Mikati: We Won’t Allow Harm to Security of Saudi Arabia or Gulf States

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a joint press conference after his meeting with his Jordanian counterpart at the Grand Serail in Beirut, on September 30, 2021. (AFP)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a joint press conference after his meeting with his Jordanian counterpart at the Grand Serail in Beirut, on September 30, 2021. (AFP)
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Mikati: We Won’t Allow Harm to Security of Saudi Arabia or Gulf States

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a joint press conference after his meeting with his Jordanian counterpart at the Grand Serail in Beirut, on September 30, 2021. (AFP)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati attends a joint press conference after his meeting with his Jordanian counterpart at the Grand Serail in Beirut, on September 30, 2021. (AFP)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati underlined the government’s commitment to restore normal relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, stressing that the phone call with the Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al Sabah, “falls within this framework.”

In a statement on Monday, Mikati said: “I renew the Lebanese government’s commitment to adopt the necessary and required measures to bolster cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

He added that Lebanon “adheres to all decisions of the Arab League and of international legitimacy,” pledging to conduct “serious and concrete work” to implement their provisions “in a manner that guarantees Lebanon’s civil peace and national stability and fortifies its unity.”

Moreover, the Lebanese premier emphasized the country’s abidance by the Riyadh agreement for judicial cooperation and the extradition of wanted persons.

He said the government “will spare no effort to prevent the use of Lebanese financial and banking channels to carry out financial transactions that may affect the security of the Kingdom and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

He also stressed “commitment to the provisions of the Kuwaiti initiative.”



Top Israeli Security Delegation in Doha for Gaza Talks

An Israeli soldier sits on top of a tank at a camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
An Israeli soldier sits on top of a tank at a camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
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Top Israeli Security Delegation in Doha for Gaza Talks

An Israeli soldier sits on top of a tank at a camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, January 12, 2025. REUTERS
An Israeli soldier sits on top of a tank at a camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, January 12, 2025. REUTERS

A top level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a possible sign of so-far elusive agreements nearing.

Qatar and fellow mediators Egypt and the United States are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining 98 hostages held there before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that the delegation includes Mossad Head David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military's head of the hostage brief, Nitzan Alon.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met on Saturday with Netanyahu, after having met on Friday with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Reuters reported.

Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas but did not elaborate. The sides have been keeping a tight lid on the details being worked out.

It is unclear how they will bridge one of the biggest gaps that has persisted throughout previous rounds of talks: Hamas demands an end to the war while Israel says it won't end the war as long as Hamas rules Gaza and poses a threat to Israelis.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its borders in October 2023. Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and gripped by a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.