Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources

Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources
Above, Israeli soldiers patrol the perimeter of the agricultural settlement of Avivim next to the Lebanese border on Dec. 2, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 03 December 2024
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Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources

Lebanon asked US, France to press Israel to halt truce breaches, say sources
  • The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon
  • Lebanon’s parliament speaker says Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far

BEIRUT: Top Lebanese officials have urged Washington and Paris to press Israel to uphold a ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut has deemed violations, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Deadly Israeli strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah rocket launches on an Israeli military post on Monday have put a US-brokered ceasefire between the two in an increasingly fragile position less than a week after it came into effect.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally who negotiated the deal on behalf of Lebanon, spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late Monday and expressed concern about the state of the ceasefire, the sources said.
Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available to comment. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Monday, saying both sides should adhere to the ceasefire.
US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told reporters on Monday that the ceasefire “is holding” and that the US had “anticipated that there might be violations.”
The truce came into effect on Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in Lebanon while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups, including Hezbollah, from launching attacks on Israel. It gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon.
A monitoring mechanism chaired by the United States is tasked with monitoring, verifying and helping enforce the truce, but it has yet to begin work.
Berri on Monday urged it to “urgently” ensure Israel halts its breaches, saying Beirut had logged at least 54 Israeli violations of the ceasefire so far.
Israel says its continued military activity in Lebanon is aimed at enforcing the ceasefire and does not violate its obligations under the truce.
Mikati on Monday met in Beirut with US General Jasper Jeffers, who will chair the monitoring committee, and stressed the need for Israeli troops to swiftly withdraw.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that France’s representative to the committee, General Guillaume Ponchin, will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold its first meeting on Thursday.
“There is an urgency to finalize the mechanism, otherwise it will be too late,” the source said, referring to Israel’s gradual intensification of strikes despite the truce.
Miller said the monitoring mechanism would begin its work “in the coming days.”
At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest day since the ceasefire came into effect.
They included six people in the southern town of Hariss and another four people in the southern town of Taloussa, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.


Trump Middle East envoy predicts ‘good things’ to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration

Updated 16 sec ago
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Trump Middle East envoy predicts ‘good things’ to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration

Trump Middle East envoy predicts ‘good things’ to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration
“Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said
“I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president“

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as US president on Jan. 20.
“Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said at a Trump press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
Doha has been hosting negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war that would include freeing hostages that Hamas abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Doha is capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the US has been mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff said that if he did not travel back to Doha on Tuesday night, he would head there on Wednesday night.
“I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff said.
Trump, a Republican who will succeed Democratic President Joe Biden, repeated his threat that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages by the time he takes office.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” he said.
Hamas-led Islamist militants killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 101 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
Israel’s subsequent campaign against Hamas has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced nearly all of the population in Hamas-ruled Gaza and reduced much of its territory to rubble.

Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave

Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave
Updated 9 min 59 sec ago
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Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave

Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave
  • Community leaders demand a stop to ongoing forced Israeli displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza
  • Confirm the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole representative of the Palestinian people

LONDON: Clan leaders in Gaza City and northern Gaza called for the Palestinian Authority to govern the coastal enclave in a rare public statement this week.

Prominent clan leaders in the Gaza Strip have requested President Mahmoud Abbas take charge of Gaza’s affairs, which have been affected by Israel’s war in the enclave and clashes between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces since October 2023.

Some signatories include Yahya Ayub Al-Kafarnah, chief of Gaza’s northern clans; Zakaria Jahshan, coordinator of the Christian denominations; and Mohammed Al-Masry, former mayor of Beit Lahia municipality, along with many other community leaders, dignitaries, and Mukhtars.

They urged the PA to lead the Gaza Strip, connect it to the West Bank geographically, and stop the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza by Israel.

They confirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad are a part of, will continue to be the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.

The community leaders urged the PA to exercise pressure on Arab and Western countries to “force the Israeli government to stop its war of genocide ... and secure an immediate ceasefire,” the WAFA press agency reported.

Mediated and indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to secure an exchange of captives and a truce have been ongoing for months, but without success.

At least 45,000 Palestinians have died during the war in Gaza, and around 11,000 are missing under the rubble of bombed or damaged buildings, with 100,000 people having left the enclave.

The Gaza Strip’s population had decreased by 6 percent in 2024, according to recent data by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.


UAE FM discusses humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Israeli counterpart

UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan receives his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan receives his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Updated 36 min 23 sec ago
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UAE FM discusses humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Israeli counterpart

UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan receives his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
  • Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the need for concerted efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire and prevent the expansion of conflict in the region

DUBAI: The UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan received his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Emirates News Agency reported.

The meeting addressed the latest developments in the region, particularly the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, WAM said.

Discussions also covered regional and international efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable ceasefire in the enclave.

Sheikh Abdullah emphasized the need for concerted efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire and prevent the expansion of conflict in the region. He said that the priority is to end tension and violence, protect civilian lives, and make every effort to facilitate the flow of urgent humanitarian aid.

The foreign minister said the Middle East was experiencing unprecedented tension and instability, and requires international efforts to end extremism, tension, and escalating violence.

He reiterated the UAE’s support for the mediation efforts of Qatar, Egypt, and the US to broker a prisoner exchange agreement that could lead to a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the safe and sustainable delivery of adequate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

Sheikh Abdullah reaffirmed the UAE’s unwavering commitment to supporting the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, highlighting the country’s longstanding solidarity with Palestinians over the decades.


Lebanon prime minister to visit Syria soon: minister

Najib Mikati said Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa had invited him for an official visit. (File/AFP)
Najib Mikati said Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa had invited him for an official visit. (File/AFP)
Updated 07 January 2025
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Lebanon prime minister to visit Syria soon: minister

Najib Mikati said Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa had invited him for an official visit. (File/AFP)
  • Lebanese politicians have been divided over ties with Damascus, especially after Hezbollah fighters fought alongside Bashar Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister is to visit Damascus “soon,” the information minister said on Tuesday — the first such visit since militants seized power in Syria last month.
“There will be a visit to Syria soon, headed by Prime Minister (Najib) Mikati,” Ziad Makary told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Last week, Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens, two security sources from Lebanon told AFP, following what the Lebanese army said was a border skirmish with armed Syrians.
Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told AFP at the time that Lebanon was working to find a solution with Syria.
The Lebanese army said the border skirmish saw its soldiers clash with armed Syrians after they tried to “close an illegal crossing.” It said five soldiers were wounded.
Lebanon’s eastern border is porous and known for smuggling. It was unclear who the armed Syrians were.
Mikati’s office said at the time that he had a phone call with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, during which they discussed bilateral relations as well as the border skirmishes.
He also said Sharaa had invited him for an official visit.
Lebanese politicians have been divided over ties with Damascus, especially after Hezbollah fighters fought alongside Bashar Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem admitted that with Assad’s fall, his group can no longer be supplied militarily through Syria.
Last month, Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa told visiting Lebanese Druze leaders that his country would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its sovereignty.
For three decades, Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri.


Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map

Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map
Updated 07 January 2025
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Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map

Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map
  • PA urges incoming US administration to halt all provocative Israeli policies
  • Jordan says Israel will not undermine its sovereignty

LONDON: Officials from Palestine and Jordan on Tuesday condemned an Israeli map that claimed Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese territories as part of so-called “greater Israel.”

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, described the map shared by Israeli social media accounts this week as a blatant violation of all international resolutions and laws, the WAFA news agency reported.

He said that Israeli occupation policies, attacks by illegal settlers and the relentless storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound require “an urgent international stance to stop what the Palestinian people are being subjected to from war and destruction.”

Abu Rudeineh urged the incoming US administration to halt all Israeli policies that undermine security and peace in the Middle East.

Parts of Jordan were included in the Israeli map. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the document as “provocative and baseless,” and that it “falsely claims that it is an Israeli historical map.”

The ministry said that Israeli actions and remarks based on racism would neither undermine Jordan’s sovereignty nor change the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

It added that the Israeli government must “immediately cease these provocative actions and stop the reckless statements made by Israeli officials, which are only fueling tensions and contributing to the instability of the region.”

The ministry said that publishing the map coincided with “racist statements” made by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the annexation of the Occupied West Bank and the construction of illegal settlements in Gaza, Petra news agency reported.

In March 2023, Smotrich spoke at an event in Paris and stood next to a map of “greater Israel” that depicted Jordan as part of his country.