Egypt Stresses All Foreign Forces, Mercenaries Must Leave Libya

Sameh Shoukry holding talks with the UN envoy to Libya in Cairo on Saturday (Foreign Ministry)
Sameh Shoukry holding talks with the UN envoy to Libya in Cairo on Saturday (Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Stresses All Foreign Forces, Mercenaries Must Leave Libya

Sameh Shoukry holding talks with the UN envoy to Libya in Cairo on Saturday (Foreign Ministry)
Sameh Shoukry holding talks with the UN envoy to Libya in Cairo on Saturday (Foreign Ministry)

Egypt reiterated that all foreign forces and mercenaries must leave Libyan territories with no exceptions.

This came during the meeting between Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and United Nations Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis in Cairo Saturday.

Shoukry asserted that Egypt attaches great importance to the exit of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ambassador Ahmed Hafez.

He reiterated warnings of the threat posed by their presence to the country’s sovereignty and national unity as well as the security and stability of its neighboring countries and the region.

“All forms of foreign existence on Libyan territories must be brought to an end,” Shoukry said, noting that “no exceptions should be allowed”.

He also called for taking “stricter action against all parties violating an international arms embargo on Libya”.

In March 2011, the UN issued resolution number 1970 in which it demanded all Member States "to prevent the sale or supply to Libya of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts."

Talks between the two sides tackled holding the Libyan parliamentary and presidential elections on time on December 24 by a Libyan political roadmap and relevant UN resolutions, Hafez said, noting that Shoukry warned of the implications of failing to deliver on political commitments.

For his part, the UN envoy briefed Shoukry on the outcome of his recent contacts with all the parties concerned with the Libyan situation. Kubis expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to consolidate the country’s stability.



Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says He Will End Detention without Charge of Jewish Settlers

Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at damaged cars after an Israeli settlers attack in Al-Mazraa Al-Qibleyeh near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 20, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways.

The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial.

Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7.

Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common.

An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked.

“All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell.