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Morocco's King Invites Algeria for Dialogue

In a speech on Tuesday, the king said dialogue was necessary to overcome the two countries' political difference [EPA]
In a speech on Tuesday, the king said dialogue was necessary to overcome the two countries' political difference [EPA]
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Morocco's King Invites Algeria for Dialogue

In a speech on Tuesday, the king said dialogue was necessary to overcome the two countries' political difference [EPA]
In a speech on Tuesday, the king said dialogue was necessary to overcome the two countries' political difference [EPA]

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI called for “direct and frank” dialogue with Algeria “in order to settle the transient and objective differences impeding the development of relations between the two countries.”

In a speech delivered to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Green March, commemorating the mass demonstration of Moroccans calling for Spain to cede control of Western Sahara, the King suggested the establishment of a joint political and mutually agreed upon mechanism for dialogue and consultation with a mission to frankly and subjectively analyze key issues, using an open-ended agenda, without conditions or exceptions.

He said such a mechanism would enhance joint consultation and coordination particularly on regional and international challenges, including migration and the fight against terrorism.

“I should like to stress that Morocco is willing to consider the proposals or initiatives Algeria may want to offer in this regard so as to break the stalemate in the relations between the two neighbors and sister nations,” King Mohammed VI said.

Relations between Morocco and Algeria have been strained for many years, particularly since 1972 over the status of the Western Sahara region.

“If Algeria’s response to the King’s call is positive, then relations between the two countries would change, moving from a level of the clash to a level of cooperation,” Professor of International Relations at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, Taj al-Din al-Husseini, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.

However, he said, if Algeria negatively responds to Morocco’s initiative, then it would miss a historic chance, particularly for the people of this region, which is seeing an annual decline in growth due to the dire relations between the two states.

For his part, political analyst Abdul Rahim Manar Al Salimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that Morocco initiated this call for dialogue because it has detected the presence of issues and challenges in the region.

“Algeria should be held responsible of all developments that would follow this initiative, whether in front of the international community and in front of people of the Maghreb region,” he noted.

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Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli army has been preventing the residents of southern Lebanon’s villages from returning to their homes, warning them against going back.

In a statement to the residents, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said they are barred from returning home “until further notice.”

He warned that anyone heading to the barred areas would be putting their lives in danger.

However, the majority of the villages and towns mentioned by the Israeli army are located north of the Litani River.

A security sources said the army’s warning “is confusing and unacceptable, especially since it is continuing its razing of agricultural lands in Khiam city and other villages near the border.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The only explanation for this is that Israel is trying to impose a buffer zone in the 60-day period offered by the ceasefire until the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers can continue their deployment along the southern border and the monitoring committee can begin its work.”

The Israeli actions are a violation of the ceasefire, which went into effect on Wednesday, added the source.

The violations demand immediate political effort sand contacts with US officials so that they can put a stop to them and speed up the formation of the five-member committee that will be chaired by an American officer, he stated.

Military and strategic expert General Nizar Abdel Qader said: “Israel’s gains on the ground and its success in imposing its conditions in the ceasefire agreement have led it to believe that it has the final say” in the South.

“True, it did not achieve a crushing victory against Hezbollah, but it proved its military superiority and achieved major gains,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.”

“It is preventing the residents of the South from returning home because it fears that Hezbollah members may be among them. It has learned lessons from its withdrawal from the South in 2000 when Hezbollah imposed its total and sole control of the border,” he remarked.

“It also learned its lesson from its withdrawal in 2006 when it let the Lebanese state oversee the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and soon after Hezbollah built a much more powerful military arsenal,” he noted.

Moreover, Abdel Qader said the Israeli violations cannot be separated from what is happening in Israel itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed that it was too soon to declare a ceasefire and he instead said that Israel did not stop the war and can launch it all over again.

The violations in the South are part of political maneuvers that Netanyahu is using to hide his “embarrassment in front of the Israeli opposition and are attempts to calm the extremist ministers in his government,” he explained.

Residents of the South have acknowledged that Israel is in fact dictating their return to their homes. They said that Hezbollah was the one who called the shots in 2006, but this is not the case now.

Sami, a resident of Yohmor north of the Litani, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has been relentlessly attacking his town.

It is dangerous for people to return to their homes, he warned, revealing that Israel has imposed a no-go zone 5 km deep into Lebanon.

Israel has so far not fulfilled its side of the ceasefire, he noted.