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UAE Says Israeli Annexation of West Bank ‘Serious Setback’ for Peace

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. (AFP)
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. (AFP)
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UAE Says Israeli Annexation of West Bank ‘Serious Setback’ for Peace

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. (AFP)
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. (AFP)

United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash warned on Monday that any unilateral move by Israel to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would be a serious setback for the Middle East peace process.

“Continued Israeli talk of annexing Palestinian lands must stop,” he said in a Twitter post.

“Any unilateral Israeli move will be a serious setback for the peace process, undermine Palestinian self-determination & constitute a rejection of the international & Arab consensus towards stability & peace.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said cabinet discussions would begin on July 1 on his plan to extend Israeli sovereignty to territory Palestinians want for their own state.

His pledge is in line with a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in January for creating a Palestinian state but demilitarized and with borders drawn to meet Israeli security needs, while granting US recognition of Israeli settlements on occupied West Bank land.

The Palestinians have vehemently rejected the plan, which diverges from previous US policy and a 2002 Arab League-endorsed initiative that offered Israel normal relations in return for an independent Palestinian state and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
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Lebanon's PM Says Country to Begin Disarming South Litani to Ensure State Presence

President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)
President Joseph Aoun met with PM Najib Mikati at Baabda palace. (NNA)

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that the state will begin disarming southern Lebanon, particularly the south Litani region, to establish its presence across the country.
"We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory," Mikati said.

Mikati's remarks followed a meeting with newly elected President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace. Aoun was elected as the country's new head of state by parliament on Thursday, ending a vacancy in the presidency that had persisted for over two years.

In his address to parliament, Aoun pledged to control weapons outside the state's control, saying the government is the sole entity authorized to possess and use military force and weapons.
A ceasefire agreement that ended the 13-month-conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in November has given the Lebanese party 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces are also required to withdraw from the area over the same period.
The ceasefire agreement says Israeli forces will move south of the Blue Line “in a phased manner” within 60 days. The Lebanese army’s troops will deploy “in parallel” to the positions.