The Gulf states have said their complaint with the streaming service is about content that violates social norms, but Saudi Arabia in the past has also asked for politically sensitive content to be removed. In 2019, Netflix obliged the kingdom by removing an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” that mocked the kingdom. Netflix at the time defended its decision as a response to a “valid legal request,” adding that it nevertheless “strongly supports artistic freedom,” according to the Financial Times. Netflix did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Censorship was not uncommon in Arab countries when television viewing was dominated by state-run channels. The arrival of streaming television, however, eroded the ability of governments to police content and heralded an era of Arab television production outside the purview of censors that has often sparked controversy over breaking social taboos.
According to Joseph Fahim, an Egyptian film critic, the impact of streaming services in the Middle East has been similar to that of satellite television several decades ago, when television viewing was diverted from terrestrial channels that showed government-approved content. “There was a lot more freedom in that content,” he told CNN.
Other global media companies have been less receptive to calls from Gulf Arab states to restrict content that does not fit their social standards. American film studios that previously complied with Arab censors’ requests for cuts in their films have recently refused to do so, resulting in these films being banned in Arab countries.
Netflix operates in an increasingly crowded streaming market in the Middle East. Its rivals include Disney+, which launched regionally in June, as well as regional services such as OSN+, Shahid and Starz Play.
Fahim suggested that competition may also be an incentive to turn up the heat on Netflix. It sends the message “that if you want to create a decent, acceptable and widely shared experience, you have to go to regional streamers,” he told CNN. “It’s almost like this statement is waging war against Netflix.”
The Middle East streaming market, while relatively small for companies like Netflix, is on a growth trend. Digital TV Research predicts that paying subscribers to streaming services in the region will more than double to 21.5 million between 2021 and 2027, with Netflix leading the market.

Digestion

Turkey’s Erdogan says West’s ‘provocative’ policies towards Russia wrong Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he did not believe the West’s “provocative” policies towards Russia were right after the European Union proposed a price cap on Russian natural gas, Reuters reported.

Background: President Vladimir Putin had earlier threatened to halt all supplies if the EU took such a step, raising the risk of sanctions in some of the world’s richest countries this winter. Separately, Putin said on Wednesday that isolating Russia would be “impossible and Moscow will look for business opportunities in the Middle East.

Why it matters: The war in Ukraine has left Turkey juggling relations between NATO allies and neighboring Russia. Turkey has not imposed sanctions on Russia, but has called for an end to the war and has sold drones to Ukraine.

OPEC agrees to cut production after oil price plunge OPEC said on Monday it would cut oil output next month by 100,000 barrels a day, the cartel’s first production cut since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it prepares for a global economic slowdown to hit demand.

Background: Just a month ago, OPEC and allied oil exporters agreed to raise output in September by the same small amount — equivalent to about 0.1 percent of global demand — after coming under intense pressure from the United States and others major oil consumers to do more to reduce energy prices and inflation. In August, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg News that recent oil market “volatility” may force OPEC+ to cut production.

Why it matters: A more than 20 percent drop in global oil prices since early June has focused producers on the risk that a sharp economic slowdown in China, the U.S. and Europe will reduce demand for their crude. Analysts are calling the oil cut “symbolic”, with one expert saying the alliance “sends a message to the market that OPEC+ is serious about cuts”.

Palestinian killed, 16 injured by Israeli troops in Jenin demolition operation One Palestinian was killed and 16 others were wounded in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

Background: The Israel Defense Forces were in Jenin “to demolish the residence of the terrorist who killed three people in a fatal shooting attack in Tel Aviv on the night of April 7, 2022,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that “violent riot’ during the operation. “The rioters burned tires, threw stones, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices at the forces, who responded with riot gear,” the IDF said. The 16 wounded Palestinians were injured by bullets and shrapnel, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and all were taken to Jenin Hospital. The ministry identified the dead man as 29-year-old Mohammad Sabaaneh.

Why it matters: The clashes took place in the same West Bank town where Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during an IDF raid in May. The IDF admitted for the first time on Monday that there was a “high probability” that its troops fired the fatal shot. A senior IDF official said the soldier thought he was shooting at Palestinian fighters — although Abu Akleh was wearing a jacket marked Press — and that the soldier was “sorry.” Israel’s military prosecutor said it would not pursue criminal charges against the soldier, who was not named.

Around the area

Residents of Istanbul have expressed their anger on social media amid rumors that one of the ancient city’s historic icons has been quietly demolished by the government. The Maiden’s Tower, known as the pearl of the Bosphorus, has been closed and tarpaulined for a year due to restoration work. The controversy began when a video posted on Twitter suggested the tower had been demolished. In the video, ships can be seen passing behind the tower through holes in the tarpaulins, giving the impression that there is no structure in place of the tower.
The Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums in Turkey responded by saying that the building’s concrete components and conical part added after a fire in 1940 were removed “following the principles of universal protection” in order to increase its earthquake resistance.
He also shared a rendering of what the tower would look like when the restoration is complete in 2023, more than a year later than originally planned. Once the restoration is complete, the building that housed a restaurant until recently will function as a museum, he said.
There are many legends about the origin of the tower. The most famous is about the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, who, having been warned by a soothsayer that his daughter would die of a snakebite, built the tower on the Bosphorus and locked her there to protect her. Legend has it that a snake hidden in one of the fruit baskets the emperor sent his daughter eventually took her life. By Isil Sariyuce

Time capsule

This week marks 50 years since Palestinian fighters from the Black September group took members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage during the 1972 Munich Games in an attack that became known as the Munich massacre.
Eight gunmen stormed the Olympic village of the western German city and held members of the Israeli team hostage in their apartment. A coach and an athlete were killed in the first moments of the attack. Nine were taken hostage.
The group marked the release of the hostages with the release of more than 200 prisoners in Israeli and West German prisons. The then prime minister of Israel refused. In a failed rescue attempt by West German police, all the Israeli hostages were killed by the militants. Five of the militants were also killed by the police. Three were later caught.
In the following days, Israel responded by launching airstrikes in Syria and Lebanon on the bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was associated with Black September. Israel is said to have killed up to 200 people in the operation, including dozens of militants, but also innocent civilians and children.
The following month, Palestinian militants seized a German plane, demanding the release of the three surviving terrorists. Germany complied and they were released.
Security costs were 50 times higher at the subsequent 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada. Israel launched Operation Wrath of God to kill those involved in…