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Morocco Hosts Regional Meeting on Fighting Terrorism

20 October 2022, Morocco, Rabat: Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita speaks during a press conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Not Pictured) after their meeting. (dpa)
20 October 2022, Morocco, Rabat: Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita speaks during a press conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Not Pictured) after their meeting. (dpa)
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Morocco Hosts Regional Meeting on Fighting Terrorism

20 October 2022, Morocco, Rabat: Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita speaks during a press conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Not Pictured) after their meeting. (dpa)
20 October 2022, Morocco, Rabat: Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita speaks during a press conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Not Pictured) after their meeting. (dpa)

The Moroccan city of Rabat hosted on Thursday the first regional meeting dedicated to the development of an implementation plan of the Arab regional strategy to fight terrorism.

The two-day meeting is being held at the Moroccan Foreign Ministry with an aim to discuss measures to prevent terrorism in the region.

Participants will examine related topics, including the use of internet and online technologies for terrorism, in addition to issues such as foreign terrorist fighters, border security, and international cooperation to combat crime.

The meeting comes shortly following the 31st regular session of the Arab League Council Summit in Algiers, where leaders called for taking advantage of Morocco’s experience in the field of counter-terrorism and recalled the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Scholars and the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams and their pioneering role in countering extremism.

At the Summit, Arab leaders also welcomed Morocco's hosting of the UNOCT Program Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa, which was inaugurated in June 2021.

The Rabat-based office carries out accredited programs aimed at capacity building and skills development in the field of counterterrorism, particularly security, investigation and prosecution, prison and borders management, disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration.

The meeting in Rabat is organized by the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers and the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, with the participation of representatives of several Arab Interior Ministries, members of the Arab League, namely Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia and the Sultanate of Oman, in addition to Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania.

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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.