Arab League Slams US State Dept over Removal of 'Palestine' From Its Site

A general view of the Arab League delegates meeting in Cairo, Egypt December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A general view of the Arab League delegates meeting in Cairo, Egypt December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Arab League Slams US State Dept over Removal of 'Palestine' From Its Site

A general view of the Arab League delegates meeting in Cairo, Egypt December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A general view of the Arab League delegates meeting in Cairo, Egypt December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The Arab League denounced the US State Department’s deletion from its website, of the name of the occupied Palestinian territories or the Palestinian Authority from the list of Middle East countries.

The League said the move was “a new hostile action that threatens to liquidate the Palestinian Cause.”

In a statement, Saeed Abu Ali, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories, stressed that this [US] decision was strongly rejected by Arab countries as well as by the overwhelming majority of countries around the world, which expressed on more than one occasion their support for the Palestinian rights and adherence to the principles of law and international legitimacy.

This US measure will be added to the series of previous isolating moves, which have been rejected internationally, including by the Arab world, according to the League official.

He went on to say that the US decision would not affect “the determination and steadfastness of the Palestinian people and leadership in their just struggle to achieve their independence and complete the building of their state with the support of the Arab nation.”



Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Strong explosions in Beirut's southern suburbs began near midnight and continued into Sunday after Israel's military urged residents to evacuate areas in Dahiyeh.

Photos and video showed the blasts illuminating the southern suburbs, and sparking flashes of red and white visible from several kilometers away. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel's military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed

from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.

The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, and another building formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar. Social media reports claimed that one of the strikes hit an oxygen tank storage facility, but this was later denied by the owner of the company Khaled Kaddouha.

Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah claimed in a statement that it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers near the Manara settlement in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.”

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that Israel had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters in its ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah has not released death tolls.

Israel says it stepped up its assault on Hezbollah to enable the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last Oct. 8.

Israeli authorities said on Saturday that nine Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon so far.