عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

AU Seeks to Resolve GERD Obstacles after Deadline

Picture taken from the construction site of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (AFP)
Picture taken from the construction site of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (AFP)
TT
TT

AU Seeks to Resolve GERD Obstacles after Deadline

Picture taken from the construction site of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (AFP)
Picture taken from the construction site of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (AFP)

The African Union (AU) seeks to overcome the current issues in the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam negotiations that have been ongoing for nearly two weeks now under its auspices.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have yet failed to reach an agreement on the technical and legal issues of rules for filling and operating the GERD.

Tripartite talks continued for the 11th and last day in the presence of the Ministers of Water Resources of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia and the attendance of observers from the US and the EU.

Despite its late interference in the nearly 10-year issue, the AU held a virtual summit last June with the participation of Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Sudanese leaders, as well as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, AU’s current president.

The talks led to the formation of a committee to resolve legal and technical issues and reach an agreement within two weeks. The technical and legal talks are scheduled to be concluded on Monday, with each country submitting its final report on the results of the negotiations to South Africa.

This comes in line with the Egyptian request to submit the case to the UN Security Council.

In a statement on Monday, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said Ethiopia still insists on its demands and position on the technical and legal parts of the agreement.

“This reduces the chances of reaching an agreement,” the statement read, adding that Egypt considered these technical and legal parts are “the backbone of the agreement.”

Cairo fears the potential negative impact of GERD on the flow of its annual share of the Nile's 55.5 billion cubic meters of water, while Addis Ababa says the dam is not aimed at harming Egypt or Sudan’s interests, stressing that the main objective is to generate electricity to support the development process.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia has denied starting the unilateral filling of the dam reservoir, in an attempt that seemed to reassure Cairo and prevent the failure of the negotiations.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew denied Monday reports circulated by local media claiming that his country started already filling GERD since July 8.

In statements to Al- Ain news website Andargachew stressed that his government has never issued such an announcement, adding that he will hold accountable all media outlets that circulate these rumors.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Senior Israeli Army Officer among Suspects in ‘Leaks Scandal’

 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
TT
TT

Senior Israeli Army Officer among Suspects in ‘Leaks Scandal’

 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.

The arrest of a new senior army officer involved in a suspected leak of classified Gaza documents has sparked a wave of political controversy and public outcry in Israeli politics.
In the past few days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some individuals close to him tried to downplay the so-called “leaks scandal” and portrayed it as “just an ordinary incitement against the PM.”
But on Monday, an Israeli army officer was arrested by police investigators as part of the probe into leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Hebrew media reports said the officer was relaxing with his wife and children in a hotel in the southern city of Eilat, when a force of masked policemen raided the place, arrested him, and took him to an investigation room in the Tel Aviv area without providing further information.
Observers suggest this officer is one of the security personnel who leaked and falsified documents from the military to compromise efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The arrest is the fifth so far in the high-profile investigation. The five suspects include a civilian spokesman from Netanyahu's circle and four members of the security establishment.
Hebrew media outlets on Monday uncovered new information about the central suspect in the case, Eli Feldstein, the only person whose name was allowed to be published. Feldstein has previously worked for National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He then worked as a spokesman for Netanyahu from soon after the Hamas attack in southern Israel in October 2023.
According to people close to the investigation, one of the tasks assigned to Feldstein in the PM’s office was to “share with various media outlets security information that serves Netanyahu.”
Feldstein is suspected of receiving secret documents from army officers and then sharing them with a false interpretation to both the German Bild newspaper and the UK’s Jewish Chronicle, which are both close to Netanyahu and his wife.
The scandal started when details from a secret document were published by the German Bild newspaper on Sept. 6.
The report cited a document captured in Gaza indicating that Hamas’s main concern in ceasefire negotiations with Israel was to rehabilitate its military capabilities, and not to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population. Bild said it had obtained the spring 2024 document exclusively, without offering further details. It said the document was found on a computer in Gaza that belonged to now-slain Hamas leader Sinwar.
Around the same time, Jewish Chronicle published a report saying that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned to smuggle hostages through the Philadelphi Corridor to Egypt.
Netanyahu has used those reports to justify his control over the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and to thwart the hostages deal.
In the past days, the scandal has provoked sharp criticism from opposition leaders and the families of hostages.
The independent media said it highlighted “the corruption that knows no bounds” in the Netanyahu government.
Yossi Verter wrote in the Haaretz newspaper that, “Recent scandals among those in Netanyahu's inner circle reveal the nature of his entourage – a crime organization that places him above the country and national security concerns.”
Speaking about the main suspect in the case, Feldstein, Verter wrote, “The new star, burning with motivation to prove himself, quickly adapted to the office's corrupt semi-criminal atmosphere, its moral and ethical decay and its culture of lies, manipulation, and disinformation.”
At the Maariv newspaper, Shimon Hefetz, a colonel in the army reserve and military secretary to three Israeli presidents, spoke on Monday at the 29th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, saying: “(The assassination) will forever be a shocking day for Israeli democracy, as it is happening in the Prime Minister's office today.”