عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanon: No Final Deal on Delegation Attending ISG Meeting in Paris

President Michel Aoun met on November with a delegation of ambassadors from the International Support Group for Lebanon. NNA
President Michel Aoun met on November with a delegation of ambassadors from the International Support Group for Lebanon. NNA
TT
TT

Lebanon: No Final Deal on Delegation Attending ISG Meeting in Paris

President Michel Aoun met on November with a delegation of ambassadors from the International Support Group for Lebanon. NNA
President Michel Aoun met on November with a delegation of ambassadors from the International Support Group for Lebanon. NNA

Lebanon hasn’t yet decided on the delegation attending a meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon hosted by France on Wednesday to mobilize assistance for the country.

Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that France sent an invitation to Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Hani Chemaittelly, while French Ambassador to Beirut Bruno Foucher sent a copy of the same invitation to both President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

However, there was confusion in Beirut on which official would head the Lebanese delegation to Paris.

The sources said that Chemaittelly was supposed to head the delegation. However, there were suggestions for caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to assume that role.

“After Khalil apologized from attending the Paris meeting, contacts held among political parties suggested that Director-General of the presidency Antoine Choucair heads the delegation, which would include Chemaittelly, Ambassador Ghadi Khoury, Director of Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Hazar Caracalla, economic advisor to the Prime Minister.”

Some figures also suggested the participation of Alain Bifani, Director-General of the Finance Ministry and Lebanon’s Ambassador to Paris Rami Adwan.

However, the sources asserted that there was no final decision on the matter.

France is scheduled to host a meeting of the ISG for Lebanon in an effort to send clear messages to the leaders of the country, which has seen a deteriorating political and economic crisis since anti-government protests erupted on Oct. 17.

The Group plans to call on Lebanese officials to swiftly form a new government in light of the difficult social, economic and financial situation.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian would deliver the opening speech while the ministry’s secretary general is expected to lead the discussions.

Wednesday’s meeting comes as Lebanon delayed parliamentary consultations to name a new Prime Minister till next Monday.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Egyptian President Says Palestinian Cause Remains Top Priority

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Egyptian President Says Palestinian Cause Remains Top Priority

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday said the Palestinian cause is still “at the forefront of priorities” in the Middle East.

He told a panel at Davos that resolving Palestinian cause “is the core of regional stability, and a cornerstone to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

The Egyptian leader lauded US President Donald Trump’s efforts to help reach a ceasefire that stropped the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October.

The two leaders are expected to meet at Davos, said the Egyptian Presidency on Tuesday.

This ‌will be ‌the first ‌meeting ⁠between ​the ‌two leaders since the US announced it was launching the second phase of its plan to end the war in Gaza.

Sisi and ⁠Trump met in the ‌Red Sea resort ‍of Sharm ‍el-Sheikh in October during a ‍summit convened by Egypt to sign a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the ​war.

Arab World

Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
TT
TT

Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Wednesday he had agreed to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, after his office earlier criticized makeup of the board’s executive committee.

The board, chaired by Trump, was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. The Trump administration’s ambitions have appeared to balloon into a more sprawling concept, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting it will soon broker global conflicts.

Netanyahu’s office had previously said the executive committee, which includes Türkiye, a key regional rival, wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy,” without clarifying its objections.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has criticized the board and called for Israel to take unilateral responsibility for Gaza’s future.

Others who have joined the board are the UAE, Morocco, Vietnam, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Argentina. Others, including the UK, Russia and the executive arm of the European Union, say they have received invitations but have not yet responded.

It came as Trump traveled to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to provide more details about the board. There are many unanswered questions. It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if the board should replace the UN, Trump said, “It might.”

He asserted that the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to its potential” but also said the UN should continue ”because the potential is so great.”

That has created controversy, with some saying Trump is trying to replace the UN. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday, “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organization as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”

Told late Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.” A day later, Trump called Macron “a friend of mine”, but reiterated that the French leader is “not going to be there very much longer.”

The executive board’s members include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and UN Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters. Additional members include: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.

The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs.

Arab World

UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
TT

UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

United Arab Emirates forces are accused of running a secret prison in Yemen's Dabba area in the eastern city of Mukalla.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the facility, bearing witness to the dire conditions in which the detainees were held as they waited in despair for their fate.

The walls themselves tell a story of despair with prisoners having etched pleas for mercy and prayers to God, with one prisoner writing a single word - "mother" - summing up his suffering.

Asharq Al-Awsat entered the facility as part of a tour for the media and rights groups. The UAE is accused of running several illegal prisons in Yemen, setting them up without coordination with the legitimate authorities.

Etchings on the wall by some of the detainees in the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani said these detention centers are not affiliated with the state.

Dabba, he added, embodies the illegal practices that used to happen outside the state's control.

The state did not task any local or foreign party to set up the detention centers where prisoners have been tortured, he said.

These practices are a flagrant violation of the Yemeni constitution, international law and humanitarian law, he stressed.

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani at the Dabba center. (Asharq Al-Awsat

"Cells" at Dabba were nothing more than steel containers of varying sizes, some as small as 1 mete by 50 centimeters.

Along with the writings on the wall, Asharq Al-Awsat noted the blood stains in the cells, reflecting the horrors the detainees had to endure.

Al-Eryani said the state was restoring the rule of law, not seeking to settle scores. "Opening these facilities to the media is a message that the state was not afraid of the truth. Rather it wants to document it and tackle the issue through legal means," he added.

"We are not asking for political cover, but support for the state of law," he urged.

A Yemeni military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Dabba facility used to be a military air defense base.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he revealed that people were held in the prison without charge, while those freed usually ended up suffering from severe trauma.