Borrell Urges Algeria to End Dispute with Spain

Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
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Borrell Urges Algeria to End Dispute with Spain

Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)
Tebboune meets with Borrell on Monday. (Algerian presidency)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has informed Algerian officials about EU's desire to find “an urgent solution” to the dispute between Algeria and Spain. 

Meanwhile, the Non-Aligned Movement plans on holding a meeting in Algeria next summer, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced Sunday.

Tebboune met with Borrell at the Presidential Palace, the Algerian presidency revealed in a statement without giving further details.

Meanwhile, political sources said that Borrell stressed the significance of resuming ties between EU member Spain and Algeria.

Algeria has expressed objection over Madrid’s bias to a Moroccan proposal for autonomy in Western Sahara, and decided to freeze trade with Spain.

Discussions between Borrell and Tebboune covered the Western Sahara dispute, and the Palestinian cause, political sources said.

They added that the Algerian President affirmed that Algiers stands for the right of Sahara residents to determine their fate through a UN-organized referendum and the right of the Palestinians to establish their state.

The talks also tackled the situation in Libya and Mali.

Borrell discussed this matter thoroughly with Prime Minister Aamene Benabderrahman during their meeting on Sunday.

The EU official told Algeria’s El Khabar newspaper that the EU countries view as “unfortunate” the “serious obstacles” that Algeria has been imposing since June 2022 on trade with Spain. The obstacles exempt gas exports.

“This situation is quite detrimental to the association agreement and serves no one’s interest,” he remarked.

In another context, Tebboune announced during a press conference with Uganda's President that the Non-Aligned Movement countries would hold a meeting in Algeria this summer.

Algeria and Uganda signed two agreements and five memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

Tebboune affirmed the preparedness of Algeria to exchange expertise with Uganda in energy, tourism, food industries, higher education, and scientific research.

The President further congratulated Museveni for the oil discoveries in his country which could “contribute to reinforcing the partnership between the two countries in energy”.

For his part, Museveni stressed that Algeria is a “reliable partner”.

He noted that there is a possibility of launching cooperation projects in petrochemicals, fuels, and refining stations, especially in Uganda following the oilfield discoveries.



Israeli Strike on Gaza Apartment Building Kills at Least 23

09 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on a residential area in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, on April 9, 2025. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on a residential area in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, on April 9, 2025. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israeli Strike on Gaza Apartment Building Kills at Least 23

09 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on a residential area in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, on April 9, 2025. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike on a residential area in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, on April 9, 2025. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israeli aircraft struck a residential block in war-ravaged northern Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, health officials said, as the renewed fighting in the devastated Palestinian enclave showed no signs of slowing.

The Al-Ahly hospital said at least 23 people were killed in the strike, including eight women and eight children. The territory's Health Ministry confirmed the figures.

The strike hit a four-story building in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, and rescue teams were searching for victims under the rubble, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency service. The civil defense, a rescue group that operates under the Hamas-run government, said other neighboring buildings were damaged in the strike.

The Israeli military said it struck a senior Hamas militant who it said was behind attacks emanating from Shijaiyah, but it didn't name him or provide further details. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on the Hamas group, because it embeds itself in dense urban areas.

As it ratchets up pressure on Hamas to agree to free hostages, Israel has issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of Gaza, including Shijaiyah. It imposed a blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle. It has pledged to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor through it.

The UN said the Israeli military has denied aid workers permission for more than two-thirds of 170 attempts to move humanitarian supplies within the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire ended. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said efforts to get dwindling aid supplies to Palestinians were “severely strained.”

The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Earlier this week, Hamas fired its strongest volley of rockets since the ceasefire collapsed, lobbing 10 projectiles toward southern Israel.

Israel resumed its war against Hamas in Gaza last month after an eight-week ceasefire collapsed. The ceasefire brought a much-needed reprieve from the fighting to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza and sent an infusion of humanitarian aid to the territory. It also led to the release of 25 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the return of the remains of eight others, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Mediators have since attempted to bring the sides to a bridging agreement that would again pause the war, free hostages and open the door for talks on the war's end, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he won't agree to until Hamas is defeated. Hamas wants the war to end before it frees the remaining 59 hostages it holds, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

The war, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, has seen the deadliest fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in their history. It has ignited a humanitarian crisis in already impoverished Gaza, and has sent shockwaves across the region and beyond.

Netanyahu traveled to Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump. In their public statements, they offered sympathy for the plight of the hostages but shed little light on any emerging deal to suspend the fighting.

Trump has said he wants the war to end. But his postwar vision for Gaza — taking it over and relocating its population — has stunned Middle East allies, who say any talk of transferring the Palestinian population, by force or voluntarily, is a nonstarter. Israel has embraced the idea.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is under pressure from his far-right political allies to continue the war until Hamas is crushed, an aim Israel has yet to achieve 18 months into the conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France should move toward recognizing a Palestinian state in the coming months. The goal is to do that by June, when France and Saudi Arabia co-host an international conference about implementing a two-state solution, Macron told broadcaster France-5 in an interview aired Wednesday.

The war has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry there, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.

Hamas killed 1,200 people during its Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and took 250 people captive, many of whom have been freed in ceasefire deals.