PA President, Qatar's Emir Discuss Region's Political Process

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday, December 15, 2020 (WAFA)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday, December 15, 2020 (WAFA)
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PA President, Qatar's Emir Discuss Region's Political Process

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday, December 15, 2020 (WAFA)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday, December 15, 2020 (WAFA)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha on Monday to discuss the political process in the region.

Abbas briefed Sheikh Tamim on the latest developments related to the Palestinian cause and the two discussed topics of mutual interest as well as means to bolster bilateral ties.

“The president praised Qatar’s position in support of the Palestinian people’s right to regain their undiminished and full rights,” Abbas’s office said in a statement.

For his part, Tamim affirmed “his country’s position in support of the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian people’s right to regain their rights and establish their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital,” in accordance with the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The two sides also discussed ways to consolidate bilateral ties in various fields.

The meeting was attended by PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh, intelligence chief Majed Faraj, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, and ambassador of the State of Palestine to Qatar Munir Abdullah Ghannam.

Abbas arrived in Doha Sunday evening, as part of his first tour during 2020. This visit comes in the wake of Israel announcing normalizing ties with a sixth Arab country, Morocco.

Abbas is now seeking an Arab dialogue on a unified vision for the Palestinian cause, in preparation for launching a new political process in the region after the change of the US administration.

Last month, Abbas visited Jordan and Egypt, where he met with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and discussed with them his plan to hold an international conference for peace in the Middle East.



Sudan Army Surrounds Khartoum Airport and Nearby Areas 

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Army Surrounds Khartoum Airport and Nearby Areas 

A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the army patrols a market area in Khartoum on March 24, 2025. (AFP)

The Sudanese army is encircling Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, two military sources told Reuters on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Separately, Sudan's army said in a statement it had taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.

The army had long been on the back foot in a conflict that threatens to partition the country and has caused a humanitarian disaster. But it has recently made gains and has retaken territory from the RSF in the center of the country.

The army seized control of the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum on Friday.

Witnesses said on Wednesday that RSF had mainly stationed its forces in southern Khartoum to secure their withdrawal from the capital via bridges to the neighboring city of Omdurman.

The UN calls the situation in Sudan the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with famine in several locations and disease across the country of 50 million people.

The war erupted two years ago as Sudan was planning a transition to democratic rule.

The army and RSF had joined forces after forcing Omar al-Bashir from power in 2019 and later in ousting the civilian leadership.