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Blinken, Tebboune Discuss Algeria-Morocco Dispute

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receiving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (APZ)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receiving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (APZ)
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Blinken, Tebboune Discuss Algeria-Morocco Dispute

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receiving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (APZ)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receiving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (APZ)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken praised the “solid” Algerian-US relations during his meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday in Algiers.

Tebboune received Blinken at the presidential headquarters, accompanied by a diplomatic delegation.

Blinken conveyed the US administration's desire to end the tension between Morocco and Algeria over the Sahara, pointing to fears it could impact the energy supplies from the region to Europe in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Algeria is one of Europe's leading suppliers of energy.

After severing its relations with Morocco last August, Algeria did not renew the contract for the Maghreb-Europe pipeline that links Algeria to Spain and runs across Morocco.

In brief remarks to reporters at the US Embassy in Algiers, Blinken noted that trade exchange between Algeria and the US was estimated at $1.2 billion at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and reached about $2.2 billion by the end of 2021.

The US Secretary said the goal is to reach $6 billion in investments and trades, announcing that the US will be the guest of honor for the "Algeria International Fair" next June.

According to unnamed sources, the talks agreed on the need to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya, confront terrorism in the Sahel, and continue to support local governments in the effort to monitor the borders.

Blinken, accompanied by journalists from 12 US media organizations, praised the cooperation with Algeria in the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda extremists operating in the Sahel region.

The talks also addressed the war in Ukraine, and Blinken stressed that Russia must stop its attack on Ukraine.

Blinken said Western governments would take more sanctions to discourage Moscow from continuing its occupation of Ukraine.

Algeria, Russia's ally, remained neutral in this crisis, adopting the same socialist approach since its independence in 1962.

For his part, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said he was delighted with the fruitful session he had with Blinken.

"We focused on the promising opportunities to strengthen our bilateral partnership while advancing our commitment to promote peace and stability at the regional and international levels in line with our shared values and interests," tweeted the foreign minister.

The US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, had visited Algeria on March 10, where she met President Tebboune and Lamamra.

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Arab World

After US Criticism, Israel Ties Lebanon Withdrawal to Hezbollah Disarmament

A Lebanese army soldier stands on guard by his armoured vehicle in the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah which was previously badly damaged by the Israeli military on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) /
A Lebanese army soldier stands on guard by his armoured vehicle in the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah which was previously badly damaged by the Israeli military on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) /
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After US Criticism, Israel Ties Lebanon Withdrawal to Hezbollah Disarmament

A Lebanese army soldier stands on guard by his armoured vehicle in the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah which was previously badly damaged by the Israeli military on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) /
A Lebanese army soldier stands on guard by his armoured vehicle in the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah which was previously badly damaged by the Israeli military on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) /

Israel won't withdraw from southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed, the defense minister said on Thursday, qualifying remarks he made a day earlier that had suggested Israeli forces would occupy the territory indefinitely and drew US criticism.

Israel seized a swath of south Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah earlier this year and has said it will keep forces there to shield northern Israel from attack by the Iran-backed group, which ignited the latest hostilities when it opened fire at Israel two days into the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Israel's offensive uprooted hundreds of thousands of Lebanese.

During a visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been "unequivocally clear" that "we are not withdrawing from this security zone", adding, "we will cleanse this area and ensure the security of the northern residents".

Following his statement, a US State Department official said a permanent Israeli military presence in south Lebanon was not consistent with commitments set out in Israel's US-backed deal with Lebanon's government.

The deal foresees a progressive Israeli withdrawal linked to the verified disarmament of the group.

"The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon," the US official said in written remarks distributed to journalists.

On Thursday, Katz said Israel would "not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed and the threat of Hezbollah in all of Lebanon is not removed".

"I have instructed the army to prepare for an extended presence in the area to protect the combat forces and the communities, until this goal is fully achieved," Katz added in a ceremony marking an Israeli settlement establishment in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu's Likud party, to which Katz belongs, is looking to bolster its security credentials among voters ahead of an election on October 27 — Israel's first since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks.

Arab World

Israel Detains Journalist in West Bank

Israeli border police officers search a Palestinian man near the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's old city, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israeli border police officers search a Palestinian man near the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's old city, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
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Israel Detains Journalist in West Bank

Israeli border police officers search a Palestinian man near the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's old city, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israeli border police officers search a Palestinian man near the scene of a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's old city, Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli forces have detained a Palestinian journalist who has worked for news outlets including AFP, the Israeli military and his family said.

Mohammed Awad, 38, who has shot videos for AFP in the occupied West Bank, was taken from his home near Ramallah on Wednesday and placed in a military vehicle, his wife Iman Shalash said.

The Israeli military in a statement said that Awad was "suspected of advancing terror attacks" and said he operated on behalf of Hamas, without providing evidence or further details.

His wife denied the allegation that he worked for Hamas.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Society, a non-governmental group that advocates for detained Palestinians, said that Awad's detainment brought to 40 the number of Palestinian journalists held by Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate called Awad's arrest "an extension of the occupation's systematic policy of targeting Palestinian journalists".

It is part of "a continuous attempt to silence the voice of the press and obstruct the transmission of the truth", it said.

Arab World

'Dreams Disappear' as Gaza Students await Evacuation to Italy

Palestinian students hoping to study in Italy, Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face unexplained delays, students have told AFP © Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP/File
Palestinian students hoping to study in Italy, Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face unexplained delays, students have told AFP © Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP/File
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'Dreams Disappear' as Gaza Students await Evacuation to Italy

Palestinian students hoping to study in Italy, Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face unexplained delays, students have told AFP © Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP/File
Palestinian students hoping to study in Italy, Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face unexplained delays, students have told AFP © Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP/File

Dozens of Gaza students who won scholarships to universities in Italy are still waiting to be evacuated due to bureaucratic red tape, leaving qualified students in a deadly conflict zone, AFP has found.

Although more than 200 Palestinian students have been successfully enrolled in Italian colleges through a government university corridor project started in 2025, others have been left behind.

About 50 students are still awaiting clearance to leave the Israeli-occupied territory where most higher education institutions have been destroyed -- despite having met the same requirements of previous Gazan students now in Italy, non-governmental organizations say.

Between September 2025 and June, 246 scholarship recipients from Gaza were flown to Italy and San Marino in a series of evacuations through Italy's "IUPALS" program for Palestinian students, according to the foreign ministry.

But there have been no evacuations since June 1, said Anna Giada Altomare, founder of the Fiori dai Cannoni charity that helps the accepted students.

One male student still waiting in Gaza -- who requested that his name not be used -- described to AFP a "long waiting period, the uncertainty about the travel date, and the fear of losing an educational opportunity obtained after great effort".

"The state could resolve this situation very quickly," Altomare said, referring to Italian authorities, adding: "It is the state that should accelerate the process".

Contacted by AFP, the Italian foreign ministry said it was working in "an extremely complex operational context".

It said the timing of evacuations "falls outside the remit of Italian authorities" and "depends primarily on decisions and authorisations of relevant foreign authorities".

The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond for comment.

Nada Abunada and Mohamed Arafat are among the lucky ones. They began their studies in economics at Rome's Sapienza University in November 2025, having graduated high school in Gaza with scores above 99 percent.

"I couldn't enrol in university (in Gaza) because the war started. Everything that I had been planning for disappeared," Abunada told AFP in Rome, adding that "most universities were destroyed".

Arafat was studying business administration at Gaza's Al-Azhar University before the war forced him to stop. "We were focused on surviving," he said.

They were alerted to their evacuation just the day before by Italy's consulate in Jerusalem.

"I didn't tell anyone until the very last day because I wasn't sure it would happen... I didn't have much time to say goodbye," said Arafat.

Students left behind say they are facing bureaucratic problems, including confusing evacuation criteria.

The young man still in Gaza -- who was awarded a scholarship to study computer engineering in October 2025 -- wonders whether his score on an Italian proficiency exam may have played a role in delaying his evacuation.

"I tried to answer as much as I could since I had been learning Italian despite all the difficult circumstances, including internet outages, fear, and the pressure of daily life during the war," he said.

In July, Italy's university and research ministry called for greater flexibility in applying the language requirement to students from conflict zones.

But that has not helped the students still waiting in Gaza.

Other Palestinian students hoping to study in Türkiye, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium face similar unexplained delays, the student said.

A pre-med graduate, who also asked not to be named, told AFP she was accepted to an Italian master's program in June 2025 without asking for a scholarship.

She was later told by the Italian consulate that those without scholarships would not be evacuated.

Beyond administrative hurdles, students face difficult personal choices, such as family separation and mothers unable to evacuate with their children.

"I find it absurd that a woman should be forced to choose between continuing her education and leaving her child behind in Gaza," said Altomare.

Student Arafat worries whether his family will be forced to leave their home, where they hear nightly strikes from nearby Israeli forces.

He is trying to help his younger brothers study in Italy, but said they face even greater challenges than he did.

They have been asked to provide an equivalency assessment of their grades -- one they cannot possibly meet because, he said, "there are no functioning ministries or institutions" in Gaza.

Back in Gaza, the computer engineering student expressed the frustration felt by many.

"We are not just files or numbers," he told AFP.

"All we ask is to be given the opportunity we have already earned, and not to let our dreams disappear while we wait."