Arab League Seeks Int’l Alliance against Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit (File photo: Reuters)
The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit (File photo: Reuters)
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Arab League Seeks Int’l Alliance against Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit (File photo: Reuters)
The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit (File photo: Reuters)

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit is seeking to form an international alliance that confronts Israel’s annexation plans in the West Bank and Jordan Valley.

Israel’s plans did not receive any international support, according to the Sec-Gen, who said that most countries and international blocs oppose it, hoping this will help in the formation of the alliance.

Aboul Gheit said in a statement on Wednesday that it is necessary at this stage to form the widest possible international alliance which will expose Israel’s isolation and those who support it in this reckless and dangerous policy that threatens the stability of the region.

Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Hossam Zaki indicated that Aboul Gheit will participate in a session on the situation in the Middle East, which will be held at the ministerial level on June 24th and will be entirely devoted to discussing the annexation plans.

Zaki said that holding this meeting at this time is an opportunity for the Security Council and its members to publicly and collectively reject Israel’s plans and warn Tel Aviv against moving forward with it.

He pointed out that the meeting came as a result of successive conferences held by the Arab League delegation in New York with members of the Security Council led by France, the current president of the council, as well as Germany, as the upcoming president.

These diplomatic moves aim to implement the decision of the League calling to harness international efforts at the United Nations and its organs to address the implementation of the Israeli annexation plans.

Zaki stressed that Aboul Gheit continues his international calls to build an alliance against the Israeli move and demonstrate its grave threat to international peace and security.

Aboul Gheit recently sent a number of messages to Japan, India, Australia, and Russia warning against the annexation of parts of the Palestinian territories.



Hamas Names Four Israeli Female Soldier Hostages to Be Freed in Second Swap

 Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Hamas Names Four Israeli Female Soldier Hostages to Be Freed in Second Swap

 Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)

Palestinian group Hamas announced the names on Friday of four Israeli women soldier hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag would be released on Saturday, the group said.

The exchange, expected to begin on Saturday afternoon, follows the release on the ceasefire's first day last Sunday of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators. Israel's response would be presented later, it said in a statement.

Israeli media reported that the list of hostages slated for release was not in line with the original agreement, but it was not immediately clear whether this would have any impact on the planned exchange.

In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for the four.

The Hamas prisoners media office said it expected to get the names of 200 Palestinians to be freed on Saturday in the coming hours. It said the list was expected to include 120 prisoners serving life sentences and 80 prisoners with other lengthy sentences.

Since the release of the first three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.

The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in Nov. 2023.

In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which lies largely in ruins after 15 months of fighting and Israeli bombardment.

Israel launched the war following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there.

The release of the first three hostages last week brought an emotional response from Israelis. But the phased release has drawn protests from some Israelis who fear the deal will break down after women, children, elderly and ill hostages are freed in the first phase, condemning male hostages of military age whose fate is not to be resolved until later.

Others, including some in the government, feel the deal hands a victory to Hamas, which has reasserted its presence in Gaza despite vows of Israeli leaders to destroy it. Hardliners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have demanded that Israel resume fighting at the end of the first phase.

Most of Hamas' top leadership and thousands of its fighters have been killed but the group's police have returned to the streets since the ceasefire.