Hariri to Represent Lebanon at Mekkah’s 2 Urgent Summits

Prime Minister Saad Hariri. NNA file photo
Prime Minister Saad Hariri. NNA file photo
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Hariri to Represent Lebanon at Mekkah’s 2 Urgent Summits

Prime Minister Saad Hariri. NNA file photo
Prime Minister Saad Hariri. NNA file photo

Lebanese President Michel Aoun received on Sunday a written message from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz inviting him to attend the two urgent summits in the holy city of Mekkah on May 30 to discuss ways to enhance regional security and stability.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the cabinet is expected to task Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the Lebanese delegation to the two summits.

Lebanon’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Fawzi Kabbara will join the delegation.

The summits will discuss means to enhance regional security and stability in the wake of the attacks on commercial vessels near UAE’s territorial waters and on two Saudi pumping stations by Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias.

The sources said they would also tackle the dangerous repercussions of the recent attacks on peace, regional and international security and on the world oil market.

“Lebanon is concerned with regional security because any US-Iranian military confrontation might expand to Lebanon, particularly if Tehran asks Hezbollah to support it against any US or Israeli targets, in case Tel Aviv participates in the confrontations,” the source explained.

The two summits in Mekkah would also be an opportunity for Hariri to hold bilateral meetings with state leaders to inform them about the latest developments in Lebanon, particularly the Syrian refugee crisis and the 2019 austerity budget that Lebanon plans to approve to release aid pledged by donors at last year's CEDRE conference in Paris.

Also in Makkah, the Kingdom will host the 14th session of the Islamic Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 31 under the theme “Makkah Summit: Together for the Future.”



Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Forces Killed 2 People, Including a 13-Year-Old, in the West Bank

 People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Forces Killed 2 People, Including a 13-Year-Old, in the West Bank

 People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday Israeli forces killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said the two had thrown explosives at forces overnight near the Palestinian town of Yabad and that the forces had responded by opening fire.

The Health Ministry identified the two as Mohammed Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Zayd, 20. It did not disclose details about the circumstances behind their deaths.

It was the latest bloodshed in the West Bank, which has faced a surge of violence throughout the 13-month war in Gaza. The Health Ministry says nearly 800 people have been killed, with more than 160 of them 18 and younger.

Many have been killed in fighting with the Israeli military, but Palestinians throwing rocks and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed. There has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began.