Factional Risks Hover as Libya's UN Peace Process Advances

FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
TT
20

Factional Risks Hover as Libya's UN Peace Process Advances

FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)
FILE: Representatives of Libya’s rival administrations take part in a meeting in Morocco, on October 6. (AFP)

Libyans working under a UN peace process on Tuesday agreed a mechanism to choose a new temporary government to oversee the run-up to elections late this year, in the hope that it can avoid being scuppered by factional rivalries.

It follows weeks of negotiation after a political dialogue in Tunis in November among 75 Libyans, selected by the UN Libya mission, charted a roadmap towards elections but failed to agree on how to form an interim government.

Libya has known little peace since Moammar al-Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, in an uprising backed by NATO, and has been split since 2014 between warring factions that have set up rival administrations in the west and east.

The mechanism to choose a transitional government was proposed on Saturday by a smaller committee, drawn from the political dialogue members, that met in Geneva last week. It was voted on by the full body on Monday and Tuesday.

It means the group will soon turn to the nomination and choice of a unified government to prepare for the Dec. 24 presidential and parliamentary elections - a process that is no less fraught with potential for bitter disputes.

Both the main coalitions in western and eastern Libya are honeycombed with rivalries, and any move that cuts out powerful figures could unleash a new bout of the fighting that has already sucked in other powers.

The country is split between the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which is backed by Turkey, and the east-based Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar.



Israel Ready to Negotiate Permanent Gaza Ceasefire during 60-day Truce, Netanyahu Says

09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT
20

Israel Ready to Negotiate Permanent Gaza Ceasefire during 60-day Truce, Netanyahu Says

09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will likely have a ceasefire agreement with Hamas to release more Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group. 

Netanyahu said 50 hostages were still being held captive by Hamas. Of that figure, he said, only 20 are believed to be alive. 

"I want to take them all out. We now have a deal that supposedly will get half of the living and half of the dead out," Netanyahu said in an interview on Newsmax show "The Record with Greta Van Susteren" that aired on Thursday. 

"And so we'll have 10 living left and about 12 deceased hostages, but I'll get them out, too. I hope we can complete it in a few days." 

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, Gaza's health ministry says, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble. 

The two sides have had two ceasefires - one in November 2023 and another in January 2025- since the fighting started. 

Netanyahu said Israel and Hamas will likely have a 60-day ceasefire, which the two sides could use to try to end the conflict. 

Hamas said on Wednesday there were several sticking points in the ongoing ceasefire talks including the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and "genuine guarantees for a permanent ceasefire." 

Netanyahu's interview with Newsmax comes as he wraps his third visit to Washington since President Donald Trump took office in January. 

Speaking of Trump, the Israeli leader said his country has never had "such a friend, such a support of Israel, the Jewish state in the White House." 

Last month, the US joined Israel in striking Iran, a move that Trump has said "obliterated" three of Iran's nuclear sites. 

When asked about a damage assessment, Netanyahu said, "Within months, they could have produced atomic bombs."