him a presidential adviser, the Egyptian leader' office said in a statement.

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Syria denies it is holding American journalist Austin Tice

Syria denied on Wednesday it is holding U.S. journalist Austin Tice or other Americans after President Joe Biden accused the Syrian government of detaining him.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Damascus "denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories."

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Reports: Israel carried out Gaza strike that killed 5 minors

A Palestinian human rights group and an Israeli newspaper have reported that an explosion in a cemetery that killed five Palestinian children during the latest flare-up in Gaza was caused by an Israeli airstrike and not an errant Palestinian rocket.

It was one of a number of blasts during the fighting that did not bear the tell-tale signs of an Israeli F-16 or drone strike, and which the Israeli military said might have been caused by rockets misfired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.

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Abbas skirts apology for Munich attack, accuses Israel of '50 Holocausts' against Palestinians

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed no regret for the deadly attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics a half century ago, countering that Israel had committed "50 Holocausts" against Palestinians over the years.

Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer died after members of the Palestinian militant group Black September took hostages at the Olympic Village on Sept. 5, 1972. At the time of the attack, the group was linked to Abbas' Fatah party.

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Iraq's finance minister resigns of political crisis

Iraq's finance minister resigned Tuesday, two government officials said, over the country's worst political crisis in years involving an influential Shiite cleric and his Iran-aligned rivals.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Finance Minister Ali Allawi resigned during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday to protest the political conditions. They said Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar will become acting finance minister.

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Libyan police detain dozens of migrants in fresh crackdown

Authorities in western Libya said they have rounded up dozens of migrants in the capital of Tripoli, in the latest crackdown on migrants in the conflict-ridden country.

Security forces raided migrant dwellings in Tripoli's Airport Road area and detained "many" migrants, according to a police statement.

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Palestinian hunger striker to appeal to Israel's high court

The lawyer for a Palestinian prisoner said Tuesday that his client will appeal his case to Israel's Supreme Court as he continues what his family says is a 165-day hunger strike against his detention.

Also Tuesday, an Israeli military court extended the sentence for a second Palestinian prisoner by six days.

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Safety concerns after deadly fire rips through Egypt church

Egypt has been in mourning over a blaze at a Coptic Orthodox church that killed 41 people, but many also raised questions about the emergency response, fire safety codes, and restrictions on building houses of worship for the country's Christian minority.

Neighborhood residents expressed shock over the fire Sunday, one of Egypt's deadliest in recent years, that killed 41 members of the congregation, including at least 15 children.

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