Aboul Gheit from Beirut: Arab League Summit Will Be Held in May

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meet in Beirut. (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meet in Beirut. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Aboul Gheit from Beirut: Arab League Summit Will Be Held in May

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meet in Beirut. (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meet in Beirut. (Dalati & Nohra)

The next Arab League summit will be held in Saudi Arabia in May, announced Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit from Beirut on Tuesday.

He said the summit is likely to focus on economic issues and how to help the neediest Arab regions.

Aboul Gheit met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for talks on the general situation in Lebanon and the region and the latest political developments.

Speaking during his meeting with Mikati, Aboul Gheit described last week’s summit between Saudi Arabia, Iran and China in Beijing as “very positive”, adding that it will lead to “some form of political and security stability between Saudi Arabia and Iran.”

He added, however, that the regional implications of the Saudi-Iranian agreement were “not yet clear.”

Riyadh and Tehran agreed last week to restore relations under an agreement that was sponsored by China.

For his part, Mikati stressed the importance of the Arab League summit in adopting economic initiatives that would help achieve development goals of Arab countries, praising the role played by Aboul Gheit and the organizations general secretariat.

Mikati and Aboul Gheit also discussed the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development, which is organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in cooperation with the Arab League and UN agencies operating in the Arab region.



Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting and as US, European and some Arab officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.

Netanyahu said Israel’s “policy is clear. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.

Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.