Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Kingdom’s deputy minister for international multilateral affairs has held talks with the EU’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. Envoy Christophe Farnaud said he visited Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi at his office in Riyadh on Monday, where they discussed relations and security cooperation. “Both parties praised the positive relationship between the EU and Saudi Arabia,” the ambassador told Arab News on Wednesday. “The positive momentum is highlighted by the pace of high-level visits, in particular of the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell to Riyadh and AlUla last week.” Farnaud said they also discussed the relaunch…

Osama Hamdan calls for “urgent and serious” pressure on Israel and the Biden administration to help the people of Gaza. “We urge the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to break the siege of Gaza swiftly and immediately and to compel the occupation to allow official and popular convoys along with medical and civil defence equipment and humanitarian aid to all the areas of Gaza,” Hamdan said. Source: AlJazeera

Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh stressed this evening that the international community must put words into action and stop the genocide and aggression carried out by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. He called for imposing sanctions on settlements which are considered illegal under international law, urging sanctions to be imposed on Israel. This came during a meeting with the Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, at the premier’s office in Ramallah, in the presence of Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and the Australian Representative to the Palestinian Authority, Edward Russell. During the meeting, Shtayyeh stressed…

Maria Zakharova earlier said at a news conference that Lavrov plans to take part in the quarterly open debate of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to New York to personally participate in a debate on the Middle East and a meeting on Ukraine at the UN Security Council from January 22-24, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “Yes,” she said when asked if the minister will participate in these events in person. Zakharova earlier said at a news conference that Lavrov plans to take part in…

The US’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a “pathway to a Palestinian state” is imperative to achieving genuine regional integration and ensuring Israel’s long-term security. Speaking at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Wednesday, Blinken said Israel “will not get genuine integration, genuine security absent (a Palestinian state).” He noted the changing mindset of leaders in the Arab and Muslim world who, he said, were more open to integrating Israel into the region, but the question remains: “Is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions? Is it prepared to have that mindset?” He pointed to…

The advisory opinion sought in the ICJ on accusations of breaches of international law against “Israel” comes before South Africa’s case at the court. The Slovenian Foreign Minister declared last week that Slovenia is formally joining proceedings in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking an advisory opinion on Israeli control of, and policies in, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and eastern part of al-Quds, a motion preceding South Africa’s genocide legal claim heard in the court last week. In December 2022, the UN General Assembly voted to request that the ICJ issue an advisory opinion as to whether Israeli conduct in…

The Jordanian army’s military field hospital in Khan Younis in Gaza was badly damaged on Wednesday by Israeli shelling in the vicinity of the building, and the army said it held Israel “fully responsible for a “flagrant breach of international law.”A hospital staff member was injured and would be flown back to Jordan for treatment while a patient was hit with shrapnel, the army said in a statement.“The hospital incurred heavy damage.. The government will take all the measures necessary as a result of the aggression,” the statement said, without elaborating.The Israeli military could not immediately be reached for comment.The…

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says US envoy Brett McGurk is in Doha to continue efforts on a new Hamas-Israel prisoner swap. “What I can tell you is we’re working on this very diligently. I don’t want to get ahead of where we are, but I’d say we’re having very serious and intensive discussions in Qatar about the possibility of another deal. We’re hopeful it can bear fruit, and bear fruit soon,” said Kirby. The efforts come after Qatari and French mediation helped get medicine into Gaza on Wednesday for Israeli captives and Palestinian civilians. Kirby praised the…

A resolution mandating the State Department to inform Congress about any evidence of human rights violations by Israel in Gaza was sidelined or defeated by the Senate on Tuesday evening with a vote of 72-11. The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a resolution that would have halted security aid to “Israel” unless the State Department produced a report within 30 days assessing whether “Israel” committed human rights violations in its war on Gaza. The resolution was set aside with 72 senators voting against it, while 11 supported it, easily surpassing the simple majority needed to defeat the resolution in the 100-member chamber.…

Iran has warned US President Joe Biden not to “tie his destiny” to that of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is leading the regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip while enjoying Washington’s all-out support.