Palestine Officially Demands Urgent Arab League Summit over Israeli Aggression

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
TT

Palestine Officially Demands Urgent Arab League Summit over Israeli Aggression

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Palestine’s Permanent Representative at the Arab League Mohammed al-Aklouk requested an extraordinary Arab summit on the Israeli aggression against Palestinians, at the invitation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Aklouk said, in a statement published by Wafa, that Palestine’s request comes after coordination with Saudi Arabia in its capacity as the chair of the current 32nd session of the Arab Summit.

The Ambassador indicated that Palestine requested the summit to discuss the “brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people” in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Palestine called for the summit to address ways to help the state and people of Palestine confront the political, humanitarian, economic, and social challenges.

The summit also aims to discuss Arab action at the international level to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, under international law, the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

The Assistant Sec-Gen of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Palestine, Saudi Arabia who is residing at the summit, and other countries are holding ongoing consultations in preparation for the emergency meeting to discuss ways to stop the war in Gaza.

The Palestinian President called on the Arab leaders to convene an emergency summit to stop the brutal aggression against the Palestinian people and their cause.

Zaki indicated that the emergency summit is as good as done, adding that under the current circumstances, it is almost sure that two-thirds of the members will agree to hold an emergency summit either in Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

Last May, the Kingdom hosted the 32nd regular session of the Arab League at the summit level.

The Arab League held an emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers on Oct. 11 in Cairo to discuss the situation in Gaza, which concluded with a call for urgent international action to stop the war in Gaza.

The meeting condemned the targeting of civilians and warned against attempts to displace the Palestinian people.



Lebanese FM: Nasrallah Agreed to Temporary Ceasefire Days Before Assassination

A Hezbollah supporter holds a placard with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah next to the rubble of a completely destroyed building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb controlled by Hezbollah, Beirut, Lebanon, 02 October 2024. EPA/JOAO RELVAS
A Hezbollah supporter holds a placard with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah next to the rubble of a completely destroyed building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb controlled by Hezbollah, Beirut, Lebanon, 02 October 2024. EPA/JOAO RELVAS
TT

Lebanese FM: Nasrallah Agreed to Temporary Ceasefire Days Before Assassination

A Hezbollah supporter holds a placard with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah next to the rubble of a completely destroyed building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb controlled by Hezbollah, Beirut, Lebanon, 02 October 2024. EPA/JOAO RELVAS
A Hezbollah supporter holds a placard with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah next to the rubble of a completely destroyed building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb controlled by Hezbollah, Beirut, Lebanon, 02 October 2024. EPA/JOAO RELVAS

Caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has said that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before he was assassinated by Israel.

The temporary ceasefire was called for by US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies during last week’s UN General Assembly.

“He [Nasrallah] agreed, he agreed,” Habib told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview aired on Wednesday.

“We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire but consulting with Hezbollah. The (Lebanese Parliament) Speaker Mr. Nabih Berri consulted with Hezbollah and we informed the Americans and the French what happened. And they told us that Mr. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents (Biden and Macron.)”

White House senior adviser Amos Hochstein was then set to go to Lebanon to negotiate the ceasefire, Habib continued.

“They told us that Mr. Netanyahu agreed on this and so we also got the agreement of Hezbollah on that and you know what happened since then,” Habib continued.

Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut.