JERUSALEM: France’s foreign minister called on Israel to make public its position on a proposal that he shared with it aimed at defusing tensions between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, as Paris tries to act as an intermediary between the foes.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in escalating daily cross-border strikes over the past six months — in parallel with the war in Gaza — and their increasing range and sophistication has raised fears of a wider regional conflict.
The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah has amassed a formidable arsenal since a 2006 war with Israel and since October thousands of people on both sides of the border have been displaced by the clashes.
“I call on Israeli authorities to take a public position on these French plans that will enable us to move to the next stage,” Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.
Sejourne said earlier in the day that a number of modifications had been put forward to Israel after consultations in Lebanon earlier in the week.
“We have a relationship with Lebanon, 20,000 (French) citizens there and the war in 2006 was particularly dramatic for them,” he said ahead of a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem.
Sejourne was in Lebanon on Sunday where he met officials including politicians close to Hezbollah. French officials have reported progress in the responses from Lebanese authorities.
Sejourne said the basis of the proposals was to ensure UN Resolution 1701 from 2006, which called for non-state armed groups to quit south Lebanon and for Lebanon’s regular army to deploy there, was implemented.
Hezbollah has said it will not enter any concrete discussion until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas is in its seventh month.
Israel has flagged a potential military operation along its northern front bordering Lebanon, saying it wants to restore calm there so thousands of Israelis can return to the area without fear of rocket attacks, even if Hezbollah has said it will not stop exchanges until there is a truce in Gaza.
France has historical ties with Lebanon, a large expatriate population in the country and some 700 troops as part of the UN peacekeeping force in the country’s south.
Earlier this year Sejourne presented a written proposal to both sides that entailed Hezbollah’s elite unit pulling back 10 km (6 miles) from the border and Israel halting strikes in southern Lebanon.
It also touched on longer-term border issues and was discussed with partners including the United States, which is making its own efforts to ease tensions and exerts the most influence on Israel.
Sejourne also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem as Western powers try to dissuade Israel from storming Gaza’s southern border city of Rafah as they step up efforts to broker an end to the devastating war.
Around a million Palestinians displaced by Israel’s invasion of Gaza since Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7 are sheltering in Rafah. Israel says Hamas’ last four intact combat battalions are holed up in Rafah as well.
“We can talk with Israel, but it has to hear things and that means opening more
humanitarian points
(in Gaza) and hearing our hostility toward an offensive in Rafah under these conditions,” Sejourne said, adding the focus should be on finalizing a truce.
“We will need to think about the political options that would enable this truce to become long-term because there would be nothing worse than it lasting just a few hours, which would be a collective failure,” he said.
France asks Israel to make position public on Lebanon border proposals
https://arab.news/rqvh7
France asks Israel to make position public on Lebanon border proposals
- “I call on Israeli authorities to take a public position on these French plans that will enable us to move to the next stage,” Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said
- He said earlier in the day that a number of modifications had been put forward to Israel after consultations in Lebanon earlier in the week
Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Aidrous Al-Zubaidi Flees to Unknown Location
- Aidrous Al-Zubaidi fails to board plane bound for Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: Official Spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen Major General Turki Al-Malki stated that the head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) Aidrous Al-Zubaidi has fled to an unknown location.
Major General Al-Malki announced that on Jan. 4, 2026, the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition informed Al-Zubaidi that he must travel to Saudi Arabia within 48 hours to meet with President of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) of the Republic of Yemen Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, and the Coalition Forces Command to address the reasons behind the escalation and attacks by forces affiliated with the STC on the governorates of Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra.
On Jan. 5, the Presidency of the STC reiterated its appreciation for the efforts led by Saudi Arabia in preparing for a comprehensive Southern conference to discuss ways to resolve the Southern issue, and affirmed its active participation in ensuring the conference’s success.
Consequently, Al-Zubaidi informed the Kingdom of his intention to attend on Jan. 6, and the delegation proceeded to the airport.
However, the departure of Yemenia Airways flight IYE 532, scheduled for 10.10 p.m. and carrying the delegation, was delayed for more than three hours. The legitimate government and the coalition received intelligence indicating that Al-Zubaidi had moved a large force—including armored vehicles, combat vehicles, heavy and light weapons, and ammunition—from the Jabal Hadid and Al-Solban camps towards Al-Dhale' around midnight.
Subsequently, the aforementioned flight was allowed to depart, carrying a large number of STC leaders but excluding the council's head Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, who fled to an unknown location.
He left the members and leaders of the STC without any details regarding his whereabouts. This occurred after he distributed weapons and ammunition to dozens of elements inside Aden, led by Mu'min Al-Saqqaf and Mukhtar Al-Nubi, with the aim of creating unrest in Aden in the coming hours.
This prompted the National Shield Forces and the coalition to request Vice President of the Presidential Leadership Council Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami (Abu Zara'a) to impose security, prevent any clashes within Aden, spare its residents any disturbances, protect lives and property, and cooperate with the National Shield Forces.
The coalition forces monitored the movement of the aforementioned military units as they emerged from the camps and took up positions in a building near Al-Zand camp in Al-Dhale' Governorate. At 4 a.m., coalition forces, in coordination with legitimate government forces and the National Shield Forces, launched limited preemptive strikes to disrupt these forces and thwart Al-Zubaidi's attempts to escalate the conflict and extend it into Al-Dhale'.
The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen affirms that it is working with the Yemeni government and the local authority in Aden to support and maintain security efforts and confront any military forces targeting cities and civilians. The command urges all residents to stay away from camps in Aden and Al-Dhale', avoid any gatherings of military vehicles for their own safety, and provide information to security agencies regarding any suspicious military movements.
