Algeria, Libya Affirm Need to Secure Borders, Boost Investment

The Algerian-Libyan Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing
The Algerian-Libyan Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing
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Algeria, Libya Affirm Need to Secure Borders, Boost Investment

The Algerian-Libyan Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing
The Algerian-Libyan Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing

A Libyan delegation, led by Head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, held talks with Tunisian officials in Algiers on Sunday.

During the talks, both sides stressed the importance of securing borders and boosting investments between the two countries.

Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum affirmed his country’s “unlimited” solidarity with Libyans to overcome their crisis.

He highlighted efforts to support Libyan authorities in restoring political stability and security.

Following talks with his Libyan counterpart Najla al-Mangoush, Boukadoum said they discussed bilateral ties and means of attaining both people’s interests.

They further exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining bilateral communication and coordination.

Boukadoum expressed “great satisfaction” with the common will to push forward these relations.

The Algerian-Libyan Economic Forum was held on Sunday in Algiers and brought together 500 businessmen and contractors from both countries to discuss investment opportunities.

Boukadoum also said his country was finalizing logistical and technical preparations for the reopening of the Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing with Libya.

Both FMs discussed “measures to overcome obstacles facing investors, develop commercial and economic exchanges, including the acceleration of the reopening of the Debdeb-Ghadames border crossing.”

“The fraternal and neighborliness ties have enshrined the values of understanding and solidarity as constants in our bilateral relations,” Boukadoum stressed, hailing the Libyan people’s support for Algerians during the liberation revolution.

Mangoush, for her part, praised Algeria’s efforts and steady role to preserve Libya’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its unlimited solidarity to achieve national reconciliation.



UN Halts Aid Shipments through Gaza's Main Crossing after Looting, Blames Israel for Crisis

Palestinians gather to receive aid, including food supplies provided by World Food Program (WFP), outside a United Nations distribution center, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
Palestinians gather to receive aid, including food supplies provided by World Food Program (WFP), outside a United Nations distribution center, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
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UN Halts Aid Shipments through Gaza's Main Crossing after Looting, Blames Israel for Crisis

Palestinians gather to receive aid, including food supplies provided by World Food Program (WFP), outside a United Nations distribution center, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
Palestinians gather to receive aid, including food supplies provided by World Food Program (WFP), outside a United Nations distribution center, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, August 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip because of the threat of armed gangs who have looted recent convoys. It blamed the breakdown of law and order in large part on Israeli policies.

The decision could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the cold, rainy winter sets in, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in squalid tent camps and reliant on international food aid. Experts were already warning of famine in the territory’s north, which Israeli forces have almost completely isolated since early October.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza, said the route leading to the Kerem Shalom crossing is too dangerous on the Gaza side. Armed men looted nearly 100 trucks traveling on the route in mid-November, and he said gangs stole a smaller shipment on Saturday, The AP reported.

Kerem Shalom is the only crossing between Israel and Gaza that is designed for cargo shipments and has been the main artery for aid deliveries since the Rafah crossing with Egypt was shut down in May. Last month, nearly two-thirds of all aid entering Gaza came through Kerem Shalom, and in previous months it accounted for an even larger amount, according to Israeli figures.

In a post on X, Lazzarini largely blamed Israel for the breakdown of humanitarian operations in Gaza, citing “political decisions to restrict the amounts of aid,” lack of safety on aid routes and Israel's targeting of the Hamas-run police force, which had previously provided public security.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the decision.

Israel says it allows enough aid into Gaza and blames UNRWA and other agencies for failing to deliver it. It accuses UNRWA of having allowed Hamas to infiltrate its ranks — allegations denied by the UN agency — and passed legislation to sever ties with it last month.