Russian, Egyptian ministers reiterate need to establish Palestinian state

Special Russian, Egyptian ministers reiterate need to establish Palestinian state
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to hold a press conference following their talks in Moscow, on September 16, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 17 September 2024
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Russian, Egyptian ministers reiterate need to establish Palestinian state

Russian, Egyptian ministers reiterate need to establish Palestinian state
  • Badr Abdelatty and Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on the Israeli aggression against the occupied Palestinian territories
  • Two ministers discussed the Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone

CAIRO: The foreign ministers of Egypt and Russia reiterated the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian territory, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

They also agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and unconditional humanitarian aid access.

Badr Abdelatty, who was in Moscow on Monday, and Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on the Israeli aggression against the occupied Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The two men held an expanded consultation session, followed by a joint press conference.

Abdelatty emphasized the need for bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially in the sectors of energy, food security, tourism, transport and logistics, “which contribute to advancing economic and trade relations between the two countries … especially with Egypt’s accession to the BRICS membership.”

The two ministers discussed the developments of important projects being implemented, most notably the Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Abdelatty and Lavrov also touched on the situations in Syria, Sudan and Libya, in addition to the need to achieve security in the Red Sea and ensure freedom of maritime navigation in this vital region of the world.

He emphasized the importance of Somali sovereignty over its territories, and condemned any action that undermines its unity.

Regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Abdelatty emphasized the importance of Egypt’s water security and the need to reach a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the dam, and rejecting any unilateral measures.

The dam is on the Blue Nile tributary in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85 percent of the Nile’s waters flow. Egypt, with a population of about 107 million people, relies on the River Nile for nearly all its fresh water, which is vital for household and agricultural use.


Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’
Updated 6 sec ago
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Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’

Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday vowed to keep up the fight against Israeli “aggression,” on the anniversary of its militant group ally Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese have paid a “heavy price” for the Iran-backed group’s decision to open a “support front” for Gaza on October 8, but “we are confident... in the ability of our resistance to oppose the Israeli aggression,” it said in a statement, calling Israel a “cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal
Updated 3 min 31 sec ago
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“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal

DUBAI: Hamas’ former leader Khaled Mashaal said what is happening in Gaza is a “holocaust” in a speech he delivered on Monday morning. 

Mashaal said the Oct. 7. attacks happened because all political horizons were closed and has achieved "strategic results" since. 

He thanked Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran for supporting Hamas and called on Arab countries to provide financial support to Gaza.

Mashaal said Israel opened the war front in Lebanon after failing to achieve its goals in Gaza and claimed that Israel is conspiring against Jordan and Egypt.

“Israel is defeated although it has achieved accomplishments against Iran and Hezbollah,” added Mashaal.

Mashaal concluded by asking the people of Gaza not to despair and promises them victory soon.


Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is poised to win a second term after cracking down on the opposition

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is poised to win a second term after cracking down on the opposition
Updated 27 min ago
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Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is poised to win a second term after cracking down on the opposition

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied is poised to win a second term after cracking down on the opposition
  • “We’re going to cleanse the country of all the corrupt and schemers,” Saied said

TUNIS:Tunisia’s incumbent president said he would wait for official results before declaring victory while acknowledge exit polls showing him winning by a landslide in an election Sunday marred by earlier arrests of his opponents.
President Kais Saied’s supporters jubilantly honked and celebrated after voting ended and public television broadcast images of the president pledging to pursue traitors and those acting against Tunisia, much like he has throughout his tenure.
“We’re going to cleanse the country of all the corrupt and schemers,” Saied said at his campaign headquarters.
Tunisia’s public television broadcast exit polls from Sigma Conseil, an independent firm that has historically published figures not far off official tallies, showing Saied winning more than 89 percent of the vote over imprisoned businessman Ayachi Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui, a leftist who supported Saied before choosing to run against him.
In the North African country known as the birthplace of the Arab Spring, much of the opposition chose to boycott the election. They called it a sham with Saied’s leading critics imprisoned alongside journalists, lawyers, activists and leading civil society figures. They emphasized the low voter turn out in Sunday’s election. Official results are expected on Monday.
At the time polling stations closed, only 2.7 million voters, 27.7 percent of the electorate, had cast ballots — far fewer than the 49 percent who participated in the first round of the last presidential race in 2019.
Supporters of the president — who rode anti-establishment backlash to win a first term five years ago — said his second win would send a clear message to the political class that preceded his ascendance.
“We’re tired of the governance we had before. We want a leader who wants to work for Tunisia. This country was on the road to ruin,” said Layla Baccouchi, a Saied supporter.
The election was Tunisia’s third since the nation became known as the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled dictators throughout the region. Weeks after a fruit vendor set himself ablaze to protest police humiliation and corruption, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali abdicated and fled the country.
In the years that followed, Tunisia enshrined a new democratic constitution, created a Truth and Dignity Commission to bring justice to citizens tortured under the former regime and saw its leading civil society groups win the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering political compromise. But its new leaders were unable to buoy its struggling economy and quickly became unpopular amid constant political infighting and episodes of violence and terrorism.
Observers judged the country’s first two post-Arab Spring elections as free and fair. However the lead-up to this year’s race saw the arrests of several declared challengers and the ongoing incarceration of his most prominent right-wing and Islamist critics.
Dozens of candidates had expressed interest in challenging the president and 17 submitted preliminary paperwork to run in Sunday’s race. However, members of the election commission, all of whom are appointed by the president, approved only the three. Zammel was subsequently charged with violating election laws and sentenced to years behind bars.
The president’s detractors have routinely staged protests since July 2021, when he used emergency powers to suspend parliament and later rewrote the constitution giving himself more power. Since then, dozens of his opponents have been imprisoned on charges including inciting disorder, undermining state security and violating a controversial anti-fake news law that critics say is used to stifle dissent.
Among the changes enshrined in Saied’s constitution, which voters approved via referendum the following year, was allowing the president to appoint all members of Tunisia’s election authority, ISIE. It has faced scrutiny this year for ignoring court rulings ordering it put candidates it rejected back on the ballot and denying election monitors permission to observe the polls.
Such conditions led many to boycott the race, including Siwar Gmati, a 27-year-old who works for I Watch, one of the non-governmental organizations whose application to monitor the polls was rejected.
“We, as young people, are more attached to what the revolution brought to us,” Gmati said at a Friday protest. “We were raised after the revolution to speak our minds.”
Apart from Friday’s protest and Sunday’s celebration in downtown Tunis, there were few signs that an election was even underway throughout campaign season. The mood was a pronounced departure from the country’s past two presidential elections, which were Tunisia’s first contested races in decades.
Critics have called years of crackdown on Saied’s opponents democratic backsliding and a reversal the progress made after the Arab Spring. Additionally, the country’s economy continues to face major challenges. Unemployment has steadily increased to one of the region’s highest at 16 percent, the government owes billions to international lenders and an increasing number of Tunisians attempted to migrate to Europe without authorization each year from 2019 to 2023.


Israeli hostage forum announces death of captive held in Gaza

Israeli hostage forum announces death of captive held in Gaza
Updated 07 October 2024
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Israeli hostage forum announces death of captive held in Gaza

Israeli hostage forum announces death of captive held in Gaza
  • Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival

TEL AVIV: An Israeli campaign group on Monday announced the death of a hostage held in Gaza, as the country marked the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival and his “body is still held captive by Hamas.”
The forum said Shtivi had just arrived at the festival site when the attack began.
“On October 7, Idan arrived at the Nova Festival in the early morning to document his friends’ performances and workshops,” the forum said in a statement.
“However, he never made it inside. When the attack began, Idan helped two strangers he had just met escape from the site. This selfless choice ultimately led to his abduction.”


Hamas armed wing claims to fire rockets at southern Israel

Hamas armed wing claims to fire rockets at southern Israel
Updated 07 October 2024
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Hamas armed wing claims to fire rockets at southern Israel

Hamas armed wing claims to fire rockets at southern Israel

GAZA: The Israeli military said Monday that at least four projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip just minutes after the country began to formally commemorate last year’s October 7 attacks.
“Following the sirens that sounded at 06:31 in several communities near the Gaza Strip, four projectiles were identified crossing from the southern Gaza Strip. Three of the projectiles were intercepted by the IAF (air force) and a fallen projectile was identified in an open area,” the military said in a statement.
The armed wing of Hamas said it had fired rockets into southern Israel at “enemy gatherings” at Rafah crossing, Kerem Shalom crossing and kibbutz Holit near the border with Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had also prevented an “immediate threat” from Hamas’ intentions to fire rockets.
“The IAF (air force) struck Hamas launch posts and underground terrorist infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip,” the military said.
“Furthermore, overnight, the IAF and IDF (Israeli army) artillery struck targets in the central Gaza Strip that posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area.”
The military said sirens also sounded in the Upper Galilee area of northern Israel, with no let-up in the daily rocket fire from neighboring Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting Hezbollah militants.
Earlier on Monday the military said it had also intercepted two “suspicious aerial targets” that were launched from the east.