BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Monday that countries should pressure Israel to stop attacking Lebanon following a UN Security Council decision calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been trading fire across the southern Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war. Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the UN vote.
In a statement shared by his office, Mikati welcomed the move, saying it was “a first step on the path to stopping the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
“When it comes to Lebanon, we renew our call to concerned countries to pressure the Israeli enemy to stop its continued aggression on southern Lebanon,” the statement said.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel could not stop its war on Hamas while there were still hostages in Gaza.
Mikati told Reuters in February that a ceasefire in Gaza would trigger indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel to reach a halt to hostilities on the southern border and to delineate the disputed border between the two countries.
Hezbollah has also said it would halt its fire into Israel if a Gaza ceasefire was reached. Israeli and US officials, however, have said a ceasefire in Gaza would not automatically extend to Lebanon
Lebanon PM calls for pressure on Israel to stop attacking south after UN vote
https://arab.news/gegvc
Lebanon PM calls for pressure on Israel to stop attacking south after UN vote
- Mikati told Reuters in February that a ceasefire in Gaza would trigger indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel
Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold
- The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates
RABAT: Morocco’s energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.
The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port on the Mediterranean to an existing pipeline that allows Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.
It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in Mohammedia and Kenitra.
“Due to new parameters and assumptions related to this project... the ministry of energy transition and sustainable development is postponing the receipt of applications and the opening of bids received as of today,” the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco is looking to expand its use of natural gas to diversify away from coal as it also accelerates its renewable energy plan, which aims for renewables to account for 52 percent of installed capacity by 2030, up from 45 percent now.
The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates.
