UN-Sponsored International Peace Conference to Address Palestinian Cause in Bahrain

Arab foreign ministers met in Manama on Tuesday in preparation for the summit. (dpa)
Arab foreign ministers met in Manama on Tuesday in preparation for the summit. (dpa)
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UN-Sponsored International Peace Conference to Address Palestinian Cause in Bahrain

Arab foreign ministers met in Manama on Tuesday in preparation for the summit. (dpa)
Arab foreign ministers met in Manama on Tuesday in preparation for the summit. (dpa)

The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the League of Arab States said that leaders at the Arab Summit in Bahrain on Thursday will call for an international peace conference to resolve the Palestinian cause, under the auspices of the United Nations.

Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk revealed that the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed, during his speech at the meeting of Arab foreign ministers, that the summit will adopt a set of Arab initiatives, including “holding an international peace conference to resolve the Palestinian issue, under the auspices of (the United Nations), on the territory of Bahrain.”

Al-Aklouk added that Palestine welcomes and supports the initiative, and considers it a response to the peace plan previously presented by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2018.

In press statements on the sidelines of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Manama, on Tuesday, the permanent representative of Palestine to the Arab League said that the conference aims to launch a serious political process with a specific time limit, leading to ending the occupation on the basis of international references for the peace process, including the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

“The Bahrain summit is expected to adopt the term genocide to describe the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which claimed thousands of lives and caused the destruction of infrastructure,” he remarked.

Al-Aklouk went on to say that other measures are expected to be announced during the summit, including “calling on the Security Council to adopt a resolution under Chapter Seven of the (United Nations) Charter to oblige Israel to commit to a ceasefire,” stressing that Chapter Seven “includes imposing sanctions if the decisions are not implemented.”

“The Arab Summit is scheduled to consider the invasion of the city of Rafah as an attack on Arab national security,” he stated, pointing to the threats to Egypt’s security.



Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.