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Arab World

Aboul Gheit Warns of ‘Religious War’ over Israel’s Annexation Plan

Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
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Aboul Gheit Warns of ‘Religious War’ over Israel’s Annexation Plan

Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit (REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned on Thursday against the eruption of a “religious war” over Israeli attempts to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

“Israel’s annexation of Palestinian lands constitutes a new brutal aggression on the Palestinian people and their sovereignty on their territories,” he stressed in a statement.

This would be a hostile move against Arab and Islamic nations and would undermine the chances for establishing peace in the region, Aboul Gheit said.

He added that this “dangerous development may lead to confrontation and religious wars that the international community shall not allow us to slip into.”

“The annexation plan is a blatant violation of international laws and the UN charter.”

Aboul Gheit pointed out that the whole world is responsible for defending Palestinian rights.

He urged the preservation of the international system that is based on respect for international law and on mutual respect between countries and peoples.

The Arab League called for maintaining Arab support for the Palestinian educational process and alleviating the suffering of Palestinian students.

This would allow future Palestinian generations to confront and challenge Israel to end its occupation and establish the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

AL Assistant Secretary General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories Saeed Abu Ali made these remarks during the virtual session of the Educational Programs Committee for Arab students in the occupied Arab territories.

Abu Ali affirmed that committee members are determined to continue supporting and following up the developments of the educational process in Palestine, especially in light of the extremely difficult circumstances that Palestine and the entire world are passing through due to the coronavirus outbreak.

He pointed to Israel’s policies to exploit the current circumstances and implement its colonial settlement plans by annexing large parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Israel is preventing the implementation of measures, especially in Jerusalem and its environs, to confront the pandemic, he noted.

Abu Ali also highlighted Israel’s continued demolition, displacement, arrest, and targeting of educational and health facilities.

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Arab World

Egypt Warns of Israeli Attempts to Impose New Reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Egypt stressed the need to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque’s religious standing (Reuters)
Egypt stressed the need to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque’s religious standing (Reuters)
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Egypt Warns of Israeli Attempts to Impose New Reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Egypt stressed the need to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque’s religious standing (Reuters)
Egypt stressed the need to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque’s religious standing (Reuters)

Egypt warned that repeated Israeli incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque “aim to change the status quo and impose a new reality within the holy site.”

In a Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday, Egypt condemned the entry of hundreds of Israeli settlers into the mosque and the accompanying provocative acts and religious rituals in its courtyards, saying they violated its historical and legal status quo.

Egypt stressed the need to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque’s religious standing.

It said maintaining existing arrangements governing the holy sites was crucial to preventing escalation, warning that repeated violations were fueling tensions.

Cairo said “these practices are part of a systematic policy that evades all forms of deterrence or accountability,” warning of consequences for security and stability in the occupied Palestinian territories and across the region.

The Arab League on Thursday condemned the entry of more than 1,300 Israeli settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque on the fifth day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

It also condemned the accompanying public religious rituals and prayers in the mosque’s courtyards under Israeli police protection, as well as restrictions on Palestinian worshippers and obstruction of their access.

It said: “The growing scale and frequency of these incursions, and the accompanying attempts to impose religious rituals inside the mosque, constitute a flagrant assault on its sanctity and a systematic effort to change its historical and legal status quo, imposing facts on the ground that pave the way for dividing it by time and space.”

Arab World

Egyptian-Italian Exercise Supports Stronger Relations

Egyptian military announces joint military exercise with Italy (Egyptian military spokesperson)
Egyptian military announces joint military exercise with Italy (Egyptian military spokesperson)
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Egyptian-Italian Exercise Supports Stronger Relations

Egyptian military announces joint military exercise with Italy (Egyptian military spokesperson)
Egyptian military announces joint military exercise with Italy (Egyptian military spokesperson)

The Egyptian military announced joint military exercises with Italy, including drills in mountainous areas in Italy, days after an Italian court convicted three Egyptian security officials in the case of the killing of researcher Giulio Regeni.

In a statement Thursday, the Egyptian military spokesperson said that, "as part of the armed forces' commitment to strengthening military cooperation with friendly and brotherly countries," elements of the Egyptian Thunderbolt Forces and Italian Special Forces conducted the joint exercise "4IT-EGY-T-" to train in mountain warfare. The exercise was held over several days in Italy.

The spokesperson added that the activities included a number of tactical and specialized exercises, including training in safe movement in mountainous areas, dealing with difficult geographical terrain, mountain-climbing skills, and rapid descent from high elevations in unconventional environments and weather conditions.

According to the Egyptian military, the exercise aims to exchange expertise, hone combat and specialized skills, and enhance the efficiency and readiness of participating personnel to carry out missions requiring specialized skills effectively.

The exercise comes as an Italian court ruled Monday to sentence three Egyptian officers to 10 years in prison after convicting them of involvement in "the abduction and detention of Regeni." The court acquitted Major General Tarek Saber, the former head of Egypt's National Security Agency. Egypt denies any involvement by state agencies in the case.

The four men were tried in absentia under Italian laws that allow the prosecution of crimes committed against Italian citizens abroad. Italian authorities said they were unable to determine the whereabouts of the defendants.

Regeni, a graduate student at the UK's University of Cambridge, disappeared in the Egyptian capital on January 25, 2016. His body was found about a week later.

Relations between Italy and Egypt deteriorated sharply following Regeni's killing but have gradually recovered in recent years. Cairo hosted the Egypt-Italy Joint Higher Committee on September 3, chaired by the two countries' foreign ministers, for the first time since 2014. The two sides also held a business forum to discuss strengthening economic cooperation.

In an earlier statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said Cairo and Rome separate their bilateral relations from the procedures in the Regeni case. He noted that "there is an agreement between Egypt and Italy to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields," alongside "dealing with the case of the Italian researcher as an exceptional individual crime, to be addressed through legal means."

Arab World

Iraqi PM Sets June 30 Deadline for Pro-Iran Factions to Disarm

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Iraqi PM Sets June 30 Deadline for Pro-Iran Factions to Disarm

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday announced June 30 as a new deadline for armed factions to turn over their weapons to the state, following the end of the US-led coalition's mission in the country.

"October 1 is considered a serious beginning to address the issue of weapons outside state control... according to a clear roadmap and agreed timelines extending no later than June 30, 2027," Zaidi said in a statement, after having backed away from an initial September 30 deadline.