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UK, Portugal to Recognize Palestinian State Ahead of UN Debate

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
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UK, Portugal to Recognize Palestinian State Ahead of UN Debate

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS

Britain and Portugal were on Sunday expected to recognize a Palestinian state, ahead of a key week at the UN's gathering where a suite of nations are set to do the same to pressure Israel over Gaza.

A growing number of longtime Israeli allies have shifted positions in recent months as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, triggered by Hamas's unprecedented 2023 attack.

The besieged Palestinian territory has suffered vast destruction, death and lack of food that have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis.

World leaders will gather for a key debate at the UN General Assembly in New York this week where the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be front and center.

Around 10 nations are expected to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming days, with UK media outlets like the BBC, reporting that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would announce the policy shift on Sunday -- over fierce Israeli objection.

Starmer had said in July that Britain would formally recognize the State of Palestine if Israel did not take "substantive steps" towards a ceasefire with Hamas by the time the UN General Assembly convened.

The Labour leader said at the time that the move would make "a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution".

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of rewarding "monstrous terrorism" and appeasing "jihadist" ideology.

Portugal's foreign ministry said on Friday that it would also formally declare its recognition on Sunday.

Lisbon had already announced in July that it intended to do so, citing the "extremely worrying evolution of the conflict" as well as the humanitarian crisis and Israel's repeated threats to annex Palestinian land.

Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza, a UN-backed hunger monitor has declared a famine in part of the territory and the Israeli military has said it will use "unprecedented force" to capture Gaza City.

France and Canada are among the other Western nations planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN gathering in the coming week.

Israel has vehemently opposed the moves and has reportedly threatened to annex the West Bank in response.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP on Friday that the world "should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation" from Israel.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes in South Lebanon Kill Two

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Sohmor, in southern Lebanon on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Sohmor, in southern Lebanon on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes in South Lebanon Kill Two

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Sohmor, in southern Lebanon on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the village of Sohmor, in southern Lebanon on January 15, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

An Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one person on Friday, the health ministry in Beirut said a day after raids that Israel said had targeted Hezbollah.

Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, usually saying it is targeting members of the group or its infrastructure.

In a statement, the health ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike" on a vehicle in Mansuri in south Lebanon killed one person.

According to AFP, it also said that a strike on Mayfadun in south Lebanon the previous night killed one person.

Israel said Thursday's attack killed a Hezbollah member it alleged "took part in attempts to reestablish Hezbollah's infrastructure in the Zawtar al-Sharqiyah area.”

The attacks come a week after Lebanon's military said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, the first phase of a nationwide plan, although Israel has called those efforts insufficient.

On Thursday, Israel carried out several strikes against eastern Lebanon's Bekaa region, north of the Litani, after issuing warnings to evacuate.

United Nations peacekeepers, deployed in the south to separate Lebanon from Israel, said on Friday that an Israeli drone "dropped a grenade" on its troops.

On Monday, the peacekeeping force said an Israeli tank fired near its troops, and warned that such incidents were becoming "disturbingly common".

Arab World

Syria's Leader Sharaa in Berlin on Tuesday, Says German Presidency

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
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Syria's Leader Sharaa in Berlin on Tuesday, Says German Presidency

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa will be visiting Berlin next Tuesday and meet his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German presidency said.

The office of Chancellor Friedrich Merz has yet to announce whether they would also hold talks during the visit, which comes at a time when the German government is seeking to step up repatriations of Syrians to their homeland.

Arab World

US Envoy Opens File on Funds Smuggled from Iraq

Iraqis burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Iranian consulate in Basra, January 13, 2026 (Reuters). 
Iraqis burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Iranian consulate in Basra, January 13, 2026 (Reuters). 
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US Envoy Opens File on Funds Smuggled from Iraq

Iraqis burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Iranian consulate in Basra, January 13, 2026 (Reuters). 
Iraqis burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the Iranian consulate in Basra, January 13, 2026 (Reuters). 

Iraqi politicians and observers warn of the potential fallout from a comprehensive review of suspicious financial transactions in Iraq as promised by US envoy Mark Savaya.

Meanwhile, a surprise decision by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the leading vote-getter in the elections, to relinquish his right to form a government in favor of runner-up Nouri al-Maliki continues to cast a shadow over the leadership of the Coordination Framework, the umbrella alliance of Shiite political forces.

Savaya, who was praised on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump for having done “a great job in Iraq,” announced on Thursday the launch of a comprehensive review of suspicious payments and financial transactions in Iraq.

The review will be conducted in cooperation with the US Treasury Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, alongside discussions on potential sanctions targeting networks that undermine financial integrity and finance terrorist activities.

Savaya has not yet made an official visit to Baghdad since assuming his role as presidential envoy to Iraq, although he previously visited the country in a personal capacity. He is of Christian Iraqi origin, and his family left Iraq in the 1990s.

In a statement, Savaya said he was meeting with the US Treasury Department and OFAC to discuss key challenges and reform opportunities in Iraq’s state-owned and private banks, with a particular focus on strengthening financial governance, compliance, and institutional accountability.

According to the statement, both sides agreed to conduct a comprehensive review of records related to suspicious payments and financial transactions involving Iraqi institutions, companies, and individuals linked to smuggling operations, money laundering, and fraudulent contracts and financial projects that fund and enable terrorist activities.

Discussions also included next steps regarding potential sanctions against entities and networks that undermine financial integrity and state authority.

Savaya said relations between Iraq and the United States have never been stronger than they are today under Trump’s leadership.

Iraqi politician and former electricity minister Luay al-Khatteeb told Asharq Al-Awsat that Savaya’s message aligns with statements made by the US chargé d’affaires during his shuttle meetings with political bloc leaders regarding Washington’s official stance should a parliamentary majority vote in favor of undesirable figures.

Al-Khatteeb said the Coordination Framework must act with intelligence, seriousness, and realism by selecting credible figures who exceed US administration expectations and command international respect.

He warned that Iraq’s political scene is deeply unsettled and that the economy is in its worst condition, heading toward collapse if Shiite leaders continue clinging to failed policies and appointing ineffective and internationally unacceptable figures.

“The choices of the Coordination Framework,” he said, “will be the official response and message to the international community - and especially to the US administration - either yielding rewards or exacting a heavy price.”