Tebboune Vows Better Living Conditions for Algerians

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (AFP)
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Tebboune Vows Better Living Conditions for Algerians

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (AFP)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledged on Thursday to enhance the country’s returns and improve the living conditions of Algerians, indicating a 47 percent increase in salaries early next year, the German News Agency said.

He said that 2023 will see "better achievements and the improvement of living conditions.” His remarks came during the opening of the 5th province governors' meeting in Algiers.

Tebboune said his country’s economic growth is projected to reach 5 percent in 2023 after it amounted to 4.1 percent in 2022.

He also revealed that the current foreign exchange reserves had increased to over $60 billion, while the import bill has decreased to $36 billion after it reached an annual average of $63 billion in the past years.

“The economy is now based on production, not on imports. Algeria is witnessing a clear social and economic dynamics,” Tebboune affirmed, noting that 2023 is "the year of efficiency, raising the standard of living, increasing the purchasing power of the citizen, and of reducing inflation.”

He also said that the State is trying to fight corruption and protect citizens from the consequences of global economic fluctuations.

He indicated that several decisions taken by local governors helped build between 600 and 700 micro, small, medium and large economic units, and create 52,000 jobs at a time when the world is witnessing an economic downturn.

He also revealed that an Algerian factory will be launched this year to produce sugar which will be sold directly to consumers, in addition to the production of olive oil.

The President then called on Algerians saving money outside banks to deposit them back in the country’s banks. He pledged a thousand guarantees to protect citizens and the national economy, saying there are banks that deal in Islamic banking.

Addressing the file of recovering the looted funds, the President said Algerians followed the scary numbers of looted money, and that huge amounts of funds were found with one single family.

The President added, “We insist on fighting corruption and corruptors, Algeria will remain a state of justice and law,” stressing that the country “will not collapse despite enemy plots."



Israel Security Cabinet to Discuss New Phase of Gaza Truce 

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Security Cabinet to Discuss New Phase of Gaza Truce 

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet was set to discuss on Monday the next phase of the ceasefire with Hamas, as top US diplomat Marco Rubio began a visit to Saudi Arabia where he will push Donald Trump's proposal for a US takeover of Gaza.

Rubio travelled to Riyadh from Israel, where he kicked off his first Middle East trip as Trump's secretary of state.

"Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated," Rubio said in Israel of the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered a 15-month war that has devastated Gaza.

Standing beside him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two allies had "a common strategy", and that "the gates of hell will be opened" if all hostages held by fighters in Gaza are not freed.

The comments came a day after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners -- the sixth such swap under the ceasefire deal, which the United States helped mediate along with Qatar and Egypt.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, which has been further strained by Trump's widely condemned proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and move its more than two million residents out of the territory.

"We discussed Trump's bold vision for Gaza's future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality," Netanyahu said.

The scheme that Trump outlined earlier this month as Netanyahu visited Washington lacked details, but he said it would entail moving Gazans to Jordan or Egypt.

- 'The only plan' -

The United States, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said for now, "the only plan is the Trump plan".

However, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states have rejected his proposal, and instead favor the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday said a Palestinian state would be "the only guarantee" of lasting Middle East peace.

After Saudi Arabia, Rubio will also travel to the United Arab Emirates.

Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which came close to collapse last week.

"At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people," said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza's Khan Younis.

Since the truce took effect on January 19, a total of 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Out of 251 people seized in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

In a statement, Rubio condemned Hamas's hostage-taking as "sick depravity" and called for the immediate release of all remaining captives, living and dead, particularly five Israeli-American dual nationals.

Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.

Netanyahu's office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.

It said the prime minister was also dispatching negotiators to Cairo on Monday to discuss the "continued implementation" of phase one.

The team would "receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II" after the cabinet meeting, the office said.

- 'Finish the job' -

The Gaza war has rippled across the Middle East, triggering violence in Yemen and Lebanon, where Iran backs armed groups.

Israel fought a related war with Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.

Israeli troops were meant to withdraw over a 60-day period but this was later extended to February 18.

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Sunday "Israel must fully withdraw" on the Tuesday deadline.

"It is the responsibility of the Lebanese state" to exert every effort "to make Israel withdraw", he said in a televised address.

There have also been limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.

Rubio called Iran the "single greatest source of instability in the region".

Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, "I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job" against Iran.

Iran on Monday condemned Netanyahu's remarks, calling them "a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter".

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.