Blinken Says Time For Foreign Forces to Leave Libya

FILE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FILE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Blinken Says Time For Foreign Forces to Leave Libya

FILE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
FILE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Libya's newly appointed interim government.

In a statement on Twitter, he congratulated Libyans for the unity government, hoping that it would bring an end to the conflict.

"Congratulations to Libyans on the vote of confidence in support of the interim unity gov’t cabinet. A welcome step toward elections in December and an end to the conflict."

Blinken also stressed the importance of ceasefire, calling on all foreign troops to leave the country.

"It is crucial to implement the ceasefire, abide by the arms embargo, and for foreign forces to leave now."

On Wednesday, Libyan lawmakers confirmed a newly appointed interim government, in the hopes it will help unify the divided, war-wrecked North African country, and shepherd it through to elections at the end of the year.

The 132 lawmakers approved the government of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, which replaces two rival administrations — one based in the country's east and another in the west — that have been ruling Libya for years.



Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning.

The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported.

The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said.

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Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.