Tunisia FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Disputes among Neighbors on Libya

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui (C) shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (R) and Algerian Sabri Boukadoum (L) before a meeting to discuss Libya in Tunis. (AFP)
Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui (C) shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (R) and Algerian Sabri Boukadoum (L) before a meeting to discuss Libya in Tunis. (AFP)
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Tunisia FM to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Disputes among Neighbors on Libya

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui (C) shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (R) and Algerian Sabri Boukadoum (L) before a meeting to discuss Libya in Tunis. (AFP)
Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui (C) shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry (R) and Algerian Sabri Boukadoum (L) before a meeting to discuss Libya in Tunis. (AFP)

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui revealed on Thursday that some 100,000 Libyans had fled their country to neighboring Tunisia due to fighting in Tripoli as the Libyan National Army (LNA) sought to cleanse the capital of terrorist and criminal gangs.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Tunisia and its Arab partners reject the participation of militias and UN-designated terrorists in the war in Libya.

He made his remarks on the sidelines of a joint press conference in Carthage with his Egyptian and Algerian counterparts, who met to discuss the crisis in Libya.

He stressed that Tunisia, which was elected as a two-year member of the UN Security Council, will be keen on ensuring “the execution of all resolutions on Libya, including those related to a political settlement to the crisis and reaching a ceasefire.”

Moreover, Jhinaoui denied the existence of disputes between Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria on efforts to reach a political settlement to the conflict in Libya.

In a statement released overnight, the foreign ministers denounced "the continuous flow of weapons" and the "influx of foreign terrorist fighters" in Libya and ruled out the possibility of a military solution to the crisis.

They agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the region.



Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Says It Captured Weapons from Iran Being Smuggled to West Bank

An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli soldier holds a weapon during an Israeli raid, in Al-Faraa camp near Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli authorities say they seized a large cache of weapons originating in Iran and bound for Palestinian fighters in the West Bank.

A joint statement from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency on Wednesday said the cache included rockets, explosives, mortar launchers, sniper rifles and other weapons. They released photos purporting to show the weapons.

The statement did not say where the seizure took place, and the military did not respond to a request for comment.

The statement identified two units of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one purportedly based in Syria, that it said were responsible for the smuggling, and named their commanders. It did not provide further evidence of Iran’s involvement.

Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the occupied West Bank in recent years, targeting what it says are militants planning attacks.

The violence spiked after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry says nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then. There has also been a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state.