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Senior US Official in Algeria for Talks on Tunisian Crisis, Terrorism Fight

US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
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Senior US Official in Algeria for Talks on Tunisian Crisis, Terrorism Fight

US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)
US Acting Assistant Secretary Hood meets with Algerian Prime Minister Benaberrahmane. (US State Department of State for Near Eastern Affairs via Twitter)

US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood discussed with Algerian officials on Monday the developments in neighboring Tunisia following President Kais Saied’s decision to sack the government and suspend parliament.

Earlier, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had received a phone call from Saied to tackle developments in Tunisia.

“The two presidents also addressed the prospects for Algerian-Tunisian relations and the ways and means of their consolidation,” said a statement from the Algerian presidency.

Meanwhile, Hood was received by Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Sunday, according to an Algerian foreign ministry statement.

The pair discussed “prospects for the promotion of peaceful political solutions to the various crises undermining the peace and security in North Africa and the Middle East”, it said. They also touched on the fight “against terrorism in the Sahel” and “the situation in Libya, Mali and Western Sahara."

Hood also “had fruitful discussions” with Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane, the US embassy said.

Sources revealed that Algeria and the US are keen on the Libyans resolving their problems through political means. They also discussed the latest talks between Washington and Ankara on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Libya.

Hood praised the key role Algeria plays in maintaining stability in the region.

His two-day visit is part of a tour in the Middle East and North Africa that started on July 24 and includes stops in Morocco and Kuwait.

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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis's support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

These positions became particularly evident in Francis's response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.

"He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times -- for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm," said the patriarch.

He added that by doing so, the pope "became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this".

Out of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the besieged territory.

"Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict," said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff's actions.

"For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy."

The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even as "the local authorities... were not always happy" with the pope's positions or statements, they were "always very respectful", he said.

Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the morning.

As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.

Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.

His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.