Yemen’s president meets UN and US envoys to discuss Saudi peace initiative

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Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi meets US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking in Riyadh. (Saba)
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Updated 29 March 2021
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Yemen’s president meets UN and US envoys to discuss Saudi peace initiative

  • Griffiths praised the ‘positive steps’ taken by the Yemeni govt in response to the Saudi initiative
  • Griffiths and Lenderking also both met with the Saudi ambassador to Yemen

LONDON: Yemen’s President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi has held meetings with the UN and US envoys to Yemen to discuss developments in the country and efforts to end the six-year war, with the Saudi initiative at the forefront.
The new peace plan announced by the Kingdom last week includes a nationwide cease-fire, opening Sanaa airport, allowing fuel and other commodities into Yemen through Hodeidah, and resuming the political process.
Hadi told UN envoy Martin Griffiths that the Houthi militia’s continued escalation in Marib and other provinces confirmed the Iran-backed group’s lack of intention to commit to peaceful options to end the war, Yemen’s Saba News Agency reported.

Hadi said that the “Yemeni people will not accept the reproduction of the Iranian experience and the return of defunct priestly rule in Yemen no matter the cost,” adding that his government had made many concessions that have been met with intransigence from the Houthis.
Hadi called on the international community to financially support the government to be able to carry out its duties and humanitarian tasks and complete the steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement, stressing the importance of the efforts of the UN envoy.
Griffiths said that the humanitarian situation was extremely difficult, and required concerted efforts to end the bloody conflict and suffering.
He praised the “positive steps” taken by the Yemeni government in response to the Saudi initiative, and the efforts of the president and the international community to establish peace in Yemen and bring an end to the war.
Griffiths also met Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak.

Earlier on Sunday, Hadi had a meeting with US envoy, Tim Lenderking, during which he affirmed support for his efforts.
“Unfortunately, the Houthi militia, with Iran’s backing, have not complied with the peace endeavors, the most recent of which was the Stockholm Agreement,” Hadi said. “Rather, they persisted in targeting innocent civilians, besieging Marib with Iranian missiles and drones, and increasing attacks on civilian objects in Saudi Arabia.”
Hadi stressed the depth of the strategic relations that bind Yemen and the US in various files, including combating terrorism, security, stability and promoting the unity of Yemen, protecting waterways and international navigation, and confronting Iranian interference in the region.
Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed stressed the importance of peace and economic support, and Washington’s role, which in turn reflects positively on the peace process and development and stability.
Lenderking reiterated US support for the legitimate government and its stance toward peace. He told Hadi that he hoped the Saudi initiative would succeed, in the interests of the Yemeni people, and bring an end to the war, in cooperation with all partners to preserve Yemen’s unity, security and stability.
He called for strengthening the strategic relationship with Yemen in facing all challenges, including combating terrorism, protecting international corridors and interventions in the region.
Griffiths and Lenderking also both met with Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber to discuss the Kingdom’s peace initiative and joint efforts to reach a comprehensive political solution to end the crisis in Yemen.


European nations increase pressure on Israel to stop broad Gaza offensive

Updated 6 sec ago
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European nations increase pressure on Israel to stop broad Gaza offensive

GAZA CITY: European countries ramped up pressure on Israel to abandon its intensified campaign in Gaza and let more aid into the war-ravaged territory, where rescuers said fresh attacks killed dozens of people on Tuesday.
An AFP journalist saw some trucks entering the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza from the Israeli side on Tuesday, a day after the UN said it had been cleared to send aid for the first time since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2, sparking severe shortages of food and medicine.
The dire humanitarian situation in the Strip has prompted an international outcry, with the European Union saying it would review its trade cooperation deal with Israel over alleged human rights abuses following a foreign ministers’ meeting on Tuesday.
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said “a strong majority” of its 27 member states backed the move, adding “the countries see that the situation in Gaza is untenable... and what we want is to unblock the humanitarian aid.”
Sweden said it would press the EU to level sanctions against Israeli ministers.
“Since we do not see a clear improvement for the civilians in Gaza, we need to raise the tone further,” said Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
And Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel, summoned the Israeli ambassador and said it was imposing sanctions on settlers in the occupied West Bank in its toughest actions so far against Israel’s conduct of the war.
“Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in an impassioned speech to parliament.
Responding to Britain’s moves, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said “external pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security.”
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said “93 UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including flour for bakeries, food for babies, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs were transferred” to Gaza on Tuesday.
The spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres confirmed dozens of trucks were allowed in, but spoke of difficulties receiving the deliveries.
“Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to... collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse,” Stephane Dujarric said.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said that the nine trucks cleared to enter on Monday were “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed.”
He told the BBC on Tuesday that 14,000 babies could die in the next 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, replying to a Democrat’s comment during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting, said he understood “that it’s not in sufficient amounts, but we were pleased to see that decision was made” to restart aid shipments.
The Israeli army stepped up its offensive at the weekend, vowing to defeat Gaza’s rulers Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
Strikes overnight and early Tuesday left “44 dead, mostly children and women, as well as dozens of wounded,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Bassal said 15 people were killed when a petrol station was hit near the Nuseirat refugee camp, and eight others were killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City to the north.
The Israeli military told AFP it had “struck a Hamas terrorist who was operating from within a command and control center” inside the school compound. There was no comment on the other incidents.
At the bombarded petrol station, Nuseirat resident Mahmoud Al-Louh carried a cloth bag of body parts to a vehicle.
“They are civilians, children who were sleeping. What was their fault?” he told AFP.
In a statement on Tuesday, the military said it had carried out strikes on more than “100 terror targets” in Gaza over the past day.
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “take control of all the territory of the Strip” with its new campaign.
Israel resumed operations across Gaza on March 18, bringing an end to a two-month ceasefire amid deadlock over how to proceed.
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas began a new round of indirect talks in Doha over the weekend, just as the intensified campaign was getting underway.
Qatar, which has been involved in mediation efforts throughout the war, said Tuesday that Israel’s “irresponsible, aggressive behavior” had undermined the chances of a ceasefire.
Hours later, Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of refusing to accept a deal, saying Israel was recalling its senior negotiators but leaving the “working levels” of its team in Doha.
A source close to Hamas alleged that Israel’s delegation “has not held any real negotiations since last Sunday,” blaming “Netanyahu’s systematic policy of obstruction.”
The Hamas attack in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead.
Gaza’s health ministry said Tuesday at least 3,427 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,573.

Israeli politician slammed for saying country should not ‘kill babies for a hobby’

Osama Abu Mosabbah, mourns his wife and two children who were killed in an Israeli army airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
Updated 20 May 2025
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Israeli politician slammed for saying country should not ‘kill babies for a hobby’

  • “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby,” Golan said
  • The chairman of Israel’s Democrats party is a former major general in the military

JERUSALEM: Israeli government and opposition leaders condemned on Tuesday a left-wing politician, Yair Golan, after he said in a radio interview that “a sane country... does not kill babies for a hobby.”
“Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations — like the South Africa of old — if it does not return to behaving like a sane country,” said Golan, chairman of Israel’s Democrats party.
“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations,” he told Israel’s Kan public radio.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Golan, a former major general in the military, of “wild incitement” against Israeli troops and of “echoing the most despicable anti-Semitic blood libels against the (Israeli army) and the State of Israel.”
Golan also drew condemnation from government critics, with opposition leader Yair Lapid saying in a post on X: “Our fighters are heroes and are defending our lives. The statement that they kill children as a hobby is incorrect and is a gift to our enemies.”
Education Minister Yoav Kisch, of Netanyahu’s party, called for an incitement investigation into Golan, whose party is a coalition of several left-wing factions.
“Golan is not a member of Knesset and does not have immunity. I expect the attorney general to immediately open an investigation against him for incitement,” Kisch said on X.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also took to X, saying Golan’s comments would “undoubtedly serve as fuel for the fire of global antisemitism — at a time when Israel is fighting for its survival against a coalition determined to destroy it.”
Military chief Eyal Zamir in a statement condemned remarks that cast doubt on the “morality” of the army’s actions and of its troops.
Responding to criticism, Golan said on X that he was trying to sound the alarm on the direction he believed Israel was headed.
The government’s war plans are “the realization of the fantasies of (Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich,” Golan said, referring to two far-right ministers.
“If we allow them to realize them, we will become a pariah state,” the left-wing politician said.
During a press conference, Golan said his criticism “was in no way directed at the army.”
“My criticism is aimed at the government, not the army, which is my home and in my heart,” he told journalists.
“A government that says we can abandon hostages and starve children is a government that speaks like a spokesperson for Hamas,” he added.
Golan, a vocal opponent of Netanyahu’s government and its policies, has been a controversial figure since a 2016 speech in which he appeared to draw parallels between Israeli society and the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s.
In November 2024, he accused Netanyahu of putting his own political interests before the country’s following a decision to dismiss defense minister Yoav Gallant.


Abbas to discuss weapons in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps during Beirut visit: delegation member

Updated 20 May 2025
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Abbas to discuss weapons in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps during Beirut visit: delegation member

  • Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the Lebanese president during his three-day visit to the country

RAMALLAH: A member of Mahmoud Abbas’ delegation to Beirut told AFP on Tuesday that the Palestinian president will discuss the issue of weapons in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps during his three-day visit to the country.
“The issue of Palestinian weapons in the camps will be one of the topics on the agenda for discussion between President Abbas, the Lebanese President and the Lebanese government,” said Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee who is accompanying Abbas on the visit.


UK halts trade talks with Israel, summons envoy over Gaza

Updated 20 May 2025
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UK halts trade talks with Israel, summons envoy over Gaza

  • Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of 'egregious actions and rhetoric'
  • The moves are the UK's toughest stance yet against Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza

LONDON: Britain suspended free-trade negotiations with Israel on Tuesday and summoned its ambassador to the foreign ministry in its toughest stance yet against Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of “egregious actions and rhetoric” over its expansion of military operations in the Palestinian territory.
During an impassioned speech to Britain’s parliament, Lammy also said the UK government was imposing new sanctions on individuals and organizations involved in settlements in the West Bank.
“The world is judging, history will judge them. Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop,” he said.
Lammy said Britain “cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration” in Gaza and was pausing negotiations with Israel on a new free-trade agreement.
He said Britain would be “reviewing cooperation” with Israel under its so-called 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel relations.

The world is judging, history will judge them. Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

“Netanyahu government’s actions have made this necessary,” Lammy said.
Israel’s government responded by saying “external pressure will not divert Israel from its path in defending its existence and security against enemies who seek its destruction.”
“If, due to anti-Israel obsession and domestic political considerations, the British government is willing to harm the British economy — that is its own prerogative,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a statement.
Lammy said the Israeli government’s plan to displace the Gaza population and its limiting of aid to civilians “facing starvation, homelessness and trauma” meant the conflict was “entering a dark new phase.”
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely was being summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in protest against “the wholly disproportionate escalation of military activity in Gaza.”
He added that Israel’s weeks-long blockade on aid entering the strip, which was marginally lifted on Monday, had been “cruel and indefensible.”
The UK government announced financial restrictions and travel bans, targeting prominent settler leader Daniella Weiss and two other individuals, as well as two illegal outposts and two organizations accused of backing violence against Palestinian communities.
Lammy said Israel suffered a “heinous attack” at the hands of Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 and the UK government had backed Israel’s right to defend itself.
He repeated calls that Hamas must release all remaining Israeli hostages seized that day “immediately and unconditionally.” He also reiterated that Hamas “cannot continue to run Gaza.”
Britain and Israel opened negotiations on a free-trade agreement in 2022.
According to the British government, Israel was the country’s 44th-largest trading partner last year, with the two countries exchanging 5.8 billion pounds ($7.8 billion) in goods and services.


US asking countries for ‘voluntary’ Palestinian relocation: Rubio

Updated 20 May 2025
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US asking countries for ‘voluntary’ Palestinian relocation: Rubio

  • Responding to a question in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said: “There’s no deportation“
  • “Those will be voluntary decisions by individuals“

WASHINGTON: The United States has reached out to countries about accepting “voluntary” relocations of Palestinians fleeing Israel’s offensive in Gaza, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.

Israel has again warned the population of Gaza — nearly entirely displaced since the war broke out over the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas — to move ahead of a new offensive, which comes after it has blockaded food and supplies for more than two months.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly mused about displacing Gaza’s two million people to make way for reconstruction.

Responding to a question in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said: “There’s no deportation.”

“What we have talked to some nations about is, if someone voluntarily and willingly says, I want to go somewhere else for some period of time because I’m sick, because my children need to go to school, or what have you, are there countries in the region willing to accept them for some period of time?” Rubio said.

“Those will be voluntary decisions by individuals,” he said.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkely replied, if “there is no clean water, there is no food, and bombing is all around you, is that really a voluntary decision?“

Rubio did not say which countries had been approached but denied that Libya was among them.

NBC News, quoting anonymous sources, recently reported that Trump’s administration is working on a plan to relocate permanently up to one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.