Algeria Postpones Mediation in Coup-hit Niger

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
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Algeria Postpones Mediation in Coup-hit Niger

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (dpa)

Algeria said on Monday that it was putting on hold its mediation efforts aimed at ending the political crisis in coup-hit neighbour Niger.

The West African nation has been governed for more than two months by a military regime which took power after deposing Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

In August, Algeria proposed a six-month transition plan under the supervision of a "civilian authority led by a consensual figure accepted by all sides of the political class" which would lead to "re-establishment of the consitutional order in the country".

Early this month, the foreign ministry in Algiers said Niger's coup leaders had accepted the plan, and hours later Niger's Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested authorities there would "examine Algeria's offer of mediation".

On Monday, though, an Algerian Foreign Ministry statement said Algiers had decided "to delay the initiation of the planned preparatory discussions until it has clarifications" on implementation of the mediation, AFP reported.

After Nigerien authorities informed the Algerians of "their acceptance of Algerian mediation", Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had tasked Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf with "visiting Niamey as soon as possible with the aim of launching discussions... with all stakeholders," the ministry said.

But the exchanges between the two sides "on the agenda and the content of the visit" were not conclusive, it said.

Algeria deplored that "official and public statements from the Nigerien authorities raised questions about their real willingness to follow through on their acceptance of Algerian mediation," it added.

The West African bloc ECOWAS has threatened to use force as a last resort to reinstate Bazoum, who has been held in his residence since the coup.

Tebboune on August 6 said he "categorically" rejected any foreign military intervention in Niger, which borders Algeria to the south.

A military solution would be "a direct threat" to Algeria, he said, stressing "there will be no solution without us. We are the first people affected".



Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Municipal workers began demolishing seven homes in occupied east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood on Tuesday, Palestinian residents and the municipality said, after an Israeli court called their construction illegal.

"This morning the Jerusalem Municipality, with a security escort from the Israel police, began its enforcement against illegal buildings in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan," Jerusalem's Israeli-controlled city hall said in a statement.

Activist Fakhri Abu Diab, one of those affected by the demolition, confirmed that "at least seven homes have been demolished, and the operation is ongoing".

He said that both houses and apartments were affected.

"They demolished my home, which I had renovated after it was previously demolished earlier this year, as well as my son's house, Haitham Ayed's family home, and four homes belonging to the Al-Ruwaidi family," Abu Diab told AFP.

He said around "40 people, including children, were affected by the demolitions in the neighborhood, leaving them homeless".

An AFP photographer saw at least four bulldozers operating on Tuesday at demolition sites in the neighborhood under tight Israeli police supervision.

In a statement, Jerusalem city hall pointed to court orders that call for the demolition of the buildings due to zoning laws that make them illegal.

However, Palestinian residents and activists accuse the municipality of concealing its true intentions.

"The buildings, like most of the buildings in the neighborhood, are located on an area that is a green designation, that is, an open public area and where there is no possibility for zoning," the municipality said, adding that the area would become a green zone instead.

Abu Diab said the true aim of the demolitions was "to reduce the percentage of Arabs and alter the demographic composition of Jerusalem in favor of (Israeli) settlers", connecting them to west Jerusalem.

Israel "is above international law, has escaped accountability, and is exploiting global focus on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the US elections", he said.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.

Some 230,000 Israeli settlers live in east Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Another 3,000 live in Palestinian neighborhoods within east Jerusalem's boundaries, according to Israeli rights organization Peace Now.