Broad Participation Anticipated in Egypt’s Int’l Peace Summit

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Chris Setian / Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Chris Setian / Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
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Broad Participation Anticipated in Egypt’s Int’l Peace Summit

A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Chris Setian / Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Chris Setian / Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)

The international peace summit on Palestine, scheduled to be hosted by Cairo on Saturday, is expected to witness “broad and high-level international participation,” informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

This summit is part of an initiative that calls for “the urgent commencement of discussions on a comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the two-state solution,” which has garnered support from China and Russia.

After a meeting of the National Security Council last Sunday under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt extended an invitation to host a regional and international summit on the Palestinian cause.

Sources cited by Egyptian media revealed that the attendance of several leaders from Arab and Gulf countries, as well as Türkiye, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and the UN Secretary-General, has been confirmed.

Egypt's vision to leverage the current worldwide attention on the Palestinian issue for discussions towards a comprehensive resolution and revitalizing the peace process has garnered substantial support from both Arab and international communities.

This was affirmed by Samaa Suleiman, the representative of the Foreign, Arab and African Affairs Committee in the Egyptian Senate.

Suleiman shed light on “the international community’s lack of neutrality in dealing with the Palestinians and the obstruction of any efforts aimed at accepting Palestine as a full member of the UN.”

Suleiman stressed “the importance of urging the international community to find a just, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause, based on the two-state solution, and activating the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people by establishing their independent state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital."

For his part, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly praised Egypt’s initiative to host an international summit on Saturday to address the ongoing crisis and coordinate international efforts to de-escalate tensions and violence.



Iran Asks Iraq to Return Flights Between the Two Countries to Normal Conditions

Two Iranian airlines planes at Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran (Archive - Mizan)
Two Iranian airlines planes at Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran (Archive - Mizan)
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Iran Asks Iraq to Return Flights Between the Two Countries to Normal Conditions

Two Iranian airlines planes at Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran (Archive - Mizan)
Two Iranian airlines planes at Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran (Archive - Mizan)

Iran asked Iraq to take steps to lift flight ‌restrictions ‌caused by ‌US ⁠sanctions and return flights ⁠to normal conditions, the country's ⁠foreign ‌ministry said in ‌a statement ‌on ‌Thursday.

Flights between the two countries were suspended amid ⁠US sanctions restricting services to Iranian airlines, Reuters said.


Egypt Accuses 6 Arrested Journalists of Being Members of the Muslim Brotherhood

Headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior (Ministry's Facebook page)
Headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior (Ministry's Facebook page)
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Egypt Accuses 6 Arrested Journalists of Being Members of the Muslim Brotherhood

Headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior (Ministry's Facebook page)
Headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior (Ministry's Facebook page)

Egyptian authorities have accused six journalists arrested this week of being members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying they produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for foreign funding.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry on Thursday described "Matsadaash" as an unlicensed page managed from abroad by a “fugitive Brotherhood member” it identified as Abdelrahman Mansour.

It said the six people detained were part of a Brotherhood “media committee” that prepared false and fabricated news for Mansour to publish.

Only one of the six is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate - the national press union - the statement said. It said legal measures have been taken.

On Wednesday, the Journalists' Syndicate demanded the Interior Ministry and the General Prosecutor to release the six journalists and disclose the circumstances and reasons for their arrest, as well as their places of detention.

In the report submitted by the Head of the Journalists' Syndicate, Khaled El-Balshy, the Syndicate stated that it had received complaints from lawyers and colleagues regarding the arrest of six journalists from the platform, one of whom holds syndicate membership.

It confirmed that "the six colleagues Abdullah Qadri, Mohamed Sharaf, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Omar Hidayah were arrested from their homes over the past two days."

The Syndicate affirmed that it is making "diligent efforts around the clock to secure the release of the six colleagues ... with a full commitment to their appearance for any investigations should any charges be brought against them."


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.