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Israeli PM to Meet Sisi Soon, Says No Meeting will Be Held with Abbas

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File photo: Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File photo: Reuters)
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Israeli PM to Meet Sisi Soon, Says No Meeting will Be Held with Abbas

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File photo: Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File photo: Reuters)

The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will travel this week to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, announced the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.

The visit is the first of its kind for an Israeli prime minister in more than ten years, days after the tripartite summit between Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Jordanian King Abdullah II.

Bennett will try to avoid progress on a political track with the Palestinians, while Sisi aims to pave the way for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

A senior Israeli official confirmed that Bennett would avoid discussing the Palestinian cause with Sisi and rather focus on security issues.

A spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Ambassador Bassam Rady, told Radio Masr that the Egyptian-Jordanian-Palestinian summit reaffirmed the Egyptian-Jordanian support to the Palestinian cause.

"We have called on the international community and the international quartet to revive the peace process, under the new US administration and the new government in Israel," he added.

Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine agreed to keep communications channels at the level of foreign ministers and heads of security and intelligence services to reach a formula that will be activated during the coming period.

The Palestinians are working intensively with Egypt and Jordan to develop a plan that enjoys Arab and US support to launch a new political process in the region that leads to direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The coordination intensified and accelerated after the war on the Gaza Strip and the US administration's desire to find a comprehensive solution based on the two-state solution.

The Palestinians received important signals from Washington after Biden met with Bennett last weekend and announced his support for the two-state solution.

Abbas met with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who granted the Palestinians several facilities.

During a Zoom conversation with officials of Jewish organizations in the US, Bennett said he intends to reduce tensions with the Palestinians despite the lack of "political breakthrough" with them.

The prime minister said that there has always been a dichotomy: either move towards a Palestinian state or do nothing.

"I think that in many areas it is possible to act to reduce the problem ... especially in the economic field. I believe that employment and living with dignity can improve the situation. Two parties can take measures to reduce tensions and improve daily life."

Asked about the meeting between Gantz and Abbas, Bennett said he did not intend to meet with the Palestinian President because he had filed a complaint against Israel before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

"I also do not want to create the illusion of something that will not happen because a disappointment can have negative consequences. We will not take drastic measures. We will freeze the construction and take measures to stabilize the area," he continued.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid confirmed there were no political talks with the Authority, adding that 90 percent of the contacts are done through security coordination.

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Arab World

Turkish Foreign Minister Urges Kurds Not to Be Obstacle to Syria’s Stability

This handout photograph released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) and Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (2nd-R) and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (R) in Damascus on December 22, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) and Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (2nd-R) and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (R) in Damascus on December 22, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Service / AFP)
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Turkish Foreign Minister Urges Kurds Not to Be Obstacle to Syria’s Stability

This handout photograph released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) and Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (2nd-R) and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (R) in Damascus on December 22, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd-L) and Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (2nd-R) and Syria's Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra (R) in Damascus on December 22, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Service / AFP)

Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday urged Kurdish-led forces to integrate into Syria's army and not obstruct the country's stability, as the deadline for implementing a deal between Damascus and the Kurds approaches. 

Türkiye and Syria have developed close ties since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year and Ankara, a key supporter of the new authorities, sees the presence of Kurdish forces on its border with Syria as a security threat. 

Fidan, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a presidency statement said. 

The visit aimed to address issues including progress on implementing a March 10 agreement between Damascus and the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Türkiye had said. 

Under the deal, the Kurds' civil and military institutions should be integrated into the central government by year end. 

But differences between the sides have held up the deal's implementation despite international pressure, particularly from Washington. 

"It is important that the SDF be integrated into the Syrian administration through dialogue and reconciliation, in a transparent manner, and that it no longer acts as an obstacle to Syria's territorial integrity and long-term stability," Fidan told a press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani. 

Shaibani said Damascus had received a response from the SDF regarding a draft Syrian defense ministry proposal on integrating the Kurdish-led forces into the army. 

"Work is currently underway to study this response and how it responds to the national interest in achieving the integration and achieving a single unified Syrian territory," Shaibani told Monday's press conference. 

Last week, a Kurdish official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Damascus's proposal included splitting the Kurdish-led forces into three divisions and a number of brigades, including one for women. 

The forces would be deployed under Kurdish commanders in areas of northeast Syria currently under SDF control, the official said. 

- Israel - 

It was the first time Damascus had submitted a written proposal to the SDF since the March agreement was signed, the official added, noting "international and regional efforts" to finalize the agreement by the end of the year. 

Last week, Fidan warned the SDF -- which controls vast swathes of Syria's oil-rich northeast -- that patience among key actors was "running out" and advised against further delays to integrate its forces. 

Türkiye shares a 900-kilometer (550-mile) border with Syria and has launched successive offensives to push the SDF from its frontier. 

On Monday, Fidan said the sides also discussed regional security, noting "Syria's stability means Türkiye’s stability". 

He also expressed hope that talks between Syria and neighboring Israel, which has carried out bombings and incursions in Syria since Assad's fall, would "reach a conclusion". 

"For the stability of the region and for Syria's stability, progress in this regard is important," Fidan said, urging Israel to adopt "an approach based on mutual consent and understanding" rather than "pursuing an expansionist policy". 

Shaibani said the talks also addressed "security issues linked to combating terrorism and preventing" a resurgence of the ISIS group in Syria. 

Last week, US forces said they struck dozens of ISIS targets in Syria following a deadly December 13 attack on American personnel in central Syria's Palmyra. 

With support from the coalition, the SDF spearheaded the offensive that led to ISIS's territorial defeat in Syria in 2019, but the extremists still maintain a presence, particularly in the country's vast desert. 

Syria recently joined the international coalition against ISIS. 

Arab World

Lebanon Says 3 Killed in Israeli Strike on Vehicle Near Sidon

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Haret Saida neighborhood, Sidon, Lebanon, 27 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Haret Saida neighborhood, Sidon, Lebanon, 27 October 2024. (EPA)
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Lebanon Says 3 Killed in Israeli Strike on Vehicle Near Sidon

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Haret Saida neighborhood, Sidon, Lebanon, 27 October 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on the Haret Saida neighborhood, Sidon, Lebanon, 27 October 2024. (EPA)

Lebanon said three people were killed Monday in a strike near Sidon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah operatives, days ahead of a deadline for Lebanon's army to disarm the group near the border.

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed militant group, which it accuses of rearming.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said Monday's strike on a vehicle was carried out by an Israeli drone around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the southern coastal city of Sidon and "killed three people who were inside".

The health ministry reported the same toll.

An Israeli military statement said the army "struck several Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Sidon".

Under heavy US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah, starting with the south.

The Lebanese army plans to carry out the task south of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres from the border with Israel -- by year's end.

The latest strike came after Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives on Friday took part in a meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee for a second time, after holding their first direct talks in decades earlier this month, also under the committee's auspices.

The committee comprises representatives from Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that the goal of the negotiations was to "stop the hostilities, achieve Israel's withdrawal, return prisoners held in Israel and return southern residents to their villages".

- 'Days away' -

Israel has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas that it deems strategic.

"Lebanon awaits positive steps from the Israeli side," Aoun told visiting Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto on Monday, a presidency statement said.

In a separate statement, Crosetto said that "even after UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and supporting the capacity development of the Lebanese armed forces".

Asked by AFP if this meant Italy wanted to maintain a military presence in the country, a ministry spokesman confirmed that was the case.

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, but the UN Security Council voted in August to withdraw the peacekeepers in 2027.

Aoun said Lebanon "welcomes the participation of Italy and other European countries in any force that takes the place" of UNIFIL.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the first phase of the plan to restrict weapons to the state south of the Litani River was "days away from completion", according to a statement from his office.

"The state is ready to move to the second phase, north of the Litani River, based on the plan prepared by the Lebanese army," he added.

More than 340 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.

On Sunday, Israeli strikes in south Lebanon near the border killed one person and wounded another, as Israel also said it targeted Hezbollah members.

Arab World

Italy Says Wants Military to Stay in Lebanon after UN Peacekeepers Leave

A Lebanese army officer and an Italian officer from the UNIFIL force during a joint mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL)
A Lebanese army officer and an Italian officer from the UNIFIL force during a joint mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL)
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Italy Says Wants Military to Stay in Lebanon after UN Peacekeepers Leave

A Lebanese army officer and an Italian officer from the UNIFIL force during a joint mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL)
A Lebanese army officer and an Italian officer from the UNIFIL force during a joint mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL)

Italy said Monday it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon even after the UN peacekeeping force it belongs to leaves as planned from December 31, 2026.

"Even after (the peacekeeping force) UNIFIL, Italy will continue to do its part, supporting with conviction the international presence and supporting the capacity development of the Lebanese armed forces," Defencs Minister Guido Crosetto said during a visit to Lebanon, according to a statement.

Asked by AFP if this meant Italy wanted to maintain a military presence in the country, a ministry spokesman confirmed that this was the case.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, remaining after Israel ended an occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.

Lebanon had wanted UNIFIL to stay.

But the UN Security Council voted in August to allow only one final extension for UNIFIL after pressure from Israel and its US ally to end the mandate.

UNIFIL is currently led by Italian Major General Diodato Abagnara and numbers 9,923 troops from 49 countries, according to the force's website.

Italy is the second biggest contributing country with 1,099 soldiers deployed after Indonesia which has 1,232 soldiers.

Israel has hailed the termination of UNIFIL and urged the Beirut government to exert its authority after an Israeli military campaign which devastated Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Under a truce between Israel and Hezbollah, the long-fledgling Lebanese national army has been deploying in southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure.

"Support is needed to strengthen the Lebanese armed forces, so that they are in the best possible position to defend the country, ensuring security and respect for its borders," Crosetto said in Monday's statement.

"We will guarantee our presence in multilateral and bilateral contexts," he said.