Hamas, Jihad Refuse to Attend Palestinian Leadership Meeting

Hamas, Jihad Refuse to Attend Palestinian Leadership Meeting
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Hamas, Jihad Refuse to Attend Palestinian Leadership Meeting

Hamas, Jihad Refuse to Attend Palestinian Leadership Meeting

Hamas and Islamic Jihad refused to attend the Palestinian leadership talks scheduled for Saturday to discuss an action plan against possible Israeli decisions to annex parts of the West Bank.

Hamas said that it had not received any official invitation to attend the meeting, stressing its readiness to participate in any serious talks that could bring about the required change in the Palestinian situation.

The movement called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to invite the secretaries-general of the Palestinian factions and forces, to an urgent meeting based on an adequate mechanism, in order to work on an effective national strategy to face the annexation plan.

The Islamic Jihad Movement has also announced that it would not attend the gathering in Ramallah.

In a brief press statement, the movement said: “The Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine has received an invitation to attend the talks to be held in Ramallah next Saturday, May 16, under the title of the Leadership Meeting.”

The Jihad added that it supported “every constructive and sincere effort to restore unity and confront the occupation,” but stressed that any leadership meeting should include the secretaries-general of the different factions “to discuss the risks to the national cause… and start rebuilding on new foundations that achieve partnership and end division.”

The Palestinian leadership has conveyed invitations to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements to attend a scheduled meeting next Saturday, dedicated to announcing the strategy to respond to any possible Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank.

The PLO’s executive member and Minister of Social Development Ahmed Majdalani had confirmed that the two movements, in addition to the Popular Front, would participate in the discussions.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have participated in the last talks to discuss US President Donald Trump’s announcement of his Middle East peace plan.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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20

Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.