UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – France has already “taken sanctions at the national level against violent settlers, and sanctions at the European level,” declared the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, stressing that “this sanctions regime had already been activated twice and that it could be activated a third time soon.
Creation of a Palestinian state, “progress” with a view to a ceasefire in Lebanon, bombings in Homs… Le Figaro takes stock of the conflict in the Middle East.
New sanctions approaching against Israeli settlers
The French Foreign Minister indicated on Monday that new sanctions could be taken “Soon” against extremist Israeli settlers. “We have taken sanctions, national level sanctions against violent settlers, and European level sanctions”said Jean-Noël Barrot, stressing that “this sanctions regime had already been activated twice and could be activated a third time soon”.
For Israel, the creation of a Palestinian state is not a “realistic position”
Wanting to establish a Palestinian state is not “Today” a project “realistic”Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday at a press conference in Jerusalem. “In a word? No”replied Gideon Saar, asked about the prospect of a relaunch of the so-called Abraham Accords with the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the possibility of extending normalization between Israel and several Arab countries to Saudi Arabia in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state. “A Palestinian state (…) will be a Hamas state”he added, “I don’t think this position is realistic today, and we have to be realistic”.
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Saudi crown prince calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon…
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon on Monday as the Arab League and Organization for Cooperation summit opened Islamic in Riyadh. “We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities (…) by immediately putting an end to Israeli attacks against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon”declared the crown prince who accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
…and calls on Israel to respect Iran's sovereignty and refrain from attacking its territory
Saudi Arabia's crown prince also said Israel must “respect the territorial sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran” et “refrain from attacking its territory”at the opening of the summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh. He called Iran “Sister Republic”a sign of the warming of relations between the two countries which ended seven years of diplomatic quarrel in March 2023 thanks to a rapprochement negotiated under the aegis of China.
Israel notes 'some progress' towards ceasefire in Lebanon
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also reported “some progress” with a view to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where the Israeli army launched a major military offensive against the Islamist movement Hezbollah in mid-September. “There is some progress”he said in response to a question about the prospects of such a truce. “We are working on the subject with the Americans”he added during a press conference in Jerusalem.
Lebanese PM says 'unprecedented' crisis threatens his country's existence
For his part, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, affirmed that a crisis “unprecedented” threatened the existence of his country. He also called on the international community to “continue sending aid to Lebanon”during a summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fires west of Jerusalem, no link to Yemen missile strike
The fires which broke out west of Jerusalem are not linked to the interception of a missile launch from Yemen claimed by the Houthi rebels, Israeli firefighters announced on Monday. Initially, firefighters and the Israeli army indicated that fires in the Bet Shemesh sector, about twenty kilometers from Jerusalem, had been caused by debris resulting from the interception of a missile in from Yemen.
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“The start of the fire, which was limited – two cars and some brush burned – was of criminal origin, according to the elements we found”declared to AFP the spokesperson for the firefighters for the Jerusalem area, Oudi Gal. “The link was made with the interceptions because of the temporal coincidence between them and the start of the fire and because the interceptions often cause fires, but in this case it is not linked”he added, specifying that the fires had been brought under control.
Hezbollah official says Israeli army still does not occupy any village in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah media chief Mohammad Afif said Monday that the Israeli army still did not occupy any village in southern Lebanon where it launched a ground offensive on September 30. “After 45 days of bloody battles, the Israeli enemy is still incapable of occupying a single village” from southern Lebanon, assured the official during a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut, shelled by the Israeli air force.
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He assured that Hezbollah fighters had been able to push back the Israeli army in Khiam, about six kilometers from the border, and that they had unsuccessfully “attempted to penetrate Bint Jbeil on several fronts”another border town. Since September 30, the Israeli army has been carrying out incursions into Lebanese territory and dynamiting buildings in border villages, without settling there. Hezbollah accused her of wanting to create a «no man’s land» at the border.
Mohammad Afif denied “the allegations” of Israel according to which Hezbollah's stock of missiles has decreased due to its daily strikes on Lebanon. “How can our stock of missiles decrease when a few days ago we targeted the suburbs of Tel Aviv (..) and used Fateh missiles for the first time?”he asked.
Official Syrian media reports strike near Homs
The official Syrian agency Sana reported on Monday a “Israeli aggression” targeting the Homs region, in central Syria, the day after a deadly strike near Damascus. According to Sana, “an Israeli aggression” aimed “the surroundings of the Chinchar region south of Homs”. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) indicated for its part that the Israeli raid was aimed “an ammunition warehouse” of Lebanese Hezbollah, in open war against Israel.
