Abbas to Visit Moscow to Activate Int’l Quartet

President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
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Abbas to Visit Moscow to Activate Int’l Quartet

President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool
President Mahmoud Abbas gestures during a meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/Pool

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Moscow soon to discuss with Russian officials the Palestinian cause, according to presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Abu Rudeineh did not give further details, stressing the good ties between the two countries.

"Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has recently visited Russia. We are planning negotiations with the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Our proposal to hold a Palestinian-Israeli summit meeting in Moscow remains relevant," the Ministry added.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that Russia also calls for convening a ministerial meeting of the Middle East Quartet in cooperation with the Arab League to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This is not the first time Russia attempts to mediate between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Moscow had previously encouraged a meeting between Abbas and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Reliable Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Abbas hopes for Russian pressure towards activating the Quartet.

The sources added that there is coordination and ongoing Palestinian-Russian attempts to activate the Quartet, consisting of the US, Russia, the EU, and the UN.

Yet, the US is not likely to take such step over concerns that the pressure might cause the collapse of the coalition government in Israel.

The authority has demanded reactivating the Quartet committee and expressed willingness to engage in talks brokered by it.

The Quartet was formed in 2002 to sponsor the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, but it’s role ended because the parties believed it was ineffective.

The Trump administration rejected to reactivate it unless the Palestinians agreed to a peace solution according to his so-called Deal of the Century proposal.

The committee held its first meeting on March 24 after Joe Biden assumed the US presidency. It called for resuming meaningful negotiations based on a two-state solution in line with international resolutions.



Expats Flock to Lebanon Despite Fears of War with Israel

 A vehicle dressed like a double decker bus drives near revelers during the Beirut Street Festival in downtown Beirut on June 22, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle dressed like a double decker bus drives near revelers during the Beirut Street Festival in downtown Beirut on June 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Expats Flock to Lebanon Despite Fears of War with Israel

 A vehicle dressed like a double decker bus drives near revelers during the Beirut Street Festival in downtown Beirut on June 22, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle dressed like a double decker bus drives near revelers during the Beirut Street Festival in downtown Beirut on June 22, 2024. (AFP)

Expatriates flocked to Lebanon despite the international warnings against traveling to the country due to the rising tensions with Israel.

June alone witnessed the arrival of 400,000 people, the majority of whom are expatriates.

General Director of Civil Aviation Fadi al-Hassan told Asharq Al-Awsat that the number of arrivals is almost similar to the figures recorded last year.

As of June 24, 363,623 people arrived at Rafik Hariri International Airport, or around 10,000 and 16,000 people per day. The arrivals in June 2023 stood at 427,355.

“The recent tensions have not affected the number of arrivals,” al-Hassan added, noting: “We haven’t even reached the peak period of activity at the airport.”

France, home to tens of thousands of Lebanese expats, issued a travel warning against heading to Lebanon in April. The advisory did not deter Elie N. from traveling to Lebanon where he will stay for the next two months.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said he and hundreds of thousands of expatriates have been waiting impatiently for the summer to spend their vacation in their homeland.

“The constant threats of war will not stop us from visiting Lebanon,” he stressed.

President of the Syndicate of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon Jean Abboud said activity at the airport should peak starting July 4 and 5.

He predicted that hotels will reach full capacity and the arrivals will top 12,000 – 13,000 per day. Beirut airport will receive 80 to 85 flights a day.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border strikes since the Oct. 7 attacks that launched the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and they have been escalating gradually.

The Israeli army said last week that it has “approved and validated” plans for an offensive in Lebanon, although any decision would come from the country’s political leaders.