Israel Wants US, Egypt, Qatar to Press Abbas for Calm

A Palestinian child plays with a toy pistol during the funeral of Hamad Mustafa Abu Jeldah in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank (AFP)
A Palestinian child plays with a toy pistol during the funeral of Hamad Mustafa Abu Jeldah in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank (AFP)
TT

Israel Wants US, Egypt, Qatar to Press Abbas for Calm

A Palestinian child plays with a toy pistol during the funeral of Hamad Mustafa Abu Jeldah in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank (AFP)
A Palestinian child plays with a toy pistol during the funeral of Hamad Mustafa Abu Jeldah in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank (AFP)

Israel wants Egypt and Qatar to pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to activate the security forces and prevent armed operations during the upcoming Jewish holidays.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israel is responsible for the ongoing escalation, saying it regularly targets Palestinian citizens with the worst forms of persecution and oppression without being held accountable.

The Foreign Ministry added in a press statement Sunday that the Israeli government and its various military branches, including the settlers' militias, organizations, and terrorists, are part of an Israeli strategy to escalate the conflict.

"The Israeli government is fully and directly responsible for the escalation."

The Ministry noted that the Israeli government's policy aims to keep the situation very tense to block any opportunity for the resumption of the peace process that had been stalled since 2014.

It denounced that more than one Israeli official held the Palestinian side responsible for the escalation and its repercussions in an attempt to evade responsibility and as part of Israel's official misleading campaigns.

The Ministry accused Israel of adopting a military-security approach in dealing with the Palestinian issue as an alternative to political solutions to the conflict.

Political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that the Israeli government sought Cairo, Doha, and Washington to pressure Abbas to activate the Palestinian security services to carry out arrest campaigns against Palestinian militants in the West Bank, especially in Jenin and Nablus.

According to Haaretz, Israel is facing difficulty finding goodwill initiatives and restoring confidence between the two parties or taking economic steps that could reduce security tension in the West Bank.

Tel Aviv claimed several serious warnings that the Palestinians are preparing for dozens of armed operations during the Jewish holidays in September and October.

The newspaper noted that the Fatah movement is among the organizations preparing for the operations, not just Palestinian opposition factions.

Israeli forces are carrying out the most significant arrests throughout the West Bank daily since the formation of the cabinet led by Naftali Bennett and then Yair Lapid, which has so far included more than 1,500 detainees.

Each arrest is carried out with a massive military campaign, with the participation of hundreds of soldiers, armored cars, and sometimes drones.

Haaretz reported that the Israeli political leadership is anxious that Abbas's expected speech at the United Nations General Assembly will escalate the situation.

According to the newspaper, Abbas's visit to Cairo last Monday focused on this issue.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, also tried to pressure the Palestinians in this direction during her meeting with Minister Hussein al-Sheikh and intelligence chief Majed Faraj.

Leaf called on the Palestinians to withdraw their request for the United Nations to recognize Palestine as a member state, claiming that this would lead to an escalation in the West Bank. Abbas refused to meet Leaf.

An Israeli source familiar with the matter claimed that Abbas does not realize the depth of the problem.



US Says Committed to 'Diplomatic Resolution' in Lebanon

FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
TT

US Says Committed to 'Diplomatic Resolution' in Lebanon

FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)
FILE - Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks in Greenwich, London, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool, File)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve "dire" conditions in Gaza, in a call Saturday with his Israeli counterpart.

Austin "reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border" in his call with Israel Katz, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.

Austin also "urged the Government of Israel to continue to take steps to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza and emphasized the US commitment to securing the release of all hostages, including US citizens."

Lebanon said Saturday that an Israeli air strike in the heart of Beirut that brought down a residential building and jolted residents across the city killed at least 11 people.

Israel stepped up its campaign against the Hezbollah militant group in late September, targeting its strongholds in Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry says at least 3,645 people have been killed since October 2023, when Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.

The United Nations and others have repeatedly decried humanitarian conditions, particularly in northern Gaza, where Israel said Friday it had killed two commanders involved in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

In the call with Katz, Austin also discussed ongoing Israeli operations and reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad commitment to Israel's security," the Pentagon said.