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Egypt, Jordan Intelligence Chiefs Visit Ramallah

Palestinian guards outside the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. Reuters
Palestinian guards outside the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. Reuters
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Egypt, Jordan Intelligence Chiefs Visit Ramallah

Palestinian guards outside the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. Reuters
Palestinian guards outside the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. Reuters

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Ramallah Sunday with Egyptian Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel and the head of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate, Ahmed Husni.

Informed Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting tackled the upcoming elections, ways to advance the peace process and steps to accomplish the Palestinian reconciliation to end the rivalry between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas.

On Friday, Abbas issued a formal presidential decree ordering the first Palestinian national elections in more than a decade and a half. The Legislative Council will be held on May 22 followed by the presidential election on July 31.

“The visit came as part of arrangements for a new phase in the region and in preparation for the start of a new US administration,” the sources said.

Abbas held talks with Kamel and Husni in the presence of Majed Faraj, head of the PA General Intelligence Service.

The visit came a few hours before Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi travels to Jordan Monday at the invitation of King Abdullah II.

During Sunday’s meeting, Abbas expressed gratitude at the efforts exerted by Sisi and King Abdullah to end the Fatah-Hamas rift, WAFA reported.

Leaders of Hamas and Fatah are expected to meet in Cairo in the coming days to discuss preparations for holding the long overdue elections.

Meanwhile, Egyptian media outlets said Kamel delivered a message from Sisi, consisting of Egypt's fixed stance on the necessity to reach a "fair solution" for the Palestinian cause.

The message also stressed Egypt’s keenness to intensify its efforts so that it contributes to the success of the Palestinian elections process.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.