‘Preliminary Draft’ on Points of Disagreement, Contention Over Ethiopia’s Dam

‘Preliminary Draft’ on Points of Disagreement, Contention Over Ethiopia’s Dam
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‘Preliminary Draft’ on Points of Disagreement, Contention Over Ethiopia’s Dam

‘Preliminary Draft’ on Points of Disagreement, Contention Over Ethiopia’s Dam

A preliminary draft has been prepared on the “points of disagreement and contention” over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

According to Egypt’s Irrigation Ministry, the mini-technical committee, which consists of one technical and other legal members from Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, held a meeting on Saturday and drafted the document.

The meeting was held under the auspices of the African Union (AU) and attended by observers from the European Union and the United States and experts from the AU Commission.

Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Khartoum’s ministers of water resources agreed on the future steps and decided that the committee will continue the AU-sponsored talks until August 28, in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues.

The Ministry affirmed in a statement that a report will be submitted after the end of scheduled talks to the AU Chief and South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.

It pointed out that the meeting is based on the outcomes of the July 21 mini-summit and August 16’s joint six-party meeting between the three countries’ ministers of water resources and irrigation and the ministers of foreign affairs.

For nearly a decade, talks among the three countries over the operation and filling of the mega-dam have faltered. The dam, which Addis Ababa began constructing in 2011 on the Nile River, raises many Egyptian and Sudanese concerns.

Negotiations are resumed with the aim of “bridging the differences,” as Egypt and Sudan adhere to the importance of reaching a “binding legal agreement” to regulate the dam’s filling and operation.

They are keen to secure their water interests and limit the damages and effects of this dam, specifically reaching a mechanism to handle periods of drought and protracted drought.

Ethiopia rejects “restricting its rights to use its water resources.”

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 its development.



Netanyahu Warns Hamas of Consequences It ‘Cannot Imagine’ If Gaza Hostages Not Freed

03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
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Netanyahu Warns Hamas of Consequences It ‘Cannot Imagine’ If Gaza Hostages Not Freed

03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)
03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. (dpa)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas on Monday of consequences it “cannot imagine” if the Palestinian group does not release the hostages held in Gaza.  

“I tell Hamas: If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine,” Netanyahu said during a speech at the Israeli parliament, as negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire’s continuation have stalled.  

Netanyahu’s comments came a day after Israel blocked aid flowing into Gaza, where a six-week truce had enabled a surge of vital food, shelter and medical assistance after more than 15 months of fighting.

The move came as talks on a truce extension appeared to hit an impasse, after the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase drew to a close over the weekend.  

Under the first phase, Gaza fighters handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.  

Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.  

Early on Sunday, Israel had announced its support for a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed.  

But Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favoring a transition to the truce deal’s second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.  

A senior Hamas official said Monday the three-phase ceasefire deal is Israel’s sole way to get its hostages back from the group in Gaza.  

Ossama Hamdan said that Israel “is pushing to return things to square one and overturn the agreement through the alternatives it is proposing.”  

He said that implementation of the deal, including by engaging immediately in the second phase, is the sole way to return the hostages.

Israeli media on Monday reported that Netanyahu had a plan to exert “maximum pressure” on Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire under Israel’s terms.  

Public broadcaster Kan reported that Netanyahu wanted to extend the first stage by at least one week, until the arrival of US envoy Witkoff in the region.  

Referencing sources close to Netanyahu, Kan reported that the prime minister was waiting to see if mediators could persuade Hamas to extend the first phase, failing which he would consider resuming fighting.  

Kan said Israel has drafted plans to ramp up pressure on Hamas this week, under a scheme dubbed the “Hell Plan.”  

The plan includes following up the decision to block aid with displacing residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, halting the electricity supply, and a resumption of full-scale fighting, Kan reported.  

Daily paper Israel Hayom said that Netanyahu, unlike his far-right allies in government, “wants to exhaust all possibilities of freeing hostages before returning to war.”