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Arab World

Arab Ministerial Council Kicks Off, UNRWA’s Support on the Agenda

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (R) receives UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl (C) at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo on September 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (R) receives UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl (C) at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo on September 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
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Arab Ministerial Council Kicks Off, UNRWA’s Support on the Agenda

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (R) receives UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl (C) at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo on September 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit (R) receives UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl (C) at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo on September 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)

The Arab League’s 150th session convenes in Cairo on Tuesday at the ministerial level, with an emphasis on supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
 
In this regard, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed that Arab countries would not accept the dissolution of the international agency, stressing: “The ultimate goal of US policy is to undermine the legitimacy of UNRWA and undermine the UN mandate granted to it in order to settle the refugee issue.”
 
“The Arab countries are fully aware of this matter, and will not allow dismantling the agency or replacing it with alternative entities, as sought by Israel and the United States,” he added.
 
Aboul Gheit was speaking during a meeting in Cairo on Monday with UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, who presented an overview on the crisis following the United States’ decision to suspend its financial contribution to the agency.
 
The secretary general’s spokesman, Ambassador Mahmoud Afifi, said that Aboul Gheit reviewed with the UNRWA commissioner ways to compensate for the US financial contributions and to fill the agency’s deficit so it would be able to continue its operations in the next phase, especially with regard to schools that serve about half a million Palestinian children.
 
Afifi added that a ministerial meeting would be held on Tuesday to discuss how to support UNRWA politically and financially, on the sidelines of the Arab League meeting at the ministerial level.
 
Krahenbuhl held a news conference on Monday at the headquarters of the United Nations Information Center in Cairo, saying he visited Egypt to discuss with the concerned Arab officials ways to deal with the funding crisis.
 
The UN official thanked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for securing a total funding of USD50 million in aid to UNRWA.
 
He added that the agency needed an additional USD200 million to sustain its operations until the end of the year.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.