Sarraj Calls for Selecting Successor by End of October

Fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) patrol an area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on January 12, 2020. (File photo: AFP)
Fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) patrol an area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on January 12, 2020. (File photo: AFP)
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Sarraj Calls for Selecting Successor by End of October

Fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) patrol an area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on January 12, 2020. (File photo: AFP)
Fighters loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) patrol an area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on January 12, 2020. (File photo: AFP)

Four years after assuming office, the head of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj announced on Wednesday that he intends to step down by the end of October and make way for a new leader elected by the dialogue committee.

Sarraj also welcomed the results of UN-sponsored negotiations to unite the North African state divided by war and foreign military interventions.

"I declare my sincere desire to hand over my duties to the next executive authority no later than the end of October," Sarraj said while delivering a speech on state television.

"Hopefully, the dialogue committee will complete its work and choose a new presidential council and prime minister," he added.

“Today, we are witnessing meetings and deliberations between Libyans sponsored by the UN, and we welcome the principal recommendations made,” Sarraj said, adding that he is hopeful that those recommendations bring about further agreement among warring parties.

Sarraj said the UN-brokered talks between the country's rival factions have led to a "new preparatory phase" to unify Libyan institutions and prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections.

Although Sarraj supports direct elections as means to a comprehensive solution, he said he would support other understandings established at negotiations.

Despite declaring his wish to resign, Sarraj still defended his government’s performance, saying that it was working under “unnatural” circumstances and that it faced internal and foreign conspiracies on a daily basis.

This, according to Sarraj, inhibited the government from performing its duties in an exemplary fashion.

In other news, the press office of the GNA’s High State Council on Wednesday said its head Khalid al-Mishri had met with Turkey’s Ambassador in Tripoli Serhat Aksen to discuss the latest developments in Libya.

Last November, Turkey and Libya’s GNA signed a maritime, as well as a security and military cooperation agreement.

Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.



Following Netanyahu and Trump Statements… PA Says Holds Onto State, Gaza Rule

This picture taken from a position at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows Israeli army vehicles driving in the besieged Palestinian territory on July 8, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
This picture taken from a position at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows Israeli army vehicles driving in the besieged Palestinian territory on July 8, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
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Following Netanyahu and Trump Statements… PA Says Holds Onto State, Gaza Rule

This picture taken from a position at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows Israeli army vehicles driving in the besieged Palestinian territory on July 8, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
This picture taken from a position at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows Israeli army vehicles driving in the besieged Palestinian territory on July 8, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said on Tuesday the Israeli plan to block the creation of a Palestinian State and the return of rule to the Gaza Strip, will not succeed.

During the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mustafa stressed that the official Palestinian stance is the embodiment of an independent state.

“The establishment of a Palestinian state requires cooperation under a single political and security system, alongside unified national institutions,” the PM said.

He noted that only through such unity can humanitarian aid effectively reach the people of Gaza and reconstruction efforts commence, ultimately leading to the realization of the long-awaited independent Palestinian state.

Mustafa said Israel is actively opposing this vision by mobilizing all its institutions and agencies to weaken the Palestinian Authority and enforce a financial blockade aimed at preventing it from fulfilling its responsibilities toward the people in Gaza.

Additionally, he said, Israel seeks to block the creation of a Palestinian state, despite widespread international consensus in its favor.

“The Israeli plan will not succeed,” the PM noted, underscoring the resilience of the Palestinian people and their steadfast determination to fulfill their national responsibilities with unwavering strength and resolve.

The Prime Minister also noted that with the growing likelihood of a near ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the government hopes for swift success in these efforts, while emphasizing that preparations are underway to coordinate relief operations and organize a reconstruction conference.

Mustafa spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington that Israel would not allow the establishment of the Palestinian state, and that he was working with several states to push Palestinians from Gaza to other countries.

Also, a senior Israeli official accompanying Netanyahu to the US said that Israel was preparing to assume control of Gaza temporarily.

Day After

In Washington, Netanyahu and Trump discussed what Gaza might look like the “day after” the war with Hamas, according to the Hebrew Maariv newspaper and the Walla website.

Later, an Israeli official made a firm statement saying: “Of course there will be Palestinians, but there will be no Palestinian Authority.”