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Arab World

Abbas Accuses Israel of Stealing ‘Land and Water’ in Palestine

Abbas shakes hands with Levits ahead of their meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday (Reuters)
Abbas shakes hands with Levits ahead of their meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday (Reuters)
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Abbas Accuses Israel of Stealing ‘Land and Water’ in Palestine

Abbas shakes hands with Levits ahead of their meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday (Reuters)
Abbas shakes hands with Levits ahead of their meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday (Reuters)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the European Union (EU) and its member states to refrain from dealing with any Israeli government that doesn’t recognize the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy.

Abbas further called on Wednesday abstaining from dealing with any Israeli government that doesn’t renounce violence and terrorism.

This seems like a preemptive war against the upcoming right-wing Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking before the 4th Arab Water Conference, Abbas accused Israel of stealing Palestinian land and water.

Abbas said during a joint press conference with Latvian President Egils Levits at the presidency headquarters in Ramallah that there is a lack of an Israeli partner who believes in the two-state solution, and renounces violence and terrorism.

He highlighted that these are the principles Palestine is committed to.

The Palestinian president further urged all countries that haven’t yet recognized the State of Palestine to do so in order to protect the two-state solution and the right of the Palestinians to self-determination.

The president's demands coincided with Netanyahu’s attempts to form a right-wing government.

Meanwhile, Ziad Abu Amr, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, delivered Abbas’ speech at the 4th Arab Water Conference.

The conference was organized by Palestine at the Arab League in Cairo and held under the theme "Arab water security for life, development, and peace".

He said that the occupation state is stealing the land, and building settlements on it and is stealing the water and selling it to the Palestinians.

The Palestinian president gave the Dead Sea as an example of trespassing, noting that it is collapsing year after year.

He spoke about the consequences of the Israeli seizure of the water resources, noting that the Palestinian share stands at an average of 87 liters per day and doesn’t exceed 20 liters in some communities compared to 580 liters per day for the Israeli settler.

Abbas considered water as an “Arab national security matter” that requires a comprehensive and unified Arab strategy against the occupation.

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Arab World

Israel PM Holds Coalition Meeting After Objecting to Gaza Panel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (not pictured) at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (not pictured) at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel PM Holds Coalition Meeting After Objecting to Gaza Panel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (not pictured) at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (not pictured) at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel formed by the White House, according to an official and media reports.

The White House announced this week the setting up of a "Gaza Executive Board," which would operate under a broader "Board of Peace" to be chaired by US President Donald Trump as part of his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.

The executive board, described as having an advisory role, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, alongside other regional and international officials.

Late on Saturday, Netanyahu's office objected to the composition of the executive board.

"The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy," the office of Netanyahu said.

"The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter."

It did not explain the reason for its objection, but Israel has previously objected strongly to any Turkish role in post-war Gaza, with relations between the two countries deteriorating sharply since the war began in October 2023.

In addition to naming Türkiye's foreign minister to the executive board, Trump has also invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the overarching Board of Peace.

Media reports said that leaders of the country's ruling coalition were scheduled to meet on Sunday to examine the composition of the executive board.

"There is a meeting scheduled of the coalition at 10:00 am (0800 GMT)," the spokesman of Netanyahu's Likud Party told AFP, declining to provide further details.

Alongside Likud, the coalition includes the Religious Zionist Party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The White House said Trump's plan would include three bodies: the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump; a Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza; and the Gaza Executive Board, which would play an advisory role.

The Palestinian technocratic committee held its first meeting in Cairo on Saturday.

The diplomatic developments came as the United States said this week that the Gaza truce plan had entered a second phase, shifting from implementing a ceasefire to the disarmament of Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Arab World

Israel Issues Two-Month Ultimatum for Hamas to Disarm or Face Renewed War

Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Issues Two-Month Ultimatum for Hamas to Disarm or Face Renewed War

Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk amid buildings destroyed by Israeli air and ground operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)

Israel has given Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, led by Hamas, a two-month deadline to disarm, warning that failure to comply will trigger a new war.

Israeli sources said the ultimatum was issued in full coordination with the United States, with an understanding that Israel alone will define what constitutes disarmament and how compliance will be verified.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the military is already preparing operational plans should force be required.

US President Donald Trump publicly reinforced Israel’s stance, saying Hamas could comply the easy way or the hard way. Israeli officials said the warning follows direct understandings between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Under the plan, Hamas would be given two months from the establishment of a “peace council” and a technocratic administration in Gaza to surrender its weapons. If it fails to do so voluntarily, the Israeli army will intervene.

Israeli security assessments say Hamas remains operational despite heavy losses during the war on Gaza and is far from collapse. Intelligence estimates indicate the group still exercises military and administrative control in parts of Gaza, continues to rearm, rebuild underground infrastructure, and reorganize its combat forces.

Officials argue that the current transitional period benefits Hamas and allows it to restore capabilities.

As a result, Israeli sources stressed that extending the current phase is not an option, and that a clear, limited timetable has been set, at the end of which a decisive move will be made.

Disarmament of Hamas, they added, is not merely a declared goal but a binding condition for any progress in Gaza.

Israel has made clear it will not accept partial or symbolic steps and will not retreat from its red line as long as Hamas retains military capabilities.

Until full disarmament is achieved, Israel’s cooperation with the newly formed technocratic government in Gaza will remain limited, with Israeli authorities reviewing its composition and personnel.

While Hamas has announced it is willing to hand over governance in Gaza to a technocratic administration, it has not said it will relinquish its weapons.

US officials previously told Axios that Hamas had sent positive signals in secret contacts about accepting a phased US plan for disarmament, tied to the second phase of the Gaza agreement.

The plan reportedly includes dismantling tunnels, destroying weapons factories, removing rockets and heavy arms, and forming a single armed police force under the technocratic government.

Washington and Tel Aviv are also considering a special amnesty for Hamas members willing to surrender personal weapons and abandon armed activity.

Arab World

Hezbollah Continues to Defy Attempts to Disarm it, Slams FM

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during his televised address on Saturday. (Hezbollah media)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during his televised address on Saturday. (Hezbollah media)
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Hezbollah Continues to Defy Attempts to Disarm it, Slams FM

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during his televised address on Saturday. (Hezbollah media)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during his televised address on Saturday. (Hezbollah media)

Hezbollah reiterated on Saturday its rejection of attempts to disarm it days after the government vowed to kick off the second phase of the plan to impose state monopoly over arms.

The first phase called for limiting weapons to the state south of the Litani River and the second phase covers regions north of the river.

In a televised address, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem declared on Saturday that the new phase demands that the ceasefire with Israel be implemented in full.

“Lebanon carried out its end of the deal and the resistance [Hezbollah] ensured that not a single violation was committed by Lebanon,” he added.

Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 that ended a war between the Iran-backed party and Israel.

Moreover, Qassem said the ceasefire “is actually a single phase, and it has no second phase.” The Lebanese state fulfilled its end of the deal, while Israel has not met any of its commitments.

“It is unreasonable for us to give Israel any concessions without anything in return,” he went on to say.

Imposing state monopoly over arms is actually an Israeli and American demand to weaken the resistance, he charged.

“Offering more concessions is a form of weakness,” he stressed.

“Our weapons aim to defend ourselves, resistance, people and nation,” Qassem declared.

He also warned that “killings and abductions may happen anywhere if the arms are surrendered.”

Defying calls to disarm, he said: “We will maintain the resistance. Lebanon cannot exist without the resistance. It was liberated because of the resistance.”

Qassem also slammed Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi for saying last week that Israel has the right to act militarily if Hezbollah did not disarm in full.

“In whose name does this foreign minister speak?” asked Qassem. “He is basing his stance on the humiliating ceasefire that you signed after the ‘support war’.”

Hezbollah launched the support front in October 2023 to back Hamas in its conflict with Israel in Gaza. The border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel turned into a full-blown war nearly a year later, with Israel decimating the party’s leadership. The war ended with the November 2024 ceasefire.

Qassem accused Raggi of violating the state’s policies, undermining civil peace, and stoking strife. He also said the minister was working against the president, government, Lebanese people and resistance.

“The government will be held responsible” for the FM’s stances, he warned, urging it to “replace or silence him or obligate him to abide by Lebanon’s policies.”

Qassem’s statements were swiftly condemned by Lebanese Forces MP Ghayath Yazbeck.

In a post on the X platform, he slammed Qassem for “verbally” and “morally” assaulting LF ministers, “in complete disregard of ethical principles”.

He warned that Qassem’s remarks may be a prelude to the assassination of the ministers and “the assassination of the Lebanese state.”

“Our ministers represent dignity, sovereignty and the state,” he stressed. Indirectly addressing Qassem, he said: “Act smart. Your predecessors made these mistakes and ended up in history’s trash bin. Haven’t you learned anything?”