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Palestinians Look Forward to Holding Int’l Peace Conference in Early 2021

The Palestinians are pushing for holding an international peace conference in early 2021. (Reuters)
The Palestinians are pushing for holding an international peace conference in early 2021. (Reuters)
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Palestinians Look Forward to Holding Int’l Peace Conference in Early 2021

The Palestinians are pushing for holding an international peace conference in early 2021. (Reuters)
The Palestinians are pushing for holding an international peace conference in early 2021. (Reuters)

Countries supporting Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas’s initiative to hold an international peace conference have prompted local efforts to organize the meeting as soon as early 2021.

In September, Abbas had called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to convene an international conference in early 2021 to launch “a genuine peace process” between Israel and the Palestinians.

The UN Security Council met on Monday and supported Abbas’ proposal and the need to implement the two-state solution. China, Russia, France and Britain expressed support to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to international law and resolutions, amid reservations from the United States and Israel.

Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee and Fatah Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad said the Palestinian leadership will launch a campaign addressing the public and international community to underline the need to hold the conference as proposal by Abbas.

“What took place at the Security Council is extremely significant. It was a response to everyone who tried to mislead the Palestinian, Arab and international public that the Palestinian leadership was not offering an alternative to the ‘Deal of the Century,’” said Ahmad.

The Palestinians have vehemently rejected US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, saying it is heavily biased to Israel and violated international resolutions.

The Security Council’s discussion of holding an international peace conference under the umbrella of the UN, with the participation of the permanent members and the Quartet plus, underscores the international community’s commitment to international and UN resolutions, continued Ahmad.

Palestinians want to launch an international conference attended by the Quartet (the UN, European Union, United States and Russia) and other countries to launch a multilateral mechanism to sponsor negotiations with the Israelis, based on Security Council resolution 1515, which states that Palestinian land is the occupied territories according to the 1967 borders.

In August, the Palestinian Authority informed the international Quartet of its intention to return to negotiations according to the 2002 Arab peace.

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US Adding Second Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

A photo released by the US military shows an F/A-18 Super Hornet warplane taking off from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on March 16, 2025 - AFP
A photo released by the US military shows an F/A-18 Super Hornet warplane taking off from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on March 16, 2025 - AFP
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US Adding Second Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

A photo released by the US military shows an F/A-18 Super Hornet warplane taking off from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on March 16, 2025 - AFP
A photo released by the US military shows an F/A-18 Super Hornet warplane taking off from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on March 16, 2025 - AFP

The United States is increasing the number of aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East to two, keeping one that is already there and sending another from the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

The announcement comes as US forces hammer Yemen's Houthis with near-daily airstrikes in a campaign aimed at ending the threat they pose to civilian shipping and military vessels in the region.

The Carl Vinson will join the Harry S. Truman in the Middle East "to continue promoting regional stability, deter aggression, and protect the free flow of commerce in the region," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

"To complement the CENTCOM maritime posture, the secretary also ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities," Parnell said, referring to the US military command responsible for the region, AFP reported.

"The United States and its partners remain committed to regional security in the CENTCOM (area of responsibility) and are prepared to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region," he added.

The Houthis began targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the start of the Gaza war in 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

Houthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic. Ongoing attacks are forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.

- 'Real pain' -

A day before the carrier announcement, US President Donald Trump vowed that strikes on Yemen's Houthis would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.

"The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at US ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump added that the Houthis had been "decimated" by "relentless" strikes since March 15, saying that US forces "hit them every day and night -- Harder and harder."

On Wednesday, the Houthis accused the United States of killing four people in fresh airstrikes on Hodeidah province.

The US president has also ramped up rhetoric towards Tehran, threatening that "there will be bombing" if Iran does not reach a deal on its nuclear program.

Satellite images seen by AFP showed that Washington had between March 26 and Wednesday doubled the number of B-2 bombers at a US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, from three to six.

The photos from imaging company Planet Labs PBC also showed the presence of six Stratotanker in-flight refuelling aircraft at the Diego Garcia base, within range of Iran.

Trump's threats come as his administration battles a scandal over the accidental leak of a secret group chat by senior security officials on the Yemen strikes.

The Atlantic magazine revealed last week that its editor -- a well-known US journalist -- was inadvertently included in a chat on the commercially available Signal app where top officials were discussing the strikes.

The officials, including Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed details of airstrike timings and intelligence -- unaware that the highly sensitive information was being simultaneously read by a member of the media.