Palestine Central Council holds controversial meeting in Ramallah

Palestinians lift placards as they protest the meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Central Committee, in Ramallah, in the Israel-occupied West Bank, on February 6, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 06 February 2022
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Palestine Central Council holds controversial meeting in Ramallah

  • Key positions for Hussein Al-Sheikh, Rawhi Fattouh likely as concerns remain over ‘divisions’
  • PFLP official: Palestinian Authority ‘still active in Oslo orbit in violation of previous decisions’

AMMAN: The Palestine Central Council began a two-day meeting in Ramallah on Sunday night with the aim of filling a number of positions vacated due to age and resignations.

Suheil Khoury, member of the central committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Arab News that the council was not fulfilling the goal of being a unifying body.

“In our previous meetings in Beirut and the meeting of secretaries-general, we made a commitment that the Palestine National Council should be held in order to represent unity not division,” said Khoury.

“They have moved all issues from the Palestine National Council to the Palestine Central Council and the Palestinian Authority is still active in the Oslo orbit in violation of previous central council decisions.

“They are ignoring the calls of the people and are not making any movement toward the aspirations of Palestinians,” he added.

Khoury told Arab News that senior Palestinian officials offered the PFLP leadership a reinstatement of regular funding and the continuation of the positions of the deputy speaker of the PNC to one of their representatives.

“We refused … to make personal gains on the account of our people,” said Khoury.

Hilmi Al-Araj, a leader in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine — whose faction agreed to attend after a bitter internal fight — told Arab News he hopes the council will take serious decisions that will help unify Palestinians.

“We want to have general elections in 2022 and a genuine effort at ending the division,” Araj said “We need to reaffirm previous decisions and withdraw Palestinian recognition of the occupiers.”

Asked why have previous decisions to end coordination have not been carried out, he replied: “It takes a struggle to implement those decisions.”

Al-Araj said that the DFLP plans to nominate Ali Faisal, one of its politburo members, to the position of deputy PNC speaker.

Jibril Rajoub, secretary of Fatah, told Arab News that the late Saeb Erekat would be replaced by Hussein Al-Sheikh.

Fatah also plans to nominate Gaza-born Rawhi Fattouh to succeed fellow Gazan, and current speaker of the PNC, Salim Zanoun.

Another key position to be filled will be that of Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi.

A source in Ramallah told Arab News that Ramzi Khoury, head of the Palestine National Fund, might be nominated to replace Ashrawi, who also published a statement saying that she will not attend.

Dr. Faiha Abdel Hadi, a member of the PCC as part of the quota for independent Palestinian writers and intellectuals, told Arab News that she had apologized for not attending because of the failure of the implementation of decisions taken since 2015.

“After the last session in which I and others were not allowed to express ourselves in the meeting, I published an article in which I asked the question of why previous decisions were not implemented,” she said.

Abdel Hadi argued that if members were not convinced of those decisions, they should not have taken them, adding that she was concerned that the meeting would make unity more difficult.

“This council is being held at a time of controversy and this makes the session difficult. As an independent member we want to be part of unity, not part of a session that is increasing divisions.”

Former Fatah central committee member Naser Qidwa, now the head of the National Democratic Forum, argued that the controversial meeting would make things worse, adding: “They are insisting on holding an illegitimate meeting that will blow up the efforts of unity.”


Turkiye calls on EU to lift Syria sanctions ahead of international conference

Updated 7 sec ago
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Turkiye calls on EU to lift Syria sanctions ahead of international conference

  • The EU will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria on Monday
  • For the first time, representatives of Syria’s new interim government have been invited to attend

ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Sunday called on the European Union to unconditionally lift sanctions on the Syrian Arab Republic, ahead of an international aid conference in Brussels to which the war-torn country’s new authorities have been invited.
Ankara, allied with Syria’s new rulers who ousted president Bashar Assad and took power in December, views such a step as necessary for a “peaceful transition” in the country, Turkiye’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The European Union on Monday will host the ninth international conference in support of Syria. For the first time, representatives of Syria’s government — the new interim authorities — have been invited to attend.
The event aims to raise international support for Syria’s transition and recovery after more than 13 years of civil war.
The European bloc on February 24 already announced an easing of sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport and banking sectors to relieve some of the challenges facing Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president.
But Europe and other powers remain wary over what direction Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) — which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8 — may take Syria.
While there are hopes Sharaa’s authorities can stabilize the country and usher in an inclusive future, recent deadly violence targeting the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs has kept doubts floating.
EU foreign ministers have warned that the sanctions they eased could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move toward democracy.
“Syria’s economic security is essential for the country’s stability and security,” Turkiye’s ministry said, adding that “economic opportunities and jobs need to be created.”
“The sanctions must be lifted unconditionally and for an indeterminate period,” it said.
Turkiye, which hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees, also urged reconstruction of Syria “to encourage returns.”
Turkish deputy foreign minister Nuh Yilmaz will attend the Brussels conference.


Iraq says seized one ton of captagon from Syria via Turkiye

Updated 39 min 7 sec ago
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Iraq says seized one ton of captagon from Syria via Turkiye

BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces seized more than a ton of captagon tablets smuggled from Syria via Turkiye, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Ministry spokesman Moqdad Miri said the Narcotics Directorate “seized a truck from Syria, bound for Iraq, via Turkiye, transporting 1.1 tons” of the powerful synthetic stimulant.


Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south

Updated 16 March 2025
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Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south

  • The strike targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am

Beirut: An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed one person, the health ministry said, the latest attack more than three months into a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The strike, which also wounded one person, targeted a four-wheel-drive vehicle near Yater in Bint Jbeil district at around 2:00 am, the official National News Agency reported.
“The Israeli enemy’s air strike on a vehicle in the town of Yater resulted in the martyrdom of a citizen and the injury of another,” the ministry said in a statement carried by NNA.
It comes a day after the ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern border town of Burj Al-Muluk.
Following that raid, the Israeli military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.”
And on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it carried out a strike in southern Lebanon that killed a senior Hezbollah militant.
That came as Lebanon received four detainees who had been taken to Israel during fighting with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with a fifth detainee, a soldier, released on Thursday after he was taken earlier this month.
A November 27 truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war in which Israel sent in ground troops.
Israel has continued to carry out periodic strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.
Israel had been due to withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems “strategic.”
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.


Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 24 killed

Updated 16 March 2025
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Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 24 killed

  • US president warns Iran, Houthis’ main backer, against supporting armed group 
  • Development takes place as Washington ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran

WASHINGTON/ADEN: US President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group’s attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 24 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.

Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”

The unfolding strikes — which one US official told Reuters might continue for weeks — represent the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January. It came as the United States ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran while trying to bring it to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.

“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

At least 13 civilians were killed and nine injured in US strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.

At least 11 others, including four children and one woman, were killed and 14 were injured in a US strike on the northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported.

The Houthis’ political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime.”

“Our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation,” it said in a statement.

Residents in Sanaa said the strikes hit a building in a Houthi stronghold.

“The explosions were violent and shook the neighborhood like an earthquake. They terrified our women and children,” one of the residents, who gave his name as Abdullah Yahia, told Reuters.

Another strike on a power station in the town of Dahyan in Saada led to a power cut, Al-Masirah TV reported early on Sunday. Dahyan is where Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, the enigmatic leader of the Houthis, often meets his visitors.

The Houthis, an armed movement that took control of most of Yemen over the past decade, have launched scores of attacks on ships off its coast since November 2023, disrupting global commerce and setting the US military on a costly campaign to intercept missiles and drones that have burned through stocks of US air defenses.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the Houthis have attacked US warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023. The Houthis say the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas militants.

Iran’s other allies, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been severely weakened by Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict. Syria’s Bashar Assad, who was closely aligned with Tehran, was overthrown by rebels in December.

But throughout, Yemen’s Houthis have remained resilient and often on the offensive, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

The US administration of then-President Joe Biden had sought to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack vessels off its coast but limited the US actions.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Trump has authorized a more aggressive approach.

Strikes across Yemen

The strikes on Saturday were carried out in part by fighter aircraft from the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which is in the Red Sea, officials said.

The US military’s Central Command, which oversees troops in the Middle East, described Saturday’s strikes as the start of a large-scale operation across Yemen.

“Houthi attacks on American ships & aircraft (and our troops!) will not be tolerated; and Iran, their benefactor, is on notice,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Freedom of Navigation will be restored.”

Trump held out the prospect of far more devastating military action against Yemen.

“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective,” Trump wrote.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the US government had “no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy.”

“End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism. Stop killing of Yemeni people,” he said in an X post on early Sunday.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday, the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden, ending a period of relative calm starting in January with the Gaza ceasefire.

The US attacks came just days after a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from Trump was delivered, seeking talks over Iran’s nuclear program.

Khamenei on Wednesday rejected holding negotiations with the United States.

Still, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials told Reuters.

Last year, Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, in retaliation for Iranian missile and drone attacks, reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, according to US officials.

Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is dramatically accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level, the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has warned.

Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

In an apparent sign of US efforts to improve ties with Russia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to inform him about the US strikes in Yemen, the State Department said.

Russia has relied on Iranian-provided weaponry in its war in Ukraine, including missiles and drones, US and Ukrainian officials say.


White House withdraws nomination for hostage envoy Adam Boehle

Adam Boehler, U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs. (REUTERS file photo)
Updated 16 March 2025
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White House withdraws nomination for hostage envoy Adam Boehle

  • A White House official said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company

WASHINGTON: The administration of President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called “special government employee,” a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
“Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“Adam played a critical role in negotiating Marc Fogel’s return from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals worldwide home.”
A White House official said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company.
The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with Hamas.
“He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump,” said the official.
“This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives,” Boehler said in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza.
The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders.
According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.
Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded with an offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Boehler was given permission from the Trump administration to engage directly with Hamas, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week, calling the talks a “one-off situation” that had not borne fruit.
Boehler has been credited with helping secure the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, who Russia freed in February after three and a half years in prison.