Egypt, Jordan, UAE Call for Restoring Calm in Jerusalem

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AFP)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AFP)
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Egypt, Jordan, UAE Call for Restoring Calm in Jerusalem

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AFP)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AFP)

Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE have stressed the importance of respecting the legal and historical status quo at al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, calling for sustained efforts to restore calm.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received at the Federal Palace King of Jordan Abdullah II and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss recent developments.

The presidential spokesman, Bassam Rady, said Sisi hosted an Iftar for the leaders, during which they exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the blessed Eid al-Fitr.

Sisi expressed appreciation for the close and historical relations that bring the three countries together, stressing Egypt's aspiration to enhance cooperation among them.

He also urged moving towards broader horizons of a strategic partnership that establishes "extended relations, achieves common interests, and boosts joint Arab action."

The Egyptian President highlighted the significance of cooperation and partnership in light of the challenges facing the region and the economic and social crises resulting from regional and international developments.

According to the statement, King Abdullah II and Sheikh Mohamed voiced their countries' keenness to bolster cooperation with Egypt for the benefit of the three states.

Both leaders also urged maximizing the benefits of collaborative opportunities between the three countries, saying "these ties represent a cornerstone for maintaining regional security and stability and restoring balance to the region."

Rady added that the meeting addressed cooperation between Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, and the leaders agreed to continue coordination and consultation on all issues of mutual interest.

The meeting dealt with strengthening joint Arab action and mutual coordination in light of the challenges and crises besetting the Arab region and threatening its security and stability.

The talks reviewed the latest developments of the peace process in the Middle East, and the coordination between the three countries in this context, in light of the escalations in Jerusalem, stressing the importance of sustaining efforts to restore calm.

The statement added that the Arab leaders called for respecting the role of the historical Hashemite custodianship in protecting the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

They also underscored the importance of stopping all Israeli measures that undermine the two-state solution and the need to find a political horizon for resuming "serious and effective" negotiations to resolve Israeli-Palestinian tensions under international law.

The Arab leaders exchanged views on several international issues, particularly the latest development in the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Arab world's role in resolving the conflict through the recently formed Arab League's Liaison Committee.

The meeting stressed the importance of prioritizing dialogue and diplomatic solutions and endeavors that would accelerate the political settlement of the conflict in a manner that preserves international security and stability.

It reaffirmed the need to prevent any escalation and deterioration to avoid the aggravation of the humanitarian and economic situation and thereby its regional and international impact.



Hamas Says It Is Investigating Possible Error over Hostage Body

 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
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Hamas Says It Is Investigating Possible Error over Hostage Body

 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)

Hamas said on Friday it was investigating a possible error in identifying human remains handed to Israel under a ceasefire deal as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened retaliation for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas.

Hamas was due to hand over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons Kfir and Ariel on Thursday, along with the remains of a fourth hostage under the ceasefire deal that has halted fighting in Gaza since last month.

Four bodies were delivered and the identities of the Bibas boys and the other hostage, Oded Lifshitz, were confirmed.

But Israeli specialists said the fourth body was that of an unidentified woman and not Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her sons and her husband, Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said "unfortunate mistakes" could occur, especially as Israeli bombing had mixed the bodies of Israeli hostages and Palestinians, thousands of whom were still buried in the rubble.

"We confirm that it is not in our values or our interest to keep any bodies or not to abide by the covenants and agreements that we sign," he said in a statement.

Hamas said separately that it would investigate the Israeli assertions and announce the results.

The failure to hand over the body and the staged public handover of the four coffins on Thursday, caused outrage in Israel and drew a threat of retaliation from Netanyahu.

"We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said in a video statement, accusing Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Bibas.

Hamas said in November 2023 that the children and their mother had been killed in an Israeli air strike and Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Netanyahu "bears full responsibility for killing her and her children."

But the Israeli military said intelligence assessments and forensic analysis of the bodies of the Bibas children indicated that they were deliberately killed by their captors. Chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the boys were killed by the militants "with their bare hands", but gave no details.

Netanyahu gave no details of a possible Israeli response, but the incident underscored the fragility of the ceasefire agreement reached with US backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month.

SATURDAY EXCHANGE

Six living hostages are due for release on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to Hamas, and the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire is expected in the coming days.

"Hamas must return the hostages as agreed in the ceasefire- the living and the deceased," Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in a statement on social media platform X. "They have to bring Shiri back, and they have to release the 6 living hostages expected tomorrow."

Netanyahu's office confirmed it had been officially informed of the names of the six hostages to be released, which Hamas sources said was expected at around 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT).

As the tension over the Gaza ceasefire rose, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify operations in another Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, after a number of explosions blew up buses standing empty in their depots near Tel Aviv.

No casualties were reported but the explosions were a reminder of the campaign of suicide attacks on public transport that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.

'THEY MAKE A JOKE OF US'

Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of ceasefire violations, with Hamas threatening to delay the release of hostages over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow housing materials and other aid into Gaza, a charge Israel denied.

"It's like they make a joke of us," said 75-year-old Ilana Caspi. "We are so in grief and this is even more, it's like you make a punch again, another one and another one, it's really terrible."

The Red Cross told Reuters it was "concerned and unsatisfied" by the fact that the handover of the bodies had not been conducted privately and in a dignified manner.

Despite the outrage over Shiri Bibas, there was no indication that Israel would not take part in talks over a second phase of the ceasefire deal.

The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Israeli negotiators were considering seeking an extension of the 42-day ceasefire, to delay moving to a second phase, which would involve talks over hard-to-resolve issues including an end to the war and the future of Hamas in Gaza.