عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

2 Pro-Bouteflika Parties Excluded from Political Dialogue in Algeria

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (Reuters)
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (Reuters)
TT
TT

2 Pro-Bouteflika Parties Excluded from Political Dialogue in Algeria

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (Reuters)
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (Reuters)

The Algerian presidency has decided to exclude two parties loyal to former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from the political dialogue it had launched on Sunday.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received Sunday at the presidential headquarters leaders of parties close to him and others from the secular and Islamic opposition parties.

They discussed the dissolution of parliament later this year and preparations to hold early parliamentary elections.

They also tackled the severe financial crisis caused by the decline in oil and gas revenues, the health crisis from the coronavirus pandemic and issues related to protest movement detainees and a government reshuffle to replace ministers earlier criticized by Tebboune for failing to carry out their duties.

Observers agree that the political dialogue will not include the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the National Democratic Rally (RND), which have occupied parliamentary seats and municipal and state councils for 20 years and are among the pillars on which Bouteflika extended his rule.

Tebboune views both parties as a political burden because they are opposed by the protest, Hirak, movement, which deems them as “symbols of corruption.” Tebboune would not risk including them in any serious political dialogue in order to avoid a hit to his credibility.

Furthermore, several leading members of the parties have been condemned to heavy jail terms after they were convicted on corruption charges.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Says Israeli Settlers Cut Down Olive Trees in ‘War-Like’ West Bank Campaign

An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Says Israeli Settlers Cut Down Olive Trees in ‘War-Like’ West Bank Campaign

An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
An aerial view of a yard where cars were torched overnight, in the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

The United Nations humanitarian office accused Israel on Friday of using "war-like" tactics against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, citing killings by soldiers and attacks on Palestinian olive groves by Israeli settlers.

This month so far, OCHA said it had received reports that settlers have carried out 32 attacks against Palestinians and their property, including on farmers. It added there were initial reports Israeli forces killed a woman who was harvesting olives near the West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday.

"It is, frankly, very concerning that it's not only attacks on people, but it's attacks on their olive groves as well," OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said at a Geneva press briefing. "The olive harvest is an economic lifeline for tens of thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank."

Israel's military said it had launched an investigation into the reported attack in Jenin and the commanding officer there at the time has been suspended pending the checks.

It said, as with every year, it was working to secure the area to let people get on with the harvest. "The harvest season was planned and coordinated with all relevant parties, and IDF forces are providing security in the designated areas," it added.

Violence has surged across the West Bank since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians - including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths and civilian bystanders - have been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.

Dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian street attacks over the past year.

The OCHA report said around 600 mainly olive trees have been burnt, vandalized or stolen by settlers since the start of the harvest. It included a picture of a Palestinian man standing next to an olive tree stump with its branches sawn off.

"Israeli forces have been using lethal, war-like tactics in the West Bank, raising serious concerns over excessive use of force and deepening people's humanitarian needs," Laerke said.

Earlier this month, the UN World Food Program said that violence and the spillover effect of the Gaza war had nearly doubled the number of people facing food insecurity in the West Bank to 600,000 people since early 2023.

A group of Western states including France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement on Oct. 14 saying olive-picking had become "dangerous" due to settler violence and calling on Israel to allow Palestinians to join the harvest.

Settler violence is a source of growing concern among Israel's Western allies. A number of countries, including the United States, have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and urged Israel to do more to stop the violence.