Sisi, Jordanian King and Kadhimi Meet in Baghdad

Iraqi President Barham Salih welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
Iraqi President Barham Salih welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
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Sisi, Jordanian King and Kadhimi Meet in Baghdad

Iraqi President Barham Salih welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily
Iraqi President Barham Salih welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met in Baghdad on Sunday.

Sisi was greeted by Iraq's President Barham Salih upon arriving Sunday morning. It marked the first time Egypt's president paid an official visit to Iraq since the 1990s.

King Abdullah II arrived shortly afterwards, he and Sisi then met with Kadhimi.

The three leaders discussed several areas of regional interest, including the recent development on the Palestinian issue, combating terrorism and economic cooperation, an Egyptian presidential statement said.

"The leaders stressed the need to intensify consultation and coordination between the three countries on the most important regional issues," it added.

“This visit is an important message to our people that we are mutually supportive and unified to serve our people and the people of the region,” Kadhimi said, according to a statement from his office.

Kadhimi, Sisi and Abdullah held a summit in Amman last year and were due to hold another in Baghdad in April, but this was delayed after a deadly train crash in Egypt.

Egypt signed 15 deals and memoranda of understanding in sectors including oil, roads, housing, construction and trade in February after Iraq's cabinet in December approved renewing its contract to supply the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) with 12 million barrels of Basra light crude for 2021.

Iraq is also planning to build a pipeline that is meant to export 1 million barrels per day of Iraqi crude from the southern city of Basra to Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a press conference following Sunday's meeting that a wide range of topics had been discussed, including economic and political cooperation, large-scale industrial projects, and trade in medicine and agricultural pesticides.

The talks, which were welcomed by the US, also covered regional issues including the Syria crisis, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and the war in Yemen.

“Iraq must be isolated from regional interventions” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters after the meeting, in an apparent reference to Iran’s powerful influence.

Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project, which Egypt fears will imperil its water supply, was also discussed, he added, and all three countries agreed that a political solution and the return of refugees was needed to end the Syrian crisis.

“The message from the leaders is we stand together in the face of these challenges,” he said.



Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
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Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)

A group of Israeli settlers have briefly crossed the border into Lebanon before they were removed by troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.

The civilians who crossed the border came from the Uri Tzafon movement, a group calling for Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon. Photos posted by the group online Saturday showed a small group of activists holding signs and erecting tents inside Lebanon while Israeli soldiers were present.

After first denying the reports to Israeli media, the military said Wednesday that civilians had crossed the border “by a few meters” and were removed by troops.

The military called the border breach a “serious incident” and said it was investigating.

“Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission,” the military said, using the acronym for the Israel Defense Forces.

The settler group Uri Tzafon, which means “Awaken the North” in Hebrew, crossed the border in the area of the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. In the past, the movement has said the area is home to an old Hebrew settlement.

Groups of settler activists also have breached the Gaza border more than once since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, at one point erecting small wooden tents before they were evacuated by troops. Daniela Weiss, the leader of the movement to resettle Gaza, claims she has entered Gaza twice since the start of the war.

Israel’s settler movement has been emboldened by its current government -- the furthest-right in Israeli history -- and is now seeking to expand to parts of southern Lebanon and the north of the Gaza.