عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

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)
TT
20
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Hezbollah Says it Won't Hand Over Weapons While Israeli Troops Remain in Southern Lebanon

(FILES) Mourners attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
(FILES) Mourners attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
TT
20
TT

Hezbollah Says it Won't Hand Over Weapons While Israeli Troops Remain in Southern Lebanon

(FILES) Mourners attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
(FILES) Mourners attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of Beirut on February 23, 2025. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

The leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said on Friday that its fighters will not disarm as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly violates Lebanese air space.
Naim Kassem addressed supporters in a speech broadcast on Hezbollah’s television station. Kassem took over Hezbollah after Israeli airstrikes killed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, his successor Hashem Safieddine and other top Hezbollah figures last year, decimating the group's leadership, The Associated Press said.
Kassem said Hezbollah had implemented its commitments related to the US-brokered ceasefire that halted the fighting in Hezbollah’s latest, 14-month war with Israel.
Since the ceasefire went into effect in late November, Israeli airstrikes have killed scores of people in Lebanon including civilians and Hezbollah members. Israel says it’s targeting Hezbollah holdouts in southern Lebanon.
On Tuesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights said that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect.
Hezbollah launched its own attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with the Palestinian Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, saying it was doing so to ease the pressure on Gaza by keeping part of the Israeli military busy along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon.
In response, Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon. The 14 months of the Hezbollah-Israel war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused destruction that will take $11 billion to rebuild, according to the World Bank.
As part of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull out from parts of southern Lebanon and give up its military positions and weapons south of the Litani River while Israeli forces were to pull back into Israel. The Lebanese army was to take over Hezbollah's positions and guarantee security in the south, along with the UN peacekeeping mission.
Israel withdrew much of its troops from southern Lebanon in February but kept five posts inside Lebanese territory in what Lebanon says is a violation of the ceasefire deal.
Last week, deputy US Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus visited Beirut and called on the Lebanese state to assert its control all over Lebanon — and not only in the south along the border with Israel south of the Litani River.
“We will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah’s weapons,” Kassem said. “These weapons gave life and freedom to our people."
Kassem spoke hours after two separate Israeli drones killed two people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it killed two Hezbollah members in the strikes.
“Does anyone expect us to discuss a national defense strategy as warplanes fly over our heads and there is occupation in south Lebanon,” Kassem asked. “These are not discussions. This is surrender. Let Israel withdraw first and stop its flights in the air.”