Palestine's UN envoy breaks down during UN Security Council meeting
Riyad Mansour had a hard time speaking on the situation for his people in Gaza
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The National
2 hours ago
- The National
'Totally unacceptable': US rejects Hamas response to Gaza truce plan
President Donald Trump' s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday said Hamas's response to a US-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza was "totally unacceptable." Hamas had given a conditional nod to the Gaza truce plan presented by Mr Witkoff, with the group's reservations focused on assurances it seeks on Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and the distribution of aid, sources told The National on Saturday. But Mr Witkoff appeared to pour cold water on any sense that an agreement with Hamas was imminent. He said the militant group's response "only takes us backwards" and called on them to accept the proposal that the US had presented. "That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days," he wrote on X, adding that such a deal would lead to good-faith negotiations to try to reach a permanent ceasefire. Hamas's response to the US plan had been handed earlier to Qatar and Egypt, whose mediators in turn fine-tuned it in co-operation with Hamas's leaders. Hamas's response, reached after extensive consultations with its allies in Gaza, sought firm assurances that negotiations with Israel during the proposed 60-day truce will bring about an Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war, according to sources. Israel has long maintained it would not end the war until all hostages are released and Hamas's governing and military capabilities are dismantled. It also seems improbable that Israel would at this point agree to a full withdrawal from Gaza under any immediate scenario. Hamas is also seeking clarifications on the quantity, nature and distribution of the humanitarian aid that will enter Gaza if a deal is reached. It also wants to stagger the release of 10 living hostages cited by the plan over the course of the 60-day truce, not in batches as previously. "Hamas believes that releasing the 10 hostages one by one or two by two throughout the truce will help ensure Israel's continuous commitment to the deal," said one of the sources. Hamas is believed to be holding about 58 hostages, of whom about 20 are alive, according to the military in Israel, which has already accepted the plan, which also requires Hamas to hand over the remains of 18 hostages. In a vaguely-phrased statement, Hamas had said on Saturday its response to the plan included a demand for an end to the war. "This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip." Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas must agree to the ceasefire proposal or be destroyed. "The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the 'Witkoff Deal' for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated," he said. The latest proposal to pause the war in Gaza comes after repeated attempts by mediators failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming military operations on March 18 after the end of a two-month truce brokered by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Sources told The National on Friday that Hamas was dissatisfied with the plan's lack of 'genuine guarantees' that the proposed negotiations with Israel would lead to an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. They said Hamas believed the plan left the prospect of an Israeli withdrawal and a long-term truce dependent on the progress of the negotiations, rather than the fruition of the process, the sources said. Hamas also believes the plan ignores its suggestions on the timeline and dynamics of the handover of hostages and fails to treat the delivery of aid into Gaza as a human right, leaving the process closely linked to the proposed plan and, subsequently, subject to Israel's use of food as a weapon. Under the plan, the resumption of humanitarian aid would involve 1,000 lorries a day to quickly address the widespread hunger and acute shortages of medicine and other essentials among Gaza's 2.3 million population, the sources said. A distribution plan drafted by UN experts for its personnel and members of affiliated agencies has been handed to Israeli authorities, the sources said. Besides a long-term ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the proposed negotiations during the truce will, according to the plan, tackle sensitive issues, including the governing of postwar Gaza, the fate of Hamas's weapons and the exile abroad of its senior officials, the sources said. Hamas has already suggested it would keep away from governing Gaza and any reconstruction effort and said it is open to laying down and storing its weapons under international supervision, but not surrendering them. It has also indicated that it will agree to some of its senior officials, as well as some from allied groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, leaving Gaza to live in exile – provided they are not attacked later by Israel. The Gaza war was caused by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. Hamas fighters also took about 250 hostage. Israel responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that number, Gaza's Health Ministry said. The war also laid to waste most of the enclave's built-up areas.
Arabian Business
2 hours ago
- Arabian Business
Saudi Arabia arrested over 12,100 last week in residency and labour operations
Saudi Arabia arrested more than 12,100 people in the past week as it looks to stop residency, labour and security breaches. The inspection campaigns carried out between May 22 and May 28 in all regions of the Kingdom, to check compliance with residency, work and border security regulations, saw 12,129 violations recorded, including: 7,127 of residency 3,441 of border security 1,561 of labour laws Saudi residency, labour and security arrests 1,197 individuals were apprehended attempting to cross the border into the Kingdom illegally, of whom 34 per cent were Yemenis, 63 per cent Ethiopians, and 3 per cent of other nationalities. 90 people were arrested for attempting to leave the Kingdom illegally. 18 people involved in transporting, sheltering, and employing violators were arrested. A total of 19,238 expatriates (17,930 and 1,308 women) are currently undergoing procedures for enforcing regulations. 14,065 people were detained for violating laws and instructed to contact their countries' embassies or consulates to obtain proper travel documentation; 1,5336 were told to make booking arrangements for their departure, and 11,094 were repatriated. The Ministry of Interior has warned that any person who facilitates the illegal entry of individuals into the Kingdom, transports them on its territory, provides them with shelter or any other assistance or service may be penalised with up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to SR1m ($267,000), and that the vehicles used for transport or houses used for shelter may be confiscated. The ministry stressed that such acts are major crimes that warrant arrest. It also urges people to report any violations by calling 911 in the Makkah, Riyadh, and Eastern regions, and 999 and 996 in the rest of Saudi Arabia.
The National
6 hours ago
- The National
Iran steps up production of highly enriched uranium, UN watchdog says
Iran has stepped up its production of highly enriched uranium in recent months, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seen by on Saturday. Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared since a 2015 deal curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief fell apart. The IAEA's latest report comes as Tehran pursues delicate negotiations with the US on its nuclear programme. It said in its quarterly report that it is of "serious concern" that Iran has an estimated amount of 408.6 kilograms enriched to up to 60 per cent as of May 17, up by 133.8 kilograms since the last report in February. Uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent fissile purity is close to the roughly 90 per cent level needed for atomic weapons. According to the IAEA, Tehran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 per cent. Western governments have for decades suspected Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability to counter Israel's widely suspected but undeclared arsenal. Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and insists it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. In a separate in-depth report, the IAEA criticised "less than satisfactory" co-operation from Tehran over its scrutiny of Iran's nuclear programme. "While Iran continues to co-operate with the agency on matters of routine safeguards implementation, in a number of respects... its co-operation with the agency has been less than satisfactory," the report said. It specifically notes Tehran's lack of progress in explaining nuclear material found at undeclared sites. "In particular, Iran has repeatedly either not answered, or not provided technically credible answers to, the agency's questions and has sanitised locations as listed in this report, which has impeded agency verification activities." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier on Saturday that his country considers nuclear weapons 'unacceptable', reiterating its long-standing position amid delicate negotiations with the US. 'If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,' Mr Araghchi, Iran's lead negotiator in the talks, said in a televised speech. 'We agree with them on this issue.' The US and Iran have held five rounds of talks in Oman and Rome over the past few weeks, aiming to revive or replace the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which President Donald Trump withdrew the US from during his first term, in 2018. These discussions, mediated by Oman, have centred on Iran's uranium enrichment levels, the lifting of US sanctions and the implementation of nuclear inspections. While both sides have described the talks as constructive, significant disagreements remain, particularly regarding Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium and the US demand for a complete halt to this activity. This week, President Trump said his administration was 'very close to a solution' on an Iran nuclear agreement. He also said he had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a military strike on Iran, which would set back Washington's efforts to broker a deal. The New York Times, which said Mr Netanyahu had been threatening to sabotage the US-Iran talks by striking Tehran's nuclear enrichment sites. 'We're very close to a solution now,' Mr Trump added. 'Now, that could change at any moment – it could change with a phone call but, right now, I think [Iran] want to make a deal.'
