Մերձավոր Արևելք. Ղազախստանը միանում է Աբրահամի համաձայնագրին, ասում է Թրամփը

https://p.dw.com/p/53Bol

Advertisement

What you need to know

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Kazakhstan was joining the Abraham
Accords.

Meanwhile, an appeals court in The Hague has quashed a bid put forward by pro-Palestinian activists to ban all weapons deliveries from the Netherlands to Israel.

And Pope Leo XVI has welcomed Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, to Rome.

Here are the latest headlines from Israel, Gaza, and the wider Middle East on Thursday, November 6:

Kazakhstan joining Abraham Accords — Trump

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Kazakhstan was joining the Abraham
Accords.

"Kazakhstan is the first country of my second term to join the Abraham Accords, the first of many," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

In 2020, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords — a series of agreements to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations.

Kazakhstan's move is largely symbolic as the country already has full diplomatic relations and economic ties with Israel.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is currently in Washington for talks with Trump.

https://p.dw.com/p/53EH2

Former Israeli PM and former Palestinian FM share vision for two-state solution

Emmy Sasipornkarn

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa sat down with DW to discuss their proposal for a peaceful two-state solution.

Last year both men initially came together to propose a peace plan that would address Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza as well as the broader conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

"The reason why we propose it is because we feel that this is the time when we have to shake both sides to understand that without a political solution, we are doomed to repeat what we have been through, war, fights, bloodshed, destruction, loss of life and hopes," Olmert told DW.

The fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which has only been in place for about a month, continues to hold.

On the future of Hamas, Al-Kidwa said that "Hamas understands that it's a new era, a new situation and that it needs to change and it needs to commit to ending its control over Gaza and all its forms: political, administrative, as well as security."

Gaza: Mapping the path to lasting peace

https://p.dw.com/p/53EC5

Israel strikes southern Lebanon

The Israeli army said it conducted strikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday.

It said it targeted military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, including "weapons storage facilities... constructed in the center of civilian-populated areas."

The attacks represented an escalation in what has been near-daily Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The airstrikes also come hours after Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government not to cooperate with Israel.

Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee had warned residents in Tayba near the border, Teir Debba located just east of the coastal city of Tyre, and Aita al-Jabal in southern Lebanon, to flee 500 meters (about 1,600 feet) away from residential buildings that would be targeted.

Israel also issued warnings for the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Kfar Dounin.

Lebanon's Health Ministry reported one person was wounded in the strikes.

After the strikes, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said, "Every time Lebanon expresses its openness to peaceful negotiations... Israel intensifies its aggression."

Meanwhile, Israel's government said the strikes were against Hezbollah.

"We will not allow Hezbollah to rearm themselves, to recover, build back up its strength to threaten the state of Israel," Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said at a briefing discussing the strikes.

https://p.dw.com/p/53DgL

Dutch court tosses attempt to end all arms sales to Israel

An appeals court in The Hague dismissed a case brought by 10 NGOs seeking to end all military equipment sales from Netherlands to Israel. The groups said the Dutch government was doing too little to stop what they called the "genocide" in Gaza and was engaging in a "clearly unlawful" foreign policy.

"While it is plausible that there is a risk of genocide and serious human rights violations, it is not, in principle, up to the court to prescribe to the State what measures must be taken to prevent this," the judges wrote in a statement.

Israel has repeatedly denied the accusation that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Dutch court also pointed to a number of measures already taken by the Dutch government to reduce its support of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, including a moratorium on the sale of equipment that they believe could be used in the Palestinian territory.

The latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, which the UN considers to be reliable, show that over 68,000 Palestinians, most of the civilians and including at least 20,000 children, have been killed due to Israeli strikes and other policies since Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people. 

https://p.dw.com/p/53Boo

Pope Leo hosts Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Pope Leo XIV met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in person for the first time on Thursday, though the pair had spoken over the phone in the summer.

"During the cordial talks, it was recognized that there is an urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and to end the conflict by pursuing a two-State solution," the Holy See said in a statement.

Abbas made the visit to mark the 10th anniversary of the "Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine," which recognized Palestinian statehood on behalf of the Vatican in June 2015.

Before meeting with Leo, Abbas paid his respects at the tomb of pope's predecessor, Francis. Abbas and Francis met several times and kept in regular contact over the phone throughout the two years of Israeli strikes on Gaza.

https://p.dw.com/p/53C35

Israel confirms returned body is Tanzanian student hostage

Israeli authorities have said that the most recent body of a hostage taken on October 7, 2023, to be returned was that of Tanzanian student Joshua Loitu Mollel.

Mollel, 21, had arrived at kibbutz Nahal Oz only 19 days before the Hamas attack. Having just finished an agricultural degree, he was hoping to gain some practical knowledge he could bring back to his home country.

"Joshua's return offers some comfort to a family that has endured unbearable uncertainty for over two years," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement.

The bodies of six hostages remain in Gaza. Their return is part of a US-backed ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

https://p.dw.com/p/53C3r

Welcome to our coverage

Elizabeth Schumacher with AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa

A fragile ceasefire continues to hold between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, including the return of hostages' bodies to Israel.

The new pope is meeting with a Palestinian delegation in the Vatican.

Follow here for all of the latest developments in the conflict in the Middle East.

https://p.dw.com/p/53Bon

Show more posts