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Arab World

Negev Summit Yet to Agree on Joint Statement

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomes UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev Summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert on March 27, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomes UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev Summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert on March 27, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
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Negev Summit Yet to Agree on Joint Statement

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomes UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev Summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert on March 27, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid welcomes UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev Summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert on March 27, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Six foreign ministers who met in Israel on Sunday have not yet agreed on a joint statement for the Negev Summit, which will conclude on Monday, according to political sources in Tel Aviv.

The sources noted that the officials are having difficulty overcoming the differences regarding the Iranian nuclear program, the war in Ukraine, and the Palestinian cause.

They believe there is consensus on the importance of holding the meeting itself as it brings together the foreign ministers of Israel, the United States, Egypt, the UAE, Morocco, and Bahrain.

The United States, as noted in the statements of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, is interested in reassuring its Middle East allies that it is remaining in the region.

Washington wants to assert that its position on the Iranian nuclear agreement does not mean that it has abandoned its allies.

Israel wants to appear in a well-established international and regional position, and Arab countries want to express their concerns over the US policies without abandoning their alliance.

Blinken arrived in Israel on Saturday evening and held successive meetings with his counterpart Yair Lapid, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, President Isaac Herzog, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Bennett voiced Israel's concerns over the possibility of Washington removing Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its list of terror groups as it rejoins the nuclear deal with Tehran.

"The Middle East is changing, and it's changing for the better," Bennett said, adding: "I hope the US will hear concerned voices in the region, from Israel and others, on this issue."

Blinken asserted that "there is no daylight" between the US and Israel on the efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and countering its threats to the region.

He added that the US would maintain that stance regardless of whether a new nuclear deal is reached.

Blinken also highlighted a different position from the Israeli stance on the Palestinian issue. He asserted Washington's support for a negotiated two-state solution.

The Secretary announced that they discussed ways to foster a peaceful Passover, Ramadan, and Easter across Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, including working to prevent actions on all sides that could raise tensions such as settlements.

"We're also encouraged to see members of the prime minister's cabinet meeting with Palestinian leaders – including Defense Minister Ganz."

He said that the US administration is "rebuilding America's relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people."

Bennett responded that Israel was "working very hard to improve the lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza," referring to his government's approval of 20,000 workers from Gaza to work in Israel.

Bennett ignored the two-state solution and did not address the discussions about Jordanian efforts to include the Palestinians in the six-party meeting in the Negev.

The six ministers began their meeting on Sunday evening at a joint dinner. They are scheduled to resume talks on Monday morning.

Informed sources in Tel Aviv noted that the Israeli initiative for this meeting came within the framework of seeking to take a leading regional role and pressure the US administration in its negotiations with Iran.

Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn said the summit of foreign ministers, like the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh last week, fulfills the vision of the initiators of the peace process 30 years ago.

"This is how Shimon Peres imagined the "new Middle East": open partnerships between Israel and the countries of the region based on common interests, detached from the situation of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation or a comprehensive solution of the conflict."

Benn believed the level of the participants shows that "its significance lies in its very existence" and that "no practical decisions will be made there."

A political source in Ramallah said that Jordan rejected an Israeli proposal to join the Negev summit meeting.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he was ready to participate in the Negev meeting, provided that the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, participated in it.

But Bennett was not thrilled about this proposal, fearing that he would appear to be involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he vowed to exclude from the government's agenda.

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Arab World

Israeli Army Says It Killed ‘Assailant’ in Southern Syria

Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
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Israeli Army Says It Killed ‘Assailant’ in Southern Syria

Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)
Israeli soldiers during a reconnaissance operation in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Archive - Reuters)

The Israeli military said early Monday it had killed an “assailant” at an army outpost in the area it occupies in southern Syria.

The Israeli army said in a statement that its soldiers identified a suspect attempting to infiltrate an Israeli army post in the Security Zone in southern Syria.

"Following a quick identification, the soldiers fired toward the suspect and eliminated him," the Israeli army stated, adding that none of its personnel was injured.

Following the late-2024 overthrow of Bashar al-Assad by the opposition coalition, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria.

The Israeli army also carried out incursions into the south of the country and deployed troops in the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.

Israeli officials have repeatedly stated their intention to maintain troops in the security area, where Israel seeks to establish a larger demilitarized zone.

Arab World

Who Are Hezbollah's Remaining Allies in Lebanon?

Hezbollah supporter weeps during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the death of party leader Hassan Nasrallah . Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli air strike on September 27, 2024. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
Hezbollah supporter weeps during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the death of party leader Hassan Nasrallah . Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli air strike on September 27, 2024. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Who Are Hezbollah's Remaining Allies in Lebanon?

Hezbollah supporter weeps during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the death of party leader Hassan Nasrallah . Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli air strike on September 27, 2024. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
Hezbollah supporter weeps during a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the death of party leader Hassan Nasrallah . Nasrallah was killed in a massive Israeli air strike on September 27, 2024. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

The second anniversary of the assassinations of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine exposed a grim reality facing Hezbollah inside Lebanon. It showed that the group has lost its network of domestic allies, as evidenced by the absence, for the first time in two decades, of figures who had been allied with the group before the 2024 war.

Two years after the assassinations, observers closely following the group's situation say Hezbollah is facing not only the challenge of rebuilding its capabilities and reorganizing its ranks, but also the erosion of the network of alliances it built over many years. A number of political forces appear to have reconsidered the value of maintaining ties with the group amid shifts in the balance of power domestically and regionally.

Among its most prominent former allies, the only one to attend the commemoration of Nasrallah was Suleiman Frangieh, head of the Marada Movement, who had been the group's candidate for the presidency before President Joseph Aoun was elected, along with leaders representing the Amal Movement, its partner in the Shiite duo.

Political Cover Unravels

Hezbollah succeeded in building a broad network of political alliances spanning most of Lebanon's sects and denominations after signing the 2006 memorandum of understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement. According to its opponents, this enabled the group to secure "political cover" for retaining its weapons and expanding its influence, eventually entrenching a parallel reality alongside state institutions.

But this network began to gradually unravel after the "Gaza Support" war, alongside the major military setback suffered by Hezbollah and the resulting change in its position within Lebanon's political equation. One of the most prominent signs of this unraveling was the distancing of key allies, foremost among them the Free Patriotic Movement on the Christian political scene, along with the declining presence of its allies among Sunni and Druze forces.

The distancing of Hezbollah's allies is not linked solely to the shift in the balance of power after the war, but also to the political and financial risks that have come to accompany close ties with Hezbollah. This comes amid US sanctions that have already targeted individuals and entities linked to the group or accused of supporting it, as well as threats to expand the sanctions to include other allies and political figures. This has prompted some of the group's allies to reassess their calculations, fearing that their relationship with Hezbollah could turn from a source of political influence into a source of costs and sanctions.

Transactional Alliances

Dr. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said the "cross-sectarian network" the group sought to build after entering politics was essentially "marginal." He noted that "the group long benefited from its military strength to build broad political influence and from presenting itself as a force capable of establishing a balance with Israel."

According to Khashan, the group spent years "entrenching a narrative based on taking the battle to the Galilee and portraying the existence of a military balance with Israel," a narrative that "a large part of the Shiite community believed." But the military strength Hezbollah had amassed, which was considered one of its main sources of influence in the region, "suffered an unprecedented blow during the war, which inevitably affected its political position."

Khashan told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah had, throughout the past period, "provided political cover for parties and forces in exchange for obtaining cover for its policies and weapons, making many of the alliances closer to transactional alliances and exchanges of interests than to firmly established political or ideological partnerships."

Khashan believes that "the collapse of the balance of power that allowed the group to manage these relationships will make rebuilding its previous network of alliances extremely difficult, particularly as political forces that once saw benefits and political protection in an alliance with it now face a different reality." He expects the Amal Movement, through new figures, to assume leadership of the Shiite community in the coming phase.

Alienation Likely to Increase

Political writer and editor-in-chief of the Janoubia website Ali Al-Amin, for his part, said Hezbollah, which had been "a center of attraction for allies and political patronage for many years, is no longer so today, three years after the start of the Support War. It currently lacks allies and is facing an internal and external siege, a reality that can be readily observed." Al-Amin added: "This was clearly evident at the commemoration of the assassinations of its two former secretaries-general, as most of those who had once competed to sit in the front row were absent."

Al-Amin told Asharq Al-Awsat that "this alienation is likely to increase," noting that "the issue of weapons is another matter related to Hezbollah's role and position, which does not appear to have understood what befell it, the Shiites, and Lebanon as a result of a major catastrophe. It remains committed to its role as an Iranian tool subject to the calculations set by the Supreme Leader from inside Iran."

Al-Amin concluded: "In light of the current political and security circumstances, and with the group continuing to use rhetoric that is at odds with reality and its new facts, it will find no resonance beyond its supporters. Its visits to some political forces have not produced anything that could be described as a restoration of its alliances or friendships. In practical terms, it is trying to climb out of the hole it fell into by falling into more holes, which will deepen its predicament and expose its inability to redefine its existence on the foundations of the state."

He added: "In view of all this, it cannot be expected that the group will repair its fractured alliances. Rather, they will continue to collapse and disappear."

Arab World

Al-Alimi Announces Start of Full-Scale Military Campaign Against Houthis

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi (Saba)
Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi (Saba)
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Al-Alimi Announces Start of Full-Scale Military Campaign Against Houthis

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi (Saba)
Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi (Saba)

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi on Sunday announced the start of military operations to reclaim the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across the entire country, marking an official transition from a phase of preparation and mobilization to open military action.

In an address to the Yemeni people, Al-Alimi said the decision to begin the operations was taken after the necessary procedures and measures had been completed and based on decisions by the National Defense Council. He said he had instructed the armed forces, security forces, and all military formations to carry out their duties according to approved plans "until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia."

Al-Alimi justified the decision by saying that opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted. He said the state had given peace sufficient time and opportunities, while the Houthi group had responded with further mobilization, escalation, attacks, and threats against civilians, national facilities, neighboring countries, and international waterways.

He stressed that the announced battle is not a war against residents of areas under Houthi control, nor against any sect or tribe, but rather "a battle for the state and its citizens and to restore its institutions." He said its objective is to end the seizure of Yemenis' will and political future through the use of force.

Al-Alimi delivered a direct message to residents in Houthi-controlled areas, calling on them to stay away from military positions, gatherings, and supply routes, and to protect their children from being drawn into the fighting. At the same time, he reiterated the state's commitment to the safe return and declared amnesty for those who lay down their weapons and stop fighting alongside the group.

In a message to government forces and the resistance, the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council stressed that the mission is "not only to reclaim the land, but to restore the state to it." He called for the protection of civilians and property and adherence to the law, stressing that there would be no room for revenge, retaliation, or attacks on innocent people.

Directives to the Government

On the civilian front, Al-Alimi said he had instructed the government to prepare a program of action to run in parallel with the military operations, so that state institutions would begin assuming their responsibilities in areas reclaimed by government forces as they are recovered.

The priorities he outlined include resuming the payment of state employees' salaries and addressing outstanding dues retroactively, launching an urgent recovery and reconstruction program, repairing damaged roads, electricity and water networks, and facilities, and creating conditions for the return of displaced people and the resumption of economic activity.

Al-Alimi said the success of the battle would not be measured by the number of cities reclaimed, but by the number of citizens who regain security, families that return to their homes, and measures that prevent a return to practices of killing, oppression, and depriving the people of their will.

He also reiterated the commitment of the Presidential Leadership Council and the government to the outcome of the Saudi-sponsored south-south dialogue, in a manner that ensures a fair and comprehensive solution to the southern issue. He called on brothers and friends, as well as the international community, to support Yemen, its armed forces, and national institutions, and to support humanitarian and economic efforts and recovery and reconstruction programs.

Al-Alimi concluded by announcing that the state's military, security, and civilian institutions had entered a "state of full mobilization" until the mission was accomplished, stressing that the new phase seeks to restore the state to its territory and institutions and return weapons to their "natural place under the authority of the law."