Yemen Calls on UN to Expose Militias' Manipulation of Aidhttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3131401/yemen-calls-un-expose-militias-manipulation-aid
Yemen Calls on UN to Expose Militias' Manipulation of Aid
Volunteers organizing aid distribution in Sana (EPA)
The legitimate Yemeni government called on the United Nations to expose the militias' manipulation of relief aid, using it for war effort.
The Permanent Representative to the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, stressed during his meeting with the Resident UN Representative to Yemen and Humanitarian Coordinator William David Gressley, the need for international organizations and UN agencies to reveal the Houthi hindrance of humanitarian aid arrival.
Saadi said the continuous Houthi militia's attacks on Marib expose millions of civilians and internally displaced people to more humanitarian suffering and force another displacement, following Houthi shelling of their camps.
He also reviewed the catastrophic conditions that resulted from the militia's blockade of Taiz ongoing for more than six years.
"The effects of the war waged by Houthi militia on Yemeni people, in addition, to spread of the coronavirus pandemic, have exacerbated humanitarian suffering," Saba news quoted Saadi as saying.
The official explained that more than 80 percent of Yemenis are in need of protection and assistance, warning of the dire consequences of food insecurity on the present and future generations.
He called upon the international organizations and UN agencies to report the situation to the Security Council, urging them to exert more pressure on the militia to end its military escalation and violations and allow the arrival of the assistance.
Saadi stressed the importance of integrating development priorities and needs into humanitarian aid to achieve economic recovery, implement sustainable development goals, and support the local currency by transferring aid through the Central Bank.
For his part, the UN official praised the government's cooperation in alleviating difficulties before the arrival of humanitarian assistance, pointing out that the UN expanded its humanitarian operations in Marib and the Western Coast.
He asserted that ending Houthi attacks is of utmost necessity to protect civilians and enable the UN to help people in need.
Notably, the United Nations reported widespread poverty across the country, with about 20 million Yemenis in need of some kind of assistance, while UN agencies say that they provide food aid to about 10 million people.
The legitimate government accuses the UN organizations of spending more than a third of the aid on administrative expenses. It also accuses the Houthi militia of robbing most of the support.
Earlier in August, the UN warned that it might reduce its humanitarian programs in Yemen due to a lack of funding. Some programs are expected to end in September if they do not receive any additional financial support.
Palestinian Media Says Israel Holding Bodies of Two Teens Killed in West Bankhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5287015-palestinian-media-says-israel-holding-bodies-two-teens-killed-west-bank
A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT
Palestinian Media Says Israel Holding Bodies of Two Teens Killed in West Bank
A Palestinian woman walks at a market near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli authorities are holding the bodies of two Palestinian teenagers shot dead near a West Bank settlement, Palestinian media reported Monday, while the military said the pair were killed after throwing Molotov cocktails.
Official Palestinian news agency Wafa identified the two as Reda Sami Awad, 15, and Arafat Ismail Awad, 19.
"Israeli forces are holding their bodies," Wafa said.
According to Israel's military, soldiers opened fire late Sunday on a group of people burning tires and hurling petrol bombs towards the settlement.
Two were killed and a third was "neutralized", the military said.
It said the incident occurred during a "counter-terrorism operation" in the area.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians.
The United Nations recently warned that settler violence against Palestinians has reached record levels, with an average of six attacks daily causing casualties or damage.
Violence has escalated in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, which was triggered by an unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,082 Palestinians since then, including both gunmen and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.
Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.
Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hamas Held Secret Meeting with French Lawmakers, Diplomatshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5287008-sources-asharq-al-awsat-hamas-held-secret-meeting-french-lawmakers-diplomats
This photograph shows the Statue de la Reublique with the Palestinian flag in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, at Place de la Reublique in Paris on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hamas Held Secret Meeting with French Lawmakers, Diplomats
This photograph shows the Statue de la Reublique with the Palestinian flag in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, at Place de la Reublique in Paris on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Three Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that senior leaders of Hamas’ political bureau recently held a highly confidential meeting with a French delegation that included current and former diplomats, as well as members of parliament from both parties within France’s governing coalition and the opposition.
Two of the sources — one affiliated with a Palestinian civil society organization involved in programs with France and other European countries, and another linked to a Palestinian faction close to Hamas — said the meeting took place “recently” in an unspecified country in the region. Both declined to identify the location but described the gathering as “extremely secret.”
According to the sources, several governments, Palestinian factions, and mediators involved in Gaza ceasefire efforts, including Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye, were informed of the meeting shortly before or soon after it occurred. One source said Hamas informed a number of parties that the meeting was taking place, without disclosing details.
Two Hamas officials confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting had occurred but declined further comment.
The meeting is notable because it appears to be the first known encounter between European officials and Hamas leaders since the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Since then, Hamas representatives have met US officials and presidential envoys as part of ceasefire negotiations that resulted in the release of hostages held by the group. Those contacts were publicly praised at the time by President Donald Trump, despite Washington’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997.
France does not formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization under its national legal framework, although French authorities prosecute individuals accused of financing the group. Following the October 7 attack, debate intensified in Paris over calls to formally classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The European Union has listed Hamas and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on its terrorist sanctions list since 2001. In May, the EU imposed additional sanctions on Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
The reported meeting also comes amid nearly two years of strained relations between Paris and Tel Aviv, as well as growing tensions between French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon and its strikes in Syria.
After France recognized the State of Palestine, Netanyahu accused Macron in August of “fueling antisemitism,” prompting a sharp response from the Elysee Palace, which described the remarks as “base” and founded on falsehoods.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a huge Palestinian flag as they gather outside the Sorbonne University, where they tried to set up a protest camp before being evacuated by police in Paris, France, 29 April 2024. (EPA)
Issues discussed
A source from Palestinian civil society said the talks focused broadly on the Palestinian situation, including efforts to reorganize Palestinian internal affairs, improve national reconciliation, and advance a political process aimed at ending the conflict with Israel.
According to the source, discussions also touched on supporting Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state based on the June 4, 1967, borders.
France has been a leading advocate of the two-state solution and, alongside Saudi Arabia, has spearheaded international efforts that helped generate a wave of diplomatic recognition for a Palestinian state and broader support within the United Nations.
The disclosure of the meeting comes as Hamas is engaged in difficult negotiations over the future of its weapons arsenal.
The group has linked any discussion of disarmament to a clearly defined political process that guarantees Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign state.
A history of contacts
The reported meeting is not unprecedented. In 2008, Hamas disclosed that it had held discussions with several European officials, including French representatives.
Then-French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner acknowledged such contacts but emphasized that France would not establish formal relations with Hamas unless it recognized Israel and renounced violence.
At the time, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said European interlocutors were seeking to understand the movement’s positions on political developments and the prospects for a Palestinian state.
Those contacts coincided with Hamas’ gradual adoption of a position accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders as an interim solution, while stopping short of recognizing Israel and insisting on the right of return for Palestinian refugees and East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
In 2009, then-Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal met two French lawmakers in Damascus.
A further shift came in 2017, when Hamas elected a new leadership headed by Ismail Haniyeh and revised its political document to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
The movement also expanded outreach to Russia, Iran, Arab and Islamic countries, and European states, while expressing openness to dialogue with a broad range of international actors, including the United States.
More recently, Hamas has sought through international law firms and legal initiatives to challenge its designation as a terrorist organization in several European countries, particularly Britain.
Supporting those efforts was a document signed by Moussa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’ political bureau and head of its international relations office, arguing that Hamas is a national liberation movement, not an antisemitic organization, and does not pose a threat to Western countries.
Lebanon's Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Are in Constant Contact with Aoun, Salam Despite Difference in Ideashttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5286987-lebanons-berri-asharq-al-awsat-we-are-constant-contact-aoun-salam-despite
Lebanon's Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Are in Constant Contact with Aoun, Salam Despite Difference in Ideas
01 October 2020, Lebanon, Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri speaks during a press conference in Beirut. (Lebanese Parliament/dpa)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Sunday that he was in “constant” contact with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam “despite differences in ideas.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “I don't think we have a problem as long as we are united in demanding that Israel first withdraw from the South and then that the army be deployed there and that the people are allowed to return to their homes.”
The demands also include the release of detainees held by Israel and coming up with a plan, with Arab and international backing, to rebuild what Israel destroyed during the war, he added.
Berri made his remarks on the eve of the launch of the fifth round of US-sponsored Lebanese-Israeli military and political negotiations.
The speaker expressed his “satisfaction” with the efforts that have led to a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Berri is a close ally to the Iran-backed group.
He hoped the ceasefire will last, saying that that hinges on Israel respecting it, which will in turn lead Hezbollah to respect it as well “because it is unjust to negotiate under fire.”
Berri revealed that Israel had requested the ceasefire through the “mechanism” committee that is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the 2024 truce between Israel and Hezbollah.
He noted that Israel came under American pressure to agree to a ceasefire following “two bloody days in the South that claimed dozens of civilian lives.”
He stressed that Hezbollah is “committed to the ceasefire,” accusing Israel of violating it.
“We hope that the ceasefire, with US pressure, will stand. We welcome any effort to pressure Israel to cease its hostile war against Lebanon,” he continued.
Moreover, the speaker expressed his rejection of “pilot zones” in the South, saying that reaching an agreement over their geographic borders could take years.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to move quickly towards establishing “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese Armed Forces would exercise exclusive control “to the exclusion of all non-state actors”.
Berri said that Lebanon “has not interest in wasting time that would allow Israel to continue its hostile activities. The solution lies in adopting a timetable for its withdrawal from the entire South in exchange for the deployment of the Lebanese army.”
“This remains the shortest path towards the South’s liberation from occupation instead of remaining bogged down by talks over the ‘pilot zones’,” he added.
لم تشترك بعد
انشئ حساباً خاصاً بك لتحصل على أخبار مخصصة لك ولتتمتع بخاصية حفظ المقالات وتتلقى نشراتنا البريدية المتنوعة
