Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati receives Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, upon her arrival at the government palace, in Beirut, on Oct. 18, 2024. (AP)

Short Url

https://arab.news/6r2sc

Updated 18 October 2024

AFP

October 18, 2024 18:09

Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

“I am convinced that UNIFIL must be strengthened. Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality, will we be able to turn the page” on the war, Meloni said
“There must be no other military presence than that of UNIFIL” and the Lebanese army in border areas

Updated 18 October 2024

AFP

October 18, 2024 18:09

BEIRUT: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday slammed attacks on United Nations peacekeepers as “unacceptable” after the UN force accused Israeli troops of firing at their positions in south Lebanon.
Meloni, the first head of state or government to visit Lebanon since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah started last month, demanded the protection of the UNIFIL force, which includes Italian peacekeepers.
“I consider targeting UNIFIL unacceptable, and I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure at all times that the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed,” Meloni said during a press conference with her Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati.
Italy has around 1,000 troops as part of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon which has come under repeated fire in the Israeli-Hezbollah war in recent days.
Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week, with the latest seeing the UN force accuse Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of their positions.
UNIFIL on Sunday asked for explanations from the Israeli army over what they said were “shocking violations” against their force, including forced entry.
“I am convinced that UNIFIL must be strengthened. Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality, will we be able to turn the page” on the war, Meloni said.
UNIFIL, a mission of about 10,000 troops of various nationalities, was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon and to help the Lebanese government restore authority over the border region.
It is also tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.
“I think that we have to come back to the initial mission of UNIFIL, and to do it properly, in coordination with” the Lebanese army, Meloni said.
“There must be no other military presence than that of UNIFIL” and the Lebanese army in border areas, she added.
Meloni — whose country holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year — earlier Friday met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Aqaba.
They discussed the escalating conflict in the region and joint efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, according to Rome.
The Italian premier said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar cleared the way for a “new phase” in the Gaza war, which was sparked by the militant group’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Jailed PKK leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkiye peace drive

Updated 16 sec ago

AFP

December 29, 2024 23:21

Jailed PKK leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkiye peace drive

The government’s approval of the visit comes two months after the head of Turkiye’s nationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, extended Ocalan a shock olive branch, inviting him to parliament to renounce terror and disband his group, a move backed by Erdogan

Updated 16 sec ago

AFP

December 29, 2024 23:21

ISTANBUL: Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), is “ready to make a call” to back a new initiative by the Turkish government to end decades of conflict, Turkiye’s pro-Kurd party said Sunday.
Two lawmakers from the DEM party made a rare visit to Ocalan on Saturday on his prison island, the first by the party in almost a decade, amid signs of easing tensions between the Turkish government and the PKK.
On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government approved DEM’s request to visit the founder of the PKK, which is designated a terror group by Turkiye and its Western allies.
Ocalan has been serving a life sentence on the island of Imrali south of Istanbul since 1999.
The government’s approval of the visit comes two months after the head of Turkiye’s nationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, extended Ocalan a shock olive branch, inviting him to parliament to renounce terror and disband his group, a move backed by Erdogan.
“I have the competence and determination to make a positive contribution to the new paradigm started by Mr.Bahceli and Mr.Erdogan,” Ocalan said, according to a DEM statement Sunday.
Ocalan said the visiting delegation would share his approach with both the state and political circles.
“In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call.”
DEM party co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan lauded Ocalan’s appeal as “historic opportunity to build a common future,” in a message on social media platform X.
“We are on the eve of a potential democratic transformation across Turkiye and the region. Now is the time for courage and foresight for an honorable peace,” he said.

The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, claiming tens of thousands of lives.
A peace process between the PKK and the government collapsed in 2015, unleashing violence especially in the Kurdish-majority southeast.
The new initiative launched in October by Bahceli, who has been fiercely hostile to the PKK, sparked a public debate, with Erdogan hailing it as a “historic window of opportunity.”
But a deadly terror attack in October on a Turkish defense company in the capital Ankara, for which PKK militants claimed responsibility, put those hopes on hold.
Turkiye launched strikes on Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria after the attack, which killed five people.
“Re-strengthening the Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is not only a historical responsibility but also... an urgency for all peoples,” Ocalan said, according to the DEM statement.
He said all the efforts would “take the country to the level it deserves” and become a “very valuable guide for a democratic transformation.”
“It’s time for peace, democracy and brotherhood in Turkiye and the region.”
The new outreach by both sides comes as Islamist rebels consolidate their control in neighboring Syria after toppling its strongman president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye hopes Syria’s new leaders will address the issue of Kurdish forces in the country, which Ankara sees as a terror group affiliated to the PKK.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a phone call on Saturday that Kurdish fighters “cannot be allowed to take shelter in Syria,” according to the ministry spokesman.
According to the DEM statement, Ocalan said developments in Syria had shown that outside interference would only complicate the problem, and a solution could no longer be postponed.

Topics: Turkiye Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

Updated 29 December 2024

AFP

Reuters

December 29, 2024 22:26

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

The announcement comes amid increased hopes for an end to a decades-long insurgency waged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in southeast Turkiye

Updated 29 December 2024

AFP Reuters

December 29, 2024 22:26

SANLIURFA: Turkiye announced on Sunday a $14 billion regional development plan that aims to reduce the economic gap between its mainly Kurdish southeast region and the rest of the country.

The announcement comes amid increased hopes for an end to a decades-long insurgency waged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in southeast Turkiye as well as the advent of a new leadership in neighboring Syria with cordial ties to Ankara.

The eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkiye have long lagged behind other regions of the country in most economic indicators including the GDP per capita, partly as a result of the insurgency.

Turkish Industry Minister Fatih Kacir told reporters in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa that the government would spend a total 496.2 billion lira ($14.15 billion) on 198 projects across the region in the period to 2028.

“With the implementation of the projects, we anticipate an additional 49,000 lira ($1,400) increase in annual income per capita in the region,” he added.

According to 2023 data, the per capita income of Sanliurfa stood at $4,971, well below the national average of $13,243.

Meanwhile, Turkiye’s pro-Kurd party said Sunday that Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the PKK, is “ready to make a call” to back a new initiative by the Turkish government to end decades of conflict.

Two lawmakers from the DEM party made a rare visit to Ocalan on Saturday on his prison island, the first by the party in almost a decade, amid signs of easing tensions between the Turkish government and the PKK.

On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government approved DEM’s request to visit the founder of the PKK, which is designated a terror group by Turkiye and its Western allies.

Ocalan has been serving a life sentence on the island of Imrali south of Istanbul since 1999.

Topics: Turkiye Kurds

Syrian Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again

Updated 29 December 2024

December 29, 2024 22:21

Syrian Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again

New rulers have said they will allow members of all religions to perform their religious duties freely

Updated 29 December 2024

December 29, 2024 22:21

JOBAR, Syria: In this Damascus suburb, the handful of remaining Jews in Syria can again make pilgrimages to one of the world’s oldest synagogues where people from throughout the region once came to pray.

Syria’s 13-year civil war left the synagogue partially destroyed. Walls and roofs have collapsed. Some artifacts are missing. A marble sign in Arabic at the gate says it was first built 720 years before Christ.

Since insurgents overthrew President Bashar Assad in early December, people have been able to safely visit the widely destroyed Jobar suburb that was pounded for years by government forces while in the hands of opposition fighters.

Syria was once home to one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. Those numbers have shrunk dramatically, especially after the state of Israel was created in 1948.

Today, only nine Jews live in Syria, according to the head of the community, almost all older men and women. The community believes that no Syrian Jews will remain in the country in a few years.

One of the people visiting the Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, on Thursday was gray-haired Bakhour Chamantoub, the head of the community in Syria.

“This synagogue means a lot to us,” the 74-year-old said during his first visit in 15 years.

Chamantoub had heard the synagogue was damaged, but he did not expect to see that part of it had been reduced to a pile of debris.

“I am frankly disturbed,” he said.

Chamantoub said Jewish people from around the world have been calling him to say they are ready to help rebuild.

He had refused to leave Syria during the war, while all 12 of his siblings left. He said he was happy in Syria and surrounded by people who respect him.

Chamantoub said he had been one of the few Jews who openly spoke about his faith, adding that he never faced discrimination.

He said other Jews preferred not to speak openly for safety reasons amid the animosity in Syria toward archenemy Israel and fears of being labeled spies or collaborators. The Jewish community in Syria dates back to the prophet Elijah’s Damascus sojourn nearly 3,000 years ago.

After 1099, when Christian armies conquered Jerusalem in the First Crusade and massacred the city’s Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, some 50,000 Jews reportedly fled to Damascus, making up nearly a third of residents.

Another wave of Jews later arrived from Europe, fleeing the Spanish Inquisition that began in 1492.

The community in Syria numbered about 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. In the years surrounding Israel’s creation, Syrian Jews faced increased tensions and restrictions. Many emigrated to Israel, the US and other countries.

Before Syria’s conflict began in 2011, Chamantoub and other remaining community members came on Saturdays to Jobar for prayers. He recalled Torahs written on gazelle leather, chandeliers, tapestries and carpets. All are gone, likely stolen by looters.

Barakat Hazroumi, a Muslim born and raised near the synagogue, recounted how worshipers on Saturdays asked him to turn on the lights or light a candle since Jews are not allowed to do physical labor on the Sabbath.

“It was a beautiful religious place,” Hazroumi said of the synagogue, which at some point during the war was protected by rebels. It and the whole destroyed suburb “needs to be reconstructed from scratch.”

Assad’s forces recaptured Jobar from rebels in 2018 but imposed tight security, preventing many people from reaching the area.

The new rulers of Syria, led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, have said they will allow members of all religions to perform their religious duties freely. There have been some sectarian attacks but mostly against members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect.

After visiting the synagogue, Chamantoub returned to his home in old Damascus, close to the private Jewish school known as Maimonides that was founded in 1944 but has been closed for decades. Posters in Hebrew remain on the walls.

The area is known as the Jewish quarter. Many old homes have doors and windows closed with pieces of metal and a sign in Arabic saying: “The real estate is closed by the state’s Higher Committee for the Affairs of Jews.”

As the Jewish community has shrunk, it has also struggled to find kosher food. Chamantoub receives packages of meat from siblings in the US at least once a year via people traveling to Syria. In the past, he went to the chicken market with a Jewish friend who would slaughter them, but the man now can hardly walk.

Chamantoub mostly eats vegetarian dishes. Almost every morning, he cooks for himself and a Jewish woman in the area with no remaining relatives in Syria.

The woman, 88-year-old Firdos Mallakh, sat on a couch under two blankets. When asked to greet a journalist with “Shabbat Shalom,” she replied it was not yet time. “Today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday,” she said.

Chamantoub, who makes a living as a landlord, asked Mallakh why she had not turned on the gas heater. Mallakh said she did not want to waste gas.

Chamantoub hopes that with the fall of Assad, Syrians will enjoy more freedoms, economic and otherwise. In the past, he said, authorities prevented him from giving interviews without permission from the security agencies.

“I am a Jew and I am proud of it,” he said. But with so few remaining in Damascus, the city’s synagogues see no services. Chamantoub is marking the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah alone at home.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria

Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official

Updated 29 December 2024

AFP

December 29, 2024 16:26

Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official

Qaradawi was detained on Saturday as he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing

Updated 29 December 2024

AFP

December 29, 2024 16:26

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have arrested Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian opposition activist wanted by Cairo and son of the late spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP on Sunday.
Qaradawi, also a poet, was detained on Saturday as he arrived from Syria at the Masnaa border crossing due to an Egyptian arrest warrant, the official said.
The warrant was “based on an Egyptian judiciary ruling” sentencing Qaradawi in absentia to five years’ jail on charges of “opposing the state and inciting terrorism,” the official added.
His father was prominent Sunni scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood which is outlawed in Egypt.
The late scholar was imprisoned several times in Egypt over his links to the Muslim Brotherhood. He died in 2022 after decades in exile in Qatar.
Lebanese authorities “will ask the Egyptian authorities” to transfer Al-Qaradawi’s file for examination, the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The judiciary will make a recommendation on whether “the conditions are met for him to be extradited” and the matter will be referred to the Lebanese government, which must make the final decision, the official added.
Qaradawi was a political organizer against the government of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011 in the Arab Spring uprising.
He later became a vocal opponent of current Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
A family friend told AFP that Qaradawi holds Turkish citizenship and was returning from a visit to Syria, where militants led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad on December 8.
Assad’s ousting came more than 13 years after war broke out in Syria with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Qaradawi had posted a video online taken at Damascus’s Umayyad mosque, celebrating Assad’s fall.
The video has circulated widely including on Egyptian media, where local outlets have described it as “insulting.”
Some commentators close to El-Sisi’s government have demanded Qaradawi be handed over to Egyptian authorities.
Cairo blacklisted the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist” organization in 2013, and has since jailed thousands of its members and supporters and executed dozens.
Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s daughter Ola was detained in Egypt for four and a half years over her links to the organization. She was released in 2021.

Topics: Egypt Lebanon Muslim Brotherhood

Middle-East

Ankara, Cairo mend ties, signaling challenges for the Muslim Brotherhood

Special

Middle-East

Egypt notifies Interpol about Muslim Brotherhood leaders

Special

How the Muslim Brotherhood could use Sudan’s protracted crisis to plot a comeback

photos

Middle-East

How the Muslim Brotherhood could use Sudan’s protracted crisis to plot a comeback

Swedish authorities are fighting back against claims its social services are “kidnapping” Muslim children. (Adam IHSE / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP)

Media

Muslim Brotherhood suspected to be behind campaign of fake news on child ‘kidnappings’ in Sweden

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

An Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor. (File/AFP)

Updated 29 December 2024

December 29, 2024 19:33

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra

Updated 29 December 2024

December 29, 2024 19:33

BEIRUT: An Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV also reported the airstrike but put the death toll at six. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday.
Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country’s uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Israel also wants to remove a threat posed by weapons in Syria, which is now governed by militants.
Syrian insurgents who ousted Assad in a lightning ofensive in early December have demanded that Israel cease its airstrikes.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Israel

Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Italy’s Meloni says Sinwar death opens ‘new phase’ in Gaza conflict

Mikati: Lebanon committed to UNIFIL mission, de-escalation

Jailed PKK leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkiye peace drive

Jailed PKK leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkiye peace drive

Security for Kurds ‘essential’ for a secure Syria: German FM

Syria’s Kurds call for end to all military operations in the country

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

Turkiye’s pro-Kurd party meets jailed PKK leader

Turkiye to allow pro-Kurdish party to visit jailed militant leader

Syrian Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again

Syrian Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

Nearly 300 arrested in Syria crackdown on Assad loyalists: monitor

Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official

Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official

Ankara, Cairo mend ties, signaling challenges for the Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt notifies Interpol about Muslim Brotherhood leaders

How the Muslim Brotherhood could use Sudan’s protracted crisis to plot a comeback

Muslim Brotherhood suspected to be behind campaign of fake news on child ‘kidnappings’ in Sweden

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

Syrian conjoined twins arrive in Saudi Arabia for medical assessment

Saudi Arabia has a major role in Syria’s future, Al-Sharaa says

Latest updates

Saudi-Qatari roundtable explores opportunities in key investment sectors

MBSC partners with Saudi Water Authority to develop leaders

SCAI and SMC unite to transform Saudi advertising landscape

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Supply Chain Justice’ by Mary Bosworth

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

Recommended

2024 Year in Review: When turmoil and divisions deepened in Libya

How Saudi organizations are building a sustainable future for wildlife

Why 2024 was a pivotal year for AI adoption and innovation in Saudi Arabia

Search form

Print Edition

Search form

Search form

You are here

Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Italian PM says ‘unacceptable’ to target UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

Related

Jailed PKK leader says ‘ready’ to support Turkiye peace drive

Related

Turkiye’s $14-billion plan to boost development in Kurdish southeast

Related

Syrian Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again

Related

Lebanon arrests late Muslim Brotherhood leader’s son wanted by Egypt, says judicial official

Related

Israeli airstrike near Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says

Related

Latest updates

Recommended

Search form

Print Edition