BEIRUT: The second phase of a cease-fire agreement between Hezbollah and Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (JFS) militants near the Lebanon-Syria border was delayed for a second day as talks reached a “critical phase.”
The negotiations “include some demands to release detainees in Lebanese prisons,” said Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, Lebanon’s security chief, who is leading the talks.
“The most critical phase of negotiations has begun,” he said.
“We would better work more and talk less now, as all that is being circulated negatively affects the process.”
In the first phase of the deal, the bodies of 14 fighters were exchanged in northeast Lebanon, nine from JFS and five from Hezbollah.
The second phase is expected to involve moving militants and displaced people from camps in the Lebanese border town of Arsal to Idlib in Syria.
While negotiations described as “exhaustive” and “intricate” continue, JFS militants and their families, as well as the displaced Syrians who wish to leave, have been waiting in the barren and mountainous area for their departure to Idlib.
Sheikh Mustafa Al-Hujairi, a local leader in Arsal who is in charge of negotiating with JFS, has made several visits to Wadi Hmeid and Al-Zimrani crossing, where the militants have been gathering since the implementation of the cease-fire last week.
The demands of JFS include the release of nine prisoners, seven Syrians and two Lebanese. The nine men have all been arrested on charges of terrorism and belonging to JFS.
Four have been convicted, including one who shot dead a Lebanese soldier abducted from Arsal three years ago, and the others are being tried by a Lebanese military court.
“The JFS-Hezbollah deal includes the withdrawal of all militants from Western Qalamoun and displaced Syrians wishing to leave. It also includes the release of 10 Syrian prisoners from Roumieh prison,” JFS leader Abu Malek Al-Talli said in an interview published on the Facebook page of the Nors Studies Center.
“The failure to accomplish the deal is due to a disagreement between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government regarding the release of prisoners from Roumieh.”
In a separate interview with Al-Rai Media, Talli blamed the delay on “Hezbollah’s lack of credibility regarding the details of the deal.”
The prisoner exchange deal was criticized by the Lebanese MP Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party.
“Who decided that coward criminals who committed crimes against the Lebanese army and executed soldiers that we are proud of should be released from prison?” he said.
“Who allowed them to escape and return to their country? Did the Lebanese government decide to send them back without trial and without paying for their crimes? Did the Lebanese judiciary give its consent to stop prosecuting those who are known to have killed our army? Can anyone tell us who approved the deal? The government did not hold a meeting regarding this matter and the judiciary did not make any decision. Can we know who decides the fate of Lebanon today?”
Demand to free militants delays Lebanon cease-fire deal
Demand to free militants delays Lebanon cease-fire deal
Why fury over Israeli actions in Gaza and West Bank may lead to EU sanctions
- Calls rise for arms embargo, ICC referrals and greater aid access after Israeli military fire in Jenin forces foreign ministers to scatter
- Trade deal with Israel under review amid alarm over Gaza famine warnings, West Bank settler violence, international law violations
LONDON: Watching the widely circulated footage of Israeli soldiers firing “warning shots” in the direction of a delegation of foreign diplomats visiting a refugee camp in the Palestinian city of Jenin on Wednesday, it was hard to resist the conclusion that the Israeli military had lost its collective mind.
Luckily, no one was injured in the incident. But in a manner of speaking, Israel shot itself in the foot.
The extraordinary provocation took place as Israel was already facing a rising wave of condemnation — internally and externally — and the threat of international sanctions for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
International support for Israel, so unified in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militant groups, in which 1,200 Israelis and others were killed and 251 more were taken hostage, has steadily crumbled in the face of outrage after outrage, which collectively have left more than 50,000 Palestinians dead and much of Gaza reduced to uninhabitable rubble.
Last Tuesday, the day before the shooting incident in Jenin, the European Union announced that it was reviewing its political and economic relations with Israel – no hollow threat from a bloc that is Israel’s biggest trading partner.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” Kaja Kallas, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, said on Tuesday.
Earlier that same day, the UN had raised the specter of thousands of babies dying of starvation “in the next 48 hours” if Israel did not allow aid trucks to enter the territory immediately.
Israel, while rejecting the suggestion that mass starvation was imminent, responded by allowing what critics condemned as a wholly insufficient token amount of aid into Gaza.
“The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it’s a drop in the ocean,” said Kallas. “Aid must flow immediately without obstruction and at scale.”
She had, she added, "made these points also with my talks with Israelis … and regional leaders as well. Pressure is necessary to change the situation.”
IN NUMBERS:
• 38% Germans who now view Israel negatively.
• 10% Drop in number of Germans who view Israel positively.
Source: Bertelsmann Foundation study
And pressure is building up. In an unprecedented move, the EU is now reviewing the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the legal basis for its trade relations with Israel, which entered into force in June 2000.
Pressure for this review has been mounting since May 7, when Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp urged the EU to act, saying “the situation in Gaza compels us to take this step.”
Disturbed by the nightmarish scenes in Gaza and reports of increasing settler violence in the West Bank, his government, he said, “will draw a line in the sand.”
Losing European trade would be a massive blow to Israel’s economy. The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner – in 2024 34.2 percent of Israel’s imports came from the EU while 28.8 percent of Israel’s exports went to the EU. The total value of the trade in goods between the two in 2024 was €42.6 billion.
“The review will specifically assess Israel’s adherence to the human rights provisions within the deal,” said Caroline Rose, a director at the New Lines Institute focused on defense, security and geopolitical landscapes.
The clause in the agreement that is now under legal scrutiny is Article 2. This states that “Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.”
Other international measures are under consideration, said Rose, including “imposing a full arms embargo, referring Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as advocated by Pakistan, enforcing a ceasefire and humanitarian aid access, sanctioning Israeli officials, supporting recognition of a Palestinian state, dismantling illegal settlements, reforming the UN Security Council veto system, and coordinating global reconstruction aid.”
Rose cautions that “internal divisions within the bloc could stall progress. While 17 member states support the review, countries such as Germany, Hungary, Austria and Italy reportedly oppose it. Germany and Austria, in particular, have resisted punitive measures despite issuing public condemnations.”
Germany, bearing the moral weight of the Holocaust, has been a staunch supporter of Israel since its creation in 1948. But now, under new conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz, even Berlin is wavering.
Last week, out of concern for the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, Merz despatched his foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, on a fact-finding mission. Wadephul was among the diplomats scattered by the warning shots fired by the Israeli military on Wednesday, as were senior delegates from countries including France, Belgium, the UK, Italy, Canada, Russia and China.
All the countries involved have lodged complaints with Israel about the episode, which the Palestinian Authority condemned as a “heinous crime” a “deliberate and unlawful act” which “constitutes a blatant and grave breach of international law.”
The day after the shooting in Jenin, during a visit to Lithuania the German chancellor said “we are very concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip and also about the intensification of the Israeli army’s military operations there.
“We are urging, above all, that humanitarian aid finally reaches the Gaza Strip without delay, and also reaches the people there, because, as we hear from the United Nations, there is now a real threat of famine.”
On May 13 a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that over the past four years Germans had developed an increasingly negative view of Israel. In 2021 46 percent of Germans had a positive view of the country, compared with only 36 percent today, with 38 percent now viewing it negatively. Germany has seen many mass protests since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, which a majority of Germans oppose.
On May 19, two days before the Israeli military’s live-fire intimidation of international diplomats, the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement condemning the situations in Gaza and the West Bank and strongly opposing the expansion of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
While also calling on Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages, the statement denounced “the level of human suffering in Gaza” as “intolerable.”
The three nations added: “Yesterday’s announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.”
Israel, warned the statement, “risks breaching international humanitarian law,” adding: “We condemn the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.”
Israel had a right to defend Israelis against terrorism, “but this escalation is wholly disproportionate.”
As a result, “We will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
In the West Bank, Israel must also “halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.
“We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions.”
On May 20, as the death toll from Israeli air strikes over the previous week reached 500, the UK summoned Israel’s ambassador to London, paused talks on a new free-trade agreement, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers.
Israel’s operation in Gaza was "incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship,” David Lammy, the UK foreign minister, told parliament.
“It is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
All these moves “clearly reflect growing discomfort with Israeli military actions in Gaza but also in the West Bank,” Sir John Jenkins, who served as British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria and as consul-general in Jerusalem, told Arab News.
“This has been crystallized by the issue of humanitarian aid. The UN has not handled this well itself. But it’s a real political problem for Western governments, with significant domestic implications, which is why the UK has also paused trade talks.”
However, he added, “none of this will affect the Israeli decision-making process in the short term, and Western governments will be very reluctant to do anything that helps Hamas.
“But they will be increasingly keen to see a proper plan for the endgame. The question is: How much does the Trump administration support them? The news last week of the shooting of the two Israeli diplomats in Washington will only complicate this calculation.”
Israel, increasingly isolated, nevertheless remains defiant. “The British Mandate ended exactly 77 years ago,” a spokesperson for its foreign ministry said in response to last week’s criticism from the UK. “External pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction.”
Yet in Europe that external pressure is mounting. So much so that, after 20 years of campaigning virtually in the wilderness for “freedom, justice and equality” for Palestinians, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement finally finds its much-criticised methods on the cusp of becoming mainstream.
Founded in 2005, for two decades the Palestinian-led BDS and those who support it have endured international censure, based on an unquestioning acceptance of Israel’s accusation that the organization’s aims are merely a manifestation of antisemitism.
Now, however, as governments in Europe, shocked by Israel’s latest actions and the seemingly deliberate starvation of two million people in Gaza, begin to adopt stances for which BDS has been calling for 20 years, as it marks its 20th anniversary the organisation and its work is being vindicated.
“For the first time ever, even the world’s most complicit governments are being forced – due to people power and moral outrage – to publicly consider accountability measures against Israel,” the BDS said in a statement.
This was “another clear sign that our collective popular BDS pressure is working. The taboo is broken – sanctions are the way forward to end Israel’s atrocious crimes.”
Nevertheless, the organization continues to be critical of the UK, France and Canada, countries which had spent 19 months “enabling Israel’s genocide with intelligence gathering and other military means.” The statements by the three “are far too late and fall dangerously short of meeting these States’ legal obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention and the Apartheid Convention.”
BDS says it is now stepping up its campaign to “transform tokenism and empty threats into tangible and effective accountability measures, starting with a two-way military embargo and full-scale trade and diplomatic sanctions.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, keenly aware as ever of his dependence upon the support of the right-wing extremists in his cabinet, went on the offensive last week.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he said, were siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers.” Astonishingly, he added, Starmer, Macron and Carney were “on the wrong side of humanity and … the wrong side of history.”
In fact, in the wake of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, all three countries came out in unequivocal support of Israel, and its right to defend itself.
What Netanyahu is refusing to acknowledge is that in the eyes of the world, the events of that day do not give Israel a carte blanche.
His apparent determination to continue the war seemingly in order to keep himself in power, and to support the Zionist extremists in his cabinet who want to see Palestine ethnically cleansed, is facing growing criticism within Israel itself.
One of the staunchest critics is Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister from 2006 to 2009, who recently told the BBC that what Israel was doing in Gaza was “close to a war crime.”
That earned him a rebuke from a current Israeli minister, but on Friday Olmert intensified his criticism. “A group of thugs … are running the state of Israel these days and the head of the gang is Netanyahu,” he told the BBC World Service.
He added: “Of course they are criticizing me, they are defaming me, I accept it, and it will not stop me from criticizing and opposing these atrocious policies.”
Speaking to Arab News, Ahron Bregman, a former Israeli soldier and a senior teaching fellow in King’s College London’s Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, said: “You don’t have to be an expert on international humanitarian law to conclude that what the Israelis are doing in the Gaza Strip is carrying out terrible war crimes.
“European governments can’t ignore this any longer, as their publics are furious, and, at last, they have started to react.”
Ideally, he said, “it would be the UN Security Council that instructs Israel to stop the industrial killing in Gaza and the starving of the Gazans, but the Israelis seem confident that US President Donald Trump will not let such a resolution pass.
“But who knows? Sometimes, in war, there are moments which are turning points, moments that push nations of the world over the edge and make them take action to stop wars.”
Bregman believes only two courses of action “would make the Israeli government rethink and change its criminal behaviour in Gaza.”
The first is that European countries should block trade relations with Israel — a step now being seriously considered in the European Union — and impose sanctions on the state.
But his second suggestion, coming as it does from a man who served in the Israeli army for six years and took part in the 1982 Lebanon War, shows just how far the actions of the current Israeli government have strayed from what mainstream public opinion in the country now regards as acceptable.
“Young Israelis who fought in Gaza should be stopped when trying to cross into Europe,” he said.
“They should be investigated for their actions in Gaza and arrested if there’s any suspicion of war crimes.”
And, he added, “pilots, who caused most of the damage in Gaza, should be sent automatically for trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”
Man with US and German citizenship is charged with trying to attack US Embassy in Tel Aviv
- Israeli officials deported Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday
NEW YORK: A dual US and German citizen has been arrested on charges that he traveled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the branch office of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, officials said Sunday.
Federal prosecutors in New York said the man, Joseph Neumeyer, walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with a backpack containing Molotov cocktails but got into a confrontation with a guard and eventually ran away, dropping his backpack as the guard tried to grab him.
Law enforcement then tracked Neumeyer down to a hotel a few blocks away from the embassy and arrested him, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The attack took place against the backdrop of Israel’s war in Gaza, now in its 19th month.
Neumeyer, 28, who is originally from Colorado and has dual US and German citizenship, had traveled from the US to Canada in early February and then arrived in Israel in late April, according to court records. He had made a series of threatening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said.
Israeli officials deported Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday. His criminal complaint was unsealed Sunday.
Neumeyer’s court-appointed attorney, Jeff Dahlberg, declined to comment.
During his first term, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinian objections and moved the US Embassy from Tel Aviv.
Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza
- The talks in Madrid aim to stop Israel’s “inhumane” and “senseless” war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said
- Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Albares on the sidelines of the meeting
MADRID: The international community should look at sanctions against Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister said, as European and Arab nations gathered in Madrid Sunday to urge an end to its offensive.
Some of Israel’s long-standing allies have added their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
A two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, stoking fears of famine.
Aid organizations say the trickle of supplies Israel has recently allowed to enter falls far short of needs.
The talks in Madrid aim to stop Israel’s “inhumane” and “senseless” war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters before the meeting opened.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, without conditions and without limits, and not controlled by Israel,” he added, describing the Strip as humanity’s “open wound.”
“Silence in these moments is complicity in this massacre... that is why we are meeting,” said Albares.
Representatives from European countries including France, Britain, Germany and Italy joined envoys from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Morocco, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Norway, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia, who like Spain have already recognized a Palestinian state, are also taking part, alongside Brazil.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Albares on the sidelines of the meeting.
During the meeting, they discussed relations between their countries, areas of joint cooperation, and regional and international developments including the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares told reporters Spain would request its “immediate suspension.”
Spain would also urge partners to impose an arms embargo on Israel and “not rule out any” individual sanctions against those “who want to ruin the two-state solution forever,” he added.
Sunday’s meeting will also promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke by video link with Arab counterparts on Sunday and would press “the need for coordinated pressure” for a ceasefire, aid and the release of Hamas-held hostages, his office said.
Barrot will also meet the Palestinian Authority’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, during a trip to Yerevan next week, the French foreign ministry announced on Sunday.
The diplomatic drive comes one month before a UN conference on the Israel-Palestinian conflicted presided over by France and Saudi Arabia.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his country will back draft resolutions at the United Nations aimed at ramping up aid access to Gaza and holding Israel to account over its international humanitarian obligations.
Madrid’s attempt to rally a wider consensus on the war comes a year after it broke with some European allies by recognizing a Palestinian state, infuriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 54,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.
Swiss authorities exploring probe into Gaza aid group
GENEVA: Swiss authorities said on Sunday they were exploring whether to open a legal investigation into the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization that plans to oversee aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave.
The move comes after a Swiss NGO submitted a request for a probe into GHF’s aid plan, which the UN has opposed, saying it is not impartial or neutral and forces further displacement and exposes thousands of people to harm.
The GHF, which has said it hopes to start work in Gaza by the end of May, said it “strictly adheres” to humanitarian principles, and that it would not support any form of forced relocation of civilians.
Israel has allowed limited aid deliveries to resume this week after having stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2.
TRIAL International, a Switzerland-based NGO, on Friday said it had filed two legal submissions asking Swiss authorities to investigate whether the Swiss-registered GHF complies with Swiss law and international humanitarian law.
The submissions were made to the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, or FDFA, on May 20 and 21.
The FDFA on Sunday confirmed that both authorities had received the submissions.
TRIAL International said it asked the Swiss FDFA to explain if the GHF had submitted a declaration, in accordance with Swiss law, to use private security companies to distribute aid, and if Swiss authorities had approved it.
The FDFA said it was investigating whether such a declaration would be required for the foundation.
It said that the Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations cannot review whether foundations comply with their statutes until they start their activities.
The GHF said that though using private security firms represents a change from prior aid delivery frameworks, it would ensure aid is not diverted to Hamas or criminal organizations.
Jordan, Spain pledge closer ties, urge action on Gaza during Madrid talks
- Foreign ministers discuss expanding cooperation across range of sectors, including defense, trade, economy, tourism
MADRID: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held high-level talks in Madrid on Sunday with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares, as both nations reaffirmed their commitment to deepening ties and advancing regional peace efforts.
The two ministers discussed expanding cooperation across a range of sectors, including defense, trade, economy, and tourism, the Jordan News Agency reported.
They also confirmed ongoing efforts to finalize a strategic partnership agreement between Jordan and Spain, with the aim of accelerating its implementation.
Safadi and Albares reiterated mutual support for each other’s candidacies in international organizations and pledged continued coordination within global forums.
They also reviewed preparations for the upcoming Union for the Mediterranean summit, set to take place later this year in Barcelona to mark the 30th anniversary of the union.
Jordan and the EU are scheduled to co-chair the event.
A major focus of the talks was the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The meeting came ahead of a ministerial session of the expanded Madrid Group aimed at pushing forward efforts to implement a two-state solution.
Safadi stressed that halting the violence and delivering immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza must be a global priority.
He warned that the international community’s failure to stop the war had undermined the credibility of international law and endangered the prospects for a just and lasting peace.
Praising Spain’s “principled” positions, Safadi welcomed the Spanish government’s decision to suspend arms sales to Israel and recognize the State of Palestine.
He also lauded Madrid’s efforts to mobilize international support for a ceasefire, its backing of Palestinian statehood, and the hosting of Sunday’s meeting attended by more than 20 nations and a delegation from the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee.
Albares reiterated Spain’s desire to deepen its long-standing partnership with Jordan, and commended the role of King Abdullah II in promoting regional stability and peace. He also extended congratulations to the kingdom on the occasion of its 79th Independence Day.
