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Italy’s PM to Visit Lebanon, Says UN Mission Should Not Be Withdrawn

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
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Italy’s PM to Visit Lebanon, Says UN Mission Should Not Be Withdrawn

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday she plans to visit Lebanon on Oct. 18, just days after Israeli forces attacked UN bases in the country, drawing anger from many EU capitals, including Rome.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel -- an area that has seen serious clashes this month between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Israel has demanded the withdrawal of the UNIFIL forces, which include just over 1,000 Italian troops, but contributor nations have refused and angrily denounced repeated Israeli strikes against the bases that have injured some peacekeepers.

"We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified," Meloni told the upper house of parliament, describing it as a "blatant violation" of a UN resolution that mandated the Lebanese mission.

In a later speech to the lower house, she said: "I believe that a withdrawal on the basis of a unilateral request by Israel would be a big mistake. It would undermine the credibility of the mission itself, the credibility of the United Nations."

Her decision to travel to Lebanon, despite daily attacks on the country by Israel, highlights Italy's determination to support the UN operation and underscores Rome's anger with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the issue.

Meloni's government has been one of the most vocal supporters of Israel over the past year as it battled regional enemies following the Oct. 7 Hamas assault out of Gaza.

"I understand Israel's reasons for needing to prevent what happened last October 7 from happening again, but that obviously does not mean I agree with all its choices." Meloni said.

Since the start of Israel's ground operation in Lebanon on Oct. 1, UNIFIL positions have been targeted 20 times, including by direct fire and an incident on Sunday when two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a UNIFIL base, the UN has said.

Netanyahu has denied that Israeli troops deliberately struck at UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Italy has formally protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the mission.

Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought "to militarize the area under UNIFIL's jurisdiction", adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.

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Arab World

Egyptian President Says Palestinian Cause Remains Top Priority

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Egyptian President Says Palestinian Cause Remains Top Priority

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday said the Palestinian cause is still “at the forefront of priorities” in the Middle East.

He told a panel at Davos that resolving Palestinian cause “is the core of regional stability, and a cornerstone to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

The Egyptian leader lauded US President Donald Trump’s efforts to help reach a ceasefire that stropped the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October.

The two leaders are expected to meet at Davos, said the Egyptian Presidency on Tuesday.

This ‌will be ‌the first ‌meeting ⁠between ​the ‌two leaders since the US announced it was launching the second phase of its plan to end the war in Gaza.

Sisi and ⁠Trump met in the ‌Red Sea resort ‍of Sharm ‍el-Sheikh in October during a ‍summit convened by Egypt to sign a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the ​war.

Arab World

Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Agrees to Join Trump’s Board of Peace

12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)
12 July 2025, Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks at the press conference after talks at the seat of government. (dpa)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Wednesday he had agreed to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, after his office earlier criticized makeup of the board’s executive committee.

The board, chaired by Trump, was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. The Trump administration’s ambitions have appeared to balloon into a more sprawling concept, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting it will soon broker global conflicts.

Netanyahu’s office had previously said the executive committee, which includes Türkiye, a key regional rival, wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy,” without clarifying its objections.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has criticized the board and called for Israel to take unilateral responsibility for Gaza’s future.

Others who have joined the board are the UAE, Morocco, Vietnam, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Argentina. Others, including the UK, Russia and the executive arm of the European Union, say they have received invitations but have not yet responded.

It came as Trump traveled to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to provide more details about the board. There are many unanswered questions. It was not immediately clear how many or which other leaders would receive invitations.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if the board should replace the UN, Trump said, “It might.”

He asserted that the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to its potential” but also said the UN should continue ”because the potential is so great.”

That has created controversy, with some saying Trump is trying to replace the UN. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday, “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organization as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”

Told late Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron was unlikely to join, Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon.” A day later, Trump called Macron “a friend of mine”, but reiterated that the French leader is “not going to be there very much longer.”

The executive board’s members include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

The White House also announced the members of another board, the Gaza Executive Board, which, according to the ceasefire, will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the agreement. That includes deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas and rebuilding the war-devastated territory.

Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and UN Mideast envoy, is to serve as the Gaza executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters. Additional members include: Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.

The board also will supervise a newly appointed committee of Palestinian technocrats who will be running Gaza’s day-to-day affairs.

Arab World

UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UAE Forces Accused of Committing Violations against Detainees Held in Secret Prisons in Yemen

A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view from inside the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

United Arab Emirates forces are accused of running a secret prison in Yemen's Dabba area in the eastern city of Mukalla.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the facility, bearing witness to the dire conditions in which the detainees were held as they waited in despair for their fate.

The walls themselves tell a story of despair with prisoners having etched pleas for mercy and prayers to God, with one prisoner writing a single word - "mother" - summing up his suffering.

Asharq Al-Awsat entered the facility as part of a tour for the media and rights groups. The UAE is accused of running several illegal prisons in Yemen, setting them up without coordination with the legitimate authorities.

Etchings on the wall by some of the detainees in the Dabba facility. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani said these detention centers are not affiliated with the state.

Dabba, he added, embodies the illegal practices that used to happen outside the state's control.

The state did not task any local or foreign party to set up the detention centers where prisoners have been tortured, he said.

These practices are a flagrant violation of the Yemeni constitution, international law and humanitarian law, he stressed.

Minister of Media, Tourism and Culture Moammar Al-Eryani at the Dabba center. (Asharq Al-Awsat

"Cells" at Dabba were nothing more than steel containers of varying sizes, some as small as 1 mete by 50 centimeters.

Along with the writings on the wall, Asharq Al-Awsat noted the blood stains in the cells, reflecting the horrors the detainees had to endure.

Al-Eryani said the state was restoring the rule of law, not seeking to settle scores. "Opening these facilities to the media is a message that the state was not afraid of the truth. Rather it wants to document it and tackle the issue through legal means," he added.

"We are not asking for political cover, but support for the state of law," he urged.

A Yemeni military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Dabba facility used to be a military air defense base.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he revealed that people were held in the prison without charge, while those freed usually ended up suffering from severe trauma.