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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)
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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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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)

Lebanon's parliament Thursday renewed the term of army chief Joseph Aoun, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in next year's vote.

The parliament has seldom met since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began 14 months ago, and has not convened to try to elect a president since June 2023, leaving the country in a political gridlock.

Thursday’s session is the first since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday which has left the Lebanese military responsible for ensuring Hezbollah fighters leave the country's south and its facilities dismantled. The army is expected to receive international aid to help deploy troops to deploy in the south to exert full state control there, The AP reported.

Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen as a likely presidential candidate due to his close relationship with the international community and his hold on an institution that is seen as a rare point of unity in the country facing political and sectarian tensions. Lebanon has been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022.

It is unclear whether the decision to renew Aoun's term will impact his chances as Lebanon's next president.

Hezbollah and some of its key allies and their legislators have been skeptical of a Aoun presidency due to his close relationship with Washington.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who spearheaded negotiations with the United States to end the war, also called for parliament to convene on Jan. 9, 2025 to elect a president, the first attempt in almost 19 months.

French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked by French President Emmanuel Macron with helping Lebanon break its political deadlock, observed the session before meeting with Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Berri, in an address Wednesday, urged political parties to pick a president that will bring Lebanon's rival groups together, in a bid to keep the war-torn and financially battered country from further deteriorating amid fears of internal political tensions between Hezbollah and its political opponents following the war.

The militant group's opponents, who believe Hezbollah should be completely disarmed, are furious that it made the unilateral decision to go to war with Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.