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Spaniard Appointed as New Head of UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon

A UNIFIL patrol near the village of Mais al-Jabal, along the southern Lebanese border with Israel on August 26, 2020. (AFP)
A UNIFIL patrol near the village of Mais al-Jabal, along the southern Lebanese border with Israel on August 26, 2020. (AFP)
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Spaniard Appointed as New Head of UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon

A UNIFIL patrol near the village of Mais al-Jabal, along the southern Lebanese border with Israel on August 26, 2020. (AFP)
A UNIFIL patrol near the village of Mais al-Jabal, along the southern Lebanese border with Israel on August 26, 2020. (AFP)

Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Stefano Del Col announced that his successor Major General Lázaro Sáenz will take up his duties at the end of February.

During a meeting with Lebanon’s Defense Minister Maurice Salim, he stressed the importance of continuing to hold the periodic tripartite meetings held in Naqoura between representatives of the Lebanese army, Israeli military and UNIFIL.

Del Col touched on the excellent relationship prevailing between the international force and Lebanese citizens in the various towns and the constructive cooperation between UNIFIL and local administrations.

“The events that the UNIFIL patrols were subjected to do not reflect any hostile feelings on part of citizens in that area towards the international forces,” he said in reference to recent attacks against the peacekeepers.

For his part, Salim stressed "the importance of respecting the role of UNIFIL and facilitating its freedom to work, in cooperation with the Lebanese army, in accordance with the tasks stipulated in the relevant international resolutions, and that no problems arise between the international force and the citizens."

On Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Sáenz as head of UNIFIL.

Sáenz has had a long and distinguished career in the Spanish Army, currently serving as Adviser to the Ministry of Defense for Defense and Security cross-cutting affairs. He has since 2000 served in EUROFORCE Headquarters (Florence), NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Spain (Valencia), Spanish Brigade “Guzmán el Bueno” (Cordoba) in three assignments, Brigade Commander, Regiment Commander and Chief of Staff.

He also has vast international experience and has been deployed to Peacekeeping Operations: three tours in Bosnia & Herzegovina under the command of the United Nations (UNPROFOR), NATO (SFOR) and the European Union (EUFOR) respectively; and three additional tours in UNIFIL as a Liaison Officer in Naqoura, Chief of Staff and Sector East Commander.

Sáenz is a graduate of the General Military Academy and Spanish Army General Staff College in Spain and has academic training in the field of diplomacy, peace and security.

In addition to Spanish, he speaks English, French and Italian.

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Arab World

Arab-Islamic Statement Rejects Link Between Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland and Attempts to Expel Palestinians

People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
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Arab-Islamic Statement Rejects Link Between Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland and Attempts to Expel Palestinians

People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

A growing number of countries are rejecting Israel's recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, the first by any country in more than 30 years.

A joint statement by more than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday rejected Israel's recognition “given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.”

The joint statement also noted “the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that he, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, signed a joint declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”

Somalia’s federal government on Friday strongly rejected what it described as an unlawful move by Israel, and reaffirmed that Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.

African regional bodies also rejected Israel's recognition. African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty risks peace and stability on the continent.

East African governing body IGAD said in a statement that Somalia’s sovereignty was recognized under international law and any unilateral recognition “runs contrary to the charter of the United Nations” and agreements establishing the bloc and the African Union.

The US State Department on Saturday said that it continued to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, "which includes the territory of Somaliland.”

Arab World

Italian Authorities Arrest 9 for Allegedly Funding Hamas Through Charities

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Italian Authorities Arrest 9 for Allegedly Funding Hamas Through Charities

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Italian authorities arrested nine people linked to three charitable organizations on suspicion of raising millions of euros in funds for the Palestinian group Hamas, anti-terrorism prosecutors said in a statement Saturday. 

The suspects are accused of sending about 7 million euros ($8.2 million) to “associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas,” the statement said. 

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, prosecutors said, describing him as the “head of the Italian cell of the Hamas organization.” 

The European Union has Hamas listed on its terror list. 

According to Italian prosecutors, who collaborated with other EU countries in the probe, the illegal funds were delivered through “triangulation operations” via bank transfers or through organizations based abroad to associations based in Gaza, which have been declared illegal by Israel for their ties to Hamas. 

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi wrote on X that the operation “lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations.” 

There was no immediate comment from the suspects or the associations. 

In January 202, the European Council decided to extend existing restrictive measures against 12 individuals and three entities that support the financing of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

Arab World

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.