Egypt, Qatar Seek Further Rapprochement

Qatar's ambassador to Cairo, Salem Mubarak al-Shafi, with Egyptian Minister of Trade Nevine Gamea (the Egyptian government)
Qatar's ambassador to Cairo, Salem Mubarak al-Shafi, with Egyptian Minister of Trade Nevine Gamea (the Egyptian government)
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Egypt, Qatar Seek Further Rapprochement

Qatar's ambassador to Cairo, Salem Mubarak al-Shafi, with Egyptian Minister of Trade Nevine Gamea (the Egyptian government)
Qatar's ambassador to Cairo, Salem Mubarak al-Shafi, with Egyptian Minister of Trade Nevine Gamea (the Egyptian government)

Egypt and Qatar are intensifying their efforts to further develop their relations at the political and economic levels, within the framework of restoring bilateral ties.

Qatar's ambassador to Cairo Salem Mubarak al-Shafi discussed with Egypt's Minister of Trade Nevine Gamea boosting bilateral relations.

Shafi addressed the common desire of both countries to start a new phase of bilateral cooperation in various fields and at multiple levels.

Last January, Saudi Arabia witnessed the signing of the AlUla Agreement between Riyadh, Cairo, Manama, and Abu Dhabi, resorting ties with Doha after nearly four years of severed relations.

The meeting reviewed several economic issues of common interest.

The Egyptian minister said that the current period is witnessing intensive efforts to achieve further rapprochement at the political and economic levels.

Gamea urged the translation of agreements between the two countries political leadership into concrete projects that serve the two peoples' interests.

She also called for building on the "solid" ground laid by President Abdulfattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad during their meeting last August to enhance trade exchange rates and develop joint investments.

Gamea underscored the significance of establishing new frameworks for cooperation between Cairo and Doha in the commercial, investment, and industrial fields.

A statement issued by the ministry said that she called for forming an Egyptian-Qatari trade committee to follow up on all bilateral cooperation projects during the coming phase.

The minister stressed the importance of activating joint work between the two countries at the ministerial level to push the bilateral relations between Egypt and Qatar to "unprecedented levels."

Gamea extended through the Qatari ambassador an invitation to Qatar's Trade and Industry Minister Mohammad bin Hamad to visit Cairo "to discuss files and themes of joint work between the two countries during the next stage."

Several ministers and ambassadors from both countries met over the past few days to discuss relations and mechanisms for enhancing them.

Qatari ambassador stressed that both countries share a common desire to start a new phase of bilateral cooperation in various fields, saying, "Egypt represents a strategic depth for the regional countries."

Shafi also called for boosting the rates of intra-regional trade and joint investments between Egypt and Qatar "to reflect the great potentials of both countries and to translate the distinguished relations that bind the two brotherly peoples," the statement added.

"There is a consensus between the Egyptian and Qatari governments on a substantial number of cooperation files," the Qatari ambassador stressed.

He also hailed the recent economic reforms and urban development in Egypt.

He highlighted that Qatar has investments in the Egyptian market, especially in the financial and real estate sectors.



Rubio Hails Lebanon for ‘Move Towards Peace’ After Meeting Aoun in Washington

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attends a press conference, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, Lebanon January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attends a press conference, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, Lebanon January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
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Rubio Hails Lebanon for ‘Move Towards Peace’ After Meeting Aoun in Washington

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attends a press conference, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, Lebanon January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attends a press conference, at the presidential palace, in Baabda, Lebanon January 17, 2025. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington on Sunday, hailing the country for its "move towards peace" after the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks.

Rubio "commended the courage of the Government of Lebanon, under President Aoun's leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon's sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace," the State Department said.

He also "reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to supporting the successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework and to backing the Government of Lebanon’s efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people."

The Lebanese president's office said Aoun would meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Aoun planned talks "on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire" as well as on "the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies," his office said.

Israel and Lebanon -- which do not have formal diplomatic relations -- began US-sponsored negotiations in April aimed at reaching a peace deal and permanently ending the Israel-Hezbollah war.

On June 26, they reached a framework agreement in Washington under which the Israeli military is to withdraw from southern Lebanon and the Lebanese army is to deploy, starting with two "pilot zones."

The agreement is contingent on the disarmament of Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has flatly rejected both the deal and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations that underpin it.

Following the latest round of talks last week in Rome, Israel and Lebanon "agreed on the structure and guidelines" for implementing the pilot zones, a US official said.

Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, when it began striking Israel in support of its backer Iran.

Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion, and despite a ceasefire it continues sporadic attacks and holds territory in the south in what it describes as a "security zone."

The United States carried out airstrikes on Sunday to "punish" Iran after the first US military deaths since open hostilities rekindled the Middle East war.


Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
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Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo

Director-General of Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management Mahmoud Khleifat refuted reports on Sunday that Jordan’s Aqaba seaport has been evacuated due to unspecified threats.

“Aqaba seaport is working normally; it has not been evacuated”, he said.

Earlier, the US embassy in Amman said that Jordanian authorities evacuated the airport and the seaport in the coastal city of Aqaba, citing a threat that was not immediately specified.

"Due to a specific and credible threat, Jordanian authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba. We strongly advise all Americans to refrain traveling to either the airport or seaport," the embassy said in a statement.


Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Sunday, as an AFP journalist saw the structure's entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.

The incident came during a period of increased attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.

The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.

Rabie said the settlers fled after villagers emerged from their homes, adding that local volunteers managed to extinguish the flames before they spread further.

AFP photographs showed a child and an elderly man inspecting the charred entrance and windows of the mosque, where part of a prayer carpet had also been burned.

Rabie said the dairy factory, run by women from the Masafer Yatta community, suffered extensive damage.

"We thank God that this attack did not turn into a tragedy with loss of life," he said.

The Israeli police said it deployed officers to the village last night "after a report of suspects who caused damage at the site, including a vehicle that was set on fire, damage to the door of a prayer structure, and graffiti sprayed on walls."

"The investigation into the circumstances of the incident... is still ongoing."

"The settlers' attack took place in full view of the Israeli army," Palestinian activist Osama Makhamra told AFP, noting that an Israeli military watchtower stands close to the mosque that was set ablaze.

Rabie, however, said Israeli army, police and fire service personnel arrived in the village about half an hour after the attack and inspected the damage to the mosque and other property.

The Palestinian religious affairs ministry condemned the attack.

In a statement, the ministry described the arson as "a full-fledged terrorist act", accusing Israel's "extremist occupation government" of encouraging settler violence in an effort to displace Palestinians from Masafer Yatta and turn the conflict into "a religious war".

In a recent report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank had reached "unprecedented" levels, averaging six attacks per day that resulted in casualties or property damage.

Excluding East Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.