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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Rejected Lebanon’s Proposal for a Ceasefire

A handout picture released by the Lebanese parliament press office, shows Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meeting with the head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz in Beirut on November 1, 2024. (Lebanese parliament/AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese parliament press office, shows Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meeting with the head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz in Beirut on November 1, 2024. (Lebanese parliament/AFP)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Rejected Lebanon’s Proposal for a Ceasefire

A handout picture released by the Lebanese parliament press office, shows Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meeting with the head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz in Beirut on November 1, 2024. (Lebanese parliament/AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese parliament press office, shows Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meeting with the head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz in Beirut on November 1, 2024. (Lebanese parliament/AFP)

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a Lebanese ceasefire proposal.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Berri revealed that Netanyahu “rejected the Lebanese roadmap that we agreed over with (US envoy to Lebanon) Amos Hochstein.”

Political efforts to resolve the conflict in Lebanon will have to wait until after the US presidential election on Tuesday, he added.

Berri refused to make predictions over what the situation in Lebanon will be like after the election, saying that one thing is certain, that the issue has been postponed until after the polls.

Lebanon will now have to contend with the developments on the ground, he added, saying he fears the country could be “turned into another Gaza.”

Moreover, he revealed that Hochstein had not contacted him since he left Israel earlier this week.

Lebanon remains committed to United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, he stressed.

Berri held talks on Friday with head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz.

He told him that Israel has “wasted since September several viable opportunities to reach a ceasefire and implement resolution 1701 and allow the displaced on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”

A statement from the speaker’s office said he briefed the UNIFIL commander on the agreement that was reached with Hochstein in his efforts to reach a ceasefire and implement resolution 1701.

He reiterated his commitment to the resolution, saying it was the “only option” to achieve security and stability in the region.

Lazaro also met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who underlined the international peacekeeping force’s role in the South and condemned Israel’s attacks and threats against it.

Lebanon remains committed to resolution 1701, he declared, while “Israeli statements and diplomatic signals received by Lebanon indicate that Tel Aviv refuses the solutions that are on the table and is insistent on its policy of killing and destruction.”

“The situation demands that the international community assume its historic and moral responsibilities in stopping this assault,” he continued.

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Arab World

Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Türkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.

General Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.

Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.

The aircraft's black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.

"We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis" of the black box, Mohamed al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.

Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.

Haddad was chief of staff for the Tripoli-based GNU.

Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was "made to Germany, which demanded France's assistance" to examine the aircraft's flight recorders.

"However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analyzing the black box must be neutral," he said.

"Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkey."

After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Türkiye to Britain "to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box".

Chahoubi told Thursday's press briefing that Britain "announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities".

He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.

"The findings will be made public once they are known," Chahoubi said, warning against "false information" and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.

Arab World

STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
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STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)

Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in Yemen began on Thursday handing over military positions to the government’s National Shield forces in the Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen.

Local sources in Hadhramaut confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the handover kicked off after meetings were held between the two sides.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the National Shield commanders met with STC leaderships to discuss future arrangements. The sourced did not elaborate, but they confirmed that Emirati armored vehicles, which had entered Balhaf port in Shabwah were seen departing on a UAE vessel, in line with a Yemeni government request.

The National Shield is overseen by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi.

A Yemeni official described Thursday’s developments as “positive” step towards uniting ranks and legitimacy against a common enemy – the Houthi groups.

The official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, underscored to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of “partnership between components of the legitimacy and of dialogue to resolve any future differences.”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Yemeni military sources revealed that some STC forces had refused to quit their positions, prompting the forces to dispatch an official to Hadhramaut’s Seiyun city to negotiate the situation.

Arab World

One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

The Israeli military said its forces killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank in the early hours on Thursday as they opened fire on people who were throwing stones at soldiers.

Two other people were hit on a main ‌road near the ‌village of Luban ‌al-Sharqiya ⁠in Nablus, ‌the military statement added. It described the people as militants and said the stone-throwing was part of an ambush.

Palestinian authorities in the West Bank said ⁠a 26-year-old man they named as ‌Khattab Al Sarhan was ‍killed and ‍another person wounded.

Israeli forces had ‍closed the main entrance to the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, in Nablus, and blocked several secondary roads on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA reported.

More ⁠than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 2023 and October 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, the UN has said.

Over the same period, 57 Israelis were killed ‌in Palestinian attacks.