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Arab Water Ministers Agree on Roadmap for Secure Regional Water Future

The agreement came during the high-level ministerial session chaired by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley - SPA
The agreement came during the high-level ministerial session chaired by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley - SPA
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Arab Water Ministers Agree on Roadmap for Secure Regional Water Future

The agreement came during the high-level ministerial session chaired by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley - SPA
The agreement came during the high-level ministerial session chaired by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley - SPA

Arab water ministers agreed to formulate a roadmap to enhance joint Arab action toward a secure water future for the region by reviewing key challenges and opportunities, as well as Arab priorities in non-conventional water resources, nature-based solutions, training, institutional twinning, financing mechanisms, and inclusive governance, SPA reported.

The agreement came during the high-level ministerial session chaired by Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Alfadley, with the participation of water ministers and their representatives from 11 Arab countries, in addition to several regional and international partners.

Held under the theme “Innovative Solutions, Financing, and Inclusive Governance for a Secure Water Future in the Arab Region,” the session was part of the Seventh Arab Water Forum, one of the main events of the inaugural Saudi Water Week taking place in Jeddah from June 28 to July 2.

The ministerial session discussed the growing challenges facing Arab countries in managing water resources amid climate change and increasing demand driven by population growth and urban expansion, as well as mounting pressures to provide food and energy while protecting the environment.

Participants emphasized the need to move beyond fragmented solutions and isolated national reforms toward integrated investments and regional partnerships capable of accelerating innovative solutions, securing financing, and strengthening inclusive governance, leading to a secure and equitable water future for the Arab region.

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Arab World

UN Chief Slams ‘Relentless’ Israeli Settlement Expansion

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
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UN Chief Slams ‘Relentless’ Israeli Settlement Expansion

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, March 19, 2026. (AP)

UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the "relentless" expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying in a report seen Monday by AFP they are contributing to the territory's worst displacement crisis since 1967.

The secretary-general, in a quarterly report on the West Bank, said an increase in settler outposts was leading to an upsurge in violence and restricting Palestinians' access to their land.

"These developments fuel tensions, further entrench the unlawful Israeli occupation, undermine the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and threaten the viability of a fully independent, contiguous, and sovereign Palestinian State," Guterres said.

He specifically warned against Israeli plans to develop in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank, saying new settlements "would effectively sever the connection between the northern and southern West Bank."

"As such, it would have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and present an existential threat to the two-state solution," Guterres said.

The report also denounced impunity towards violence by Israeli settlers, pointing out it often occurs in the presence of -- or with the support of -- Israeli security forces.

"Settler violence, access restrictions, demolitions and prolonged security operations have intensified in recent years, resulting in the largest displacement crisis in the West Bank since 1967," Guterres said.

In a joint statement ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the West Bank, five European members of the council -- France, Britain, Greece, Latvia and Denmark -- condemned settlement activity.

"We call on the Israeli Government to end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces," France's UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont said.

Arab World

Iraq Sets September 30 Deadline for Pro-Iran Groups to Disarm

Vehicles drive along the Al-Jumhuri street in central Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles drive along the Al-Jumhuri street in central Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq Sets September 30 Deadline for Pro-Iran Groups to Disarm

Vehicles drive along the Al-Jumhuri street in central Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles drive along the Al-Jumhuri street in central Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

Iraq's government has given pro-Iran armed groups in the country until September 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition's mission, its spokesman said on Monday.

The announcement comes ahead of a visit to the United States by new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, with Washington exerting pressure on Baghdad to ensure the factions turn in their weapons.

"All the armed groups have been informed of a specific date that marks the end of this issue (of disarmament) ... which is September 30, which also marks the end of the international coalition's presence," government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi said in a weekly press conference.

"After this date, all weapons outside the state framework will be subject to legal redress," he added.

Iraq is home to dozens of Iran-backed armed factions, many of which form part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

Many emerged in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and gained further power and prominence during the fight against the ISIS group from 2014 onwards.

Under heavy US pressure in recent months, Iraqi authorities said they would seek the full integration of those member factions in the PMF into government forces in a bid to limit the possession of weapons to the hands of the state.

The government aims to include within the integration drive brigades that currently operate outside the framework of the PMF.

The move came after some of the factions with forces in the PMF launched attacks on US interests in Iraq following the start of the Middle East war in late February.

Washington in turn launched its own attacks on the factions, before withholding cash payments for Iraqi oil revenues that are paid as part of a deal following the 2003 US-led invasion.

Iraqi authorities have repeatedly attempted to fully integrate the PMF into the state forces, but some of the groups have cited the continued presence of US forces in Iraq as a reason to delay the disarmament process.

Earlier in June, Iraqi authorities announced that they had received data on weapons belonging to the pro-Iran faction Kataeb Imam Ali, a first step in the plan to integrate such groups into the state forces.

Shortly before, two pro-Iran factions, the Kataeb Imam Ali and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, announced they would be handing over administration of their brigades in the PMF to the state.

The PMF was formed in 2014, bringing together armed factions to fight the ISIS group after it seized swathes of the country.

Arab World

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teen in West Bank

Relatives mourn the death of Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, a Palestinian teenager who was killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 29, 2026. (AFP)
Relatives mourn the death of Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, a Palestinian teenager who was killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 29, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teen in West Bank

Relatives mourn the death of Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, a Palestinian teenager who was killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 29, 2026. (AFP)
Relatives mourn the death of Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, a Palestinian teenager who was killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 29, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli forces fatally shot a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence surges in the Israeli-occupied territory.

"The child Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, 15 years old, was martyred after being shot in the head and once in the chest by occupation soldiers during their raid in the Umm al-Sharayit neighborhood in Al-Bireh" near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military when asked by AFP about the incident.

The Palestinian Red Crescent had earlier said its teams were transporting to hospital and trying to resuscitate a 15-year-old who was shot in the head with live ammunition during a raid in the Umm al-Sharayit area.

Dozens of mourners gathered at the Palestine Medical Complex as grieving relatives wept over the teenager's body.

"Today, we witnessed a clear-cut execution in broad daylight," Laila Ghannam, governor of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, told AFP.

"This is a disgrace to all institutions who claim to uphold democracy and human rights.

"When it comes to our cause, they see nothing. They allow this occupation to escalate its campaign of terror every single day -- not only across Palestine, but throughout the entire region."

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, violence has escalated in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,085 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, including both gunmen and civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, which says 71 people were killed in 2026.

Official Israeli figures show that at least 46 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.