Abbas to US Envoy: Palestine Ready to Achieve Just, Comprehensive Peace

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US envoy Hady Amr. (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US envoy Hady Amr. (Wafa)
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Abbas to US Envoy: Palestine Ready to Achieve Just, Comprehensive Peace

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US envoy Hady Amr. (Wafa)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US envoy Hady Amr. (Wafa)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the US administration to intervene to halt the Israeli aggression against Palestinians and kick off efforts aimed at reaching a political solution based on UN resolutions and international law.

Abbas discussed with the US envoy, Hady Amr, the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza and the recent escalation in the West Bank.

Palestine is willing to work with the Quartet to achieve just and comprehensive peace that guarantees the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to freedom and independence as determined by international law, asserted the president.

In turn, Amr emphasized the need to de-escalate the situation, reiterating that the US administration is committed to bringing about peace and providing equitable opportunities for Palestinians and Israelis alike to live in dignity, security and prosperity.

The envoy noted the importance of achieving the two-state solution.

Amr also met member of Fatah Central Committee and the head of the General Authority for Civil Affairs, Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the General Intelligence Service Major General Majid Faraj, and presidential advisor, Majdi al-Khalidi.

The Palestinian officials called on the US administration to exert all efforts and pressure the Israeli government to end its aggression.

They warned that the continuation of the attack by the right-wing government and its settlers may kill or destroy any hope of reaching a comprehensive solution that guarantees an end to the occupation and establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Amr had arrived in Ramallah from Tel Aviv, where he met senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The United States is working to end the current escalation, along with Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.

Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland held extensive talks with Israel's National Security Adviser, Meir Ben Shabbat, and other senior Israeli officials in an effort to avoid a full-scale war.

Separately, Secretary-General of the “Islamic Jihad”, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, received a phone call from Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire.

Israel is seeking a long-term ceasefire that guarantees the return of its soldiers and citizens detained by Hamas, and the latter wants to end the Israeli escalation throughout Palestinian territories.

In the West Bank, Fatah called on Palestinians to declare a general strike on Tuesday and confront Israeli forces.

Fatah’s Central Committee called for a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in line with the statement of the Arab Higher Committee.

Fatah urged the world to confront the Israeli authorities’ attempts to “ignite a religious conflict” through evictions in Jerusalem.

There can be no security, peace or stability without having Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state, it stressed.



Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Newly elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will hold consultations with members of parliament from Jan. 13 to nominate a prime minister, the presidency said on Friday.

Once named, the new prime minister must form a government, a process that often takes many months. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is widely seen as a frontrunner, but opposition parliamentarian Fouad Makhzoumi may have the backing of a number of lawmakers, political sources said.

The post is reserved for a Sunni figure in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, which also reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament post for a Shiite.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Aoun as president on Thursday, filling a post that has been vacant since October 2022 with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

In his first remarks as president on Thursday, Aoun said that he would work to assert the state's right to hold the monopoly on arms.

Mikati said on Friday that the state would begin disarming in southern Lebanon, to assert its presence across the country.

Lebanon and Israel agreed in November to a 60-day ceasefire that stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorized to carry arms.

The proposal refers to both sides' commitment to fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including provisions that refer to the "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon".