CNN Meanwhile In The Middle East , July 19, 2023 : Tunisia's president now getting a billion euros from Europe, US orders deployment of fighter jets and Navy destroyer to Middle East

- Tunisia's president now getting a billion euros from Europe

- US orders deployment of fighter jets and Navy destroyer to Middle East

- Israel recognizes sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara  

- White House says Biden and Netanyahu will ‘probably’ meet this year 

July 19, 2023   Tunisia's president is accused of racism and dictatorship. He's now getting a billion euros from Europe   Ivana Kottasova

Tunisia's President Kais Saied, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte shake hands during the signing of a "strategic partnership" agreement between Tunisia and EU, in Tunis, Tunisia on Sunday. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Reuters)   The European Union signed a major deal with Tunisia on Sunday, promising the North African country as much as €1 billion ($1.12 bn) in investment, financial aid and loans in exchange for curbs on migrants leaving its shores for Europe.    The deal is a major boost for Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, an increasingly authoritarian leader who has spent the past few years dismantling the country’s democracy -- a decade after a revolution there toppled a longtime dictator and sparked a region-wide rebellion against autocracy.     Tunisia had previously been described as the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab Spring movement.    “Since 2011, the European Union has been supporting Tunisia’s journey of democracy,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing the agreement. “It is a long, sometimes difficult road. But these difficulties can be overcome.”    Several European lawmakers and human rights organizations have warned that any agreement that doesn’t include human rights assurances would be seen as an endorsement of Saied’s anti-democratic policies.     “In short, we are doing a deal with a dictator who is cruel and unreliable,” Dutch Member of the European Parliament Sophie in 't Veld said at a meeting of the body's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Tuesday.     That the EU signed it anyway is a testament to how desperate some European leaders have become to curb migration, analysts say.     “This is an agreement with a leader who is showing increasingly authoritarian tendencies,” Camille Le Coz, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Brussels, told CNN. “The priority is given to fixing the problem in the short term, and curbing arrivals. Values lose.”     Saied rose to power in 2019 after the death of Tunisia’s first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi. Running as an independent, he won a landslide victory after positioning himself as a political newcomer standing up to a corrupt elite.     But democratic ideals were pushed aside in 2021, when the president embarked on a major power grab at the height of the Covid-19 crisis. He ousted the government, dissolved parliament, and began ruling by decree.   Since then, he has cracked down on freedom of the press and judicial independence, even appointing himself as attorney general. Last year, he forced through a new constitution that cemented his one-man rule and dissolved any last hopes for a democratic government. He has also been accused of being responsible for the wave of anti-Black racism in the country amid an influx of migrants.    But Tunisia’s descent into authoritarianism was not on the agenda during the high-profile European visit over the weekend and journalists were not allowed to ask questions during the event.    Instead, Saied was all smiles while posing for photos alongside von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after signing the agreement.    Rutte’s presence was particularly striking. Just days before the trip to Tunis, he announced that he would be leaving Dutch politics after his government collapsed over migration policy.     A spokesperson for the European Commission told CNN the agreement signed with Tunisia “focused on macro-economic stability, trade and investment, green energy transition, people-to people contacts, and migration” and that the EU is addressing human rights issues in Tunisia through other channels.    Vague agreement    Around 100,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe so far this year, most of them arriving in Italy, according to the UN Refugee Agency.     Many made the dangerous journey on small boats operated by people smugglers who have little regard for safety. Since 2015, more than 23,000 people have either died or gone missing while trying to reach Europe, according to the UN.     It remains uncertain whether the deal with Tunisia could actually lead to a meaningful result.    For one, the pact remains vague. While von der Leyen promised last month the agreement would be worth as much €1 billion in financial aid and loans, the text doesn’t mention that figure.      “The agreement that has been published is almost entirely numberless, and it is extremely broad and unspecific, despite the fact that it is covering a lot of topics where the devil really is in the details,” Max Gallien, a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in the UK, told CNN.     To dispense a substantial amount of money to Tunisia, the European Commission would also need to get support from the European Parliament and the European Council, which is made up of representatives of all EU member states.     That could be tricky. The parliament has repeatedly criticized the Tunisian leader, even adopting a resolution in March to express concern about what it called “President Saied’s authoritarian drift” and his “racist discourse against sub-Saharan migrants.”     ‘Destruction of democracy’    Gallien said that the lack of exact commitments in the text of the agreement means the deal is mostly symbolic.     “It is designed to show progress, to signal that they're working together on these issues, because both sides have domestic audiences that have an interest in this, but I think it is very doubtful or very unclear at this point how much will come out of it,” he said.     But signals matter, critics say. The EU is cooperating with Tunisia on migration despite serious allegations of human rights abuses against migrants on Tunisia’s part. Tunisian forces have been accused of arbitrary detentions and inhuman treatment of migrants. And Saied himself has stoked tensions by describing migration into Tunisia from other parts of Africa as a “criminal enterprise hatched at the beginning of this century to change the demographic composition of Tunisia.”     The Tunisian government didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.    Tunisia’s democracy was not perfect, Gallien said, but “it did have a genuine attempt at developing democratic institutions.”     “This is a genuine destruction of something that has been built and consequently a narrowing of the options of a country of over 10 million people,” he added. “So, I think that is that is one reason we should be very concerned.”

The digest US orders deployment of fighter jets and Navy destroyer to Middle East in response to Iranian activities    US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered F-35 and F-16 fighter jets to be deployed to the Middle East, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, in response to Iranian activities in the Strait of Hormuz. The deployments come after two incidents earlier this month in which Iranian Navy ships attempted to seize merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.  Background: The US Navy intervened in both incidents, which took place separately on July 5. In one instance, in which an Iranian vessel was approaching the Richmond Voyager oil tanker, Iranian personnel opened fire on the tanker and hit the ship near the crew’s living spaces. Last week, a senior defense official said that US air and maritime forces are working together to continue monitoring the waterway, recently starting to fly A-10 attack aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz. The A-10s were deployed in late March. The US also bolstered its forces in the Middle East in May after destabilizing actions from Iran in the Persian Gulf.  Why it matters: Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf – through which a fifth of the world's oil passes – has become the focus for a standoff between Iran and the US. Several foreign vessels have been detained by Iran in the past few years, and others have faced sabotage.  Read the full article here.    Israel recognizes sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara     Israel announced that it recognizes the sovereignty of Morocco "over the territory of Western Sahara,” according to a statement from the Royal Office of Morocco released on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote a letter to Moroccan King Mohammed VI stating Israel’s decision, according to the statement. According to Moroccan state news, Netanyahu expressed in his letter to the king his intent to convey this recognition to the United Nations, regional and international organizations, as well as all countries with diplomatic ties to Israel. Netanyahu also informed the king that Israel is “examining” the possibility of opening a consulate in the city of Dakhla in the disputed territory of Western Sahara “as part of the implementation of this state decision,” according to the statement.  Background: Morocco wants recognition of its sovereignty over the long-disputed territory of Western Sahara, where the largely Sahrawi population has fought for self-determination for four decades under the banner of the Polisario Front. Much of the international community, including the United Nations and European Union, regards Morocco’s claim on the area as illegal.   Why it matters: Tensions between Israel and Morocco have flared a few times in the past few weeks. Morocco has postponed plans to hold another round of the Negev Summit, a meeting of foreign ministers of Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, and the United States, in protest at Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank. "This step will strengthen the relations between the countries and between the peoples and the continuation of cooperation to deepen regional peace and stability," tweeted Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Monday.   White House says Biden and Netanyahu will ‘probably’ meet this year    US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “probably” meet before year’s end, the White House says, a step toward easing what had been a strained relationship but still short of the full-blown Oval Office invitation Netanyahu has long sought. “All the details of the wheres and the whens are still being worked out,” said John Kirby, the strategic communications director at the US National Security Council, following a phone call between the two leaders. He said later the meeting would occur in the autumn in the United States.  Background: Earlier, Netanyahu’s office said Biden invited the prime minister to meet in the United States. The lack of a White House invite has angered Netanyahu, who returned to office in December after previously serving as prime minister for more than a decade. Tensions between Biden and Netanyahu’s right-wing government have persisted for months, in part over contentious judicial reforms and what Biden regards as extremist positions taken by members of Netanyahu’s government. Israel’s moves to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank have also drawn US criticism.  Why it matters: Biden welcomed Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the White House Tuesday, hailing the relationship between the two countries as “simply unbreakable.”  Welcoming Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, provides Biden an opportunity to demonstrate his pro-Israel credentials, even as he continues to harbor deep concerns about Netanyahu’s leadership. Biden himself has said on multiple occasions over the past few months that he didn’t foresee inviting Netanyahu to Washington anytime soon.  Read the full article here.

Around the region Over a decade after Arab Spring protests toppled governments in the Middle East and North Africa, more than half of Arab youth still believe their opinion doesn’t affect policymaking, according to a new survey.    The proportion of youth across North Africa, the Levant, and the Gulf who believe that their “voice matters” to their leaders dropped 19 points between 2022 and 2023 to 54%, according to the ASDA’A BCW’s Arab Youth Survey that was released on Tuesday.     The pessimism is particularly pervasive in North Africa and Levant, where only one-third of youth think they have a voice in government affairs. In the Gulf states, youth confidence in being heard was at 78%, with 87% saying their government has the right policies to address their most important concerns.    “It is no small matter that the (Gulf) nations are economically stronger, oil-producing nations, while the countries in North Africa and Levant […] are conflict-ridden and only recovering from long years of a ravaging war,” Sunil John, founder of ASDA’A BCW, said in the press release on July 18.    Seventy-nine percent of youth in the Gulf states believe strongly in the government’s ability to ensure economic stability. The region has an average GDP per capita of $36,527, three times the global average. In North Africa and the Levant, where the per capita GDP is around 10% of the Gulf, around one-third of youth have confidence in the government’s ability to ensure economic stability.     The Gulf region is made up mostly of absolute monarchies where power is concentrated with ruling families, and where freedom of expression is limited compared to their North African and Levantine counterparts. According to a 2023 survey by think tank Freedom House, the Gulf region ranks significantly lower than the Levant and North Africa when scored on personal and political liberties.    By Aimee Look

Photo of the day Shiite Muslim devotees gather during the flag-changing ceremony at the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Iraq's central shrine city of Karbala on Tuesday, on the first night of the Muslim month of Muharram and the first day of the Islamic New Year. (Mohammed Sawaf / AFP via Getty Images)