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Abbas Arrives in Jeddah to ‘Hold Talks, Strengthen Saudi-Palestinian Relations’

Prince Badr bin Sultan, Deputy Emir of Makkah, receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah. (SPA)
Prince Badr bin Sultan, Deputy Emir of Makkah, receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah. (SPA)
    Jaddah - Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Abbas Arrives in Jeddah to ‘Hold Talks, Strengthen Saudi-Palestinian Relations’

Prince Badr bin Sultan, Deputy Emir of Makkah, receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah. (SPA)
Prince Badr bin Sultan, Deputy Emir of Makkah, receives Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah. (SPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived on Monday in Jeddah on an official visit at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported.

He was received at King Abdulaziz International Airport by Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, deputy governor of Makkah region.

WAFA added that Abbas would meet on Tuesday with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, to discuss latest Palestinian developments, the situation in the region and strengthening the Palestinian-Saudi brotherly relations.

Palestinian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bassem Al-Agha pointed to “constant communication with the Saudi leadership for its distinguished and well-established positions towards Palestine.”

He added that the Palestinian president would discuss the latest political developments, without specifying the duration of the visit.

In comments to the Voice of Palestine radio station, the ambassador said that Abbas “will talk at length with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Crown Prince, about the Zionist crimes in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the suffering of the Palestinian people in terms of killing, displacement, and demolition of homes.”

The visit comes as Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab movement to address stances and unify efforts in various files.

On Saturday, the foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and their counterparts in Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, issued a joint statement at the end of a consultative meeting hosted by Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Jeddah.

The foreign ministers condemned Israel’s illegal practices that undermine the two-state solution and the opportunities for achieving a just and comprehensive peace.

They also denounced Israel’s attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and its violation of the sanctity of holy places.

The foreign ministers stressed the need to respect the historical and legal status quo at the holy site and maintained that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was a purely worship place for Muslims.

The top diplomats asserted that the Jordanian Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Department is the authorized body with exclusive jurisdiction to manage the affairs of the mosque and regulate entry into it under the historical Hashemite guardianship of Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem.

The final statement noted that the consultative meeting comes within the framework of Saudi Arabia’s keenness to serve the matters of the Arab nation and promote the interests of its countries and peoples, at the invitation of Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in line with an endeavor to coordinate positions and unify efforts towards a number of files of common concern.

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Arab World

IMF Says Lebanon Needs Key Reforms for Program

People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
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IMF Says Lebanon Needs Key Reforms for Program

People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)
People walk along the Corniche Al-Manara seafront promenade on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as the sun sets in Beirut, Lebanon, 30 September 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon must push through a number of key economic and banking sector reforms to secure a new International Monetary Fund program, the Fund said on Thursday.

"It will require continued progress on key reforms, including the entry into force of the bank resolution ‌law, and appropriate ‌financial gap laws ‌consistent ⁠with international standards," IMF ⁠spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters during a press conference.

She added a 2027 budget and medium-term fiscal framework that were "consistent with debt sustainability for the country" were also ⁠required.

Lebanon first signed a ‌preliminary agreement ‌with the IMF in April 2022, more ‌than two years after its ‌financial system imploded following decades of profligate spending and corruption in the ruling elite.

It recently passed a new ‌banking restructuring law which was welcomed by the IMF, but ⁠this ⁠week Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun quietly referred that law to the country’s constitutional council, triggering a review.

The move has sparked concerns among reformists in Lebanon that the country is backtracking on the key piece of legislation and potentially putting its IMF support hopes at risk.

Arab World

Lebanon Army Says Seized 245 Kg of TNT at Syria Border

An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
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Lebanon Army Says Seized 245 Kg of TNT at Syria Border

An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)
An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT. (Lebanese Army on X)

The Lebanese army announced on Thursday that it had seized nearly 250 kilograms (around 550 pounds) of explosives being transported from neighboring Syria into Lebanon, though it was unable to apprehend the smugglers.

"An army unit seized approximately 245 kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and electrical wiring for the detonators", which were being "smuggled from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory", the army said in a statement.

"The smugglers fled back toward Syria as soon as an army patrol arrived at the scene," it added.

Lebanon and Syria share a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border known for being porous.

Since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, both Lebanon and Syria have been working to stamp out overland smuggling along their shared border -- including the trafficking of weapons and captagon.

Damascus regularly announces the interception of arms shipments destined for Lebanon on behalf of Hezbollah, an organization that denies any presence or activity in Syrian territory.

Arab World

UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Worried about Impact of Latest Lebanon War on Agriculture

Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
Deputy Director-General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Beth Bechdol speaks during an interview with AFP in Beirut on October 1, 2026. (AFP)

The deputy director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP on Thursday that she was "deeply concerned" about the impact of the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict on agriculture in south Lebanon.

The latest war "puts additional pressure on farmers and rural communities that, frankly, were already facing considerable hardships", said the FAO's Beth Bechdol.

"We're deeply concerned" about the situation in south Lebanon, where agriculture is "at the heart" of livelihoods, she said in an interview in Beirut.

"It is our best assessment that 56,000 hectares, which is more than 22 percent of Lebanon's agricultural land, has been reported as affected or damaged," including burned or physically damaged, she said.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.

The conflict came after hostilities that erupted in 2023 and all-out war the following year.

While the latest violence has decreased since a June ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, mainly from the south, and Israel maintains troops in a self-declared "security zone" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border.

Israeli forces have been carrying out widespread demolitions affecting villages and farmland.

"Farmers and their families are no longer able to be connected to their agricultural land," Bechdol said, noting that the conflict has also "disrupted markets and reduced access" to essentials for food production including fertilizers.

In June, a UN-backed assessment from Lebanese authorities estimated agricultural production losses in south Lebanon this year had reached at least $530 million.

Bechdol also expressed concern about potential contamination and soil damage in south Lebanon due to unexploded ordnance and residues from military operations.

She said she had held discussions in recent days on the possibility of the FAO getting involved in partnerships on de-mining work in south Lebanon.

She also said she was "very concerned about just general food security levels" in Lebanon.

In April, a UN-backed report said more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon were expected to face acute hunger in the following months due to the latest war.

This week, UNICEF said four in five households in Lebanon "are struggling to afford basic necessities as conflict compounds years of economic crisis".