Hamas ready for talks with Trump administration, Hamas official tells RIA

Hamas ready for talks with Trump administration, Hamas official tells RIA
Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said talks with US had become a necessity for his group, whose fighters were seen securing areas during recent Israeli hostage handovers in Gaza. (AFP/File)
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Hamas ready for talks with Trump administration, Hamas official tells RIA

Hamas ready for talks with Trump administration, Hamas official tells RIA
  • Trump vowed on Tuesday that the US would take over the war-shattered Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically, a move that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

GAZA CITY: The Palestinian Hamas movement is ready to establish contact and hold talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump, Russia’s RIA state news agency cited a senior Hamas official as saying in remarks published early on Wednesday.
“We are ready for contact and talks with the Trump administration,” RIA cited senior Hamas Politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk as saying.
“In the past, we did not object to contacts with the administration of (former US President Joe) Biden, Trump or any other US administration, and we are open to talks with all international parties.”
It was not clear when RIA interviewed Marzouk, who was visiting Moscow on Monday for talks with the Russian foreign ministry.
Trump vowed on Tuesday that the US would take over the war-shattered Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically, a move that would shatter decades of US policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Marzouk told RIA that talks with the US have become a kind of necessity for Hamas, considering that Washington is a key player in the Middle East.
“That is why we welcomed the talks with the Americans and have no objection to this issue,” he added.

 


Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan

Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan
Updated 9 sec ago
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Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan

Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan
“Indonesia strongly rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the Foreign Ministry said
Jakarta also called on the international community to respect international law

JAKARTA: Indonesia “strongly rejects” the proposal made by President Donald Trump for the United States to assume control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Trump announced the stunning proposal Tuesday, without detailing his plans on how to move out nearly two million Palestinians from the enclave, claiming that the US will rebuild the territory and turn it into the “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has consistently called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Indonesia strongly rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on social media X, formerly Twitter.
Jakarta also called on the international community to respect international law, “particularly the right to self-determination of the Palestinians as well as their inalienable right to return to their homeland,” the ministry added.
Trump claimed there was support from the “highest leadership” in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take displaced Palestinians — despite both countries flatly rejecting the idea.
Jakarta said addressing the “root cause” of the conflict, namely “the illegal and prolonged Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory,” was the only path to achieve a lasting peace in the region, the statement added.

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister
Updated 8 min 12 sec ago
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Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister
  • Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah took the oath as minister of defense

LONDON: Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah appointed a new defense minister to succeed Sheikh Fahad Youssef Saud Al-Sabah.

During the swearing-in ceremony at Bayan Palace on Tuesday, Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah took the oath as minister of defense.

Sheikh Fahad has assumed the position of first deputy prime minister and minister of interior following an emiri decree, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and other senior Kuwaiti officials attended the ceremony.


Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza

Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza
Updated 44 min 9 sec ago
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Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza

Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza
  • “The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states,” Turk said

GENEVA: UN rights chief Volker Turk insisted Wednesday that deporting people from occupied territory was strictly prohibited, after US President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over Gaza and resettle its people.
“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” Turk said in a statement.


Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief

Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief
Updated 05 February 2025
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Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief

Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief
  • The director-general of United Nations heritage body UNESCO hailed the completion of their restoration work in the Iraqi city of Mosul, saying on Wednesday it had allowed it to recover its “identity”

MOSUL: The director-general of United Nations heritage body UNESCO hailed the completion of their restoration work in the Iraqi city of Mosul, saying on Wednesday it had allowed it to recover its “identity” after destruction inflicted by the Daesh group.
Mosul’s historic Al-Nuri Mosque with its famed leaning minaret, nicknamed Al-Hadba or “hunchback,” has been restored using its original brickwork, years after it was reduced to rubble under Daesh group rule.
“I am very happy to stand before you and before the minaret over 850 years old... and the fact to have it here behind me in front of you is like history coming back... is like the identity of the city coming back,” Audrey Azoulay said.
The mosque and minaret were destroyed in June 2017 during the battle to oust IS from Mosul, and Iraq’s authorities accused the jihadists of planting explosives before their withdrawal.
They are the latest landmarks in Mosul to be restored by UNESCO, whose teams have worked for five years to revive several sites.
“The reconstruction of this minaret needed to reuse nearly 45,000 original bricks,” the UNESCO chief said, adding that traditional techniques were used to rebuild the iconic structure.
Azouley said residents had wanted the rebuilt minaret to resemble the original. “The people of Mosul wanted it tilted,” she said.
Eighty percent of Mosul’s old city was destroyed in the fight against IS.
UNESCO restoration project also include Al-Tahira and Our Lady of the Hour churches and 124 heritage houses.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani will inaugurate the restored landmarks in the coming weeks.


Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM
Updated 05 February 2025
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Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on Wednesday for the Palestinian Authority to govern the Gaza Strip, hours after President Donald Trump announced a proposal for the United States to take over the territory.
In a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Abdelatty said Egypt was eager for the Palestinian Authority to “assume its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

Abdelatty called for swift reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of Palestinians from the territory after Trump’s proposal to take it over. 

The two men agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects... at an accelerated pace... without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially with their commitment to their land and refusal to leave it,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.