Turkey’s Erdogan Expected to Visit Libya Soon

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to media following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, April 26, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to media following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, April 26, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Turkey’s Erdogan Expected to Visit Libya Soon

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to media following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, April 26, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to media following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, April 26, 2021. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

Libya’s transitional government officials have not commented on local news reports about an expected visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the capital, Tripoli, later this week.

“There is no confirmed information about the visit,” Libyan National Army spokesman Major General Ahmed al-Mismari told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He noted that such visits are usually held in secret and announced to the media later.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Muhammad Salem al-Shahoubi requested the Turkish authorities to cancel visas for Libyan citizens to facilitate trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Turkey plays a key role in the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) current development projects, he told Turkish media.

In this context, the preparatory committee for the Libyan-Turkish Forum for Project Development discussed on Wednesday the work mechanism of the participating delegations, as well as the role and agendas of the relevant ministries, agencies and research centers.



Hamas Claims Attack on Israeli Bus in West Bank That Wounded 8 People, Including 4 Soldiers

Four people suffered bullet wounds, three of them serious, and four others were lightly injured by shards of glass, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service - AFP
Four people suffered bullet wounds, three of them serious, and four others were lightly injured by shards of glass, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service - AFP
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Hamas Claims Attack on Israeli Bus in West Bank That Wounded 8 People, Including 4 Soldiers

Four people suffered bullet wounds, three of them serious, and four others were lightly injured by shards of glass, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service - AFP
Four people suffered bullet wounds, three of them serious, and four others were lightly injured by shards of glass, according to the Magen David Adom rescue service - AFP

Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting attack on an Israeli bus in the occupied West Bank on Friday that wounded eight people, including four soldiers.

It was the latest violence to scar the territory as tensions run high 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war.

The attacker, who Hamas identified in a statement as Samer Hussein, 46, was killed by Israeli troops shortly after opening fire toward the bus at a junction near the Israeli settlement of Ariel.

The military said four soldiers were lightly wounded. Paramedics said three people were critically wounded.

Attacks by Palestinian fighters on Israelis in the volatile territory have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, as Palestinian deaths have also spiked.  

Israeli fire has killed 796 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, mostly in military raids on Palestinian cities and towns. Attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property have also increased.