Israel 'rejects' UK announcement on future Palestinian state recognition
Israel said Tuesday it "rejected" Prime Minister Keir Starmer's announcement that Britain will recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel acts to end the war in Gaza.
"Israel rejects the statement by the prime minister of the United Kingdom", the foreign ministry posted on X, adding that the move "constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza".
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Nahar Net
2 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Barrack hails 'historic' Lebanon decision on Hezbollah disarmament
by Naharnet Newsdesk 07 August 2025, 21:59 US envoy Tom Barrack said on Thursday Lebanon's government had taken a "historic" decision this week by moving to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Washington has pushed for. In a post on X, Barrack congratulated Lebanese leaders "for making the historic, bold, and correct decision this week to begin fully implementing" a November ceasefire which ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, and stipulated that weapons in Lebanon be restricted to government agencies only. "This week's Cabinet resolutions finally put into motion the 'One Nation, One Army' solution for Lebanon. We stand behind the Lebanese people," Barrack said. Barrack also reminded of recent statements about Lebanon and Hezbollah by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "Promises made promises kept. As @POTUS (Trump) has stated, 'My administration stands ready to help Lebanon create a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors… In Lebanon, there's a new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists… A new president and prime minister brought the first real chance in decades for a more productive partnership with the United States,'" Barrack posted. "And as @SecRubio has rightly emphasized, 'Our goal in Lebanon is a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah,'" he added. Barrack also posted remarks by U.S. congressman Darrell Issa, who visited Lebanon on Thursday. "We will push hard to make sure that there is — and this is something that I will work with the Israelis on — a complete withdrawal in return for the Lebanese Armed Forces showing its ability to secure all Lebanon," Issa said. The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions in the small nation will have weapons by the end of the year, a move that aims to disarm Hezbollah. After Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Hezbollah accused the government of caving to U.S. and Israeli pressure and said it would "treat this decision as if it does not exist." And on Thursday the government approved the objectives of a U.S. paper of demands carried by Barrack to Lebanon. The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement walked out of both sessions in protest.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
UK pensioner, student arrested for backing Palestine Action
Pensioner Marji Mansfield never imagined she would end up suspected of terrorism for protesting against the banning of a pro-Palestinian group. But the British grandmother was arrested on July 5 for joining a demonstration in support of Palestine Action just days after it was added to the U.K. government's list of proscribed organisations. "It's a terrible shock to be accused of potentially being a terrorist," said Mansfield, 68, who described herself as a "proud grandmother" of seven. She "was never politically interested," the former banking consultant from the southern town of Chichester told AFP. "I just worked hard, raised my family, lived an ordinary life." In early July, the U.K. government banned Palestine Action under the U.K.'s Terrorism Act, after activists broke into an air force base in England and damaged two aircraft. Since then, the campaign group Defend Our Juries has organised protests around the country to challenge the ban, described as "disproportionate" by the United Nations rights chief. More than 200 people have been arrested, according to Tim Crosland, a member of Defend Our Juries. They risk prison sentences of up to 14 years. British police on Thursday said they had charged two men and a woman over the July 5 protest, adding that they were sending files on the 26 other people arrested that day to prosecutors. A new demonstration in support of the group, which was founded in 2020, is planned on Saturday in London. Organisers expect at least 500 people to turn up, and police have warned that all demonstrators could face arrest. People "don't know what the nature of this group is," interior minister Yvette Cooper has said, claiming that "this is not a non-violent group." But Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has launched a court bid to overturn the ban and a hearing is set for November. Some 52 scholars, including well-known authors Tariq Ali and Naomi Klein, backed the bid in an open letter published in Thursday's Guardian, calling the ban an attack on "fundamental freedoms of expression, association, assembly and protest." 'Not terrorists' Mansfield has long supported the Palestinian people, but the start of the current war, sparked by Hamas's attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, galvanised her into action. "When it started happening again ... it was the most horrible feeling, that children's homes were being blown up, that their schools were being destroyed," she said. Hamas' October 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's subsequent campaign to eradicate the Palestinian militant group in Gaza has killed more than 60,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry, which are deemed reliable by the United Nations. For Mansfield, the Palestine Action ban was the final straw, fuelling her feelings that the government was silencing her political views. The night before attending the July demonstration, Mansfield said she was "terrified." But she did not change her mind. Images in British media showed her being moved by several police officers after she refused to get up from the pavement. An 83-year-old woman was by her side. Mansfield spent 12 hours in custody and is now banned from parts of London, meaning she cannot visit some museums with her grandchildren as she would like to do. "It was just ordinary people," said Mansfield. "We came from all backgrounds ... we're not terrorists." 'Civil liberties' Alice Clark, a 49-year-old doctor, also does not regret attending the protest where she was arrested in London on July 19. "Nobody wants to be arrested. I just feel that there's a responsibility," said Clark, who also accused the government of undermining "our civil liberties." Cooper said the ban on Palestine Action was "based on detailed security assessments and security advice." The ban says the group's "methods have become more aggressive" by encouraging members to carry out attacks which have already caused millions of pounds in damage. But Clark, a former volunteer for medical charity Doctors Without Borders, said she felt "growing disgust and horror" at the images of starving children in Gaza. The 12 hours in custody after her arrest were a shock. If convicted, she risks losing her licence to practice medicine. "There were points where I was close to tears. But I think just remembering why I was doing it kind of helped me keep calm," said Clark. History student Zahra Ali, 18, was also arrested on July 19, before being released under supervision. None of the three women has been charged. She is also appalled by the scenes from Gaza. "The starvation in Gaza is disgusting. And our government isn't doing anything about that," she told AFP. Imagining herself in prison at 18 is "a big thing," but "if people who are in their 80s can do it, then I can do it," Ali said. She also does not describe herself as an activist, but as "a normal person ... who decided that what our government is doing is wrong."
Nahar Net
9 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Aoun: Arms monopoly to be achieved despite difficulties, obstacles
by Naharnet Newsdesk 9 hours President Joseph Aoun has said that 'arms monopoly will be achieved despite the difficulties and obstacles,' adding that authorities are 'awaiting the army's plan' on weapons monopolization to 'discuss it and approve it.' 'The implementation of the U.S. paper also requires approval from Syria and Israel as well as guarantees from the U.S. and France,' Aoun added, in remarks to Al-Arabiya TV. 'Achieving arms monopoly in the hand of the state does not harm Lebanon's rights and sovereignty,' he emphasized, adding that 'Cabinet's session today will continue the approval of decisions to implement arms monopolization.' 'We will press on with the implementation of the presidential inauguration speech and the Ministerial Statement,' the president went on to say. His remarks come after Cabinet approved Tuesday a historic decision to disarm Hezbollah and all other armed groups by the year's end, with the army being tasked with presenting a plan to the government before the end of August. Hezbollah rejected the decision and said it will deal with it 'as if it does not exist,' after the ministers of the Shiite Duo walked out of Cabinet in protest.
