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Biden Says Killing of Hamas Leader Haniyeh Not Helpful for Ceasefire Talks

US President Joe Biden. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden. (Reuters)
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Biden Says Killing of Hamas Leader Haniyeh Not Helpful for Ceasefire Talks

US President Joe Biden. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden. (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday the killing of Palestinian group Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh was not helpful for reaching a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza.
There has been an increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel, reported Reuters.
Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, who had participated in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
Anxious residents in Israeli-besieged Gaza feared that Haniyeh's killing on Wednesday would prolong the war.
Iran said the killing took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for its new president.
"It doesn't help," Biden told reporters late on Thursday, when asked if Haniyeh's assassination ruined the chances for a ceasefire agreement.
Biden also said he had a direct conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Thursday.
Netanyahu's government has issued no claim of responsibility but he has said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran's proxies of late, including Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.
Israel's tensions with Iran and Hezbollah have fanned fears of a widened conflict in a region already on edge amid Israel's assault on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7 when Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Gaza health ministry says that since then Israel's military assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide accusations that Israel denies.
The United States has said it was not involved in the killing of Haniyeh.

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Algeria Threatens France with ‘Additional Measures’ Over Position

The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
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Algeria Threatens France with ‘Additional Measures’ Over Position

The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)
The Algerian and French presidents in August 2022 (Algerian presidency)

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf has announced that his country will take additional measures against France, in response to Paris’ position in support of Morocco’s plan for autonomy in the Sahara.

During a press conference in Algiers, attended by AFP, Attaf said: “We will take the necessary steps to express our rejection of France taking such a step, which is dangerous for the region.”

He added that Algeria’s decision to recall its ambassador from Paris for consultations was only a first step that will be followed by additional protest measures.

According to the Algerian minister, French President Emmanuel Macron had informed his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in June in Italy, of the decision that Paris intends to take.

Attaf stressed that the Algerian president’s response to his French counterpart was “strict, resolute and precise,” warning that such a step will not contribute to reviving the political track.

His position comes after Macron confirmed that the Moroccan proposal “constitutes, from now on, the only basis for reaching a just, sustainable, and negotiated political solution, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.”

Tebboune was scheduled to visit France in September, but Attaf hinted that this visit may not take place due to Macron’s position.

The Moroccan authorities proposed an autonomy plan for the Sahara under its sovereignty. However, the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria, has been demanding sovereignty over it since the Spanish occupation left the region in 1975, and is demanding a self-determination referendum under the auspices of the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI invited the French president to an official visit to the country, after Paris announced its stance in support of the country’s sovereignty over the disputed Sahara region.

“I fully appreciate your country’s clear support for Morocco’s sovereignty over this part of its territory, the resolute French support for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty to settle this regional dispute, thereby establishing the plan proposed by Morocco, since 2007, as the only basis for achieving it,” the monarch said in his letter.

He continued: “In this context, and thanks to the positive momentum that our bilateral relations are experiencing, promising prospects are opening up for our two countries in many strategic sectors, making it possible to strengthen the exceptional partnership built over decades on friendship and trust.”