Aggression against Gaza represents a turning point in history of region: Arab League chief

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks at a press conference during the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing on May 30, 2024. (AP)
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit speaks at a press conference during the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing on May 30, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 30 May 2024
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Aggression against Gaza represents a turning point in history of region: Arab League chief

Arab League chief speaks at a press conference during the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum
  • Aboul Gheit said that the Arab League was committed to making all efforts to build a promising future for both Arab and Chinese societies

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the aggression against Gaza for more than eight months “marks a turning point in our region’s history.”

He said that there was “a deep sense of frustration over the international community’s inability to halt this massacre.”

Aboul Gheit was speaking at the opening session of the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing.

The forum —  founded in 2004 in Cairo — includes members of the Arab League. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony.

Leaders from Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia and the UAE were also present.

Aboul Gheit said: We value China’s role and steadfast support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state.”

He urged China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a more significant role in reinforcing the global consensus on the two-state solution, leading to a reliable and irreversible path to establishing an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Aboul Gheit said that the Arab League and its member states aimed to enhance regional stability by working to contain existing crises, settle them peacefully, and reduce escalation through balanced relations with neighboring countries based on non-interference in internal affairs and mutual respect.

He reaffirmed the league’s support for China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintaining a firm commitment to the one-China principle.

Aboul Gheit said that the Arab League was committed to making all efforts to build a promising future for both Arab and Chinese societies.

“We aim to advance the strategic partnership between the Arab countries and China for a better future, strengthening cooperation mechanisms and finding political solutions to issues of mutual concern on regional and international fronts.”

Aboul Gheit said that China had “an illustrious presence in world history that we deeply respect and appreciate. Its profound influence on the world’s present and future is evident and highly valued. Moreover, China’s experience achieving renaissance and progress is greatly admired in our Arab world.”

The Arab League chief said: “Today, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of establishing the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. 

“This forum marked a significant milestone in the history of relations between the two sides, placing these relations within a comprehensive institutional framework, thus ensuring their development and future potential.

“Since its inception, the forum has become a success story in international multilateral cooperation, evidenced by the various mechanisms, memorandums and frameworks it has produced to facilitate collaboration across political, economic, social and development fields.” 

Aboul Gheit said that the first Arab-Chinese summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2022 marked a qualitative shift in Arab-Chinese relations.

This summit signaled the beginning of a pivotal phase in the history of relations between the Arab world and China.

“The outcomes and agreements from this summit laid a strong foundation for mutual benefit, and we are committed to continuing efforts to implement them,” Aboul Gheit said.

He called for institutionalizing the Arab-China summit and holding regular sessions to enhance progress and allow for continuous monitoring and development of cooperation programs.


Hezbollah says fired rockets at north Israel

Hezbollah says fired rockets at north Israel
Updated 19 sec ago
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Hezbollah says fired rockets at north Israel

Hezbollah says fired rockets at north Israel
BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it fired rockets at northern Israel on Sunday, a day after it declared several areas in the region a “legitimate target” due to the presence of Israeli troops.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group, at war with Israel since last month, said it targeted a “military industries base north of Haifa... with a large rocket salvo.”
Since late September Hezbollah has announced similar strikes against defense industry facilities and military bases near Haifa, a major northern Israeli city.
The group also claimed rocket fire on Nahariya and drone strikes near Acre, both of which are north of Haifa.
Hezbollah issued an evacuation warning for more than 20 areas in northern Israel on Saturday.
It called on residents to “evacuate immediately,” saying the mentioned zones have “become legitimate military targets” for its forces.
Israel also pressed on with its aerial campaign on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday.
At least eight people were killed and 25 wounded in an Israeli raid near the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military on Sunday told residents of several villages in south Lebanon to leave immediately, warning that it would strike Hezbollah targets there.
But it did not mention the Sidon suburb of Haret Saida.
In the southern city of Nabatiyeh, “a house was completely destroyed, and residential buildings, shops and dozens of cars were severely damaged” after an Israeli strike on a neighborhood, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading cross-border fire since October last year.
Last month, Israel escalated air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds and sent in ground forces, after killing several top commanders in the group.
Israel dealt Hezbollah a seismic blow when it assassinated it’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 27 in an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

UN Security Council expected to meet Monday over Israel’s strike on Iran, diplomats say

UN Security Council expected to meet Monday over Israel’s strike on Iran, diplomats say
Updated 3 min 4 sec ago
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UN Security Council expected to meet Monday over Israel’s strike on Iran, diplomats say

UN Security Council expected to meet Monday over Israel’s strike on Iran, diplomats say
  • Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran

NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet on Monday to discuss Israel’s attack on Iran, diplomats said on Sunday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called on the Security Council to meet over the attack and diplomats said the council was likely to discuss the situation on Monday.
“Israeli regime’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilize an already fragile region,” Araqchi said in a letter to the 15-member council on Saturday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in alignment with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and under international law, reserves its inherent right to legal and legitimate response to these criminal attacks at the appropriate time,” he wrote.
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel’s military said.
It was retaliation for Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel with about 200 ballistic missiles, and Israel warned its heavily armed arch-foe not to hit back after the latest strike.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon rejected Iran’s complaint at the United Nations, saying in a statement on Sunday that Iran was “trying to act against us in the diplomatic arena with the ridiculous claim that Israel has violated international law.”
“As we have stated time and time again, we have the right and duty to defend ourselves and will use all the means at our disposal to protect the citizens of Israel,” Danon said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed “to all parties to cease all military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon, exert maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy,” his spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.


UN chief ‘shocked by harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction’ in north Gaza

A man reacts while sitting atop rubble following Israeli bombardment on the Zarqa neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City.
A man reacts while sitting atop rubble following Israeli bombardment on the Zarqa neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City.
Updated 27 October 2024
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UN chief ‘shocked by harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction’ in north Gaza

A man reacts while sitting atop rubble following Israeli bombardment on the Zarqa neighbourhood in the north of Gaza City.
  • “The plight of Palestinian civilians trapped in North Gaza is unbearable,” Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said

UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday he was “shocked by harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction” in north Gaza, where Israeli forces are carrying out attacks they say aim to prevent Hamas regrouping.
“The plight of Palestinian civilians trapped in North Gaza is unbearable,” Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“The Secretary-General is shocked by the harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction in the north, with civilians trapped under rubble, the sick and wounded going without life-saving health care, and families lacking food and shelter.”
The spokesman said that according to Gaza’s health ministry, hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks and more than 60,000 others were forced to flee.
“Repeated efforts to deliver humanitarian supplies essential to survive — food, medicine and shelter — continue to be denied by the Israeli authorities, with few exceptions, putting countless lives in peril,” Dujarric said.
“In the name of humanity, the Secretary-General reiterates his calls for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and accountability for crimes under international law.”


Syria Kurd force denies links to Ankara attack as Turkiye strikes

Syria Kurd force denies links to Ankara attack as Turkiye strikes
Updated 27 October 2024
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Syria Kurd force denies links to Ankara attack as Turkiye strikes

Syria Kurd force denies links to Ankara attack as Turkiye strikes
  • Turkiye carried out air strikes against targets linked to Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after Wednesday’s shooting and suicide attack that killed five people at a defense firm near the Turkish capital

HASAKEH: The commander of a Kurdish-led force in Syria denied links to a deadly attack near Ankara claimed by Kurdish PKK militants, after Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria killed more than a dozen people in retaliation.
Turkiye carried out air strikes against targets linked to Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after Wednesday’s shooting and suicide attack that killed five people at a defense firm near the Turkish capital.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the attackers infiltrated from neighboring Syria, vowing there would be no let-up in the fight against Kurdish militants.
“We opened an internal investigation and I can confirm that none of the attackers entered Turkiye from Syrian territory,” Mazloum Abdi, the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told AFP.
The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded fighting against the Daesh group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019.
It is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which claimed the attack on Ankara.
“We have no connection to this attack that took place in Ankara,” Abdi said late Saturday from Hasakah, a major city run by the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in northeast Syria.
“Our battlefields are inside Syrian territory,” he added.
Turkish strikes on Kurd-held Syria since Wednesday have killed 15 civilians and two fighters, according to Abdi.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said Turkiye has launched more than 100 strikes, most of them using drones, since Wednesday.
It said civilian infrastructure including bakeries, grain silos and power stations were hit alongside military facilities and checkpoints used by Kurdish forces.
“It seems that (Turkiye’s) goal is not just to respond to the events that took place in Ankara, but also to target institutions and sources of livelihood for the population,” said Abdi.
“The main goal is to weaken and eliminate the (semi) autonomous administration, forcing the population to migrate,” he said.



Abdi said he was open to dialogue to de-escalate tensions but demanded an end to Turkiye’s attacks which he said are “ongoing” and suggest a potentially wider operation.
“We are ready to resolve issues with Turkiye through dialogue, but not under the pressure of attacks, so these operations must be stopped for dialogue efforts to continue,” Abdi said.
Turkish troops and allied rebel factions control swaths of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.
“The Turkish state is taking advantage of the current events in the Middle East, as attention is directed toward Gaza, Lebanon and the Israeli attack on Iran” to launch new attacks on Syria, Abdi said.
Abdi criticized his US allies for not protecting Kurdish forces, saying the position of the US-led coalition “seems weak.”
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
“Their response is not at the level required to stop the attacks, and pressure must be put on Turkiye,” he added, saying the strikes on Syria “not only concern us but also affect their forces.”
The US presidential election on November 5 could also weaken support for the SDF if Donald Trump is elected, according to Abdi.
In 2019, Trump announced a decision to withdraw thousands of US troops from Kurdish-held Syria, paving the way for Turkiye to launch an invasion there that same year.
“In 2019, we had an unsuccessful experience with the administration of US President Trump,” said the SDF commander.
“But we are confident that the United States... makes its decisions based on” strategic interests in the region.


CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations: Official

CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations: Official
Updated 27 October 2024
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CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations: Official

CIA, Mossad chiefs to meet with Qatar PM for Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations: Official
  • The talks aim to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza that would last less than a month

DOHA: The directors of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad will meet Qatar’s prime minister in Doha on Sunday to begin negotiations for a new short term Gaza ceasefire deal and the release of some hostages by Hamas in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters.
The talks aim to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza that would last less than a month, with the hope that it would lead to a more permanent agreement, the official said. The details of which or how many hostages and prisoners would be released as part of the deal is not yet clear, the official said.