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Abbas Wants Negotiations with Israel to Begin with Border Demarcation

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (AFP)
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Abbas Wants Negotiations with Israel to Begin with Border Demarcation

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suggested to the United States, Egypt, Jordan, and other parties that the negotiations with Israeli parties begin with “border demarcation,” a well-informed Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source added that President Abbas would present his suggestions to the Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, during their meeting next week in Ramallah.

The president will inform Gantz that confidence-building measures and support for the Palestinian Authority (PA) are in no way a substitute for political negotiations, warning that he will resort to measures if the Israeli government does not engage in such talks.

The Palestinian source confirmed that Abbas would inform Gantz that the plan he launched at the UN would be implemented if the current Israeli government insisted on following a path away from political negotiations.

In September, Abbas launched an initiative during which he gave Israel has one year to withdraw from the Palestinian territory it occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, threatening to withdraw recognition of Israel.

The Central Council, the highest Palestinian legislative body, will discuss various options if it holds its upcoming meeting at the beginning of next month.

Abbas will meet Gantz next week, accompanied by the Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej.

Frej said he believes that the meeting aims to strengthen the PA and calm tensions amid a wave of attacks.

The meeting, which will be Gantz and Abbas’ second meeting, is also expected to address security and economic cooperation.

In a meeting that aimed to break the deadlock in relations, Abbas first met with Gantz in late August at the presidential headquarters in the central West Bank.

After the meeting, Israel authorized permits to work in Israel for an additional 15,000 Palestinian workers. It allowed the Palestinian territories to get 4G cellular service. It also agreed to grant tens of thousands of Palestinians the right to family reunification.

But Gantz ignored requests to return the bodies of dozens of Palestinians held by Israel, stop storming Palestinian areas classified as A, work to stop settler violence in the West Bank, and reformulate the Paris Agreements regulating economic relations between the two parties.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that his government strongly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and that state-like entities do not succeed.

Bennett also believes that no one in the region believes it is possible to go to a peace negotiation process.

Sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that regional countries, along with the US administration, sent messages to Abbas stating that the current situation does not allow the launch of a political process due to the composition of the current Israeli government.

As a result, Abbas decided to present an initiative based on launching negotiations or escalation.

“I had a conversation this week with Gantz… and I believe in the coming days there will be an interesting meeting,” Frej told Channel 12 news.

Asked if he meant another meeting between the defense minister and Abbas, Frej said the two may “meet again.”

The meeting would likely deal with proposals for security and economic cooperation aimed at helping the PA govern in the West Bank and weakening the rival Hamas group.

Abbas is trying to push a political solution forward, and for that, he visited Russia, Jordan, Qatar, and other countries.

Abbas also requested meetings with Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. However, it was not clear if Lapid would respond to the Egyptian request to meet Abbas and join Gantz on his visit to Ramallah.

Bennett has refused to meet with Abbas so far, considering that it is useless in the current circumstances.

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Arab World

Iraq’s PMF Declares ‘Complete Split’ from Parties, Factions

PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyadh. (INA)
PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyadh. (INA)
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Iraq’s PMF Declares ‘Complete Split’ from Parties, Factions

PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyadh. (INA)
PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyadh. (INA)

The head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces announced the start of implementation of a government order by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to form a committee tasked with reorganizing the relationship with armed factions.

The move is officially being presented as part of a broader effort to place all weapons under state control.

PMF chief Faleh al-Fayyadh said in a television interview that the new committee had begun work on mechanisms for the “complete disengagement” of the PMF from any political, factional, or partisan frameworks.

The aim was to turn the PMF into an institution governed by a unified system and linked to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he added.

Fayyadh said the effort was based on the 2016 law governing the PMF and on successive government orders. But he said the war against ISIS had prevented full implementation over the past years.

In a related development, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, confirmed that a government order had been issued to form a “sovereign” committee that would set binding mechanisms to end the possession of weapons outside state control.

He warned against what he described as the continued “politicization of the military institution,” saying national security required control over weapons.

Fayyadh rejects calls to dissolve PMF

At the same time, Fayyadh rejected local and diplomatic calls to dissolve the PMF after the end of “major battles”, describing such demands as “unrealistic.”

He said the need for security forces, including the PMF, was “permanent” as long as security threats continued.

Fayyadh said those who believed the PMF’s role had ended had a “superficial view,” referring to criticism he sees as driven by political opposition to his forces.

In a more sensitive file, Fayyadh revealed special arrangements involving brigades affiliated with Saraya al-Salam, which is linked to the Sadrist movement, in Samarra.

He said the brigades would be integrated into the PMF structure under new professional arrangements.

The Saraya al-Salam had handed over their security responsibilities to the Iraqi army in Samarra city on Thursday.

Fayyadh said these formations would be “received as individuals and restructured or redeployed in the field as needed.”

He said the objective was to end the idea of “areas belonging to certain factions” in favor of unified military administration.

In a notable statement, he added that some sites would be placed under temporary transitional arrangements supervised by the Iraqi army before being finally redistributed within the PMF.

The developments come as the head of the Security Media Cell, Lieutenant General Saad Maan, announced the start of steps to implement the decision to place weapons under state control.

He said a number of factions, including Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib al-Imam Ali, had begun legal procedures to hand over heavy and medium weapons ahead of integration into official institutions.

Other factions, including Kataib Hezbollah, the Nujaba movement, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, continue to reject handing over their weapons.

They said disarmament depends on achieving the “goals for which they were formed,” particularly those linked to the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

The security spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, said some current initiatives “do not represent the factions of the Islamic Resistance.” The Nujaba said in a statement that weapons were a “red line.”

‘Unified standards’

Fayyadh said the current stage represented a “starting point” for applying unified standards to all formations.

He warned against any political or partisan links within the military structure and said implementation would include all brigades without exception.

Local press reports said leaders of the Coordination Framework have received signals that Washington will not accept symbolic disarmament.

The reports said Washington is instead pushing for the “dissolution of the PMF” and firmly rejects its integration into other security institutions.

Separately, Numan denied on Friday reports of changes in senior leadership positions in the military and security institutions.

He said current commanders were continuing to perform their duties and national responsibilities normally.

Arab World

Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Palestinian Factions Link Gaza Talks Progress to Halt in Assassinations

A Palestinian woman stands at the site of an Israeli strike after residents were warned to evacuate their home in al-Zawaida, central Gaza Strip. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman stands at the site of an Israeli strike after residents were warned to evacuate their home in al-Zawaida, central Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Palestinian Factions Link Gaza Talks Progress to Halt in Assassinations

A Palestinian woman stands at the site of an Israeli strike after residents were warned to evacuate their home in al-Zawaida, central Gaza Strip. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman stands at the site of an Israeli strike after residents were warned to evacuate their home in al-Zawaida, central Gaza Strip. (AFP)

Israel is stepping up assassinations of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members even as attention turns to Cairo on Saturday for the first meetings on proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned from two Hamas sources and a third source from a Palestinian faction that the groups will meet among themselves on Saturday, before the Hamas delegation meets the mediators, to discuss the demands they see as essential to any progress in the talks.

The three sources said the factions will clearly demand an end to the assassinations, which have escalated since Israel killed Ezzeddine al-Haddad, commander of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, on May 15.

His killing was followed by a series of assassinations targeting prominent figures. Similar operations had preceded it, targeting operatives who took part in a series of attacks, including the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“The assassinations and daily violations, in all their details, must stop to show goodwill by Israel and achieve real progress that reflects a positive Israeli acceptance of the mediators’ efforts,” the source said.

The two Hamas sources said halting the assassinations and violations would be a clear condition, and a demand backed unanimously by the factions, to ensure the negotiations succeed.

They said the Palestinian side would show significant flexibility in the current round of talks in a way that serves Palestinian demands.

Those demands will also include requiring Israel to implement its commitments under the first phase, including completing the withdrawal, expanding the operation of crossings, allowing aid into the enclave, and enabling the Gaza administrative committee to assume its duties in Gaza.

A factional source expected the current round to be difficult, citing Israel’s threats to escalate assassinations and carry out larger operations inside Gaza in the coming period if no agreement is reached.

The source said the factions would show flexibility, but not at the expense of their legitimate demands.

All the sources acknowledged that the assassinations had affected internal consultations and decision-making and had also had an operational impact inside the enclave.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 119 Palestinians were killed in May, the highest monthly toll recorded since the start of the year. Women, children, and the elderly made up 30% of the victims. The dead included 19 children, or 16%, and 10 women, or 8.5%.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat’s monitoring, Israel has assassinated more than 17 operatives since targeting Haddad, most of them from Hamas.

On Thursday and Friday, Israel assassinated four commanders and activists from the General Security apparatus and attempted to assassinate two others.

Arab World

Lebanon Sentences Activists in Absentia for inciting Israeli Attacks

A UN convoy in southern Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
A UN convoy in southern Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
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Lebanon Sentences Activists in Absentia for inciting Israeli Attacks

A UN convoy in southern Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
A UN convoy in southern Lebanon, near the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem

Lebanon's judiciary has charged two anti-Hezbollah activists in absentia with inciting Israeli attacks against the Iran-backed group and sentenced them to 15 years in prison, a judicial official told AFP on Friday.

It is the harshest sentence yet against activists expressing support for Israel, which has officially been at war with Lebanon for decades.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the two individuals, Ahmed Yassine and Joumana Gebara, both living outside Lebanon, were charged with "collaborating with Israel and inciting it to continue its military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon" by the military tribunal in a trial that began in November 2024.

Yassine, a Paris-based university professor, is accused of "inciting the Israeli army to bomb the historic Baalbek Citadel by disseminating information claiming that the citadel housed Hezbollah weapons depots".

Yassine also has a YouTube channel where he shares political commentary to more than 140,000 subscribers.

Gebara is accused of "praising Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee and thanking him for the bombings of Lebanon, as well as calling for normalization with Israel" during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, the official said.

Lebanon has no formal ties with Israel, and any contact is punishable by imprisonment.

It has previously arrested people accused of spying for Israel.

Lebanon was drawn into the wider Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 to avenge the February 28 killing of Iran's supreme leader.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since then, according to Lebanese authorities.