Erekat to Asharq Al-Awsat: Trump Is Telling The world 'What Was Taken by Force Can Be Kept By Force'

 Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Jericho on February 15, 2017. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)
Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Jericho on February 15, 2017. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)
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Erekat to Asharq Al-Awsat: Trump Is Telling The world 'What Was Taken by Force Can Be Kept By Force'

 Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Jericho on February 15, 2017. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)
Palestinian chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Jericho on February 15, 2017. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat asserted on Saturday that decisions of the current US administration undermine Palestinian-related resolutions adopted since the end of World War II.

“There is no economic development in the absence of security, stability and peace. Those looking for peace and security have no choice but to end the Israeli invasion, to achieve the independence of the Palestinian States with east Jerusalem as its capital, and to solve the issues of refugees and the release of prisoners and detainees,” Erekat told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The PLO spokesperson was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, which kicked off in Jordan on Saturday in the presence of more than 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries.

Commenting on the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration, Erekat considered that they undermine what institutions and international resolutions had established since 1945, through decisions taken by the United Nations, Security Council, General Assembly, UN Charter, Human Rights Council and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

“Through his policies, Trump says that what was taken by force can be kept by force,” Erekat said.

He explained that such policies lead to one question: “What happens after ISIS?”

Erekat also said that Trump’s decisions concerning the region and its people might lead to violence, chaos and extremism.

On Saturday, the WEF witnessed a dispute between Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi and Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah over the issue “of assurances that Israel needs.”

Bin Abdullah said that Israel needs assurances about its future, and that Arabs need to remove all of Israel’s concerns and fears.

However, Safadi responded by saying that Arabs are committed to the peace deal that recognizes Israel. “What more assurances do the Israelis need? The problem is not with lack of assurances, the problem is with the continued Israeli occupation,” he noted.



Lebanon President Calls for Israel Talks to Prevent Gaza-Style Destruction

 A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon President Calls for Israel Talks to Prevent Gaza-Style Destruction

 A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Sunday a call for negotiations with Israel, saying he wanted to spare his country's south from destruction on the scale seen in Gaza.

"It is true that Israel might want to do in southern Lebanon what it did in Gaza," Aoun said in a televised address, after Israel launched airstrikes and a ground offensive against Hezbollah, destroying several southern Lebanese villages.

"Gaza was destroyed, over 70,000 people were killed, and they eventually sat down and negotiated, so why don't we negotiate... until we can at least save the homes that have not yet been destroyed?" he added.


Egypt Says It Held Calls with US Witkoff, Regional Counterparts

 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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Egypt Says It Held Calls with US Witkoff, Regional Counterparts

 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate calls to discuss proposals for regional de-escalation with ‌US Envoy ‌Steve Witkoff ‌and ⁠regional counterparts including Iranian ⁠Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the ministry said in a ⁠statement on ‌Sunday.

Egypt, ‌Türkiye and ‌Pakistan have ‌emerged as active intermediaries in the crisis, with ‌Islamabad recently hosting a meeting to ⁠discuss ⁠regional de-escalation and proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.


Hezbollah Says Targeted Israeli Warship with Cruise Missile

A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
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Hezbollah Says Targeted Israeli Warship with Cruise Missile

A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)

Hezbollah on Sunday said it had targeted an Israeli warship with a cruise missile off the Lebanese coast, the first such claim by the group since the start of the Middle East war. 

In a statement, the Iran-backed group said it targeted the vessel 68 nautical miles off the Lebanese coast, claiming the warship was "preparing to launch attacks on Lebanese territory". 

The Israeli military told AFP when contacted: "We are not aware of it." 

Israeli warships have been used on several recent occasions to launch strikes on Lebanon.