Author: Steven Sahiounie

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory, has called on the UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to press for the deployment of a “protective presence” in Palestinian land under Israel’s military occupation. Albanese said on social media the UN chief’s support for a protective presence would help “restore peace” after Israel’s 56-year-long military occupation of Palestinian territory. Noting her support for a 2018 proposal by Guterres for such a presence by the UN, Albanese said: “I implore you to push for it now.” At that time, Guterres presented four options to protect Palestinians who are under Israeli…

Arab and Islamic officials on Friday held talks with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and foreign ministers of Nordic and Benelux countries in Oslo, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The members of the Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit under the chairmanship of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan included foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Turkiye and the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. They met their counterparts from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. During the talks, they discussed the dangerous developments in the Gaza Strip, and the…

The Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed in a statement that diplomatic efforts were ongoing to reach a new truce in Gaza. “Qatar affirmed its ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause and expressed hope for building upon the progress made to accomplish a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that would end the war, stop the bloodshed of our Palestinian brethren, and lead to serious negotiations and the launch of a political process that yields a comprehensive, permanent, and just peace in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the ministry said in a statement. A seven-day…

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah passed away on Saturday at the age of 86, the Amiri Diwan said in a broadcasted statement. Kuwait TV broke into programming with Qur’anic verses just before making the announcement. In late November, he was admitted to the hospital due to a medical emergency. He was later declared in stable condition. Sheikh Nawaf was named crown prince in 2006 by his half-brother Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and took over as emir when Sheikh Sabah died in September 2020 at the age of 91.He previously served as Kuwait’s interior and defense minister.Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf…

Israel is not aware of how many Hamas militants have been killed, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi told TASS as he urged caution regarding the information being provided by the Palestinian radical movement. “Nobody knows for sure. The data they provide should largely be treated with great cautiion,” the Israeli envoy said. The only data coming from the Gaza Strip are provided by the [Palestinian] health ministry which is completely under the control of Hamas, he explained. “They (Hamas – TASS) report that a certain number of men, women or children have been killed. But nobody says how…

A possible ‘New Year’ truce between Israel and Hamas radical movement is not expected, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi told TASS on Saturday. “No, I don’t think so, because we have two objectives, which I always repeat. They are about the destruction of Hamas terrorist structures and the release of all our hostages,” he said. “These are the two objectives, which we must accomplish,” Zvi continued. “Besides, neither we nor Hamas celebrate Christmas at this time of the year. We celebrate New Year in September. On the whole, it is not the reason for suspending military operations.” The…

Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has staged seven more anti-Israel operations in retaliation for the Israeli genocide of Gaza. The positions targeted on Friday included the Ramim barracks near the occupied Lebanese town of Hunin and also the Al-Rahab site. It also attacked Israeli forces entering their bunker in the Mitat barracks, as well as another group of Israeli soldiers, gathered in the Harj Al-Shatula site near the occupied Lebanese village of Tarbikha. According to the movement, the operations were carried out “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and solidarity with their courageous and honorable resistance.”…

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has called for an extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Committee on Palestine at the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) to discuss ways to stop Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. Qalibaf made the remarks during a phone conversation with Ibrahim Boughali, the speaker of the People’s National Assembly, the Lower house of Algeria’s parliament, and the head of the PUIC, which is composed of parliaments of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Iran’s Parliament “is fully prepared to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Committee on…

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that calls for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The 193-member assembly adopted the resolution with 153 votes in favor. 10 countries voted the resolution down, including the US, in line with Washington’s unfaltering political support for the Israeli regime. The US, however, does not have veto power at the UN General Assembly, unlike the UN Security Council, where it has blocked successive resolutions against Israel. The resolution demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the swift and unconditional release of all captives. It also urges all…

The Yemeni Army says it has targeted two Israeli-bound container ships in waters off the country’s coast, the latest of their operations to support Palestinians who are under brutal attacks by Israel. In a statement, the Yemeni Army said it fired two naval missiles at two ships heading to Israel, namely MSC ALANYA and MSC PALATIUM III after they refused to respond to calls from Yemen as well as fire warning messages on Friday. The statement reiterated Yemen’s position that they will only target ships heading to Israeli ports, and all the other ships bound for other ports can freely…