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Biden Administration Requests Clarification on Hamas-Fatah Election Partnership

A sign directing to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission in Gaza (Reuters)
A sign directing to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission in Gaza (Reuters)
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Biden Administration Requests Clarification on Hamas-Fatah Election Partnership

A sign directing to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission in Gaza (Reuters)
A sign directing to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission in Gaza (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden’s administration has asked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for clarifications on the partnership with Hamas in the upcoming elections, according to a Channel 12 report.

The United States wants reassurances that any future Palestinian government will recognize Israel, renounce violence and uphold agreements and abide by them, the report added.

Neither the US administration nor the Palestinian Authority (PA) commented on the report, yet a well-informed source ruled out in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat any dispute on the matter.

“Elections will be held under the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) sponsorship,” the source explained, stressing that the PLO is committed to all the agreements, in accordance to which the government will be formed.

“This is clear to everyone and to all the Palestinian factions. They all agreed not to give Israel any reason to prevent the elections from taking place or incite against the next government.”

The PA has officially resumed contacts with the new US administration.

It had cut relations with former US President Donald Trump’s administration for more than two years due to its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the punitive steps against Palestinians.

Contacts with Biden’s administration are carried out through Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.

They earlier discussed means to restore Palestinian-US relations, especially the reopening of the PLO’s office in Washington and renewing US financial aid to the PA and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Contact between the PA and new US administration has been expected in light of previous indirect communication through mediators.

The PA is hoping that the Biden administration would rectify the tense relations and advance a new peace process in the region.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said the upcoming elections are an existential issue that cannot be reversed.

“They pave the way for ending the division and leading to reconciliation,” he explained during a meeting with head of mission of the Office of the Quartet John Clarke in Ramallah.

He affirmed his country’s readiness for a serious political path based on international legitimacy and international law.

Both sides discussed the latest political developments and preparations for the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting, which will be held in New York on Feb. 23.

Clarke said the Quartet is ready to support the elections, accelerate efforts to restore bilateral relations with the US, and implement development projects, especially those targeting the energy and water sectors, with priority given to the Gaza Strip.

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Arab World

Israeli Military Says Detained Suspected ISIS Militant in Syria

FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles manoeuvre along the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles manoeuvre along the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem/File Photo
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Israeli Military Says Detained Suspected ISIS Militant in Syria

FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles manoeuvre along the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli military vehicles manoeuvre along the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem/File Photo

The Israeli military said on Saturday its forces had arrested a suspected ISIS militant in Syria earlier this week and taken him back to Israel.

In a statement, the military said that on Wednesday "soldiers completed an operation in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terrorist affiliated with ISIS.”

"The suspect was transferred for further processing in Israeli territory," the statement said.

Arab World

Report: Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan ‘Recruited by UK-registered Firms’

(COMBO) This combination of satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC on December 19, 2025, shows from top left to bottom right:- the graves near the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in El-Fasher, taken on the following dates: on October 8, 2025, on October 27, 2025, on January 15, 2025, and on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Planet Labs / AFP)
(COMBO) This combination of satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC on December 19, 2025, shows from top left to bottom right:- the graves near the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in El-Fasher, taken on the following dates: on October 8, 2025, on October 27, 2025, on January 15, 2025, and on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Planet Labs / AFP)
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Report: Colombian Mercenaries in Sudan ‘Recruited by UK-registered Firms’

(COMBO) This combination of satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC on December 19, 2025, shows from top left to bottom right:- the graves near the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in El-Fasher, taken on the following dates: on October 8, 2025, on October 27, 2025, on January 15, 2025, and on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Planet Labs / AFP)
(COMBO) This combination of satellite images released by Planet Labs PBC on December 19, 2025, shows from top left to bottom right:- the graves near the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in El-Fasher, taken on the following dates: on October 8, 2025, on October 27, 2025, on January 15, 2025, and on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Planet Labs / AFP)

An exclusive investigation by UK’s The Guardian has found companies hiring hundreds of Colombian fighters for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.

A one-bedroom flat off north London’s Creighton Road in Tottenham is, according to UK government records, tied to a transnational network of companies involved in the mass recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside the RSF, said the report.

Colombian mercenaries were directly involved in the RSF’s seizure of the southwestern Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which prompted a killing frenzy that analysts say has cost at least 60,000 lives.

“The flat in Tottenham is registered to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two individuals named and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for the RSF,” said The Guardian.

“Both figures – Colombian nationals in their 50s – are described in documents at Companies House, the government register of firms operating in the UK, as living in Britain,” it said.

“The day after the US treasury announced sanctions on those behind the Colombian mercenary operation –December 9 – Zeuz Global abruptly moved its operation to the very heart of London. On 10 December the firm shared “new address details” Its new postcode matches One Aldwych, a five-star hotel in Covent Garden,” the report added.

Yet the first line of Zeuz Global’s new address is, confusingly, “4dd Aldwych,” which corresponds to the Waldorf Hilton hotel 100 meters away, according to The Guardian.

Both hotels said they had no link to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the firm had used their postcodes.

“It is of major concern that the key individuals the US government claims are directing this mercenary supply have been able to set up a UK company operating from a flat in north London, and even to claim that they’re resident in the UK,” said Mike Lewis, a researcher and former member of the UN panel of experts on Sudan.

When Companies House was asked if it had any knowledge of what Zeuz Global actually did, or is doing, it did not respond. The government agency would also not confirm whether the sanctioned individuals were, in fact, resident in the UK.

Contacting Zeuz proved fruitless; its website, set up in May, was labelled as “under construction” with no contact details provided.

Arab World

Egyptian President Urges UN Security Council Reforms for Africa's Larger Role

In this photo, provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, front right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)
In this photo, provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, front right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)
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Egyptian President Urges UN Security Council Reforms for Africa's Larger Role

In this photo, provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, front right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)
In this photo, provided by Egypt's presidency media office, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, front right, greets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday reiterated calls for structural changes in the UN Security Council to grant Africa a larger role in shaping global decisions.

El-Sisi made the plea for a “more pluralistic” world order at a conference of the Russia-Africa partnership held in Cairo, which was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and ministers from more than 50 African countries along with representatives from several African and regional organizations.

“The voice of Africa should be present and influential in making global decisions given the continent’s human, economic, political and demographic weight,” el-Sisi said in a statement read out by his foreign minister at the plenary session of the conference.

According to The Associated Press, he added that international financial institutions need to undergo similar reforms to ensure Africa an equitable representation.

Since 2005, the African Union has been demanding that Africa be granted two permanent seats with veto powers in the Security Council, arguing that such reforms would contribute to achieving peace and stability on the continent, which has been struggling with wars for decades.

The Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has not changed from its 1945 configuration: 10 non-permanent members from all regions of the world elected for two-year terms without veto power, and five countries that were dominant powers at the end of World War II are permanent members with veto power: The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

In his statement, el-Sisi said that the Russia-Africa ministerial conference will develop a plan to consolidate the partnership ahead of next year’s summit of heads of state.

“We remain a reliable partner for African states in strengthening their national sovereignty, both politically and in matters of security, as well as in other dimensions,” Lavrov said at the plenary session. “We’re committed to further unlocking the existing enormous potential of our practical cooperation.”