Umm Al Quwain Ruler receives Ramadan well-wishers
His Highness Sheikh Saud also received greetings from Sheikhs, chairmen and heads of government departments in the country; dignitaries; and businesspersons. A number of sheikhs, heads of departments and top officials attended the reception.
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Middle East Eye
8 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Exclusive: Powerful Libyan official in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza
A senior official in Libya's internationally recognised government has held talks with Israeli officials over a proposal to resettle hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expelled from Gaza, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye. Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, Libyan, Arab and European officials told MEE that National Security Adviser Ibrahim Dbeibah, a relative of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, was spearheading the talks despite Palestinians in Gaza flatly rejecting US President Donald Trump's postwar plan for the enclave. One Libyan source said that "practical talks" had already taken place but the specifics were vague. "The mechanisms and implementation have not yet been spoken about," the source said. Another Libyan source said that discussions were still ongoing and that members of the Tripoli-based parliament were deliberately being kept in the dark as pro-Palestine sentiment runs deep in the country. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The source said that in an attempt to placate some Libyan leaders, the US was prepared to confer economic support or other benefits in exchange for the country taking in Palestinians. The source said that Ibrahim Dbeibah had already received guarantees that the US Department of Treasury would release some $30bn in frozen state assets. In May, separate sources had told MEE that Massad Boulos, an adviser to Trump and father-in-law to his daughter Tiffany, had held discussions with Ibrahim Dbeibah about unlocking billions of dollars in sanctioned frozen wealth funds. The assets were frozen in early 2011 by former US President Barack Obama, several months before the Nato-backed ouster of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Boulos flatly denied that he was involved in talks over the resettlement of Palestinians, telling MEE that the reports were "inflammatory and totally false". However, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said that Trump had "long advocated for creative solutions to improve the lives of Palestinians, including allowing them to resettle in a new, beautiful location while Gaza rebuilds". Seeking legitimacy from the US The idea of Libya serving as a possible new home for expelled Palestinians comes amid reports that Khalifa Haftar, a powerful military leader who also oversees a rival rubber-stamp parliament in the country's east, was offered greater control over the country's oil resources if he agreed to resettle hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Haftar, who has played a seminal role in the widespread destruction and instability in Libya, as well as the ensuing civil war in neighbouring Sudan, has denied the reports. Meanwhile on Monday, hours after receiving a request for comment from MEE on the issue of resettling Palestinians, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said that his government would not engage in the "crime" of resettling Palestinians. The Gaza playbook: Israel's five-step ethnic cleansing strategy Read More » He reiterated a line from a statement by the US embassy in Tripoli in May which dismissed reports that Washington was pursuing a relocation plan for Palestinians in Libya. Israel has publicly mulled expelling Palestinians from Gaza and last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli officials were in contact with "several countries" about absorbing displaced civilians from the war-torn territory. "I think this is the most natural thing," Netanyahu said. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their doors to them. What are you preaching to us for? We're not pushing them out - we're enabling them to leave… first of all, [leaving] combat zones, and also the Strip itself, if they want to." Recently, Israel's Agriculture Minister, Avi Dichter, singled out Libya as "the ideal destination" for Palestinians saying they would "happily leave" Gaza if the necessary international support was provided. "Libya is a huge country, with vast areas and a coastline similar to Gaza's," he said. "If the world invests billions to rehabilitate Gazans there, the host country will also benefit economically." Israeli officials have long advocated expelling Palestinians from Gaza and within a week of the 7 October attacks, Israel's intelligence minister at the time, Gila Gamliel, presented the cabinet with her "voluntary migration plan" where she hoped 1.7 million Palestinians would leave the enclave. Forced displacement, as observed in Gaza, violates international humanitarian law, notably Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the forcible transfer of protected persons by an occupying power. The European source told MEE that Dbeibeh and Haftar were "simultaneously negotiating with the Israelis" in the hope of getting "more legitimacy from the Americans". The source said that if the resettlement plan was forcibly imposed on Libya, Palestinians would find themselves moving out of the frying pan and into the fire. "It will be catastrophic at multiple levels," the source said. "Firstly, for the Palestinians themselves, who would have just about made it out of the Strip alive and escaped an obliterated life in Gaza, facing forced expulsion to a country like Libya which is in deeply complicated political turmoil with divided governments, where systems and society is broken by its civil war." "The Palestinians will not be getting any care from those governments, which will push them to the following catastrophe, [which] will lead to a new wave of migration towards the shores of Europe. And this is also a scary thought, firstly because the past decades have proven to us that many of them will only make it halfway through the Mediterranean, like many of those boats that capsized. And those that would eventually get to Europe, I do not think that Europe would be welcoming of another one million Arabs arriving at its shores, as the Syrians who just made similar journeys just few years ago." The Arab official, who was intimately aware of the latest talks, warned that complicity in Israel's ethnic cleansing plan could provoke widespread anger across all of Libya. "This will be a shock to the Libyan people," he said. Mohamed Mahfouz, a Libyan political analyst, echoed his remarks, telling MEE that the US was acutely aware that discussions around Libya resettling Palestinians could cause great distress for Libyan authorities. "Accepting Palestinians could come at a high price for any of the parties that will engage with the United States on this matter. This in itself may explain why neither [Libyan] government is yet to normalise relations." Outreach to Africa In recent weeks Israeli officials have publicly said, then later denied, reaching out to leaders from across Africa and Asia to use their territories as potential destinations for expelling Palestinians. Plans have been mooted for Palestinians to be resettled in Sudan, South Sudan and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland, despite all of the territories being plagued by violence. Sudan has been gripped by intense violence since its civil war broke out in 2023, with an estimated 150,000 people killed in the past two years. South Sudan has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out after independence, with more than seven million people facing food insecurity and at least 2.3 million children at risk of malnutrition. Meanwhile, Somaliland continues to face threats from the armed group al-Shabab over the region's memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia - one of the greatest enemies of the group. A Libyan political analyst, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal attacks by government-aligned militias, said that it was "unsurprising" that Ibrahim Dbeibah was leading the outreach efforts with Israel. "[Ibrahim] Dbeibah, like the Libyan government, is marked by self-interest. He is well aware of the benefits of ingratiating himself with the US and Trump." While Libya does not officially recognise Israel, the Tripoli-based government, known officially as the Government of National Unity (GNU), is known to have held several secret meetings with Israeli officials in recent years. In 2023, Najla al-Mangoush, then foreign minister under Dbeibah, secretly met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Italy. The revelation sparked outrage in Libya, resulting in angry protests and her suspension. In a later interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Mangoush claimed she had attended the meeting on direct orders from Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and that it was coordinated between his government and Israel. Arabic Post later reported that Ibrahim Dbeibah had orchestrated the meeting, citing unnamed sources. Middle East Eye reached out to the prime minister's office and the GNU for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
Middle East Eye
18 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli Finance Minister rejects Gaza ceasefire, calls it 'partial deal'
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he opposed any ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas said it accepted a deal put forward by Arab mediators. 'We fight only to win! Under no circumstances to stop in the middle with a partial deal that abandons half of the hostages and could lead to ending the war in defeat,' Smotrich wrote in a post on X. Reuters reported on Monday that Hamas accepted a 60 day ceasefire proposal that would see the release of some Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Zawya
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Expresses Solidarity with Algeria and Conveys Condolences over Victims of Bus Crash
The United Arab Emirates has expressed its solidarity with the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and conveyed its sincere condolences over the victims of a passenger bus crash in the capital, Algiers, which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) conveyed the UAE's sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, as well as to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the brotherly Algerian people, along with its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Arab Emirates, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
