RAMALLAH: Palestinians have strengthened ties with the EU following a visit by Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh to Brussels this week, a top official has revealed.
Shtayyeh called on the EU for political support to preserve the two-state solution, boycott goods made in Israeli settlements and reconsider cooperation agreements with Israel.
The EU will grant the Palestinian Authority $325 million in aid, including support for the UN Relief and Works Agency, social assistance for low-income families and infrastructure projects.
Abdul Rahim Al-Farra, Palestinian ambassador to the EU, said that final touches had been made to an aid agreement, which will be signed next week in Ramallah.
Al-Farra said that consultations and political dialogue had begun at the ministerial level, adding that steps had been taken to “conclude a full partnership agreement between the two sides.”
EU officials have condemned the violations taking place in Palestine, rejected the punitive measures imposed on the PA by Israel and called for a more effective role that goes beyond statements, Al-Farra said.
Ahmad Al-Deek, a political adviser at the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, told Arab News that Palestinians are calling on the EU to strengthen political and economic support for Palestine and become a key player in launching a peace process to end the Israeli occupation.
Negotiations are taking place with the EU to obtain additional European support for the PA’s budget, Al-Deek said.
Shadi Othman, a spokesman for the EU in Jerusalem, told Arab News that the bloc will support UNRWA with $100 million and that an agreement to support Palestinian projects will be signed in Ramallah next week.
A high-ranking Palestinian official told Arab News that the EU was the only party to financially support the PA after American and Arab support stopped.
The PA used to receive annual financial support of $2 billion from the US, Arab countries and the EU. Now it only receives $250 million from the EU and Algeria.
In a separate development, Palestinians have expressed anger after the three Palestinian landline and cellular phone companies have said they will be charging their 5 million subscribers amounts in the name of donations to Jerusalem for 12 months, following a presidential decree.
The PA is aiming to collect $18 million this way.
Hundreds of Palestinian subscribers have threatened to cut their phone lines if the decision is implemented.
Esmat Mansour, a Palestinian political analyst, told Arab News that this anger is owing to previous experiences with the PA collecting donations that did not reach their target.
“Citizens feel that this is an attempt to exploit them and steal their money using fraudulent methods,” Mansour said.
The mechanism, she added, is “undemocratic, illegal, and needs more transparency.”
Amer Hamdan, a Palestinian human rights activist from Nablus, told Arab News this decree issued by the president is illegal, and that Mahmoud Abbas “has no right to issue such decrees and deduct funds unilaterally.”
He said: “The Palestinian government is suffering from a severe financial crisis and wants to solve this through the citizens’ pockets.”
Majed Al-Arouri, a human rights activist from Ramallah, told Arab News: “The PA has turned into an authority to collect money to cover its expenses without improving the services it provides to citizens.”
Protesters said it would be more appropriate for the PA to impose these sums on large companies operating in the Palestinian territories that enjoy tax exemptions and earn huge profits from the Palestinian market.
Ahmed Guneim, a senior Fatah leader from East Jerusalem, said that people did not believe the money would eventually reach Jerusalem.
Palestinians upbeat after ties with EU revived
https://arab.news/6vqxn
Palestinians upbeat after ties with EU revived
- EU officials have condemned the violations taking place in Palestine, rejected the punitive measures imposed on the PA by Israel
- Negotiations are taking place with the EU to obtain additional European support for the PA’s budget
Israeli military says it is hitting Hezbollah targets in Beirut on a large scale
At least ten simultaneous Israeli strikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday, as a spokesman for the Israeli military said the air force was carrying out “a widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets there.
The strikes, filmed by Reuters journalists, were the largest simultaneous attack across Beirut’s southern suburbs so far, and came after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, its largest such warning yet.
Germany says Lebanon ceasefire ‘within reach’
FIUGGI, Italy: Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that an agreement on a proposed ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon was “within reach.”
“A ceasefire and steps toward a political solution along the lines of UN Resolution 1701 are within reach thanks to direct US and French mediation,” Baerbock told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.
Prospect of Lebanon ceasefire leaves Gazans feeling abandoned
CAIRO: The prospect of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah without a similar deal with Hamas in Gaza has left Palestinians feeling abandoned and fearful that Israel will focus squarely on its onslaught in the enclave.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing missiles at Israel in solidarity with Hamas after the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel in October of 2023, triggering the Gaza war.
Hostilities in Lebanon have drastically escalated in the last two months, with Israel stepping up airstrikes and sending in ground forces to Lebanon’s south and Hezbollah sustaining rocket fire on Israel.
Now Israel looks set to approve a US plan for a ceasefire with Hezbollah when its security cabinet meets on Tuesday, while Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib expressed hope that a ceasefire would be reached by Tuesday night.
While diplomacy focuses on Lebanon, Palestinians feel let down by the world after 14 months of conflict which has devastated the Gaza Strip and killed more than 44,000 people. “It showed Gaza is an orphan, with no support and no mercy from the unjust world,” said Abdel-Ghani, a father of five who only gave a first name.
“I am angry against the world that has failed to bring one solution to the two regions,” Abdel-Ghani. “Maybe, there will be another deal for Gaza, maybe.”
An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire without a deal for Gaza would be a blow to Hamas, whose leaders had hoped the expansion of the war into Lebanon would pressure Israel to reach a comprehensive ceasefire. Hezbollah had insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
“We had high hopes that Hezbollah would remain steadfast until the end but it seems they couldn’t,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman, who like most Gazans has been displaced from his home. “We are afraid the Israeli army will now have a free hand in Gaza.”
While a Lebanon deal could leave some Hezbollah commanders in place after Israel killed the heavily armed group’s veteran leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his successor, Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas completely.
“We hoped the expansion of the war meant one solution for all, but we were left alone in the face of the monstrous (Israeli) occupation,” said Zakeya Rezik, 56, a mother of six.
“Enough is enough, we are exhausted. How many more had to die before they stopped the war? Gaza war must stop, the people are being wiped out, starved, and bombed every day.”
Three bodies recovered from capsized tourist boat off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, 13 missing
CAIRO: Three bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning from a tourist boat which capsized off Egypt’s Red Sea coast, and rescue teams were still searching for 13 missing people, the Red Sea provincial governor, Amr Hanafi, told Reuters.
The boat, the Sea Story, capsized on Monday near the Sataya Reef, carrying 31 tourists and 13 crew on a multi-day diving trip. It was struck by high waves and sank in 5-7 minutes.
Sixteen passengers were believed to have been trapped inside, according to a Red Sea Governorate statement on Monday.
Twenty-eight survivors were rescued with minor injuries, none requiring hospitalization. Survivors were being accommodated in a hotel in Marsa Alam, where authorities were working with embassies and consulates to provide assistance and documentation.
Hanafi said the boat had passed its last safety inspection in March 2024, with no technical issues reported. The boat, owned by an Egyptian national, was 34 meters long and had received a one-year safety certificate from the Maritime Safety Authority.
The incident occurred during rough weather conditions. The Egyptian Red Sea Ports Authority reported wave heights of 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) and wind speeds of 34 knots in the area on Sunday, leading to the closure of maritime traffic.
It was the second boat to sink in the area this year; in June another vessel suffered severe damage from strong waves, though no casualties were reported.
The Red Sea, renowned for its coral reefs and marine life, is a major hub for Egypt’s tourism industry, which plays a critical role in the country’s economy.
Israel expected to approve ceasefire with Hezbollah: Israeli official
- EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that Israel has no reason to refuse a ceasefire with Lebanon along the lines proposed by France and the United States
- UN demands ‘permanent ceasefire’ in Lebanon, Gaza, Israel
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: Israel looks set to approve a US plan for a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official said, clearing the way for an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war 14 months ago.
Israel’s security cabinet is expected to convene later on Tuesday to discuss and likely approve the text at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official said.
EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that Israel has no reason to refuse a ceasefire with Lebanon along the lines proposed by France and the United States.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire... No more excuses. No more additional requests. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people,” Borrell said at a G7 foreign ministers meeting near Rome.
Lebanon's foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said he hoped a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah would be agreed later on Tuesday.
He said the Lebanese army would be ready to have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdraw, and that the United States could play a role in rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by Israeli strikes.
As truce talks intensified, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people on Monday, mostly in the south.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the security cabinet “will decide on Tuesday evening on the ceasefire deal.”
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the talks were progressing but not finalized.
“We believe we’ve reached this point where we’re close,” he said, adding “we’re not there yet.”
Meanwhile the UN rights chief is gravely concerned over the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and wants a “permanent ceasefire” there and in war-ravaged Gaza, his spokesman said Tuesday.
“The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is a permanent and immediate ceasefire on all fronts: in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza,” Jeremy Laurence, a spokesman for Volker Turk, told reporters in Geneva.
While Israel presses its offensive on Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza, the United States and France have led efforts to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah on a second front.
France reported “significant progress” in ceasefire talks, and Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group of nations, expressed “optimism” over a truce in Lebanon.
US news outlet Axios reported the draft agreement includes a 60-day transition period.
Israeli forces would withdraw, the Lebanese army would redeploy near the border, and Hezbollah would move heavy weapons north of the Litani River, said Axios.
A US-led committee would oversee implementation, with provisions allowing Israel to act against imminent threats if Lebanese forces fail to intervene, it added.
News of the security cabinet meeting came as the Israeli military said it carried out a wave of strikes on Monday, including on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has repeatedly bombed since late September when it escalated its air campaign in Lebanon.
The latest strikes hit around two dozen Hezbollah targets across Lebanon in one hour, the military said. A statement said “command centers, and intelligence control and collection centers, where Hezbollah commanders and operatives were located,” were targeted.
The strikes followed intense Hezbollah fire over the weekend, including some attacks deep into Israel.
Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was likely to endorse the US ceasefire proposal.
Asked in New York about the possible truce agreement, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said “we are moving forward on this front,” adding the cabinet would meet to discuss it.
The war in Lebanon followed nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah. The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Lebanon says at least 3,768 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them in the past few weeks.
On the Israeli side, the Lebanon hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
The initial exchanges of fire forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes, and Israeli officials have said they are fighting so the residents can return safely.
Some northern residents expressed fears as to whether that was possible under a ceasefire.
“In my opinion, it would be a serious mistake to sign an agreement as long as Hezbollah has not been completely eliminated,” said Maryam Younnes, 29, a student from Maalot-Tarshiha.
“It would be a mistake to sign an agreement as long as Hezbollah still has weapons.”
Dorit Sison, a 51-year-old teacher displaced from Shlomi, said: “I don’t want a ceasefire, because if they do it along the lines that they’ve announced, we’ll be in the same place in five years.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir warned on X that reaching a Lebanon ceasefire deal would be a “historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
Ben Gvir has repeatedly threatened to bring down the government if it agrees to a truce deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Efforts this year by mediators to secure a truce and hostage-release deal in the Gaza war have failed.
Qatar early this month said it was suspending its mediation role until the warring sides showed “seriousness.”
With an intensive Israeli military operation in besieged north Gaza continuing, remaining residents were left “scavenging among the rubble” for food, said Louise Wateridge, spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Such scavenging puts Gazans at risk of encountering unexploded and unused ordnance that can be found in many populated areas of the territory, the Danish Refugee Council said.
