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Palestinian President to Cut Budget Allocated to Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council at his headquarters in Ramallah, Aug. 15, 2018. Majdi Mohammed, AP.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council at his headquarters in Ramallah, Aug. 15, 2018. Majdi Mohammed, AP.
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Palestinian President to Cut Budget Allocated to Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council at his headquarters in Ramallah, Aug. 15, 2018. Majdi Mohammed, AP.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council at his headquarters in Ramallah, Aug. 15, 2018. Majdi Mohammed, AP.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will continue to pressure Hamas by making additional cuts to the budget allocated to the Gaza Strip, within the coming months, if the movement failed to transfer control of the enclave to the Palestinian Authority, sources revealed.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the president demands Hamas hand over the Gaza Strip or take full responsibility of the territory including its expenditures.

“Either we take responsibility for the West Bank and Gaza under one state, one regime, one law, and one weapon, or [Hamas] will take responsibility,” Abbas said during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council end of the week.

Reconciliation with Hamas “does not mean a truce, ceasefire, or humanitarian assistance, Reconciliation means that unity should be reinstated,” he added.

"The truce is a national demand and we want to protect our people in the Gaza Strip against the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation. We are for total calm in the context of a comprehensive national plan," Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat said in an interview.

He added that "if Hamas decides to conclude a unilateral truce agreement with Israel, it will be contributing to the destruction of the Palestinian national project."

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasme warned against Hamas concluding a truce deal with Israel in exchange for humanitarian assistance.

He considered the agreement to be “another coup against the people and homeland.”

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Abbas of trying to drag Israel into a confrontation with Hamas so it can retake control of Gaza.

“Abu Mazen knows that he is not capable of overthrowing the Hamas regime by force; he understands that Hamas will not transfer control over the Gaza Strip and therefore is trying to drag us into a confrontation with Hamas in the Gaza Strip,” Lieberman added.

Hamas didn’t comment on the accusations launched by Abbas, the PLO, and Fatah, only describing them as negative standpoints.

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Arab World

Explosions at Aleppo Munitions Army Depot in Northern Syria Injures Four

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Explosions at Aleppo Munitions Army Depot in Northern Syria Injures Four

Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

At least four people were injured following a series of explosions at an Aleppo army site in northern Syria early Monday, state media reported.

The cause of the explosions, which Syrian state media SANA said occurred at an "army site" in the vicinity of the town of Al-Eis, was not immediately known.

One civilian was injured by shrapnel as a result of the explosion at "an ammunition depot", SANA reported later, quoting the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management.

Two civilians suffered temporary "breathing difficulties", while another civilian was injured in a traffic accident while attempting to flee the blast area, it added.

Syria's civil defense teams transported the injured and evacuated three families from the blast site and remain on "high alert... due to the continued explosions", reported AFP.

Aleppo civil defense operations chief Faisal Mohammad Ali, quoted by the state-run Al-Ikhbariya channel, said earlier that the explosions had prevented emergency services from reaching the site swiftly.

A resident of Aleppo's Hamdaniyeh neighborhood told AFP they heard a "huge explosion" and when they went up to the roof could see "large flames in the distance".

Aleppo governor Azzam al-Gharib urged residents not to leave their homes for the time being, adding that "hospitals, ambulance and emergency teams are on full alert".

Roads leading to the site of the explosions were closed "to ensure the safety of civilians", Aleppo's Internal Security Command was quoted by SANA as saying.

Several such blasts have previously occurred in Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of civil war following the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

An explosion of unknown origin killed 11 people at a military site in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Friday.

Earlier this month, an explosion at a weapons depot belonging to the Ministry of Defense killed 14 people and injured 11 in Syria's northwest Idlib province.

Five people were killed just over a week earlier in the same area when a vehicle carrying munitions exploded.

Arab World

Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan Gold Mine Collapse Kills 10, Injures 21

Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)
Workers break rocks at a gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Sudan. (Reuters)

A gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan killing at least 10 people and injuring 21 others, two survivors told AFP on Sunday after overnight rescue efforts.

Shafts of the Awny mining area near Sudan's border with Egypt collapsed on Saturday.

By Sunday morning "10 bodies had been recovered and 21 injured miners pulled out", said one of the survivors who was working at the mine when it collapsed, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

Another survivor, also requesting anonymity, told AFP the rescue operation was "being carried out by the miners themselves" with little equipment available.

More miners were feared dead under the rubble and survivors said the search for the missing was ongoing.

Many young Sudanese have joined a dangerous gold rush, working in unregulated mines with their hands and rudimentary tools for meagre daily wages.

They face chemical poisoning and regular mine collapses.

Last week at least 82 people were killed and dozens injured in a collapse in the southern Kordofan region.

Artisanal and small-scale mining, which takes place in unofficial zones or decommissioned mines, accounts for the majority of gold extracted in Sudan.

Even before the war pushed nearly 20 million Sudanese into severe hunger, artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to industry figures.

Arab World

CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
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CIA Chief Meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo

FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa
FILED - 18 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is pictured in Cairo. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa Pool/dpa

US Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sunday in a rare visit to Cairo, as the United States warned of rapid escalation in the Middle East war.

Sisi's office said the meeting, attended by Egypt's spy chief Hassan Rashad, discussed the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sisi stressed "the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks," according to a presidency statement.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," it warned.

Sisi's office said Ratcliffe on Sunday "lauded Egypt's pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises".