Arab FMs Approve Postponing Algeria Summit to June

Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
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Arab FMs Approve Postponing Algeria Summit to June

Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)
Side of the Arab League Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Cairo (DPA)

Arab foreign ministers have approved Algeria’s proposal to postpone the “Arab Summit’ to June.

They stressed “the importance of resolving the crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya and supporting the Arab League system.”

The decision was issued during the regular meeting of Arab foreign ministers, headed by the Sultanate of Oman. The meeting was held in the Arab League (AL) headquarters in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Wednesday.

AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, during the opening session, underscored the importance of the Arab League and its effectiveness amidst the crisis suffered by many Arab countries nowadays.

He slammed the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Syrians in camps that don’t protect them from the winter’s cold, as well as attempts to seek refuge in foreign countries.

Abul Gheit also pointed to the humanitarian tragedy many Syrians are going through, stressing that military solutions “will not resolve these conflicts” and that no party will come out victorious in any civil war.

“The first step towards political solutions is a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire on all Arab fronts,” the official said.

On the Yemeni issue, Aboul Gheit pointed out that “a political solution based on Security Council Resolution 2216 is the mean to achieve an internal settlement that ensures power for all parties.”

Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi, for his part, expressed his country’s keenness to maintain its support for the AL.

Chairman of the AL’s 153rd session at the ministerial level also accentuated Oman’s cooperation with all Arab countries to achieve the League’s goals and attain Arab economic integration that serves Arab people’s interests.

Alawi also stressed that without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, no regional stability will be achieved.

He called for providing the environment necessary for peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.



Scores Killed in Gaza as Israel Launches New Incursion in North

FILE PHOTO: People survey the destruction at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes on the enclave, October 14, 2023 in this still image from video obtained by REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People survey the destruction at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes on the enclave, October 14, 2023 in this still image from video obtained by REUTERS/File Photo
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Scores Killed in Gaza as Israel Launches New Incursion in North

FILE PHOTO: People survey the destruction at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes on the enclave, October 14, 2023 in this still image from video obtained by REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People survey the destruction at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes on the enclave, October 14, 2023 in this still image from video obtained by REUTERS/File Photo

At least 24 people were killed and dozens of others wounded in Israeli airstrikes on a Gaza mosque and a school sheltering displaced people early on Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

A strike was carried out on the mosque near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Eyewitnesses said the number of casualties could rise as the mosque was being used to house displaced people.

The Israeli military said it had conducted "precise strikes on Hamas terrorists" who were operating within command and control centres embedded in Ibn Rushd School and the Shuhada al-Aqsa Mosque in the area of Deir al-Balah.

Israel's military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has also displaced nearly all of the enclave's 2.3 million people, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

The military meanwhile announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, home to a densely populated refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. It circulated photos and video footage showing a column of tanks heading toward the area.

The military said its forces had encircled Jabaliya as warplanes struck militant sides ahead of their advance. Over the course of the war, Israel has carried out several large operations there, only to see militants regroup.

Israel also ordered new evacuations in northern Gaza, which largely emptied out in the early weeks of the war when Israel ordered its entire population to flee south. Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained there despite harsh conditions and heavy destruction.

“We are in a new phase of the war,” the military said in leaflets dropped over the area. “These areas are considered dangerous combat zones.”
Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said it has expanded the so-called humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, urging people to head there. The zone includes sprawling tent camps where hundreds of thousands of people have already sought refuge, and Israel has carried out strikes inside it against what it says are fighters sheltering among civilians.