Libya Parliament Seeks to Work with UN to Form ‘National Unity’ Govt.

Libyan MPs visit the Egyptian parliament. (Libya parliament)
Libyan MPs visit the Egyptian parliament. (Libya parliament)
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Libya Parliament Seeks to Work with UN to Form ‘National Unity’ Govt.

Libyan MPs visit the Egyptian parliament. (Libya parliament)
Libyan MPs visit the Egyptian parliament. (Libya parliament)

Libyan lawmakers concluded on Saturday a series of meetings in Cairo aimed at forming a liaison committee to work with the United Nations mission in Libya to form a national unity government.

The MPs welcomed all international efforts aimed at resolving the Libyan crisis, reiterating, however, their rejection of attempts to undermine the authority of the parliament, given that it represents the people.

They urged the parliament speaker to kick off discussions with local and external forces to clarify the legislature’s stance, discuss various proposals and initiatives and work on garnering the greatest national consensus over a solution.

This should all culminate in elections “as soon as possible,” they said, while hoping that the parallel parliaments in Libya would eventually be united.

Some 90 lawmakers, including 35 from the western region, visited on Friday the Egyptian parliament where they met with first undersecretary Al-Sayyed al-Sharif and deputy Speaker of the Arab parliament Saadeddine al-Jamal.

In a concluding statement, the lawmakers underscored the unity of Libyan territory, expressing their support for the operation waged by the Libyan National Army to liberate Tripoli from criminal gangs and militias.



Israel Presses Jenin Raid

Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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Israel Presses Jenin Raid

Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

A Palestinian official reported shooting and explosions in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday as Israeli forces pressed a raid that the military described as a "counterterrorism" operation.

"The situation is very difficult," Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, told AFP.

"The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp, and leading to the Jenin Governmental Hospital... There is shooting and explosions," he added.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin which Palestinian officials said killed 10 people, just days after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip.

According to Abu al-Rub, Israeli forces detained around 20 people from villages near Jenin, a bastion of Palestinian militancy.

The Israeli military said it had launched a "counterterrorism operation" in the area, and had "hit over 10 terrorists.”

"Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes by the terrorists were dismantled," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The Israeli forces are continuing the operation."

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue the assault.

"It is a decisive operation aimed at eliminating terrorists in the camp," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the military would not allow a "terror front" to be established there.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency announced that, in coordination with the Border Police, they had launched an operation named "Iron Wall" in the area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid aimed to "eradicate terrorism" in Jenin.

He linked the operation to a broader strategy of countering Iran "wherever it sends its arms — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen," and the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 800 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 2023.