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Lebanon’s PM-Designate Seeks 18-Member 'Technocrat Cabinet'

Aoun met with Diab on Friday (NNA)
Aoun met with Diab on Friday (NNA)
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Lebanon’s PM-Designate Seeks 18-Member 'Technocrat Cabinet'

Aoun met with Diab on Friday (NNA)
Aoun met with Diab on Friday (NNA)

Informed ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab is about to form an 18-member cabinet, free of politicians, and capable to meet the demands of the popular movement.

On Friday, Diab held his second meeting this week with President Michel Aoun to discuss the form and content of his next government.

Observers consider the announcement as a “drawback” from the techno-political cabinet that Aoun and his two Shiite allies, Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, were attached to form.

“The Aoun-Diab meeting was good. The two men discussed the distribution of ministerial portfolios and the names of some suggested figures to be appointed ministers,” the sources explained.

They denied reports saying that Diab plans to announce his cabinet in the next hours.

Earlier on Friday, Aoun hoped that with the new government, the situation will gradually start to improve and overcome the crisis, and Lebanon will return to its prosperity.

During a meeting with Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, accompanied by a delegation from the leadership, the President said, “Today, we live in a period of austerity at the individual level and on the level of the state and its institutions, but this is required at present to help overcome the current crisis.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah also commented on the developments.

“Hezbollah supports a government comprised of competent specialist candidates who enjoy integrity and loyalty to the nation and whose concern is to save the country and its economy,” Hezbollah’s Mount Lebanon and North representative Sheikh Mohammed Amro said after visiting Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai to extend greetings on the holy season.

Asked about the form of the government, Sheikh Amro said it was early to speak about names for the ministerial portfolios.

Sources told the newspaper that Diab is in a hurry to form his new cabinet. The PM-designate met on Friday evening with representatives from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.

Sources said that the list of ministerial candidates, which was leaked to the media this week, does not include independent figures.

“Those candidates are linked to the Free Patriotic Movement,” the sources said, adding that Diab is currently looking for a retired general from the North, and particularly from the Akkar region, to head the Interior Ministry.

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Arab World

Sudan's Army Chief Says He Favors Negotiated Settlement to War

Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
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Sudan's Army Chief Says He Favors Negotiated Settlement to War

Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council. (AP)

Sudan's army chief said on Friday he had not sought military support on a recent regional tour and that his preference was for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions of civilians.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also said in an interview with Reuters that he had asked neighboring states to stop sending mercenaries in support of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
War between the army and the RSF broke out in mid-April over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the army, four years after long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising.
"Every war ends in peace, whether through negotiations or force. We are proceeding on those two paths, and our preferred path is the path of negotiations," Burhan said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Burhan added that he believed that stalled talks in Jeddah could still succeed.
Burhan has made a series of foreign visits in recent weeks after remaining in Sudan for the first months of the war. The purpose was to seek solutions, not military support, though he had asked other states to block external backing that he asserts the RSF is receiving, he said.
"We asked our neighbors to help us monitor the borders to stop the flow of mercenaries," said Burhan.
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said in a video speech released on Thursday to coincide with an address by Burhan to the UN General Assembly that he was ready for a ceasefire and political talks.
Previous claims by both sides that they want peace and are ready for ceasefires have failed to stop bloodshed.
Witnesses say the army's bombardments have caused civilian casualties and that the RSF is responsible for widespread looting, sexual violence and other abuses, as well as participating in ethnically targeted attacks in Darfur.
Burhan on Friday dismissed accusations against the army as propaganda by its rivals. The RSF has denied it is behind the violence in Darfur, and will hold its men accountable for abuses.
Burhan said that army deployment in El Geneina, which suffered the worst mass killings in Darfur, has been limited, hindering their ability to respond.
The violence peaked after the governor of West Darfur was killed on June 14. Burhan said he told the governor to seek protection at a military camp, but the governor had rejected that.
"The armed forces present in El Geneina are not sufficient in number to spread out in every area," he said.

Arab World

Netanyahu Tells UN that Israel Is Looking Forward to Historic Agreement with Saudi Arabia

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Tells UN that Israel Is Looking Forward to Historic Agreement with Saudi Arabia

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 22 September 2023. (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly on Friday that Israel is "at the cusp" of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, without outlining a clear path over the significant obstacles facing such an accord.

He struck an optimistic tone throughout his roughly 25-minute address — and, once again, used a visual aid. He displayed contrasting maps showing Israel's isolation at the time of its creation in 1948 and the six countries that have normalized relations with it, including four that did so in 2020 in the so-called Abraham Accords.

"There’s no question the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace. But I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, an historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia," Netanyahu said. "Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East."

There are several hurdles in the way of such an agreement, including Saudi Arabia’s demand for progress in the creation of a Palestinian state — a hard sell for Netanyahu's government, the most religious and nationalist in Israel's history.

Netanyahu said the Palestinians "could greatly benefit from a broader peace," saying: "They should be part of that process, but they should not have a veto over the process."

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down more than a decade ago, and violence has soared over the past year and a half, with Israel carrying out frequent military raids in the occupied West Bank and Palestinians attacking Israelis.

Netanyahu's government has approved thousands of new settlement homes in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians want for the main part of their future state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who addressed the General Assembly on Thursday, made no direct reference to efforts to reach a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. But he reiterated the centrality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full and legitimate national rights are mistaken," Abbas said.

Netanyahu has often seemed to revel in using the podium of the General Assembly to lambast Israel's enemies.

He famously held up a picture of a cartoon bomb in 2012 to illustrate Iran's advancing uranium enrichment. In 2020, he claimed Hezbollah was stockpiling explosives near Beirut's airport, prompting the Iran-allied militant group to organize an immediate visit by journalists, who saw heavy machinery but no weapons.

The map he held up this year made no reference to the West Bank, Gaza or east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967 that the Palestinians want for their future state. The map appeared to show Israel encompassing all three.

The chamber was largely empty during his address, though there was a group of Netanyahu supporters who clapped several times during his speech. Protesters and supporters of Netanyahu demonstrated across the street from the UN headquarters.

Netanyahu referred to the cartoon bomb when he held up the maps, pulling out a red marker and drawing a line showing a planned trade corridor stretching from India through the Middle East to Europe.

He also reprised his longstanding criticism of Iran, which Israel views as its greatest threat. Netanyahu referred to Iran's crackdown on protests, its supplying of attack drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, and its military activities across the Middle East.

Netanyahu called for stepped-up sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, which has steadily advanced since the United States withdrew from an agreement with Iran and world powers to which Israel had been staunchly opposed.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who also attended the General Assembly, urged the US to lift sanctions in order to return to the nuclear deal. Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but the US and others believe it had a secret weapons program until 2003.

Raisi also denied Iran had sent drones to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. US and European officials say the sheer number of Iranian drones being used by Russia shows that the flow of such weapons intensified after hostilities began.

In an ambiguous turn of phrase during his address, Netanyahu said that "above all, Iran must face a credible nuclear threat." The prime minister's office later issued a clarification, saying he meant to say "credible military threat."

Israel, which is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but has never publicly acknowledged them, has repeatedly said all options are on the table to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

Arab World

Israel Strikes Gaza after Palestinians Launch Incendiary Balloons toward Israel

Israeli army vehicle patrols at the border with the Gaza Strip during clashes between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli troops near Nahal Oz, on the border with Gaza Strip, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
Israeli army vehicle patrols at the border with the Gaza Strip during clashes between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli troops near Nahal Oz, on the border with Gaza Strip, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
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Israel Strikes Gaza after Palestinians Launch Incendiary Balloons toward Israel

Israeli army vehicle patrols at the border with the Gaza Strip during clashes between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli troops near Nahal Oz, on the border with Gaza Strip, 22 September 2023. (EPA)
Israeli army vehicle patrols at the border with the Gaza Strip during clashes between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli troops near Nahal Oz, on the border with Gaza Strip, 22 September 2023. (EPA)

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late on Friday after Palestinian activists launched incendiary balloons into Israel as a week of violence along the volatile frontier intensified.

The rising tensions along Israel's front with Gaza came as fighting in the occupied West Bank surged — to levels unseen in two decades. In the latest bloodshed Friday, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian militant in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian activists have been protesting for the past week next to the fence separating Gaza and Israel. The protests have turned violent, with demonstrators hurling explosives toward Israeli troops, and soldiers responding with tear gas and live fire.

For the first time in the current round of unrest, Palestinian protesters on Friday launched balloons into Israel, blackening large patches of vegetation on the other side of the border. Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire wounded 28 Palestinians during protests along the barrier.  

Hamas, the movement ruling Gaza since 2007, says youths have organized the protests in response to Israeli provocations.

Unrest over the past week has escalated tensions and prompted Israel to bar entry to thousands of Palestinian laborers from the impoverished enclave.

Palestinians in Gaza have launched balloons in the past to protest an Israeli blockade imposed on the territory since 2007. The balloons have caused fires and scorched Israeli farmland, prompting Israel on several occasions to use fighter jets to strike at Hamas.

The evening airstrikes struck three military posts belonging to Hamas, the army said. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and engaged in numerous smaller battles since Hamas took over the territory.

Palestinian protesters at the border fence on Friday said they were demonstrating against recent Jewish visits to a disputed holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem. Jews revere the hilltop compound as the Temple Mount, home to the biblical Jewish Temples. Today, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Under longstanding arrangements, Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not to pray there. But growing numbers of visits — along with scenes of some Jews quietly praying — have raised Palestinian fears that Israel is plotting to divide or take over the site. Israel says it is committed to the longstanding status quo.

Earlier Friday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian militant in the northern West Bank, Palestinian authorities said. The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the man as its fighter and identified him as 18-year-old Abdallah Abu Hasan.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Hasan was shot in the abdomen by Israeli forces early Friday morning in a Palestinian village north of the West Bank city of Jenin.

The Israeli army said the shooting occurred during a nighttime raid in Kafr Dan, a town near the militant stronghold of Jenin. It said Palestinians fired at soldiers and threw explosives. Soldiers shot back, hitting Hasan.

The operation was the most recent in a series of stepped-up raids Israel has been staging in Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Israel claims such raids root out militancy and thwart future attacks.

But Palestinians say the raids entrench Israel's 56-year occupation over the West Bank. The raids, which have been escalated over the past year and a half,also show little sign of slowing the fighting.

Some 190 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.

At least 31 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis since the beginning of 2023.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

Arab World

Iran’s Quds Force Chief in Syria to Oversee Joint Drill

Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani. (AFP file photo)
Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani. (AFP file photo)
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Iran’s Quds Force Chief in Syria to Oversee Joint Drill

Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani. (AFP file photo)
Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani. (AFP file photo)

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, has visited Syria to oversee a joint military drill, media outlets in Iran said.

Qaani, appointed Quds Force commander after a US drone strike on Baghdad killed its revered leader Qasem Soleimani in 2020, met senior Syrian officials in Damascus, Tasnim news agency reported late Thursday.

They held discussions on ways to "confront the military and security challenges facing Syria" and supervised a joint Iran-Syria military exercise, Tasnim said.

Qaani also praised Syria and Iran's "brotherly relations" said Iran "will stand by the Syrian people and leadership in facing its challenges", the news agency added.

The Quds Force is the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The United States placed it on its list of "foreign terrorist organizations" in 2019, but Iran insists its activities abroad are an example of regional cooperation aimed at shoring up stability and blocking Western interference.

Iran has been a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, providing him economic, political, and military support during Syria's more than 12-year civil war.

Tehran's support helped Damascus claw back most of the territory it lost at the start of the conflict and positioned Iran in a leading role as Assad seeks to focus on reconstruction.

Militias affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards have a heavy presence across Syria, but Tehran denies sending forces to fight in Syria, saying it only has military advisers in the war-ravaged country.

The Syrian conflict has claimed more than 500,000 lives, displaced millions and ravaged the country's infrastructure and industry.

In May, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi embarked on a landmark visit to Syria, where he called on "resistance forces" to come together to confront Tehran's arch-enemy Israel.

Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against Syrian positions as well as Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, allies of Damascus and arch-foes of Israel.

Israel rarely comments on the strikes on a case-by-case basis, but says it seeks to prevent Iran from establishing a foothold on its doorstep.

Arab World

Libya’s Flood-Hit Derna to Host Reconstruction Conference

A view shows destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Libya’s Flood-Hit Derna to Host Reconstruction Conference

A view shows destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A view shows destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Libya's eastern-based administration said on Friday that it would host an international conference next month in the flood-hit port city of Derna to aid reconstruction efforts.

A tsunami-sized flash flood broke through two ageing dams upstream from Derna after a hurricane-strength storm lashed the area on September 10, razing entire neighborhoods and sweeping thousands of people into the sea.

"The government invites the international community to participate in the conference planned for October 10 in Derna to present modern, rapid projects for the reconstruction of the city," the administration said in a statement.

It said the conference was being held in "response to the demands of residents of the stricken city of Derna and other towns that suffered damage" during the flooding.

Wracked by divisions since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed veteran ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi, Libya has for years been ruled by two administrations vying for power.

The Government of National (GNU) in Tripoli is headed by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, while a rival administration in the east is backed by Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar.

The official death toll from the flood stands at more than 3,300 -- but the eventual count is expected to be far higher, with international aid groups giving estimates of up to 10,000 people missing.

Over 40,000 displaced

The International Organization for Migration on Thursday said more than 43,000 people have been displaced by the flood.

It said a "lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna" to other areas.

The dams that burst had developed cracks as far back as the 1990s, Libya's top prosecutor has said, as residents accused authorities of negligence.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said in a report issued on Tuesday that a deluge of the magnitude seen during Storm Daniel in northeastern Libya was an event that occurred once every 300-600 years.

They found the rains were both more likely and heavier because of human-caused global warming, with up to 50 percent more rain during the period.

Arab World

Ambassador: US Embassy in Lebanon ‘Not Intimidated’ by Shots Fired Towards it

Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Ambassador: US Embassy in Lebanon ‘Not Intimidated’ by Shots Fired Towards it

Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)

US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Friday said the embassy was "not intimidated" by a gunman's shots towards its entrance earlier this week and that Lebanese authorities were investigating the incident.

Late Wednesday, shots were fired near the US embassy north of Beirut. Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said no one had been hurt and normal business operations were ongoing.

"We know that authorities are investigating this incident, whereby a gunman fired shots toward the US embassy the other night," Shea said on Friday after meeting Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati.

"Please know that we at the US embassy are not intimidated by this incident, and our security protocols are very strong and our partnerships are ironclad," she said.

Mikati also condemned what he described as an "attack on the American embassy". There was no claim of responsibility for the gunfire and authorities have not provided details on the investigation.

The highly secured US embassy lies north of Beirut in the town of Awkar. Security incidents around it are rare. The embassy moved there from Beirut following a suicide attack in 1983 which killed more than 60 people.

Arab World

Somalia Asks UN to Delay Peacekeeper Drawdown after ‘Significant Setbacks’

Burundian soldiers, part of the African Union troops, march at their base in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 24, 2011. (AP)
Burundian soldiers, part of the African Union troops, march at their base in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 24, 2011. (AP)
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Somalia Asks UN to Delay Peacekeeper Drawdown after ‘Significant Setbacks’

Burundian soldiers, part of the African Union troops, march at their base in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 24, 2011. (AP)
Burundian soldiers, part of the African Union troops, march at their base in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 24, 2011. (AP)

Somalia has asked the United Nations to pause a planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers for three months to allow its security forces time to regroup after a militant attack forced them to withdraw from several recently captured towns.

The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which is mandated by the UN Security Council, took over from another AU mission in April last year.

On June 30 ATMIS concluded the first phase of the drawdown of 2,000 troops and was due to enact a second troop withdrawal by Sept. 30, reducing its military personnel to 14,626.

In a Sept. 19 letter to the UN Security Council seen by Reuters, National Security Adviser Hussein Sheikh Ali said the government's year-long campaign to liberate areas from al-Shabaab militants in the central regions of the country had suffered "several significant setbacks" in recent weeks.

Ali said an attack by the extremists on Aug. 26 in Cosweyn in Galgaduud region had triggered the retreat of government forces from several newly captured towns.

Somalia's government has not provided a death toll for the attack, but one former official, citing military officers in Cosweyn, said as many as 130 soldiers may have been killed.

"This unforeseen turn of events has stretched our military forces thin, exposed vulnerabilities in our front lines, and necessitated a thorough reorganization to ensure we maintain our momentum in countering the al Shabaab threat," Ali wrote.

"Our forces require a period of respite for recuperation while we continue our advance."

Somalia's information and interior ministers did not respond to requests for comment.

Al-Shabaab has killed tens of thousands since 2006 in its fight to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed central government.

ATMIS is due to fully withdraw and hand over security responsibilities to the Somali state by the end of 2024. Somalia remains committed to that date, Ali wrote.

Arab World

China’s Xi Calls on West to Lift Sanctions against War-Ravaged Syria

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in eastern Hangzhou city, in this handout picture released by Sana on September 22, 2023, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in eastern Hangzhou city, in this handout picture released by Sana on September 22, 2023, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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China’s Xi Calls on West to Lift Sanctions against War-Ravaged Syria

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in eastern Hangzhou city, in this handout picture released by Sana on September 22, 2023, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in eastern Hangzhou city, in this handout picture released by Sana on September 22, 2023, Syria. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

China's President Xi Jinping called on the West to lift sanctions on Syria and offered Beijing's help in rebuilding the war-shattered country on Friday during rare talks with Syria's long ostracized leader Bashar al-Assad.

Their meeting in the Chinese city of Hangzhou gave a boost to Assad's campaign to return to the global stage while allowing China to advance its strategic interests in the Middle East.

"China opposes interference by external forces in Syria's internal affairs... and urges all relevant countries to lift illegal unilateral sanctions against Syria," said a readout of the talks published by Chinese state media.

Xi also told Assad that China would help Syria to rebuild its ruined economy and counter domestic unrest, by upgrading ties to a "strategic partnership".

Xi's endorsement should strengthen Assad's efforts to plot a path back from what is effectively pariah status. Syria joined China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2022 and was welcomed back into the Arab League in May.

In Chinese diplomacy, a "strategic partnership" implies closer coordination on regional and international affairs, including in the military sphere. It is one grade below what Beijing calls a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Western sanctions on Syria have been steadily tightened since the early days of a civil war that began in 2011 with a crackdown on protests and went on to kill hundreds of thousands of people and displace millions.

Assad's government, backed by Russia and Iran, now controls most Syrian territory and has re-established ties in recent years with Arab neighbors.

Sanctions deterrent

Syria desperately needs foreign investment for its infrastructure and industry. Its dire economic situation has triggered protests in southern Syria in which crowds have called for the president's removal.

However, analysts doubt that Chinese firms will rush back to Syria as they would risk becoming entangled in US sanctions under the 2020 Caesar Act that can freeze the assets of anyone dealing with the country.

Chinese investors will also have to consider Syria's poor security and parlous financial situation.

Beijing has stepped up its diplomatic engagement with the Middle East in recent years, and in March helped broker a surprise deal between long-standing regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran to end their seven-year diplomatic rift.

Citing flagship initiatives aimed at building up infrastructure along the ancient Silk Road and promoting China's approach to global security, Xi extended support for Syrian efforts to improve relations with other Arab countries. 

Arab World

Palestinian PM Says Oslo Accords Have ‘Vanished’

A Palestinian man stands in front of damage caused by an Israeli raid on Jenin city and its camp. (AFP)
A Palestinian man stands in front of damage caused by an Israeli raid on Jenin city and its camp. (AFP)
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Palestinian PM Says Oslo Accords Have ‘Vanished’

A Palestinian man stands in front of damage caused by an Israeli raid on Jenin city and its camp. (AFP)
A Palestinian man stands in front of damage caused by an Israeli raid on Jenin city and its camp. (AFP)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh appealed for strong international support to overcome political and financial challenges, enhance reform efforts, and advance development plans.

He made these remarks during the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) donors’ meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

"It is clear to all of us that the Oslo Accords have vanished in all aspects: security, political, legal, and financial," he said, calling on the international community to protect the two-state solution.

He accused the Israeli government of working systematically to undermine the establishment of the Palestinian state and push the Palestinian Authority to the brink of collapse through its daily incursions into the villages, cities, and camps, as well as its policies that are based on murder, arrests, and destruction.

The Israeli government is illegally withholding Palestinian funds, in addition to making unmonitored deductions from electricity, water, and sewage bills, added Shtayyeh.

He went on to say that the "systematic piracy of Palestinian funds has now topped $800 million annually, exceeding our annual deficit by $200 million, which has affected our ability to fulfill our obligations and pay public sector salaries in full."

Meanwhile, international aid has decreased significantly, as it has dropped from 30 percent of the budget to only three percent, he continued.

The PM briefed the meeting on the progress made in implementing the reform agenda.

He said that the government is about to finalize the 2024-2029 development plan, which is based on a set of goals that include strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian people, gradually breaking away from dependency on Israel by expanding Palestinian economic production and diversifying the trade relationship, in addition to strengthening and improving services in public institutions.

The Palestinian government is suffering from an ongoing financial crisis, which it says is the worst since its establishment due to Israel's continued deduction of Palestinian tax funds, the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis, and an unprecedented decline in foreign support.

For the second consecutive year, the Palestinian government cannot pay total salaries to civil and military servants, an indication of the ongoing financial crisis expected to worsen as the Israeli government deducts more of the PA’s "clearing" tax revenue funds.

For years Israel has been deducting sums of money from the clearance at a rate exceeding 200 million shekels per month, including the prices of electricity purchased by distribution companies and Palestinian local authorities from the Israel Electricity Company, the costs of water and sewage, and an allowance for medical referrals.

Finance Minister Shukri Bishara called on the international community to pressure Israelis to stop these deductions, restore financial rights fully, resolve pending issues in line with international law, and carry out the main amendments in the Paris Agreement.

The minister said during the same meeting that the sharp decline in the donor countries' support was compounded by a doubling in the Israeli deductions.

Bishara went on to say that the year 2023 was challenging for the PA because of the Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities, incurring huge losses in the economy and causing the GDP to slow down to 2.7 percent from 3.9 percent last year.

He further demanded the amendment of the Paris Agreement, saying that it has become a way to control 65 percent of returns and to keep the Palestinian economy dependent on Israel.

Arab World

Two New Candidates Run for Presidential Election in Egypt

A banner depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seen outside a polling station during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments (File photo: Reuters)
A banner depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seen outside a polling station during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments (File photo: Reuters)
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Two New Candidates Run for Presidential Election in Egypt

A banner depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seen outside a polling station during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments (File photo: Reuters)
A banner depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seen outside a polling station during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments (File photo: Reuters)

Two new figures, opposition activist and head of Egypt's liberal Constitution Party (al-Dostour) Gameela Ismail and Chairman of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party Farid Zahran, have announced they were running for the upcoming presidential elections in Egypt.

Ismail informed her party of her decision to enter the presidential race in response to a request from its supreme body. She has called for an extraordinary general assembly on October 4 to vote on her candidacy.

On Wednesday, Egypt's National Election Authority (NEA) announced that it had completed the "logistical procedures" for the upcoming elections, emphasizing it will maintain an equal distance from all candidates.

NEA executive director Ahmed Bendari stated that the Authority will guarantee the full rights of all candidates who meet the nomination requirements.

Zahran announced that his party held an urgent meeting to review its stance on the upcoming presidential election, as NEA is set to announce its timetable on Monday.

The meeting was attended by 134 members out of the party's total 143.

According to a party statement, "after a ten-hour meeting, 75 percent of members voted in favor of Zahran running for president, 15 percent objected, and 10 percent abstained."

The Civil Democratic Movement, an opposition coalition comprising 12 parties and public figures, seeks to agree on a single candidate.

If Gameela Ismail runs for the presidency, she will become the first Egyptian woman to do so.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has not announced his intention to run for another term.

To date, five political figures, including head of the Wafd Party Abdel-Sanad Yamama, former MP and member of the Wafd Party's Higher Council Fouad Badrawi, head of the People's Republican Party Hazem Omar, chairman of the Democratic Peace Party Ahmed el-Fadaly, and former MP and former head of leftist al-Karama Party Ahmed Tantawi have said they have plans to run in the upcoming elections.

Egyptian expert Abdel Moneim Said told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egyptian parties are taking the elections seriously and should continue efforts to agree on one candidate.

During a press conference, the National Election Authority laid down rules stipulating that a candidate for the presidency must be endorsed by at least twenty parliament members or supported by no less than 25,000 citizens who have the right to vote in at least fifteen governorates.