Your regional news round-up

• Pope Leo XIV has used his Christmas sermon to condemn conditions in Gaza, where Palestinians are living in flimsy tents in freezing conditions. Leo, the first US-born Pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had “pitched his fragile tent” among the people of the ‌world.
• More than 100 suspected ISIS members believed to have been planning attacks during the Christmas and New Year season have been arrested in Turkey, authorities said. Police arrested 115 ⁠of 137 suspects in a series of raids ⁠across ‌Istanbul and seized pistols and ammunition.
• Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said diplomatic efforts had helped to keep Lebanon away from war, despite Israeli attacks that killed at least three people on Thursday. The President was speaking after media reports indicated Israel was considering an escalation in Lebanon, citing what it has described as a lack of willingness to disarm Hezbollah.
• Saudi Arabia warned that recent military movements in Yemeni provinces by the Southern Transitional Council harm the interests of both the southern cause and the wider nation.
• Israeli authorities announced the arrest of an Israeli man on suspicion of committing security offences under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents, days after Tehran executed an Iranian accused of spying for Israel.

Other developments

• Authorities in Lebanon are investigating the case of a man who allegedly posed as a Saudi prince to extract money from Lebanese officials in exchange for acting as an intermediary with Riyadh, security sources told The National.
• Syria will begin releasing new banknotes on January 1 to replace currency issued under the former Assad regime, the central bank governor announced. Abdulkader Husrieh said the exchange of old notes for new ones would be "smooth and organised, and its mechanism will be explained clearly and transparently".
• Sudanese Armed Forces chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the latest in a series of foreign visits by the de facto Sudanese leader amid mounting calls for a ceasefire in the civil war that has ravaged the country.
• Electricity supply ⁠across ​Kurdistan dropped by ​1,000 megawatts ‌due to a "technical ​issue” at Khor Mor gas field, ‌one of the ‍largest ‍in the ⁠Kurdish region, the Kurdish Ministry of Electricity said.
• Israeli security forces announced the arrest of five Israeli settlers over their alleged involvement in an attack on a Palestinian home that injured a baby girl in the occupied West Bank.

More goings-on

• Algeria's parliament has unanimously approved a law declaring France's 132-year colonial occupation a crime, demanding an apology and reparations. Lawmakers wearing scarves in the colours of the national flag rose to their feet and chanted “long live Algeria” as they applauded the progress of the bill, which states that France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused”.
• President Sheikh Mohamed wished everyone celebrating in the UAE and around the world a Merry Christmas. Sheikh Mohamed delivered an optimistic message on social media on Christmas Day, calling for people to find peace, joy, and harmony during the festive season.
• Iraq ​exported 106.5 ‌million barrels ​of oil in ‌November, ‍down ‍from ⁠110.9 million barrels in October, data from ⁠the ​country's ‍oil marketer ⁠SOMO ‌showed.
• Lebanese depositors face high uncertainty and a long wait in recovering their money from banks, despite a draft law aimed at gradually ​repaying customers' funds frozen in the banking system since the 2019 financial meltdown, experts told The National. Full story here.

Happening today

• Gaza mediators continue talks on second phase of ceasefire agreement

Top picks from The National

Dispatch: ‘Huge returns’ draw smugglers to rugged Syria-Lebanon border

Comment:'Treedom for Palestine' is fighting the good fight, one olive tree at a time

Opinion: Young, worldly and confident - how Iraq's middle class will shape the country's future

This newsletter was compiled by Mohamad Ali Harisi, Foreign Editor.

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