Jordan King to Visit Ramallah to Ease Tension Ahead of Ramadan

Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
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Jordan King to Visit Ramallah to Ease Tension Ahead of Ramadan

Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)
Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands near Ramallah (Wafa)

Jordan's King Abdullah II will visit Ramallah soon to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to contain a possible escalation during Ramadan month, according to the official Kan Channel.

Kan said that the monarch plans to come to Ramallah on the eve of Ramadan and meet Abbas, who will have returned from a visit to Germany.

The last time the Jordanian king visited Ramallah was five years ago.

The report stated that Amman fears new escalations and tensions during Ramadan, especially in Jerusalem.

The issue was a top priority on King Abdullah's agenda when he hosted Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid last week in Amman.

"We agreed that we must work together to calm tensions and promote understanding, particularly in the lead-up to the month of Ramadan and Passover," Lapid said in a statement after the meeting.

A PA official asserted that the Authority has no interest in escalation, but Israel is pushing for it. He noted that Tel Aviv said it was trying to ensure calm, but nothing has been implemented on the ground.

The official stated that if Israel wanted to prevent any escalation, it must prevent Jews from entering the Temple Mount throughout Ramadan month, even though it will coincide with the Jewish Passover.

Israel tends to allow settlers to storm al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan month.

On Tuesday, Israeli Minister of Internal Security Omar Bar-Lev said that Jews would be allowed to enter the Temple Mount during Ramadan.

Bar-Lev said Jews will be free to enter the Temple Mount as always, and Palestinian political and religious officials issued calls to mobilize and protect al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.

Palestinian worshipers usually stay in the al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan month and refuse to allow extremist Jews, which could lead to severe escalations.

Hamas said that the Palestinian people could defend Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.

The movement's politburo member, Harun Nassereddine, stressed that the occupation would not be able to pass its plans against Jerusalem and the Mosque as long as the resistance is ready to confront it.

Earlier, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement warning there would be dire consequences if extremist Jewish groups dared to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the Purim festival.

Violent clashes erupted near Ramallah between the Israeli army and Palestinian demonstrators, in which 54 civilians were injured after security forces stormed the Qalandia refugee camp north of Jerusalem.

The West Bank witnessed a series of operations in the past few weeks, which reinforced previous Israeli assessments about the possibility of a significant escalation during the coming three months.

In a meeting, senior security officials decided to reinforce the police and security forces in all Palestinian areas.

Last week, the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar discussed in Washington with the FBI Director Christopher Wray and senior officials the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Bar warned of a possible security escalation during Ramadan month.

Channel 12 warned that the coinciding Jewish and Palestinian religious and national events could lead to tensions and escalations.

The increased Israeli assessments have prompted the army to increase its arrest campaigns in the West Bank in recent weeks, aiming to limit reasons for possible intensifications.



Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon,  January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.