Palestinian PM Urges Int'l Recognition of Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
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Palestinian PM Urges Int'l Recognition of Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has urged the international community to recognize the Palestinian state and to put an end to Israel's annexation plans.

His statement was made during the meeting of Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee for Palestine, which was attended by more than 40 states and international institutions, including European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.

The PM said: “The issue of annexation is no more an issue of announcement. Implementation measures have already started on the ground.”

“Israel started to send electricity and water bills to our villages in the Jordan Valley.”

The Israeli move is “in contravention of international law” and would “undermine peace and security in the region”, he said, adding that “annexation, if implemented, will be a grave violation of international law, UN resolutions, and the bilateral agreements we signed with Israel.”

The plans of annexation are in full harmony with the peace plan presented by the US, he said.

“Israel is not committed to the agreements that have been signed with us. Consequently, the Palestinian leadership has decided that we are no more bound to these agreements,” Shtayyeh stated.

He also called the meeting’s attendees to recognize the state of Palestine based on the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as the capital, stressing that this state should be viable, sovereign and independent.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.