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Palestinian Factions Kick off Talks on Elections in Cairo

Palestinians walk through rows of greenhouses on "Land Day" during which people notably plant olive trees on March 29, 2014 near the Israeli border in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians walk through rows of greenhouses on "Land Day" during which people notably plant olive trees on March 29, 2014 near the Israeli border in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza. (AFP)
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Palestinian Factions Kick off Talks on Elections in Cairo

Palestinians walk through rows of greenhouses on "Land Day" during which people notably plant olive trees on March 29, 2014 near the Israeli border in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinians walk through rows of greenhouses on "Land Day" during which people notably plant olive trees on March 29, 2014 near the Israeli border in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza. (AFP)

Palestinian factions began arriving in the Egyptian capital on Saturday, ahead of launching national dialogue on the Palestinian general elections scheduled for May.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) announced that Fahd Suleiman, the Front’s deputy secretary-general, will head its delegation.

It also includes members of the political bureau Khaled Atta from Damascus, Majda al-Masri from the West Bank and Ziad Jarghoun from the Gaza Strip.

The delegation is scheduled to hold consultations with other delegations arriving in Cairo in line with efforts to “reach political, procedural and legal consensus that would ensure overcoming obstacles that hinder people’s right to participate in the polls,” the DFLP said.

“This would pave the way to ending the division and rebuilding national institutions in the Palestinian Authority and PLO, based on the outcomes of the previous rounds of dialogue.”

All the factions are supposed to arrive by Sunday ahead of the dialogue scheduled to begin on Monday.

This dialogue is significant because it proves the possibility of actually agreeing to hold the elections on time.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed on Jan.15 a decree setting legislative elections for May 22 and a presidential vote on July 31, in what would be the first Palestinian polls in 15 years.

Each faction is set to present its concerns and demands for holding the elections.

Consensus between the Fatah and Hamas movements will top the talks because any disagreement may force Hamas to hinder Gaza, which it controls.

Several issues are on the table, including which political authority would serve as a reference in the elections. They will also address the electoral court, while a major dispute revolves around the Constitutional Court.

Fatah is insisting on the formation of the court, while Hamas is opposed to it.

The movement wants to exclude the Constitutional Court from the process and form an electoral court through consensus.

Security will also be discussed. Fatah wants to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in Gaza and determine which of the security services will monitor it.

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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.