Netanyahu meets Israeli president ahead of Washington trip
Netanyahu is expected at the White House on Monday for talks with US President Donald Trump, who is pushing to end the 21-month war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.
Indirect negotiations were set to resume Sunday in Doha, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
'In his visit to Washington, the prime minister carries with him an important mission -- advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home,' President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.
'This is a supreme moral duty. I fully support these efforts, even when they involve difficult, complex and painful decisions. We must all remember that the cost is not simple,' he added.
Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.
Some in Israel have called for an agreement that would see all hostages released in a single exchange.
Netanyahu and Herzog -- whose role is largely ceremonial -- also discussed the prospect of expanding the US-brokered Abaraham Accords of 2020, which saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
'The two discussed opportunities to deepen ties with additional countries, in the spirit of US President Donald Trump's Abraham Accords initiative,' said the statement from Herzog's office.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has recently said his government was 'interested' in normalizing ties with neighboring Lebanon and Syria, with Damascus saying such a move was 'premature.'
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Arab News
44 minutes ago
- Arab News
To prevent war, Lebanon must act like a state
Lebanon risks missing its moment. That was the verdict delivered by US Ambassador Tom Barrack during his trip to Beirut last week. 'If you don't want change, it's no problem,' he said. 'The rest of the region is moving at Mach speed and you will be left behind.' His comments cut to the core issue shaping Lebanon's future: Hezbollah's weapons. The country's promising new leadership is running out of time and credibility. With progress in nearby Syria attracting US and regional support, Beirut must heed Barrack's warning. It needs to roll out a credible, Lebanese-led initiative that demonstrates the will and capacity to see through the full implementation of the November ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel — and disarm Hezbollah before it is too late. The ceasefire deal, brokered by the US and France, was not simply a pause in fighting but a roadmap based on two core principles: that the Lebanese state would disarm Hezbollah and achieve, through statecraft, what Hezbollah's militancy could not: Israel's full withdrawal and an end to the military strikes that suffocate any chance for the country's recovery. The Lebanese government has so far focused on dismantling Hezbollah's infrastructure in southern Lebanon, clearing 80 to 90 percent of military sites. The regular Israeli strikes on Lebanon, however, make clear that this progress is not enough. The ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolutions 1701 and 1559 require not only demilitarization in the south but the disarmament of all nonstate armed groups throughout the country. As President Joseph Aoun vowed when he took office in January, and the new government later affirmed in a ministerial statement, the state must, and will, hold a monopoly on force. This is not only a matter of international law; ensuring it is the Lebanese state that decides matters of war and peace is a prerequisite for the rehabilitation of its legitimacy at home and abroad. In line with that mandate, Beirut has chosen negotiation over confrontation. Aoun has called for direct talks with Hezbollah to oversee its disarmament and started the parallel process of disarming Palestinian factions in the country. But what this means in practice remains unclear. There are still no details about what such a disarmament will look like, when it will start or end and how it will be verified. Beirut's new leaders cannot make the mistake of their predecessors and ignore the shift in Israel's security doctrine in the aftermath of Oct. 7, 2023. Tel Aviv will not accept half-measures that give Hezbollah time to regroup, rearm and threaten its future security. While Hezbollah has largely cooperated in the south, a de facto consequence of its defeat, its leaders continue to publicly decry the calls for full disarmament. Instead, the group appears to be buying time by pursuing partial disarmament and limited cooperation until international pressure eases or spoiling opportunities emerge. The Lebanese government finds itself in a bind. On the one hand, if it fails to fully disarm Hezbollah, an Israeli military escalation might be right around the corner. On the other, if it takes up arms against Hezbollah, it risks plunging the country into an internal conflict with no end in sight. Disarming Hezbollah within the capital is about ending the group's ability to hold hostage the future of Lebanon. Dr. Fadi Nicholas Nassar Neither of these scenarios needs to be Lebanon's future, however. Its people and economy are exhausted. There is no appetite for conflict, either with Israel or between the state and Hezbollah. The government and the Lebanese Armed Forces demonstrated the credibility of their desire not only to disarm Hezbollah's positions in the south but to keep them out of the area. Now, Aoun must build on his call for the peaceful full disarmament of Hezbollah by establishing a decisive starting point that can help rally public support: the demilitarization of Beirut. Unlike the sprawling terrain of the south, such an effort in Beirut would demand fewer resources and personnel from the strained army. It would also carry significant symbolic weight; while disarming Hezbollah positions in the south is primarily about securing Israel's border and doing so in the north is about safeguarding Syria's, disarming Hezbollah within the capital is about ending the group's ability to hold hostage the future of Lebanon. Beirut is the lifeline of the Lebanese economy. Demilitarizing the capital would stabilize it enough to allow investors, tourists and businesses to return. Strategically, it would also ensure that the city's airport and the Port of Beirut continue to fall firmly under the control of the state, effectively curtailing Hezbollah's efforts to regroup and rearm. Most of all, the removal of Hezbollah's armed presence from the capital would dismantle the architecture of intimidation that continues to paralyze Lebanese politics and help generate the momentum, and precedent, to foster the political resolve needed to finish the job. It would be an irreversible step toward nationwide disarmament, a hard but unavoidable concession made more dignified if it met with an internationally backed effort for reconstruction of the hard-hit Beirut suburbs. Israel must take steps of its own by withdrawing from the five hilltops it continues to occupy in Lebanon and give the Lebanese state a chance to succeed. It has established escalatory dominance and achieved its primary military objectives. Hassan Nasrallah and the founding military leadership of Hezbollah are dead. The narrative that Hezbollah's weapons can deter Israel has been replaced with the reality that its weapons have brought only war and occupation. A military escalation would yield diminishing returns for Israel, open the door for unknowns and risk the country becoming bogged down in a protracted conflict with an adversary it has already defeated. Time is running out. But taken together, these steps can restore the trust needed to enable the full implementation of the November ceasefire agreement and ensure that the conflict it ended was the last war between Israel and Lebanon.
Leaders
an hour ago
- Leaders
60 MPs Urge UK to Immediately Recognize Palestinian State
Approximately 60 British Labour MPs have urged the UK government to immediately recognize the Palestinian state and halt what they labeled as 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza, according to The Guardian. Rafah Plan A group of centrist and left-wing MPs write a letter this week to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy asking him to act immediately to stop Israel's reported plan to establish a so-called 'humanitarian city' of tents in the ruins of Rafah, in southern Gaza. 'By not recognizing [Palestine] as a state, we undermine our own policy of a two-state solution and set an expectation that the status quo can continue and see the effective erasure and annexation of Palestinian territory,' the letter said. The MPs also described the plan as 'ethnic cleansing' warning that such a move means the forcible transfer of civilians and the erasure of Palestinian presence as well. 'It is with great urgency and concern that we are writing to you regarding the Israeli Defense Minister's announcement on Monday of his plans to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah without allowing them to leave,' the letter added. Five Measures In this context, the 59 MPs introduced five different measures for the government to stop the Israeli government from carrying out its Rafah plan. Organized by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East group, the letter requests ministers to take five different measures to ensure the following: Recognizing the state of Palestine Supporting the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Securing the release of hostages Pressing for the full and unhindered resumption of humanitarian aid Fully reviewing and placing restrictions on trade with and financial support of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 137,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Related Topics: Malta to Recognize Palestinian State in June, Says PM France 'Determined' to Recognize Palestinian State, PM Says OIC Welcomes Slovenia's Decision to Recognize Palestine Short link : Post Views: 6
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US envoy Witkoff ‘hopeful' on Gaza talks, set to huddle with Qataris
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he was 'hopeful' on Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
