Israeli-Egyptian Talks to Revive Negotiations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Sharm el-Sheikh last week (DPA)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Sharm el-Sheikh last week (DPA)
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Israeli-Egyptian Talks to Revive Negotiations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Sharm el-Sheikh last week (DPA)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Sharm el-Sheikh last week (DPA)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held a phone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, discussing the need to revive the Middle East peace process through direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, which collapsed in 2014.

In a statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said Sunday that Shoukry has called for creating a political prospect guaranteed by a stable climate to consolidate stability and avoid regional escalation and tension.

Egypt will keep pushing ahead with its "earnest" efforts in this direction, Shoukry said.

The talks also tackled efforts for reconstruction and the delivery of aid and development support to all the occupied Palestinian territories in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, Hafez added.

Hebrew websites reported that the Egyptian and Israeli officials expressed satisfaction with the successful meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh last week.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Sunday’s phone conversation was "warm and cordial," and the two sides agreed to continue talking soon.

They also expressed their desire to push forward their bilateral relations, as they stressed the desire to enable economic ties between Israel and Egypt and the possibility of increasing trade and commercial activity.

The statement added that the two ministers discussed the "economy for security" program for Gaza presented by Lapid last week.

Lapid tweeted about the call with his Egyptian counterpart, saying the talks expressed great satisfaction with the successful meeting between the Israeli PM and the Egyptian President.

Last week, Sisi and Bennett discussed the Middle East peace process and means to cement the Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas, which was reached following the recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.

An Egyptian presidential statement stated that Sisi confirmed that Egypt supports all efforts exerted to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution and the resolutions of international legitimacy.

"All of this contributes to reinforcing security and achieving prosperity for all peoples of the region."

Sisi underscored the need for the international community's support to Egypt's reconstruction efforts in the Palestinian territories.

The President also reiterated the importance of maintaining calm between the Palestinians and Israelis, particularly in Egypt's ongoing efforts to mitigate tension between the two sides in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.



Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)

Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.

Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled on Dec 8.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon's northern Arida crossing.

SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria's new ruling authorities after crossing the border.

The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are "remnants" of the Assad regime.

Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.

Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.

Reuters reported on Friday that Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982, had flown out of Beirut recently, as had "many members" of the Assad family.

Earlier this month, Lebanese caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.