US working on 60-day truce to end war in Lebanon

LONDON: King Abdullah II expressed Jordan’s complete solidarity with Qatar during official talks with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who visited Amman on Wednesday.

King Abdullah said that Jordan supports “all measures taken to preserve (Qatar’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the treacherous Israeli attack,” according to Qatar News Agency.

He praised the efforts of the Qatari leadership to establish peace and stability, globally and regionally, as both sides discussed ways to strengthen ties and cooperation in the economic and investment sectors, in addition to developments in the region.

Sheik Tamim said that Qatar “will take all necessary measures to protect its security and preserve its sovereignty in the face of this aggression,” in reference to the Israeli airstrikes that targeted a Hamas delegation in Doha last week.

The two leaders emphasized the importance of supporting the Palestinian people in achieving their legitimate national rights and highlighted the need for political solutions to the crises facing the region to maintain its security and stability, the QNA added.

The talks at the Basman Palace in Amman were attended by senior ministers and officials from Jordan and Qatar. Before the discussions began, King Abdullah and Sheikh Tamim held a separate meeting, during which they exchanged views and opinions on various issues.

King Abdullah awarded Sheikh Tamim the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali, which is the highest award Jordan offers to heads of state, and hosted a luncheon banquet in his honor.

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch accused Israeli forces Wednesday of forcibly displacing residents of southern Syria, which Israel has demanded be demilitarised in a new security deal Syria is seeking with its neighbor.

The statement quoted the Israeli military as saying it is operating in southern Syria “to protect the citizens of the State of Israel” and that its activities are “in accordance with international law.”

The report came as Syrian state media said Israeli forces seized several people in the south, and a day after Damascus said it was working with Washington to reach mutual “security understandings” with Israel.

“Israeli forces occupying parts of southern Syria since December 2024 have carried out a range of abuses against residents, including forced displacement, which is a war crime,” HRW said in a statement.

As Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad on December 8, Israel deployed troops to a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that has separated the countries’ forces since an armistice that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel has also launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the south despite opening talks with the interim authorities.

HRW said that “Israeli forces have seized and demolished homes, blocked residents from their property and livelihoods, and arbitrarily detained residents and transferred them to Israel.”

The New York-based watchdog said it interviewed residents, reviewed images and analyzed satellite imagery to corroborate accounts.

Early Wednesday, Syrian state television said Israeli forces seized four men from villages in and near the buffer zone in the southern province of Quneitra “during a raid and search operation... that targeted a number of homes.”

Earlier this month, state media said Israeli forces seized seven people in the same area, with the Israeli army saying it apprehended individuals “suspected of terrorist activity” and took them to Israel for further questioning.

On Tuesday, Syria announced a US- and Jordan-backed roadmap for restoring stability in the south after deadly sectarian violence in the Druze minority heartland of Sweida prompted Israeli military intervention in July.

A Syrian military official told AFP that heavy weapons had been withdrawn from the south in a process that began after the Sweida violence.