Foreign Ministers of US, India, UAE, Israel to Meet on Monday

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. (AFP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. (AFP)
TT

Foreign Ministers of US, India, UAE, Israel to Meet on Monday

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. (AFP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. (AFP)

The foreign ministers of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, India and the US plan to hold a meeting on Monday evening to bolster coordination.

The office of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the minister will hold a meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in West Jerusalem on Monday, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will participate through a Zoom call.

The meeting is part of the Israeli government’s efforts to build strong international relations that should strengthen its position in the region and in the world and contribute in offering a strong and smart push for the peace process between Tel Aviv and its neighbors, said the statement.

Meanwhile, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde was visiting Tel Aviv and Ramallah to push forward the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Early this month, Lapid had kicked off efforts to restore contacts with Sweden, after relations between the two sides hit a low in 2015 when Stockholm recognized the State of Palestine.

Political sources said that Sweden has not changed its position, which will be reflected in Linde’s scheduled visit on Tuesday to Ramallah, where she will hold talks with Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

Linde told Israel’s Yediot Aharonot: “I think my country’s government does want to promote a two-state solution.”

She said Sweden’s relations with Israel are important and that her government wants to have good ties with it.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has expressed its desire to improve relations with Stockholm. However, it noted that “opening the file of the permanent settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not viable at this stage, although we very much want a settlement.”



Lebanon Army Receives Additional $20 Mln from Qatar in Support to Troops

27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut.  Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
TT

Lebanon Army Receives Additional $20 Mln from Qatar in Support to Troops

27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut.  Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
27 June 2024, Lebanon, Jounieh: Lebanese army soldiers from the airborne brigade secure an area as medics help civilians acting as dead and injured of an attack during a drill carried by the Lebanese army, Red Cross and Civil defense in the town of Jounieh, north of Beirut. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

The Lebanese army has received an additional $20 million from Qatar in support of Lebanese troops, Lebanon's state agency NNA said on Monday.

The support comes at a crucial time, with the Israeli military and Hezbollah trading fire across Lebanon's southern border in parallel with the Gaza war. The Lebanese army is not involved in the hostilities but one Lebanese soldier was killed by Israeli shelling in December.

A security source told Reuters that the new Qatari aid was a continuation of an earlier
$60 million package announced in 2022 that was distributed in installments to soldiers to support their salaries.

The source said $100 would be distributed to each soldier every month.

A five-year economic meltdown has slashed the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, driving down most soldiers' wages to less than $100 per month.

The amount is barely enough to afford a basic subscription to a generator service that could offset the 22-hour cuts in the state electricity grid.

To supplement their low salaries, many troops have taken extra jobs and some have quit, raising concerns that the institution - one of few in Lebanon that can rally national pride and create unity across its fractured sectarian communities - could be fraying.