Arab League Calls for Swift Action to Stop Israeli Aggression Against Palestinians

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League Calls for Swift Action to Stop Israeli Aggression Against Palestinians

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Arab League has called on the Security Council to take swift measures to stop Israel's aggression, destruction, and war against the Palestinian people, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
In a statement issued on Wednesday on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the “Nakba”, the General Secretariat of the Arab League stressed the international, legal and moral responsibility of the Security Council to maintain international peace and security, and to uphold international resolutions.
The Arab League urged the Security Council to immediately compel the Israeli occupation forces to cease their war and aggression, and to submit to the will of the international community to achieve peace, and restore the Palestinian people's right to return to their homeland and to build their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Arab League reiterated its condemnation of Israel's war of aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and West Bank, urging the international community to intervene immediately and enforce its resolutions.



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

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.