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Arab World

Maliki Kicks Off European Tour to Discuss Palestinian Elections

Kids play music at Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City during preparation for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, April 10, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
Kids play music at Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City during preparation for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, April 10, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
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Maliki Kicks Off European Tour to Discuss Palestinian Elections

Kids play music at Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City during preparation for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, April 10, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)
Kids play music at Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City during preparation for the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, April 10, 2021 (Photo: Reuters)

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki kicked off Sunday a visit to several European capitals to discuss the Palestinian elections scheduled for next month, his office said in a statement.

Al-Maliki is expected to hold talks on Monday with Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union. He will later meet with EU parliamentarians and foreign ministers.

The FM will mainly urge his European counterparts to pressure Israel to allow the Palestinian vote to be conducted freely, including in East Jerusalem.

“The visit is part of the ongoing Palestinian diplomatic efforts to place the international community and the EU in front of their responsibility to secure the conduct of legislative elections without any obstacles, including in East Jerusalem,” according to the Foreign Ministry statement.

Also on Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting with the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee, and another with the Fatah Movement’s central committee to discuss the elections in East Jerusalem.

Palestinians plan to hold the legislative elections on May 22 and the presidential polls on July 31, for the first time in 15 years. Elections will be held in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip without exception. Palestinian factions had pledged to respect and accept the polls’ results.

On Sunday, a PA official announced that last February, the Authority had filed an official request to Israel asking Tel Aviv to respect previous agreements signed between the two sides concerning the conduct of elections in Jerusalem.

However, the official said that Israel has not yet responded whether it will allow East Jerusalem Palestinians to vote.

A previous interim deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis allowed Palestinians residing in East Jerusalem to take part in elections conducted in 1996, 2005, and 2006.

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Arab World

Türkiye Opposes Iraq Pipeline Deal Extension under Current Conditions, Official Says

A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. . REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. . REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Türkiye Opposes Iraq Pipeline Deal Extension under Current Conditions, Official Says

A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. . REUTERS/Umit Bektas
A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. . REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Türkiye does not want an extension of the existing Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline agreement under current conditions, a senior Turkish official said, after Baghdad asked Ankara to extend it for at least a year to allow time for more talks.

The decades-old Türkiye-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement, which governs exports through the pipeline, is due to expire on July 27. Baghdad and Ankara are still discussing a new draft agreement.

"There is no point in extending an agreement that has been subject to arbitration," the Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said when asked about Iraq's extension request.

Ceyhan is a crucial export outlet for Iraqi oil, with the state's main export terminal in Basra suffering from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

Türkiye last year announced the end of the accord covering the pipeline and asked to renew it under new conditions. Türkiye's proposal included a mechanism to ensure the full use of the pipeline and options, such as extending the pipeline to the south of Iraq. The pipeline had remained offline for 2-1/2 years after an arbitration court ruled for Ankara to pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized Iraqi exports Türkiye received between 2014 and 2018. Flows began late last year.

There is also a second arbitration case that covers a period from 2018 onwards and an award enforcement case running in a US court. The pipeline has a capacity of almost 1.5 million barrels per day but has been working significantly below capacity due to security and other issues. Crude exports from Kirkuk to Türkiye were at 177,000 barrels per day in April, according to shipping data reviewed by Reuters.

 

 

 

 

Arab World

Israel Seizes Powers over Hebron Shrine from Palestinian Authority

Israeli flags flutter on the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/File Photo
Israeli flags flutter on the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/File Photo
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Israel Seizes Powers over Hebron Shrine from Palestinian Authority

Israeli flags flutter on the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/File Photo
Israeli flags flutter on the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 21, 2026. REUTERS/Yosri Aljamal/File Photo

Israel has seized planning and construction powers at a Jewish and Muslim shrine in the occupied West Bank from the Palestinian Authority, scrapping an agreement in place since the 1990s, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday.

Under the 1997 Hebron Agreement, Palestinians controlled planning and construction in the entire city, including the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the adjoining Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque.

The far-right minister said he had given the final sign-off late on Monday to the transfer of those powers as they affected the religious site and the nearby Jewish settlement to Israeli authorities.

Israel's right to control the West Bank, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East War, is not recognized internationally. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office called the seizure of powers an "infringement upon the political and legal status of Hebron", and a violation of international law.

In a speech marking the establishment of a new Israeli settlement near Hebron, Smotrich said the "historic step" would deepen "Israeli sovereignty" in the West Bank, which Palestinians seek as the heart of a future independent state.

Israel is due to call an election by the end of October, ahead of which Smotrich is struggling in the polls. A settler himself, he has long pushed for the annexation of the West Bank and his party draws much of its support from ideologically motivated settlers who view the West Bank as their biblical heartland.

Hebron has at times been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence. In 1994, a Jewish settler killed 29 Muslims praying at the shrine.

The decision to transfer the powers was taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet in February, one of a series of measures meant to make it easier for settlers to buy land and give Israeli authorities more enforcement powers in the territory.

Smotrich has been key to a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which has been accompanied by a rise in violence.

UN bodies and most countries have found Israel's settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Israel disputes this view, citing biblical and historical ties, as well as security needs.

Settlers have killed 13 Palestinians this year, according to UN data.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Opening of Embassy for So-Called 'Somaliland Region' in Occupied Jerusalem

The Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League Condemns Opening of Embassy for So-Called 'Somaliland Region' in Occupied Jerusalem

The Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned the move by the so-called "Somaliland Region" to open an embassy in occupied Jerusalem. It described the step as a challenge to international law and international legitimacy resolutions concerning the legal status of the city.

In a statement issued by the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, the Arab League said the move further entrenches the illegal occupation and forms part of attempts to alter the legal, historical, and demographic status quo of Jerusalem and isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings. It stressed that such measures are null and void and carry no legal effect, SPA reported.

The Arab League reiterated that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. It also reaffirmed its commitment to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of an independent state along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The organization further reaffirmed its support for the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia and rejected any measures that undermine those principles. It called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities in preserving the legal and historical status quo of Jerusalem and preventing attempts to impose a new reality or legitimize the Israeli occupation and its illegal practices.

The Arab League stressed that establishing diplomatic missions in occupied Jerusalem or recognizing the city as a location for foreign missions violates the international consensus regarding the city's status. It added that such actions undermine efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution and international legitimacy resolutions.