GAZA: Hamas on Sunday called on US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to implement a ceasefire plan for Gaza put forward by US President Joe Biden, instead of holding “more negotiations.”
Hamas “demands that the mediators present a plan to implement what they proposed to the movement... based on Biden’s vision and the UN Security Council resolution, and compel the occupation (Israel) to comply, rather than going through more negotiation rounds or new proposals,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
Mediators have invited both Israel and Hamas for a round of negotiations on Thursday.
Last week, shortly after the killing of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Israel agreed to a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks to facilitate the release of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory.
Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing of Haniyeh.
Several rounds of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have failed until now, except for a one-week truce that was observed at the end of November.
That truce saw the release of scores of hostages in exchange of dozens of Palestinians prisoners who were held in Israeli jails.
On May 31, Biden unveiled what he said was a three-stage plan for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The first phase of the plan includes a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from “all populated areas of Gaza.”
Hamas would release “a number” of hostages captured in the October 7 attacks, including women, the elderly and the wounded. The remains of some hostages who had been killed would also be returned.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange.
Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their “homes and neighborhoods” throughout Gaza, including in the north, which has been devastated by months of Israeli bombing.
During the initial six-week period, Israel and Hamas would “negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostilities.”
The ceasefire would also be extended if the negotiations continue, with mediators working to ensure they continue, Biden said at the time.
In phase two, also lasting around another six weeks, Israeli forces would completely withdraw from Gaza.
Hamas would release “all remaining living hostages” including male Israeli soldiers. This has been a key sticking point for Hamas in the past.
If both sides keep to the deal it will lead to the “cessation of hostilities permanently,” Biden said, quoting what he said had been an Israeli proposal.
In the third and final stage, a major reconstruction and stabilization plan for Gaza would begin, backed by the US and the international community.
The October 7 Hamas attacks resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,790 people, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.
Hamas tells Gaza mediators to implement Biden truce plan instead of ‘more negotiations’
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Hamas tells Gaza mediators to implement Biden truce plan instead of ‘more negotiations’
- Mediators have invited both Israel and Hamas for a round of negotiations on Thursday
- Several rounds of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have failed until now
Syrian president, Lebanese PM discuss border demarcation weeks after ceasefire
- Lebanese and Syrian leaders agreed to cooperate in the economic field and agreed on creating a ministerial committee to follow up with issues of common interest
CAIRO: Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed land and sea border demarcation and security coordination on Monday, weeks after the two countries agreed on a ceasefire that ended cross-border clashes.
“This visit will open a new page in the course of relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and restoration of trust and good neighborliness,” Salam said in a statement released by his office.
The mountainous frontier has been a flashpoint in the months since militants toppled Syria’s Bashar Assad, an ally of Tehran and Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and installed their own institutions and army.
The latest round of clashes was in March when Syrian troops exchanged fire with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups in northeast Lebanon. Syria accused Hezbollah of crossing into Syrian territory and kidnapping and killing three members of Syria’s army.
Hezbollah, however, denied any involvement. A Lebanese security source told Reuters the three Syrian soldiers had crossed into Lebanon first and were killed by armed members of a tribe who feared their town was under attack.
The two countries’ delegations also discussed the fate of missing and detained Lebanese people in Syria, an issue that came under the spotlight after the toppling of Assad, which led to the opening of prisons and the discovery of collective graves in Syria.
Lebanon says more than 700 Lebanese were detained in Syrian prisons due to the Syrian influence in Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990.
For much of the Assad family’s five decades in power, Syria held significant influence over Lebanon, maintaining a military presence there for 29 years until 2005 despite widespread opposition from many Lebanese.
The Lebanese and Syrian leaders also agreed to cooperate in the economic field and agreed on creating a ministerial committee to follow up with issues of common interest, the Lebanese prime minister’s office said.
Germany pledges 125m euros for Sudan on eve of aid meet
- Funds will go toward helping international and local aid organizations to “bring urgently needed food and medicine to people in need” in Sudan, Baerbock said
BERLIN: Germany will provide 125 million euros ($142 million) in humanitarian aid for Sudan, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday, on the eve of an international conference on the situation in the war-torn country.
The funds will go toward helping international and local aid organizations to “bring urgently needed food and medicine to people in need” in Sudan and the wider region, Baerbock said in a statement.
Paramilitaries in Sudan known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at war with the army since April 2023.
The conflict has essentially divided Sudan in two, with the army holding sway in the north and east, while the RSF controls most of Darfur and parts of the south.
The war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 13 million and created what the International Rescue Committee has described as “the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.”
An international conference on the situation in Sudan will take place in London on Tuesday, co-hosted by Britain, Germany, France, the EU and the African Union, the German foreign ministry said.
The Sudanese army and the RSF militia were both unwilling to come to the table, according to the ministry.
“Death is an ever-present reality in large parts of Sudan,” Baerbock said, calling the conflict “the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time.”
“Entire regions have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of families have been forced to flee, millions of people are starving, and women and children are being subjected to the most horrific sexual violence,” she said.
“The focus in London will therefore be on working with our African partners to identify options for unrestricted humanitarian access, protection of the civilian population and a political solution to this bloody conflict.”
Baerbock said the Gulf states would be among those represented at the meeting, calling on them to “use their influence... to establish humanitarian corridors.”
“Only joint international pressure will finally persuade the parties to the conflict to come to the negotiating table,” she added.
Turkiye to begin restoration work on dome of Hagia Sophia
- The dome will first be covered to protect it during the repair process
- Existing lead cover will then be removed for the restoration and reinforcement project to continue
ISTANBUL: Turkiye is set to begin restoration and reinforcement work on the dome of the Hagia Sophia, in one of the biggest repair projects carried out on the 1,486-year-old structure, experts said on Monday.
Hagia Sophia was the largest cathedral in the world for 900 years until its capture by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, after which it was one of Islam’s most exalted mosques for nearly 500 years.
The building was converted to a museum by Turkiye’s secular republic more than 70 years ago but turned back into a mosque by President Tayyip Erdogan in 2020.
The process will be difficult and will “open an important page in the book of Hagia Sophia,” said Asnu Bilban Yalcin, a Byzantine art historian, adding that restoration of other parts of the structure has been under way for 10 years.
“It is truly a structure full of surprises because sometimes things develop in a way we do not expect. That is, you design and plan it, but when you open it, things may develop differently,” she told Reuters outside the Hagia Sophia.
The dome will first be covered to protect it during the repair process, said Ahmet Gulec, a cultural property conservation and repair expert, adding that the existing lead cover will then be removed for the restoration and reinforcement project to continue.
The reinforcement project will focus on weak structural points determined during simulations of a large earthquake, in a country criss-crossed by fault lines.
The real structural problems will become more apparent when the lead cover is lifted, said Hasan Firat Diker, a professor of architecture at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University.
The Hagia Sophia is expected remain open to worshippers and visitors during the restoration process, which makes the repair process more difficult, said Gulec, the cultural property conservation and repair expert.
The experts did not specify a date for the completion of the restoration of the dome, given potential setbacks due to weather conditions and unforeseen additional works.
Thousands remain displaced in Jenin as Israeli military campaign continues for 84th day
- 6,000 people remain displaced within Jenin city, while 3,200 have sought refuge in the dormitories of the Arab American University
- Discussions with the Palestinian Authority are ongoing to provide mobile homes for displaced residents
LONDON: Israeli forces have continued operations in Jenin and its refugee camp for the 84th day, with homes being bulldozed and burned while some have been converted into military positions.
On Monday morning, Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from the village of Yamoun, located west of Jenin, after storming the town and conducting raids on homes, WAFA news agency reported.
Israeli forces deployed infantry units around Al-Amal Hospital and Al-Rabi Building on Al-Mahta Street, near the Jenin refugee camp, conducting raids in the area, WAFA added.
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu Al-Rub said 21,000 people remain displaced as a result of the Israeli military campaign, with 6,000 residents sheltering within Jenin city. At the same time, 3,200 people sought refuge in the dormitories of the Arab American University, and 4,181 individuals found shelter in Burqin village. Abu Al-Rub said discussions with the Palestinian Authority are ongoing to provide mobile homes for the displaced residents in Jenin.
Over the weekend, Israeli forces sent reinforcements and armored vehicles into Jenin and its refugee camp, including D10 bulldozers and infantry. Israeli forces conduct military training near the Jalameh checkpoint, north of Jenin, and occasionally fire live ammunition toward the deserted Jenin camp, WAFA reported.
Macron urges ‘reform’ of Palestinian Authority to run Gaza without Hamas
- France is among European nations to have backed a plan for Gaza to return to the control of the Ramallah-based authority after nearly two decades of Hamas rule
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron called Monday for “reform” of the Palestinian Authority as part of a plan that would see the West Bank-based body govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.
France is among European nations to have backed a plan for Gaza to return to the control of the Ramallah-based authority after nearly two decades of Hamas rule.
“It is essential to set a framework for the day after: disarm and sideline Hamas, define credible governance and reform the Palestinian Authority,” Macron said on X after a phone call with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.
“This should allow progress toward a two-state political solution, with a view to the peace conference in June, in the service of peace and security for all.”
Macron said last week that France could take the unprecedented step of recognizing a Palestinian state during a United Nations conference in New York in June, sparking condemnation from Israel.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it seized control from the Palestinian Authority after being blocked from exercising real power despite winning a parliamentary election the previous year.
Both France and the United States under Joe Biden have pressed for the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, to root out corruption and bring in new faces in the hope it could take charge of Gaza.
The Ramallah-based administration, led by 89-year-old Abbas, has been hamstrung by Israel’s decades-old occupation of the West Bank and the Palestinian president’s own unpopularity.
