عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Hamas Official Dismisses 'Illusion' that Gaza Truce Nearer

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
TT
TT

Hamas Official Dismisses 'Illusion' that Gaza Truce Nearer

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS
Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 17, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS

A senior Hamas official on Saturday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in Qatar.

"To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion," Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. "We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats."

He was responding to Biden's comment on Friday that "We are closer than we have ever been."

Biden spoke after two days of talks in Qatar where Washington tried to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas. The two sides have been at war for more than 10 months in the Gaza Strip.

Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
TT
TT

Lebanon's New President Says to Ensure State Has Exclusive Right to Carry Arms

This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)
This handout photo released by the Lebanese parliament shows Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)

Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun told lawmakers on Thursday that he will work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, in his first speech at parliament after he was elected.

His comments were seen partly as a reference to Hezbollah's arsenal, which he had not commented on publicly as the former army commander.

In a first round of voting Thursday, Aoun received 71 out of 128 votes but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to win outright. Of the rest, 37 lawmakers cast blank ballots and 14 voted for “sovereignty and the constitution.”
In the second round, he received 99 votes.

In his speech in parliament, Aoun also pledged to carry out reforms to the judicial system and fight corruption.

He promised to control the country’s borders and “ensure the activation of the security services and to discuss a strategic defense policy that will enable the Lebanese state to remove the Israeli occupation from all Lebanese territories” in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli military has not yet withdrawn from dozens of villages.

He also vowed to reconstruct “what the Israeli army destroyed in the south, east and (Beirut’s southern) suburbs.”

Thursday’s vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.

Aoun said he would call for parliamentary consultations as soon as possible on naming a new prime minister.