UNITED NATIONS: The United States accused the Syrian government Thursday of stalling political negotiations and called for a new route to UN-monitored elections and a nationwide cease-fire that would end the country’s eight-year conflict.
Acting US Ambassador Jonathan Cohen called for Russia and Syria to de-escalate military operations in the last rebel-held strongholds in Idlib and northern Hama and warned that the United States will keep ratcheting up pressure if this doesn’t happen.
He told the Security Council it must acknowledge the failure of efforts to advance the political process by the so-called Astana group, comprised of Syrian government allies Russia and Iran and Syrian opposition supporter Turkey.
And after 17 months of negotiations to form a committee to draft a new Syrian constitution, Cohen said, “it is time to admit that not only has progress stalled, it is likely to remain out of reach for some time — because that’s where the regime wants it to be.”
Agreement on a new constitution has been seen as a key step toward implementing a 2012 roadmap for peace that includes a cease-fire and ends in UN-supervised elections. Endorsed by the Security Council, it was approved by representatives of the UN, Arab League, European Union, Turkey and all five veto-wielding council members: the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.
Cohen said it is time for UN special envoy Geir Pedersen, who has been trying to get the government and opposition to agree on a constitutional committee, to try other routes to a political settlement by focusing on preparations for elections and a cease-fire.
He said the US believes the reinvigoration of the political process should start with a cease-fire in Idlib and northern Hama. Cohen said Russia and close ally Syrian President Bashar Assad “must immediately cease military operations” and return to the lines of a 2018 cease-fire agreement. “Turkey should be entrusted to remove terrorist forces from the region” consistent with the agreement, he said.
The United States recognizes “there is no path forward without the cooperation of Russia and the Assad regime,” Cohen added.
But he warned that until Syria and Russia take “concrete steps” to de-escalate the violence in Idlib, “the United States will continue to apply diplomatic and economic pressure through all available means to isolate the regime and its allies.” He said Washington also will “ratchet up our pressure on the regime and its supporters if political progress on humanitarian and political tracks continues to stall.”
Deputy Russian Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council that “the Astana guarantors are determined to fully implement the agreements on stabilization in Idlib” and said that “Russia is working energetically to make progress on the political front” in Syria.
But, Safronkov said, “demanding and calling on us to do nothing” in the face of “continuing provocative attacks” on the Syrian military, civilians and Russian air bases by extremists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham “is extremely dishonest.”
“Instead of demanding that we implement what we agreed on and signed, it would be better if everybody else got involved in the fight against terrorism,” he said. “That would be a real contribution to achieving the Syrian settlement.”
Pedersen, the UN envoy, told the council by video from Geneva that the only solution for Idlib is to stop fighting and have the key parties agree on a cooperative approach to countering “terrorism” that protects civilians. He reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ appeal to Russia and Turkey to quickly stabilize the situation.
Safronkov said Russia is hopeful of “a breakthrough” soon in forming the constitutional drafting committee, and Pedersen said he will be testing a formula he believes has the support of all parties in the near future.
But French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the Assad government “is refusing every compromise.” If the Syrian regime maintains its opposition, the council will have “to consider other ways to make progress,” he said.
Britain’s ambassador, Karen Pierce, went further, saying that if progress can’t be made, she agreed with the United States that Pedersen should “try other routes to achieving the political solution.”
While the Security Council is focused on the constitutional committee, she said, the bigger prize “includes preparing for nationwide elections observed by the UN, securing the release of detainees and establishing the nationwide cease-fire.”
US says Syria is stalling peace, urges new way to elections
US says Syria is stalling peace, urges new way to elections
- US envoy says Syria and Russia have to take “concrete steps” to de-escalate the violence in Idlib
- Russian envoy says they cannot just "do nothing” in the face of “continuing provocative attacks” by extremists
Algeria slams French ‘interference’ over jailing of writer
- The Algerian foreign ministry said Macron “unduly and falsely” presented Sansal’s detention “as a matter of freedom of expression, which it isn’t in the eyes of the law of a sovereign and independent state”
ALGIERS: Algeria accused France on Tuesday of “unacceptable and blatant interference” after President Emmanuel Macron said Algiers was “dishonoring itself” by keeping French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal behind bars on national security charges.
Sansal, a literary figure who has been critical of the Algerian authorities, was arrested at Algiers airport in November and has been kept in custody despite calls from Paris for his release.
In its response, the Algerian foreign ministry said Macron’s comments “can only be rejected and condemned for they are blatant and unacceptable interference in an internal Algerian affair.”
Sansal’s arrest came amid growing tensions between France and Algeria over a range of issues.
“Algeria, which we love so much and with which we share so many children and so many stories, is dishonoring itself by preventing a seriously ill man from receiving treatment,” Macron said in a speech on Monday.
He described the 75-year-old, who acquired French citizenship last year, as a “freedom fighter.”
The Algerian foreign ministry said Macron “unduly and falsely” presented Sansal’s detention “as a matter of freedom of expression, which it isn’t in the eyes of the law of a sovereign and independent state.”
“It essentially stems from challenging the territorial integrity of the country, an offense punishable by Algerian law,” it added.
According to Paris newspaper Le Monde, Sansal’s arrest was linked to statements to a far-right French media outlet in which he repeated Morocco’s claim that its territory was truncated in favor of Algeria under French colonial rule.
In a speech in late December, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called him an “imposter” sent by France to make such claims.
Sansal is known for his strong stances against both authoritarianism and Islamism, as well as being a forthright campaigner on freedom of expression issues.
In 2015, he won the Grand Prix du Roman of the French Academy for his book “2084: The End of the World,” a dystopian novel set in an Islamist totalitarian world in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.
Algeria had already withdrawn its ambassador over the summer after the French government supported a Moroccan offer of autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara in place of the self-determination referendum stipulated by a 1991 UN Security Council resolution.
Orthodox Christians mark a somber Christmas in Gaza
- In the courtyard of the church, which was partially destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023, the destruction that has devastated much of Gaza is clear in the surrounding bombed-out buildings
GAZA CITY: Orthodox Christians marked a somber Christmas on Tuesday in the war-torn Gaza Strip, with worshippers saying there would be no gifts for children and no joy during this year’s holiday.
In the richly decorated Church of Saint Porphyrius in the heart of Gaza City, as fighting raged across the Palestinian territory, around a dozen members of the Orthodox Christian community gathered for the annual morning service.
Sitting in the wooden pews, older men and women joined Archbishop Alexios of Tiberias in lighting candles and praying for friends and family and for an end to the now 15-month-old war.
Around 1,100 Christians from various denominations remain in Gaza amid the fighting, sparked by militant Palestinian group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“Holidays are limited to prayers only, with no gifts for children, no joy or any signs of joy for children on this holiday,” Ramez Al-Suri told AFP.
“We hope and ask all countries to help bring a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
“We have been at war for 15 months and we in the Christian community always ask for peace and all our prayers are for love and peace for all and for the war to end as soon as possible,”
he said.
In the courtyard of the church, which was partially destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023, the destruction that has devastated much of Gaza is
clear in the surrounding bombed-out buildings.
Standing outside the church, Fuad Ayyad said “we wake up every minute to bombing, massacres, genocide or the martyrdom of a citizen.”
In the 2023 strike that hit the church, 18 Palestinian Christians were killed, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
“Today we welcome the holiday with joy, but a diminished joy as Christians,” Ayyad said, adding, “sadness remains present and dominant within the Western and Eastern churches and within the Palestinian community whether Muslim or Christian.”
On Dec. 25, when the Catholic and other churches celebrated Christmas, Pope Francis called in his annual address for “arms to be silenced” around the world and appealed for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
He also denounced the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli data.
Since then, Israel’s military offensive has killed 45,885 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Gaza officials say children killed as Israel hits Khan Yunis
- Four children were killed when a drone strike hit their tent in the Al-Mawasi area
- Two people were killed when a strike hit a car in Khan Yunis
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: Gaza health officials said a wave of Israeli strikes hit the territory’s southern district of Khan Yunis on Tuesday evening, killing a dozen people, seven of them children.
At least five strikes targeted parts of Khan Yunis, including one in the Al-Mawasi area where thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in tents along the coast.
Four children were killed when a drone strike hit their tent in the Al-Mawasi area, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry reported.
A witness told AFP that several tents caught fire from the strike, which also wounded more than 20 people.
Five people, including three children, were killed and several wounded in a strike on a house in Khan Yunis, Gaza’s civil defense agency said.
Two people were killed when a strike hit a car in Khan Yunis, while another two were killed when an apartment was hit.
There was no immediate comment from the military about the latest strikes.
They came as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States brokered negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha on a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages.
In recent months, the Israeli military has focused its offensive on northern districts of Gaza, particularly the town of Jabalia and its adjacent refugee camp.
“We won’t stop. We will bring them (Hamas) to the point where they understand that they must return all hostages,” Israel’s army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told troops during a visit to Jabalia late on Monday.
“They see, every single day, what you are doing to them, and they understand that this is becoming unbearable,” he said, according to a statement released by the military.
During their October 7, 2023 attack, which sparked the war, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, of whom 96 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of those are dead.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 45,885 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Harris will travel to Asia, Mideast and Europe during her final week in office
- Harris plans to visit Changi Naval Base in Singapore and meet with leaders of the city-state
- The next stop is Bahrain, where Harris will visit the headquarters of the US 5th Fleet
WASHINGTON: Vice President Kamala Harris plans to close out her term with an around-the-world trip making stops in Singapore, Bahrain and Germany, her office said.
The trip, which is scheduled to last from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17, will be a final opportunity for Harris to address US foreign policy challenges before Donald Trump takes office. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is expected to join the vice president.
Although she has not disclosed her next steps after losing the presidential election, the expansive travel suggests that Harris might want to continue playing a role on the global stage. There’s also speculation that Harris could run for governor of her home state of California.
Dean Lieberman, Harris’ deputy national security adviser, said in a written statement that “the vice president felt it important to spend some of her final days in office thanking and engaging directly with US servicemembers deployed overseas, which as she has said, has been one of her greatest privileges as vice president.”
There are US troops based at all three of Harris’ stops.
Harris plans to visit Changi Naval Base in Singapore and meet with leaders of the city-state. Singapore’s location in the Indo-Pacific region makes it a key partner for addressing issues involving China, including freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
The next stop is Bahrain, where Harris will visit the headquarters of the US 5th Fleet. The fleet has been engaged in efforts to protect Israel from Iranian attacks and regional shipping activity from the Houthis in Yemen.
Harris’ final stop will be Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, home to a deployment of US Air Force fighter jets. She plans to talk about the importance of NATO in deterring Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Harris has previously visited Germany and Singapore. Bahrain will be the 22nd country she’s visited during her term.
“The vice president continues to believe in a strong US global leadership role because it benefits the security and prosperity of the American people, and she will reaffirm this throughout her trip,” Lieberman said.
Israeli forces kill 31 Palestinians in Gaza onslaught, 3 in West Bank
- Qatar confirms ‘technical meetings’ on ceasefire ongoing
CAIRO, DOHA: The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that 31 people were killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 45,885 as the war entered its 16th month.
The ministry also said that at least 109,196 people had been wounded in the war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian group’s Oct, 7, 2023 attack.
Separately, Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in stepped-up operations across the occupied West Bank following the killing of three Israelis near a Jewish settlement. The Palestinian Health Ministry said an 18-year-old was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Tamun, a town northeast of Nablus city, while a 40-year-old was shot dead in the nearby village of Taluza.
FASTFACT
Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,885 Palestinians and wounded 109,196 since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Israeli military said that after a clash with militants in the Tamun area, its war planes struck and killed two fighters. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported a second Palestinian killed in a strike in Tamun.
The Israeli military said a third militant was killed in a firefight in Taluza and several were arrested in various incidents. Hamas’s armed Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed the man killed in Taluza was one of its fighters.
WAFA meanwhile reported revenge attacks by Jewish settlers, who it said had set fire to a vehicle overnight and attacked a Palestinian village.
It said the Israeli military was setting up more checkpoints and road closures, and conducting increased incursions and raids.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities renewed a closure order for Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office in the West Bank.
Israeli soldiers posted the extension order on the entrance of the building housing Al Jazeera’s offices in central Ramallah.
The extension applies from Dec. 22 and lasts 45 days. In September, Israeli forces raided the Ramallah office and issued an initial 45-day closure order.
Talks aimed at cementing a truce in Gaza are ongoing, with “technical meetings” taking place between the parties, mediator Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The technical meetings are still happening between both sides,” ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said, referring to meetings with lower-level officials on the details of an agreement. “There are no principal meetings taking place at the moment.”
Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of talks between Israel and Hamas that have failed to end the devastating conflict in Gaza.
Ansari said there were “a lot of issues that are being discussed” in the ongoing meetings, but refused to go into details “to protect the integrity of the negotiations.”
Hamas said at the end of last week that indirect negotiations in Doha had resumed, while Israel said it had authorized negotiators to continue the talks in the Qatari capital.
A previous round of mediation in December ended with both sides blaming the other for the impasse.
