NEW YORK: As Tunisia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of January, the timing could not be more apt. It comes as the North African nation celebrates the 10th anniversary of “the revolution of freedom and dignity,” in the words of Tarek Ladeb, the country’s permanent representative to the organization.
“The (Tunisian) Revolution laid the foundation for democracy, and added impetus to Tunis’s role on the international scene as an active advocate of the UN charter, with its chief principles of multilateralism and human rights,” he said on Monday as he outlined the council’s program for the month.
This month marks the fourth time Tunisia has assumed the presidency, which is held by members of the Security Council for a month at a time on a rotating basis. Ladeb vowed that the role would be carried out with “devotion (to) unity and consensus (and) a steadfast engagement of multilateralism.” In the same vein, he said he would work “to uphold the credibility of the Security Council, by enhancing its responsibility in the resolution and prevention of conflicts.”
The envoy lamented the “erosion of the council’s credibility, which was tarnished during the (past few) years due to a lack of implementation, and the ongoing violation, of its decisions.”
He added that he intends to redouble the efforts to fully implement Security Council Resolution 2532, which was adopted in July in support of a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March for a global ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only is terrorism contributing to the escalation of conflicts and organized crime in many countries, said Ladeb, who also serves as chairman of the Security Council’s Counterterrorism Committee, but the world is facing new threats to peace and security. He warned, for example, that threats related to the pandemic, cyberattacks and climate change represent “multipliers of violence and danger in many regions.”
One of Tunisia’s main aims during its presidency will be to push for enhanced cooperation between the Security Council and regional and subregional organizations, such as the Arab League, he said.
In the Middle East, Syria will continue to be a key consideration for the council, with a particular focus this month on the use of chemical weapons, in addition to a meeting to discuss the political and humanitarian situations.
There will also be the latest monthly session on developments in Yemen, and a quarterly debate on the wider situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.
Ladeb said that Libya is also high on Tunisia’s agenda for the Security Council. He added that he hopes to capitalize on the “positive” outcomes of the first Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which took place in Tunis in November, by establishing a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire in the country.
“Nominating a new (UN) special envoy for Libya is crucial now to sustain the political momentum and give a push to the political process and the settlement of the crisis,” said Ladeb.
“I think the secretary-general is thinking of suggesting a new name to replace (that of former UN Middle East envoy Nickolay) Mladenov, who couldn’t take (up the offer of) this position (as Libyan envoy) due to personal and family reasons, and the council will adopt it as soon as possible.
“Libya is (Tunisia’s) neighbor. We have a steadfast and principled position toward this crisis.”
Ladeb said the Palestinian cause, “which has been dealt heavy blows in 2020,” remains a top priority for Tunis, not only at the UN but in every forum around the world.
He vowed to create “momentum for the resumption of the peace process within the framework of international concerted efforts, mainly by the Middle East Quartet (the UN, the US, the EU and Russia) and the Security Council, paving the way for negotiations on internationally agreed terms of reference for peace.”
He reiterated that those terms must include the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Iran is another issue that has been a constant on the Security Council’s agenda, especially in the five years since the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. More commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, it included an agreement by Tehran to limit its nuclear research in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
It was signed by the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US), plus Germany and the EU. President Donald trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions against Tehran.
President-elect Joe Biden has promised a return by Washington to the JCPOA but hinted that negotiations will be required first to address Iran’s missiles program and its disruptive regional activities. The European signatories to the deal have also hinted as much.
Although the JCPOA is not scheduled to be part of the Security Council’s agenda for January, Ladeb said: “(The deal) has been a major diplomatic achievement that should be constantly supported and preserved. This agreement remains the best available vehicle for the imperative of achieving non-proliferation and ensuring stability in the region.
“A more constructive approach is needed in the coming weeks, through engagement in reviving the agreement in order to diffuse tensions and dispel this atmosphere of distrust in a way that helps in restoring cooperation.”
Timing is apt as Tunisia takes over presidency of UN Security Council
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Timing is apt as Tunisia takes over presidency of UN Security Council
- Nation’s fourth month-long stint heading the body includes packed agenda featuring several key Middle Eastern issues
- The situations in Libya, Syria and Yemen will be addressed, along with the Palestinian issue
US says it downed four Yemen rebel drones in Red Sea
- US military says the unmanned aerial systems presented threat to merchant vessels
- It says the action was taken to protect freedom of navigation in international waters
WASHINGTON: The United States military said Wednesday it had downed four drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen aimed at a US warship in the Red Sea.
US Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that its forces had “engaged and destroyed four long-range unmanned aerial systems” at around 2 am Sanaa time (2300 GMT), adding there were no injuries or damage reported to US or coalition ships.
“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” the statement said.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels,” it added.
In November, the Houthis launched a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, an area vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
Outpouring of anger as thousands of Jordanians protest at Israeli embassy
- Surge in protests sparked by claims of Israeli soldiers raping, executing Palestinian women
- Many of Jordan’s 12m citizens are descendants of displaced Palestinians
AMMAN: Thousands of Jordanians marched to the Israeli embassy in Amman on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive day in an outpouring of anger at Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
“The people demand the end of Wadi Araba,” some chanted, referring to Jordan’s 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
Protestors, who began gathering at the Kaloti mosque around 10 p.m., were met by hundreds of security personal and military tanks in anticipation of the planned march to the heavily fortified Israeli embassy nearby.
Ambulances and medical teams were stationed as a precaution in the wake of days marked by violent confrontations between protestors and riot police.
Jordan has had some of the largest peaceful protests in the region since October, with regular marches in downtown Amman drawing hundreds of thousands of people on consecutive Fridays.
However, several demonstrators on Wednesday told Arab News the recent surge of daily gatherings near the Israel embassy were triggered by claims by Jamila Al-Hissi, a Palestinian woman, who told Al Jazeera Arabic of Israeli soldiers torturing, raping and executing women inside Al-Shifa hospital.
There have been reports that Al-Hissa’s claimed were denied on March 25 by a former Al Jazeera executive, who referenced a purported Hamas investigation.
Jordanians have felt the impact of the war in Gaza deeply, where Israel’s relentless bombing has killed over 32,000 Palestinians.
Many of Jordan’s 12 million citizens are descendants of Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.
“I’m devastated that we haven’t been able to help Gaza. The least that we can do is to be here so that our brothers and sisters in Palestine know that we’re standing with them,” 29-year-old Haneen Ashour told Arab News.
Popular chants like “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian soil” reflect the widespread public opposition to diplomatic normalization with Israel, seen as a betrayal of the Palestinians suffering under occupation.
Despite the large turnout and passionate demonstrations, some protesters have expressed doubt about the impact of their actions.
“This is our duty and it’s the least that we can do, but to be honest with you I don’t (know if) these protests are making any difference. If they were, we wouldn’t be 171 days into the war in Gaza,” 24-year-old Ammar Najar said.
Several protesters were beaten in previous days, and dozens were arrested as they attempted to break a heavy police cordon around the embassy, witnesses said.
Jordan’s authorities allow protests but say they cannot tolerate any attempt to storm the embassy, instigate civic unrest or try to reach borders with the occupied West Bank or Israel.
Gun attack on school bus in West Bank wounds 3 Israelis: army
- Soldiers were pursuing the suspect
JERUSALEM: Medics and the army said three people including a boy were wounded in a gun attack Thursday that targeted a school bus near the city of Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
After reports that a militant fired toward “a number of vehicles,” soldiers were sent to the scene near the town of Al-Auja, the military said, adding that soldiers were pursuing the suspect.
The military confirmed a school bus had been targeted.
A 30-year-old man was in serious condition with gunshot wounds, while a 21-year-old man was less seriously wounded and a 13-year-old boy suffered shrapnel injuries, emergency services said.
Israeli public radio said the masked gunman started shooting at Israeli cars at around 7:00 a.m. local time, hitting a car and a school bus.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October. The war began with Hamas’s unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 that left about 1,160 people dead.
More than 440 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since the war broke out, according to the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank.
At least 17 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed in attacks there over the same period, say the Israeli authorities.
Israeli strikes on Rafah raise fear ground assault could begin
- Israeli forces just north of Rafah kept the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, Al-Amal and Nasser Hospital, under a blockade imposed late last week
- In the north, they were still operating inside Al Shifa Hospital, which they stormed more than a week ago
GAZA STRIP: Israel bombed at least four homes in Rafah on Wednesday, raising new fear among the more than a million Palestinians sheltering in the last refuge on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip that a long-threatened ground assault could be coming.
One of the airstrikes killed 11 people from a single family, health officials said.
Mussa Dhaheer, looking on from below as neighbors helped an emergency worker lower a victim in a black body bag from an upper story, said he had awakened to the blast, kissed his terrified daughter, and rushed outside to find the destruction. His father, 75, and mother, 62, were among the dead.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I can’t make sense of what happened. My parents. My father with his displaced friends who came from Gaza City,” he told Reuters.
“They were all together, when suddenly they were all gone like dust.”
At another bomb site, Jamil Abu Houri said the intensification of air strikes was Israel’s way of showing its disdain for a UN Security Council resolution last week demanding an immediate Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
Next up, he fears a ground assault on Rafah, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to carry out despite warnings from closest ally Washington that this would wreak a humanitarian disaster.
“The bombing has increased, and they have threatened us with an incursion, and they say that have been given the green light for the Rafah incursion. Where is the Security Council?” Abu Houri said.
A US official said on Wednesday Israel had asked to reschedule a meeting in Washington to discuss its plans for Rafah, days after Netanyahu abruptly canceled the talks over the passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution by the UN Security Council that the US decided not to veto.
The US abstention from the vote pointed to frustration with Netanyahu, who rebuked Washington over the move.
More deadly airstrikes
Another Israeli airstrike in Rafah on Wednesday afternoon killed four Palestinians including a woman and a child and injured other residents, Gaza health authorities said.
Just west of Gaza City in the enclave’s north, seven people were killed in an airstrike on a house, health officials said.
The Israeli military says it is targeting armed Hamas militants who use civilian buildings, including apartment blocks and hospitals, for cover. Hamas denies doing so.
Separately, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where bloodshed has worsened in parallel with the Gaza war, three Palestinians were killed and four wounded by Israeli fire during a raid in Jenin overnight, the Palestinian health ministry said.
At least 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive into Hamas-run Gaza, according to the health ministry there, with thousands of other dead believed buried under rubble and over 80 percent of the 2.3 million population displaced, many at risk of famine.
The war erupted after Islamist Hamas militants broke through the border on Oct. 7 and rampaged through nearby communities, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israeli forces just north of Rafah kept the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, Al-Amal and Nasser Hospital, under a blockade imposed late last week. In the north, they were still operating inside Al Shifa, the enclave’s largest hospital, which they stormed more than a week ago.
Israel says the hospitals have been lairs for Hamas gunmen, which Hamas and medical staff deny. The Israeli military has said it killed and captured hundreds of fighters in a battle in Al Shifa. Hamas says civilians and medics were rounded up.
Gaza’s health ministry said wounded people and patients were being held inside Al Shifa’s human resources department that was not equipped to provide them with health care.
Residents living nearby have reported hearing constant explosions in and around Al Shifa and columns of smoke coming from buildings inside the premises.
International mediation has failed to secure a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners so far as the two sides stick to irreconcilable demands. Hamas wants an end to the war and total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until the group is eradicated.
US says it downed four Yemen rebel drones in Red Sea
- US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well
WASHINGTON: The United States military said Wednesday it had downed four drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen aimed at a US warship in the Red Sea.
US Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that its forces had “engaged and destroyed four long-range unmanned aerial systems” at around 2 am Sanaa time (2300 GMT), adding there were no injuries or damage reported to US or coalition ships.
“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” the statement said.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels,” it added.
In November, the Houthis launched a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, an area vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.