No Breakthrough in Algeria's Palestinian Reconciliation Talks

Palestinian faction leaders gather to discuss holding Palestinian national elections in Cairo on February 8, 2021 (WAFA)
Palestinian faction leaders gather to discuss holding Palestinian national elections in Cairo on February 8, 2021 (WAFA)
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No Breakthrough in Algeria's Palestinian Reconciliation Talks

Palestinian faction leaders gather to discuss holding Palestinian national elections in Cairo on February 8, 2021 (WAFA)
Palestinian faction leaders gather to discuss holding Palestinian national elections in Cairo on February 8, 2021 (WAFA)

Palestinian factions did not achieve any breakthrough in the reconciliation talks held in Algeria because no faction presented new visions, according to a Palestinian source.

The source indicated that Fatah and Hamas maintain their previous positions, noting that nothing new is achieved.

He stressed that the Algerian officials listened deeply to the two parties and discussed possible concessions and how to develop a more comprehensive vision that could be acceptable to everyone.

According to the source, Algeria wants to achieve an acceptable vision to present a paper in the general factional meeting ahead of the upcoming Arab League meeting in Algiers.

Algeria wants to achieve progress before the League session, considering that the unification of Palestinians is part of a broader plan to support them at the Arab and international levels and launch a new peace process.

However, the source believes there is no indication that a reconciliation agreement is being pushed forward.

Fatah insisted on forming a unity government that adheres to international legitimacy above all, but Hamas wants comprehensive elections, including the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), before proceeding with any agreement.

Hamas also rejects the form of government proposed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

The factions disagree on the role of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Gaza and the reconstruction process.

Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said the Authority wants Hamas outside the administration of the Gaza Strip and does not want any understanding.

Abu Marzouk attacked the recent decisions of Fatah's Central Committee, saying the people have the final vote in reelecting the leadership of the Authority, not the members of the central committee.

Fatah considers the institutions of the Palestinian people a "private property," said the official, adding that it is one of the main reasons for the Palestinian crises.

He indicated that the formation of the PLO Executive Committee should be done according to a transparent and fair mechanism, not according to Fatah's desire.

Abu Marzouk commented on Fatah's meeting last week, during which it reelected Abbas as president, chairman of PLO, and head of Fatah.

The movement also renewed confidence in its central member, Azzam al-Ahmad, as its representative in the PLO's Executive Committee and chose Hussein al-Sheikh for the third seat in the committee.

It also unanimously elected its member Rawhi Fattouh and the chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC).

Abu Marzouk said Hamas' vision begins with reconfiguring the leadership according to democratic and national foundations, enhancing partnership in decision-making, and ending the exclusive authority in the Palestinian decision.

It also organizes the PLO to include all components of the Palestinian people through election and consensus, leading to a single central command.

He added that Hamas does not place conditions on national dialogues and has never set requirements for starting rounds of talks.

"We hope that they [Fatah] will reconsider their position and take a clear decision to end the division."

Abu Marzouk stressed that Algeria, with all its components, is keen to support the Palestinian cause and have a role in ending the division.

He wished Fatah would seriously consider the Algerian call to end the intra-Palestinian division.

The differences between the factions increase doubts about Algeria's ability to succeed in advancing a reconciliation agreement.

The Algerian officials will present a summary of their discussions to the office of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who will meet with various authorities, including the Foreign Ministry.

Tebboune will then contact the Palestinian presidency and discuss holding a comprehensive conference.

Last December, Tebboune received his Palestinian counterpart and announced Algeria's intention to host a conference of the Palestinian factions.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Tebboune said that he is committed "to bring together all the Palestinian belligerents in Algiers as soon as possible, as part of Algeria's efforts to tighten the Palestinian ranks through the enshrinement of Palestinian unity."



Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
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Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly headed to Washington on Tuesday ‌to ‌participate in ‌the inaugural ⁠meeting of a "Board of Peace" established by US President Donald ⁠Trump, the ‌cabinet ‌said.

Madbouly is ‌attending ‌on behalf of President Abdel ‌Fattah al-Sisi and is accompanied by ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will represent Israel at the inaugural meeting, his office said on Tuesday.

Hamas, meanwhile, called on the newly-formed board to pressure Israel to halt what it described as ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

Saar will first attend a ministerial level UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday, and on Thursday he "will represent Israel at the inaugural session of the board, chaired by Trump in Washington DC, where he will present Israel's position", his office said in a statement.

It was initially reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might attend the gathering, but his office said last week that he would not.

Ahead of the meeting, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian movement urged the board's members "to take serious action to compel the Israeli occupation to stop its violations in Gaza".

"The war of genocide against the Strip is still ongoing -- through killing, displacement, siege, and starvation -- which have not stopped until this very moment," he added.

He also called for the board to work to support the newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza "so that relief and reconstruction efforts in Gaza can commence".

Announcing the creation of the board in January, Trump also unveiled plans to establish a "Gaza Executive Board" operating under the body.

The executive board would include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.

Netanyahu has strongly objected to their inclusion.

Since Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.


Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
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Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)

A Palestinian child died after stepping on a mine near an Israeli military camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, with an Israeli defense ministry source confirming the death.

"Our crews received the body of a 13-year-old child who was killed after a mine exploded in one of the old camps in Jiftlik in the northern Jordan Valley," the Red Crescent said in a statement.

A source at COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry's agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, confirmed the death to AFP and identified the boy as Mohammed Abu Dalah, from the village of Jiftlik.

Israel's military had previously said in a statement that three Palestinians were injured "as a result of playing with unexploded ordnance", without specifying their ages.

It added that the area of the incident, Tirzah, is "a military camp in the area of the Jordan Valley", near Jiftlik and close to the Jordanian border.

"This area is a live-fire zone and entry into it is prohibited," the military said.

Jiftlik village council head Ahmad Ghawanmeh told AFP that three children, the oldest of whom was 16, were collecting herbs near the military base when they detonated a mine.

Jiftlik as well as the nearby Tirzah base are located in the Palestinian territory's Area C, which falls under direct Israeli control.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Much of the area near the border with Jordan -- which Israel signed a peace deal with in 1994 -- remains mined.

In January, Israel's defense ministry said it had begun demining the border area as part of construction works for a new barrier it says aims to stem weapons smuggling.


Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
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Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government's decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees as a move serving Israel.

Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army in August 2025 with drawing up and beginning to implement a plan to bring all armed groups' weapons under state control, a bid aimed primarily at disarming Hezbollah after its devastating ‌war with ‌Israel in 2024.

In September 2025 the cabinet formally ‌welcomed ⁠the army's plan to ⁠disarm the Iran-backed Shiite party, although it did not set a clear timeframe and cautioned that the military's limited capabilities and ongoing Israeli strikes could hinder progress.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech on Monday that "what the Lebanese government is doing by focusing on disarmament is a major mistake because this issue serves the goals of Israeli ⁠aggression".

Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos said during a press ‌conference late on Monday after ‌a cabinet meeting that the government had taken note of the army's monthly ‌report on its arms control plan that includes restricting weapons in ‌areas north of the Litani River up to the Awali River in Sidon, and granted it four months.

"The required time frame is four months, renewable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and field obstacles,” he said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan ‌Fadlallah said, "we cannot be lenient," signaling the group's rejection of the timeline and the broader approach to ⁠the issue of ⁠its weapons.

Hezbollah has rejected the disarmament effort as a misstep while Israel continues to target Lebanon, and Shiite ministers walked out of the cabinet session in protest.

Israel has said Hezbollah's disarmament is a security priority, arguing that the group's weapons outside Lebanese state control pose a direct threat to its security.

Israeli officials say any disarmament plan must be fully and effectively implemented, especially in areas close to the border, and that continued Hezbollah military activity constitutes a violation of relevant international resolutions.

Israel has also said it will continue what it describes as action to prevent the entrenchment or arming of hostile actors in Lebanon until cross-border threats are eliminated.