Arab League Demands a Halt to Weapons Exports to Israel

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Arab League Demands a Halt to Weapons Exports to Israel

A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A previous meeting of the Arab League (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Arab League has demanded a halt to arms export to Israel, saying that countries that continue to provide Tel Aviv with weapons are complicit in killing Palestinians and destroying their homes and infrastructure.

The Arab League opened an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday to discuss Israel's deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip. The meeting was chaired by Morocco and held at the level of permanent representatives at Palestine's request.

The League formed an ad hoc committee of the permanent representatives and General Secretariat to examine possible Arab measures that could be undertaken at the legal, economic, political, and diplomatic levels to activate and implement the resolution.

The meeting issued a 26-item resolution, during which it condemned the ongoing Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and the systematic destruction of infrastructure, describing what Tel Aviv is doing as "a crime of genocide."

The resolution called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities to preserve international security and peace.

It called on the Security Council to adopt a binding decision to stop the widespread and systematic Israeli crimes that threaten regional and international peace and security.

During the meeting, the Palestinian representative, Ambassador Mohannad al-Aklouk, referred to the joint extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on Nov. 11 and its call for taking political, diplomatic, economic, and legal action to force Israel to stop its aggression against Palestinians.

Aklouk called for "more diplomatic and political measures and activating economic and legal tools."

In turn, Jordan's representative, Ambassador Amjad al-Adaileh, said the Israeli extremist government's expansionist intentions and displacement agendas in occupied Palestine have never been clearer and more arrogant than they are today.

Adaileh asserted that it has become clear that the most extremist and racist government in the history of the occupation is racing against time to implement its agendas.

The diplomat said that since Oct. 7, Israel has been seeking to consolidate the occupation and eliminate the remaining chances of achieving peace based on the two-state solution, placing the Palestinian people before two options that have no third choice: either death or displacement.

The Arab League resolution accused the US of following a double standards policy, saying it should adopt stances that are consistent with international and humanitarian law by calling for a full and sustainable ceasefire.

The resolution warned of the danger of forced displacement of about two million Palestinians in Gaza, cautioning against Tel Aviv's intentions to complete their displacement outside the Palestinian territories by systematically pushing them towards the Egyptian border.

"The Arab countries cannot tolerate the recurrence of the Nakba scenario of 1948 and will adopt all legal, diplomatic and economic steps to prevent displacement of the Palestinian people," according to the resolution.

The resolution recalled the UN Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023) calling for immediate unhindered aid delivery on a safe and large scale across Gaza.

Egypt's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Mohamed Arfi, said that the massacre against Palestinian people constitutes compelling evidence of double standards and global shame and stressed that Cairo continues to support Palestinian rights.

The League's Council denounced the deadly Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugee camps and homes in the West Bank, the detention of thousands of Palestinians daily, and the attacks and intimidation perpetrated by Jewish settlers against Palestinians under Israeli police protection.

The Council also condemned the 100+ day siege of the Israeli occupation authorities on the al-Aqsa Mosque, which undermined the freedom of worship, as well as the repeated incursions into and desecration of the site by Jewish settlers.

The Assistant Secretary-General and President of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, Saeed Abu Ali, confirmed in his speech that the Palestinians are being subjected to systematic attacks against all international laws and divine laws.

Abu Ali underscored the need to redouble efforts and take necessary measures to halt the ongoing crime and bring an end to the genocide war.

The League lauded the efforts of South Africa to prosecute the Israeli occupation entity at the International Court of Justice for violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG).

It called on the peace-loving, law-abiding countries to back the legal steps initiated by South Africa, welcoming the decision of the Libyan Presidential Council to join the genocide case against Israel.

The Council renewed condemnation of the Israeli aggression on Syria and Lebanon, including the latest attack in Damascus on Saturday.

It warned that such attacks undermine the sovereignty of Syria and pose a serious threat to regional and international security.

The Council stressed that the only way to regional stability is through recognition of the Palestinians' legitimate and inalienable rights, notably the right to establish an independent, fully sovereign, and viable state within the pre-June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital city.

It praised the Qatari-Egyptian mediation efforts aiming to reach a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and deliver aid to the residents in Gaza.

The League also appreciated the call of Algeria, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to hold an emergency session by the Council to discuss the Israeli plans for the forcible evacuation of the Gazans.

It appreciated the UAE's successful lobbying during its term as a non-permanent member of the Council (2022-2023) for the Palestinian question, which led to the adoption of the Council resolutions 2712 and 2720 last year.



Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees Brought to Iraq from Syria, Says Official

Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
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Over 4,500 ISIS Detainees Brought to Iraq from Syria, Says Official

Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)
Vehicles transporting ISIS detainees by the US military, according to a security source from the Syrian Democratic Forces, head from Syria towards Iraq, in Qamishli, Syria, February 8, 2026. (Reuters)

More than 4,500 suspected extremists have been transferred from Syria to Iraq as part of a US operation to relocate ISIS group detainees, an Iraqi official told AFP on Tuesday.

The detainees are among around 7,000 suspects the US military began transferring last month after Syrian government forces captured Kurdish-held territory where they had been held by Kurdish fighters.

They include Syrians, Iraqis and Europeans, among other nationalities.

Saad Maan, a spokesperson for the Iraqi government's security information unit, told AFP that 4,583 detainees had been brought to Iraq so far.

ISIS swept across swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014 where it committed massacres. Backed by US-led forces, Iraq proclaimed the defeat of ISIS in 2017, while in neighboring Syria the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ultimately beat back the group two years later.

The SDF went on to jail thousands of suspected extremists and detain tens of thousands of their relatives in camps.

In Iraq, where many prisons are packed with ISIS suspects, courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life terms to those convicted of terrorism offences, including many foreign fighters.

This month Iraq's judiciary said it had begun investigations into detainees transferred from Syria.


UN Force to Withdraw Most Troops from Lebanon by Mid-2027

An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
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UN Force to Withdraw Most Troops from Lebanon by Mid-2027

An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)
An Italian UN peacekeeper soldier stands guard at a road that links to a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, in Naqoura town, Lebanon, on May 4, 2021. (AP)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon plans to withdraw most of its troops by mid 2027, its spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday, after the peacekeepers' mandate expires this year.

UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and has been assisting the Lebanese army as it dismantles Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after a recent war between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

Under pressure from the United States and Israel, the UN Security Council voted last year to end the force's mandate on December 31, 2026, with an "orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal" within one year.

Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel, said that "UNIFIL is planning to draw down and withdraw all, or substantially all, uniformed personnel by mid-year 2027", completing the pullout by year end.

After UNIFIL operations cease on December 31 this year, she said that "we begin the process of sending UNIFIL personnel and equipment home and transferring our UN positions to the Lebanese authorities".

During the withdrawal, the force will only be authorized to perform limited tasks such as protecting UN personnel and bases and overseeing a safe departure.

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, mainly saying it is targeting Hezbollah, and has maintained troops in five border areas.

UNIFIL patrols near the border and monitors violations of a UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and which forms the basis of the current ceasefire.

It has repeatedly reported Israeli fire at or near its personnel since the truce.

Ardiel said UNIFIL had reduced the number of peacekeepers in south Lebanon by almost 2,000 in recent months, "with a couple hundred more set to leave by May".

The force now counts some 7,500 peacekeepers from 48 countries.

She said the reduction was "a direct result" of a UN-wide financial crisis "and the cost-saving measures all missions have been forced to implement", and unrelated to the end of the force's mandate.

Lebanese authorities want a continued international troop presence in the south after UNIFIL's exit, even if its numbers are limited, and have been urging European countries to stay.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in Beirut this month that Lebanon's army should replace the force when the peacekeepers withdraw.

Italy has said it intends to keep a military presence in Lebanon after UNIFIL leaves.


Israeli Strikes Kill 3 People in Gaza, Hospital Says

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 3 People in Gaza, Hospital Says

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families next to the beach in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 09 February 2026. (EPA)

Israeli military strikes on Monday killed three people west of Gaza City, according to the hospital where the casualties arrived.

Shifa Hospital reported the deaths amid the months-old ceasefire that has seen continued fighting. The Israeli army said Monday it is striking targets in response to Israeli troops coming under fire in the southern city of Rafah, which it says was a violation of the ceasefire. The army said it is striking targets “in a precise manner."

The four-month-old US-backed ceasefire followed stalled negotiations and included Israel and Hamas accepting a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. At the time, Trump said it would lead to a “strong, durable, and everlasting peace.”

Hamas freed all the living hostages it still held at the outset of the deal in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the remains of others.

But the larger issues the agreement sought to address, including the future governance of the strip, were met with reservations, and the US offered no firm timeline.

Rafah crossing improving, official says

The Palestinian official set to oversee day-to-day affairs in Gaza said on Monday that passage through the Rafah crossing with Egypt is starting to improve after a chaotic first week of reopening marked by confusion, delays and a limited number of crossings.

Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, told Egypt’s Al-Qahera News that operations at the crossing were improving on Sunday.

He said 88 Palestinians were scheduled to travel through Rafah on Monday, more than have crossed in the initial days since reopening. Israel did not immediately confirm the figures.

The European Union border mission at the crossing said in a statement Sunday that 284 Palestinians had crossed since reopening. Travelers included people returning after having fled the war and medical evacuees and their escorts. In total, 53 medical evacuees departed during the first five days of operations.

That remains well below the agreed target of 50 medical evacuees exiting and 50 returnees entering daily, negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials.

Shaath and other members of the committee remain in Egypt, without Israeli authorization to enter the war-battered enclave.

The Rafah crossing opened last week for the first time since mid-2024, one of the main requirements for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It was closed Friday and Saturday because of confusion around operations.

Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people are seeking to leave Gaza for medical care unavailable in its largely destroyed health system.

Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first days after the crossing reopened described hourslong delays and invasive searches by Israeli authorities and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab. Israel denied mistreatment.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Monday that five people were killed over the previous 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 581 since the October ceasefire. The truce led to the return of the remaining hostages — both living captives and bodies — from the 251 abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack. Israel’s military offensive has since killed over 72,000 Palestinians, according to the ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and is staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties.