عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Abbas Delivers Palestine's Official Request for Full UN Membership to Sec-Gen

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
TT
TT

Abbas Delivers Palestine's Official Request for Full UN Membership to Sec-Gen

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has submitted to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres an official request to implement Resolution 181 adopted by the General Assembly in 1947, which is the basis for the two-state solution.

Abbas informed world leaders and senior officials participating in the high-level meeting of the 77th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly of his talks with Guterres.

Abbas said that US President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and other world leaders' positions favor the two-state solution as a "positive matter."

However, "the real test of the seriousness and credibility of this position is for the Israeli government to sit down at the negotiating table immediately, to implement the two-state solution," added Abbas.

He recalled that Israel's commitment to implement Resolutions 181 and 194 was a condition for the acceptance of its membership in the international organization, asking in the event of Israel's refusal to comply and the failure to implement these two resolutions, "to impose sanctions on it and suspend its membership in the international organization."

The President added, "We do not accept that we remain the only party that adheres to the agreements we signed with Israel in 1993, agreements that no longer exist on the ground due to Israel's continued violation of them."

Abbas said Israel, which deliberately obstructs progress towards a two-state solution and "disavows the resolutions of international legitimacy, has decided not to be our partner in the peace process."

Despite Palestine's demand for Israel to end its occupation, stop its aggressive measures and policies, and end all unilateral actions that were stipulated in the Oslo Accords, Tel Aviv has continued to perpetuate this occupation and these measures and procedures, said the President, adding that it left "us no option but to reconsider our entire relationship with it."

He pointed out that if attempts continue to obstruct Palestine's endeavors to obtain a full UN membership, protect the Palestinian people, their rights and state, and adopt practical steps to end the occupation and achieve peace, it becomes imperative to go to the General Assembly again for a referendum on the legal measures and political actions that must be adopted to reach that end.

Abbas called on Britain, the United States, and Israel to recognize their responsibility for this "major crime" committed against the Palestinian people, apologize and make reparation for the damage, and provide compensation to the Palestinian people that are recognized by international law.

The President concluded that Palestine "yearns for peace, so let us make this peace to live in security, stability, and prosperity, for the sake of our generations and all the peoples of the region."

- Kuwait and Bahrain

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah also took to the podium, speaking about the challenges and crises facing humanity, including the COVID pandemic, weapons of mass destruction proliferation, terrorism, natural disasters, climate change, poverty, and the increasing warnings over food security.

The prime minister stressed Kuwait's unwavering stance in support of the principles of international law and the UN charter in opposition to the use of force, or threats for its use, in resolving conflicts.

He said that Kuwait supports UN and global efforts for de-escalation and a ceasefire to resolve the conflict peacefully.

The PM called on Iran to take "serious measures" to build trust and dialogue with its Gulf neighbors, based on the respect for sovereignty and non-intervention in internal affairs, and for Tehran to limit tensions and safeguard the security and freedom of marine navigation in Gulf waters.

He warned that tensions and instability would remain prevalent in the region as long as the Palestinian people do not gain their legitimate rights and Israel, as an occupational power, does not stop its ongoing encroachments on international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani stressed Bahrain's commitment to peace, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.

Bahrain is continuing its reform and diplomatic approach that "supports international partnership in consolidating the values of peace, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, rejecting extremism, hatred, and terrorism," he said.

He said that the Kingdom believes that achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region depends primarily on settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict following the two-state solution, resolutions of international legitimacy, and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Zayani indicated that Iran must abide by the UN charter, international law, principles of good neighborliness, and non-interference in the affairs of other countries.

He urged Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and work to make the Middle East region, including the Arabian Gulf, a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

- UNRWA support

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, urged Member States to support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), telling them "don't let this collective responsibility assumed by the General Assembly to fail."

Guterres was speaking at the ministerial meeting cohosted by Jordan and Sweden to explore lasting solutions for closing the chronic funding gap of the UNRWA.

Guterres said he saw UNRWA's work first-hand and visited schools and health centers.

For his part, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini expressed his gratitude to the countries for their participation in supporting the Agency and their determination to enable UNRWA to fulfill its mission.

He lauded the efforts of Jordan and Sweden, in particular, to enlist the international community's continued commitment to the Agency and the refugees.

"We are here because we all believe that, in the absence of a genuine political solution, UNRWA is irreplaceable in this part of the world," he said, adding that political will is required to translate the support for the mandate into matching financial resources.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

How Egypt Benefits From Expanding Nile Basin Power, Water Projects

Tanzania’s president and Egypt’s prime minister attend the inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Dam in Tanzania last month. (Egyptian Cabinet/Facebook)
Tanzania’s president and Egypt’s prime minister attend the inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Dam in Tanzania last month. (Egyptian Cabinet/Facebook)
TT
TT

How Egypt Benefits From Expanding Nile Basin Power, Water Projects

Tanzania’s president and Egypt’s prime minister attend the inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Dam in Tanzania last month. (Egyptian Cabinet/Facebook)
Tanzania’s president and Egypt’s prime minister attend the inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Dam in Tanzania last month. (Egyptian Cabinet/Facebook)

Egypt is seeking funding for 36 projects in the southern Nile Basin, expanding its role in the region through hydropower, electricity and water schemes that experts say could benefit both Cairo and its neighbors.

The projects include power interconnections, transmission lines, water supplies and multipurpose schemes. Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt’s growing involvement was guided by a principle of mutual benefit.

The southern Nile Basin countries are Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. They are among the Nile’s upstream countries and, together with the eastern Nile countries of Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Eritrea, make up the Nile River Basin region.

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam said on Friday that Cairo had agreed to support efforts to mobilize funding for the 36 projects after studying them, exchanging information, assessing their impacts and reaching agreement through consultations.

Sewilam pointed to Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere Dam as a practical example of cooperation among Nile Basin countries. The Egyptian-Tanzanian partnership had brought gains to both sides, he said.

The dam provides electricity for Tanzania, Sewilam said, and its power could also support regional integration, cross-border connections and electricity trade with neighboring countries.

He also cited the Grand Fula Dam project in South Sudan, saying Egypt supported Juba’s development goals, including that project.

Tanzania inaugurated the Julius Nyerere hydropower dam and plant in late August. The Egyptian consortium of Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric built it over five years, with 1,700 Egyptian engineers and technicians among a workforce of about 12,000.

Hussein al-Buheiri, an African affairs expert at the National Center for Middle East Studies, said Egypt had the resources and capabilities to play a central role in developing Nile Basin and Horn of Africa countries, particularly through hydropower dams and irrigation and agricultural projects.

He said Egyptian companies’ work on the Julius Nyerere Dam and Egypt’s help in building power plants in countries such as Djibouti showed how the country could act as a strategic development partner.

African countries gained development, while Egypt gained investment and thousands of jobs, he said.

That approach also advanced Egyptian foreign policy and helped protect its Nile water security by drawing basin countries closer to Cairo and countering Ethiopian moves, al-Buheiri said.

Salah Halima, deputy chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs and a former assistant foreign minister, said Egypt’s support for development projects reflected a broader commitment to shared interests and sustainable development across the basin.

Egypt had long supported water and electricity projects in Nile Basin countries, approving and helping carry out dozens of them, he said. That record showed Cairo’s support for those countries’ right to develop without harming others.

Halima described current water projects as an expression of partnership and mutual investment between Egypt and its African neighbors. Their expansion, he said, was part of longstanding collective action and close cooperation.

The message, he said, was clear: understanding and cooperation, rather than confrontation or dispute, should guide the management of international rivers.

Arab World

Can Libyan Lawmakers Force a Change in Parliament’s Leadership?

A still from the Libyan House of Representatives’ latest session on Sept. 15 (video posted by the House on its Facebook page)
A still from the Libyan House of Representatives’ latest session on Sept. 15 (video posted by the House on its Facebook page)
TT
TT

Can Libyan Lawmakers Force a Change in Parliament’s Leadership?

A still from the Libyan House of Representatives’ latest session on Sept. 15 (video posted by the House on its Facebook page)
A still from the Libyan House of Representatives’ latest session on Sept. 15 (video posted by the House on its Facebook page)

A push to change the rules of Libya’s parliament and rotate its leadership has put a question to the Benghazi-based chamber: Can lawmakers unseat Speaker Aguila Saleh after nearly 12 years at its helm?

The effort has also raised questions about why a bloc opposed to Saleh’s “unilateral decision-making” is acting now, whether its campaign is tied to the “4+4” agreement, and whether that deal can be carried out.

The agreement is seen as a possible route out of Libya’s political divide through a unified executive authority that would lead the country to elections within two years.

The lawmakers opposing Saleh say they will press on with efforts to “reform parliament and change its leadership.”

They say they were blocked from holding a session on the issue in the middle of last week when the chamber’s Benghazi headquarters was closed on its leadership’s orders.

Issam al-Jehani, a prominent member of the bloc, said its 86 lawmakers could meet in any Libyan city where they could carry out their duties.

Their aim was “neither a conspiracy nor an attempt to take Saleh’s seat,” he said, but reform in response to Saleh’s unilateral decisions and determination to stay in office.

Other political figures say the campaign could splinter and fade. Its momentum, they argue, depends on the balance of power in eastern Libya and on regional pressure.

Lawmaker Ali al-Takbali expects it to lose steam. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that a similar call in March for a session to change parliament’s rules came to nothing.

He also questioned whether Saleh’s opponents could keep enough lawmakers together to hold a session to remove him. They may unite over a grievance, al-Takbali said, but become harder to assemble once they return home, particularly if some reconsider their position because of personal interests or tribal ties.

Fellow lawmaker Montaser al-Hassi warned that some members’ actions could split parliament. Lawmakers have the right to amend its rules, he said, but must do so through legal channels.

Libya has long been divided between two governments: the interim Government of National Unity led by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah in Tripoli, and Osama Hammad’s parliament-appointed government, which runs the east and some southern cities and is backed by Libyan National Army commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Under the “4+4” agreement reached late last month by representatives of the Government of National Unity and the Libyan National Army under UN auspices, a new presidential council and unified government would prepare the country for general elections within two years.

Some observers and political figures say regional countries regard Saleh’s continued leadership as a safeguard against a split in the legislature, which they describe as the only institution to have remained intact through Libya’s institutional divisions.

Analyst Hossam Fnish linked the turmoil in parliament to the “4+4” deal. He said the reform bloc’s insistence on changing the rules before holding sessions would delay incorporating the agreement into Libya’s constitutional declaration, hindering a deal that could lead to elections and end the divide.

The UN mission, he said, prefers to incorporate the agreement through a constitutional amendment before seeking Security Council endorsement.

Fathi al-Shibli, head of the Voice of the People party, questioned the reform bloc’s motives. Complaints about Saleh making decisions alone and sessions going ahead without a quorum had circulated for years without drawing objections from lawmakers, he said.

That, in his view, lent weight to suspicions that the dispute was a struggle between blocs backed by powerful interests, rather than a drive for reform.

Al-Shibli expects Saleh to remain in office until the UN mission calls for a constituent council to replace parliament and the High Council of State to implement the “4+4” agreement. He said both bodies oppose a change to Libya’s political landscape.

Political analyst Mohammed Mahfouz likewise described the parliamentary dispute as a contest between powerful groups in eastern and western Libya, each seeking to show the international community that it can control the political scene.

Saleh’s hold on his position rests on two factors, Mahfouz told Asharq Al-Awsat: whether he and his allies can absorb the current anger, and whether regional and Western countries support him.

Saleh’s two deputies may help him contain the challenge, Mahfouz said, because they too could face replacement.

Arab World

Iraq’s PM Tells UN The State Alone Will Decide War, Peace

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25, 2026. (AP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Iraq’s PM Tells UN The State Alone Will Decide War, Peace

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25, 2026. (AP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25, 2026. (AP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday that one of his government’s priorities was to ensure the state alone decides matters of war and peace, stressing that weapons must remain in the hands of constitutional institutions.

“The practical measures to bring weapons and decisions on war and peace under state control are moving in the right direction,” al-Zaidi told the UN General Assembly.

He called them essential to building state institutions, protecting sovereignty and securing stability.

He said the end of the international coalition’s mission in Iraq would mark a new phase in relations with strategic partners, shifting from military cooperation to economic and development cooperation. Iraq would continue to strengthen its security and military capabilities, he added.

Al-Zaidi called for tighter border controls, the closing of security gaps and continued vigilance against conditions that could fuel extremism.

He reiterated Iraq’s support for dialogue, diplomacy, respect for sovereignty, noninterference and good neighborly relations, and urged countries to resolve conflicts through negotiations and prevent renewed wars.

He urged the world to engage more closely with Iraq, saying the country could contribute to security and stability.

He also highlighted the Development Road project as a “strategic corridor for trade, investment and energy” linking Iraq’s Grand Faw Port to Türkiye and, from there, Europe.

“Iraq has never been on the margins. It is at the heart of history and the pulse of the present, and it deserves a partnership for the future,” he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned Baghdad that militias must be disarmed to avoid the “Balkanization of Iraq,” amid growing pressure on the Iraqi government to bring weapons under state control.

Rubio expressed US support for al-Zaidi’s efforts to strengthen state authority and called for armed factions to be dismantled. He warned that competing centers of power could fragment Iraq and weaken its institutions.

Al-Zaidi had proposed a plan beginning with a 90-day period during which armed factions would cease attacks, with the transfer of weapons to the state to be completed by June 30, 2027.