Arab FMs Prepare Final Recommendations Ahead of Summit

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Carthage Palace in Tunis, Tunisia, November 27, 2018 (Reuters)
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Carthage Palace in Tunis, Tunisia, November 27, 2018 (Reuters)
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Arab FMs Prepare Final Recommendations Ahead of Summit

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Carthage Palace in Tunis, Tunisia, November 27, 2018 (Reuters)
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Carthage Palace in Tunis, Tunisia, November 27, 2018 (Reuters)

Meetings of the Arab foreign ministers will kick off on Friday in Tunis to adopt the agenda of the summit and review draft resolutions and final drafts to be submitted to Arab leaders and presidents on Sunday.

“There is a large number of items that include issues of regional crises, including the Palestinian issue, the crises of Syria, Libya and Yemen, Arab national security, and other key files,” Ambassador Khalid Al-Habas, Arab League Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The Palestinian issue is a priority as usual, and the Arab position on it is unified and strong,” he emphasized.

He added that there would be also a firm stance on the recent US resolution, which recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel. The Arab League will underline the importance of international resolutions, which stressed the Arab identity of the Golan Heights that Israel occupied in 1967, the ambassador noted.

The summit will also highlight “the total rejection of interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries related to Turkey and Iran, which will constitute an important message to countries that try to destabilize the security and stability of the region,” he added.

Habas said that the Arab Summit in Tunis would constitute a new addition to the previous Arab summits and would support the aspirations of the peoples, countries, and the Arab League to achieve security and stability and formulate firmer positions on the challenges that have plagued the region for several years.

On the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Tunisia, Habas said it fell within “the context of strengthening Arab solidarity, providing support to Tunisia, and discussing all issues of common interest.”



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strike on Hospital Kills 7

Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP
Damage at the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza, pictured on December 29 - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said an airstrike hit a hospital Sunday, killing at least seven people, while Israel said it had targeted militants at the no longer functioning facility.

"Seven martyrs and several injured people, including critical cases, have been recovered following the Israeli strike on the upper floor of Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza City," a civil defense agency statement said.

Israel's military said it had carried out a "precise strike" targeting members of Hamas's aerial defense unit operating from a "command and control center in a building that served in the past as the Al-Wafaa hospital".

The health ministry in Gaza said the hospital was still in use.

"The Al-Wafaa Hospital is partially operational, providing care to patients with physical disabilities," the ministry's director general, Munir al-Barsh, told AFP.

"The hospital had been rehabilitated and was getting ready to receive patients. Had it not been targeted by Israeli shelling today, it would have been ready to fully reopen in the next few days," he said.

The strike on Al-Wafaa Hospital came a day after the military ended a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, an assault the World Health Organization reported left the facility empty of patients and staff.

The military also detained the hospital's chief, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, saying he was suspected of being a Hamas militant.

Since October 6, Israel's operations in the Palestinian territory have focused on northern Gaza, where it says its land and air offensive aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

However, the military has also carried out airstrikes and shelling in other areas of Gaza as it presses on with its campaign against the militants.