Al-Menfi Emphasizes 'Libyan Reconciliation', Kubis Calls for Ending 'Divisions'

 Mohammad Al-Menfi after performing the Eid prayer in Tobruk on Tuesday. (Photo: Presidential Council)
Mohammad Al-Menfi after performing the Eid prayer in Tobruk on Tuesday. (Photo: Presidential Council)
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Al-Menfi Emphasizes 'Libyan Reconciliation', Kubis Calls for Ending 'Divisions'

 Mohammad Al-Menfi after performing the Eid prayer in Tobruk on Tuesday. (Photo: Presidential Council)
Mohammad Al-Menfi after performing the Eid prayer in Tobruk on Tuesday. (Photo: Presidential Council)

Mohammad Al-Menfi, Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, who performed the Eid al-Adha prayer on Tuesday in the city of Tobruk, stressed the importance of adhering to the values of tolerance and sacrifice, pointing out in a statement to the Council’s efforts to achieve national reconciliation as an ideal option to restore stability and reunite the people of the country.

In turn, Moussa al-Koni, a member of the Presidential Council, said in a brief tweet that holding the elections on Dec. 24, “will be a victory for the nation.”

In this context, the High Electoral Commission pledged to achieve the aspirations of the Libyans in the elections, and called for a massive participation, which “will lead to the building of a secure and stable homeland.”

In a statement, the commission pointed to the ongoing registration process, noting that more than 2.5 million voters have been registered so far.

For his part, Jan Kubis, Head of the United Nations Mission in Libya, congratulated the citizens on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and urged all Libyan leaders and institutions to carry the message of peace, compassion and reconciliation in order to end the continuing divisions in the country.

“On behalf of the entire United Nations family in Libya, I wish all of you and your loved ones and families a peaceful and joyous holiday full of hope for a better future. As we commemorate this occasion, I urge all Libyan leaders and institutions to remember the message of peace, compassion, and reconciliation that this occasion symbolizes to put an end to the continued divisions in the country and to the hardship the Libyan people continue to endure,” The Special Envoy said.

He added: “On this occasion, I call on all key Libyan decision-makers and institutions to safeguard what has been achieved since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in October 2020 and work together in a spirit of unity and patriotism, shoulder and share the responsibility to put the welfare and the interests of the Libyan people above narrow interests. May the goodwill of this holy occasion inspire you all to intensify your efforts to continue with the path of peace through enabling the holding of national elections on 24 Dec. 2021.”



Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes Deep inside Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
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Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes Deep inside Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adaisseh during Israeli bombardment on January 22, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)

Israeli warplanes carried three airstrikes deep into eastern Lebanon on Friday for the second time since a ceasefire ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel a month ago, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said.
No casualties were reported in the strikes on the Bekaa Valley town of Qousaya and the target remained unclear. The Israeli military said its air force struck “infrastructure used to smuggle weapons via Syria” to Hezbollah near the Janta crossing on the Syrian-Lebanese border, about 9 kilometers (5 miles) north of Qousaya. Israel accused Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 of overseeing smuggling operations from Iran through Syria, adding that it had killed the unit’s commander in early October, reported The Associated Press.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, the Israeli army has conducted near-daily operations in southern Lebanon, including shootings, house demolitions, excavations, tank shelling and airstrikes. These actions have killed at least 27 people, wounded more than 30 and destroyed residential buildings, including a mosque.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, said it has observed “concerning actions” by Israeli forces, including the destruction of homes and road closures.
On Thursday, the Lebanese army accused Israeli troops of breaching the ceasefire by encroaching into southern Lebanon. Israeli bulldozers erected dirt barricades to block roads in Wadi Al-Hujayr.
The Lebanese army later on Thursday said that following intervention by the ceasefire supervision committee, Israeli forces withdrew, and Lebanese soldiers removed the barriers to reopen the road in the area.
The US-brokered ceasefire, which ended the 14-month war, demands that Hezbollah and Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, allowing Lebanese troops to gradually deploy south of the Litani River.