عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Macron: Fighting Terrorism Does Not Mean to Flatten Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron
TT
TT

Macron: Fighting Terrorism Does Not Mean to Flatten Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron

Two months after his last visit to the region, which took him to Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron returned on Thursday to the region but this time as part of the traditional visits he makes on the Christmas holiday to French troops deployed overseas.

Macron was scheduled to visit Lebanon to inspect the troops of the French contingent operating within the UNIFIL force in south Lebanon. However, he changed his plan, and decided to visit a French air base in northern Jordan and spend the Christmas vacation with the French soldiers.

Sources at the Elysée did not clearly explain why the presidency abandoned the South Lebanon option. But the ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army since October, and also Lebanon’s failure to elect a new President, could be two of the main reasons behind this decision.

Ahead of his visit to Jordan, the French President said Wednesday that fighting terrorism did not mean “to flatten Gaza,” referring to Israel's response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

“We cannot let the idea take root that an efficient fight against terrorism implies flattening Gaza or attacking civilian populations indiscriminately,” Macron told the France 5 broadcaster.

He called on Israel “to stop this response because it is not appropriate, because all lives are worth the same and we defend them". Macron said France called for the protection of civilians and “a truce leading to a humanitarian ceasefire".

Macron and King Abdullah II are set to discuss developments of the war in Gaza which has so far killed at least 20,000 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

France has already called for a ceasefire in the fighting. Also, the two men will tackle the ongoing developments in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, and the response to the Houthi attacks. The US Secretary of Defense recently announced a new coalition to confront and respond to Houthi threats.

 

 

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.