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Arab Parliament Speaker Calls for Unified International Parliamentary Voice to Confront Escalation in Palestine

Arab Parliament Speaker Calls for Unified International Parliamentary Voice to Confront Escalation in Palestine
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Arab Parliament Speaker Calls for Unified International Parliamentary Voice to Confront Escalation in Palestine

Arab Parliament Speaker Calls for Unified International Parliamentary Voice to Confront Escalation in Palestine

Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohammed Al-Yamahi stressed the need to unify the international parliamentary voice to confront escalating Israeli violations, emphasizing the importance of intensifying efforts to support the Palestinian cause, SPA reported.

This came during his address to the second meeting of the parliamentary group for supporting palestine, held in Istanbul.

He noted that the current stage requires a firm international stance in light of rapidly evolving developments, including legislation targeting Palestinian prisoners, the continuation of settlement policies, and violations against holy sites.

The speaker emphasized the importance of international action to protect the rights of the Palestinian people, support the two-state solution, and strengthen the role of parliamentary diplomacy in mobilizing support for the Palestinian cause.

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Arab World

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: US Working to Extend Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire

Parliament speaker meets with US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (Lebanese Presidency)
Parliament speaker meets with US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (Lebanese Presidency)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: US Working to Extend Lebanon-Israel Ceasefire

Parliament speaker meets with US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (Lebanese Presidency)
Parliament speaker meets with US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the US is working to extend the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, while President Joseph Aoun confirmed that “bilateral negotiations will be handled by Lebanon through a delegation headed by Ambassador Simon Karam, and no one will take part on Lebanon’s behalf or replace it in this mission.”

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited Aoun and Berri after returning to Beirut for the first time since the announcement of a 10-day temporary truce, without making any media statements.

Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that Washington is pursuing efforts to extend the ceasefire, declining to disclose his position on the direct negotiations with Israel that the president is planning.

In remarks distributed by the Lebanese presidency’s media office, Aoun said negotiations aim to halt hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of areas in the south, and deploy the army along the internationally recognized southern border.

Aoun added: “US President Donald Trump showed full understanding and responsiveness during our call regarding Lebanon’s demands, and intervened with Israel to halt hostilities and prepare to launch a negotiating track that would end the abnormal situation and restore the authority of the Lebanese state and its sovereignty over all its territory, foremost the south.”

He said contacts would continue to preserve the ceasefire and begin negotiations, which should be backed by the broadest national support so the negotiating team can achieve its objectives.

He continued: “The upcoming negotiations are separate from any other talks, because Lebanon faces two options: either the continuation of war with its humanitarian, social, economic and sovereignty-related consequences, or negotiations to put an end to this war and achieve sustainable stability. I have chosen negotiations, and I remain hopeful that we can save Lebanon.”

Arab World

Lebanon President Says Israel Talks Aim to End Hostilities, Occupation

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictrued) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictrued) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
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Lebanon President Says Israel Talks Aim to End Hostilities, Occupation

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictrued) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictrued) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named an ex-ambassador to the United States to lead the delegation.

"The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognized southern borders" with Israel, Aoun said in a statement.

A 10-day ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and over a million displaced since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East conflict last month.

Aoun named former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Simon Karam to head the negotiations with Israel, and said "no one will share this task with Lebanon or take its place".

Iran-backed Hezbollah is not part of the talks and its supporters strongly oppose bilateral Lebanon-Israel negotiations.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati blasted Aoun on Saturday, saying "defeated, you go to the Israelis and Americans, let's see what you will get out of it".

The truce in Lebanon was one of Iran's conditions for resuming talks with Washington to extend their separate ceasefire and work out the terms of a lasting peace.

But Aoun said Monday that the Israel-Lebanon talks will be "separate from any other negotiations", in an implicit reference to the US-Iran diplomacy.

"Lebanon is facing two options: either the continuation of the war, with all its humanitarian, social, economic, and sovereign repercussions, or negotiations to put an end to this war and achieve lasting stability," he said.

"I have chosen negotiations, and I am full of hope that we will be able to save Lebanon."

Arab World

Israel Condemns Soldier’s Desecration of Crucifix in South Lebanon

Mohammed Ameen walks on the rubble of a building destroyed in a previous Israeli airstrike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP)
Mohammed Ameen walks on the rubble of a building destroyed in a previous Israeli airstrike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Condemns Soldier’s Desecration of Crucifix in South Lebanon

Mohammed Ameen walks on the rubble of a building destroyed in a previous Israeli airstrike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP)
Mohammed Ameen walks on the rubble of a building destroyed in a previous Israeli airstrike during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Hosh neighborhood of Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP)

Israel's foreign minister and military on Monday condemned the desecration of a crucifix smashed by an Israeli soldier in a southern Lebanese village home to Christians.

A photo that emerged online over the weekend shows a soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross. It was posted by Younis Tirawi, who describes himself as a Palestinian reporter and has also posted images of Israeli soldiers' apparent misconduct in Gaza.

Reuters verified the location of the ‌image as Debel, ‌one of the few villages in southern ‌Lebanon ⁠where residents remained through ⁠an Israeli military campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah that began on March 2 after the group fired rockets at Israel in support of Iran.

The cross was part of a small shrine in the garden of a family living on the edge of the village, said Fadi Falfel, a priest in Debel.

"One ⁠of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross ‌and did this horrible thing, this ‌desecration of our holy symbols," he said.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said ‌the soldier's actions were disgraceful and shameful. "We apologize for this ‌incident and to every Christian whose feelings were hurt," Saar said on X.

The Israeli military said the incident was being investigated.

"The army views the incident with great severity and emphasizes that the ‌soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops," the military said. "The army ⁠is working ⁠to assist the community in restoring the statue to its place."

Debel is one of dozens of villages in south Lebanon now under Israeli occupation. Israel and Lebanon on Thursday agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire intended to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

"We have every kind of crisis," Falfel said.

"We thought the ceasefire would bring us some relief but we’re still surrounded, unable to travel to and from the town. There are some houses on the edge of town that we’re barred from accessing."

Israeli military officials say they are working with aid agencies to meet the humanitarian needs of Debel and other villages.