UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Tuesday an accord brokered by China seeking reconciliation between Hamas and other Palestinian factions to form a national unity government in Gaza.
“I think all steps toward unity are to be welcomed and encouraged,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that Guterres “very much welcomes the signing of the Beijing Declaration by the Palestinian factions.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas announced it had signed the agreement in Beijing with other Palestinian organizations — including rivals Fatah — to work together for “national unity.”
Hamas and Fatah are long-term rivals and fought a brief but bloody war in 2007 in which the former seized control of Gaza.
Fatah continues to dominate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited administrative control over urban areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel swiftly slammed the Beijing-brokered deal, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz insisting that “Hamas rule will be crushed” and accusing Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, a leader of Fatah, of embracing the group whose October 7 attacks triggered the war in Gaza.
The text of the deal outlines plans for “a temporary national unity government by agreement of the Palestinian factions” which would “exercise its authority and powers over all Palestinian territories” — the Gaza Strip as well the West Bank, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the factions had agreed to set up an “interim national reconciliation government” to govern post-war Gaza.
Speaking at the UN, spokesperson Dujarric said unity among the Palestinian factions was crucial.
“Palestinian unity... is crucial for peace and security and for advancing the aspirations of the Palestinian people for self determination and for fully independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state,” he said.
UN chief welcomes China-brokered accord seeking Palestinian unity
https://arab.news/phr8u
UN chief welcomes China-brokered accord seeking Palestinian unity
- “I think all steps toward unity are to be welcomed and encouraged,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said
- Israel swiftly slammed the Beijing-brokered deal, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz insisting that “Hamas rule will be crushed“
One killed, 13 injured in Marib shopping mall fire
- Civil defense teams, supported by police forces, were able to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other shops in the area
MARIB: One person was killed and 13 others were injured after a fire broke out at a shopping mall and neighboring shops on Aden Street in Marib Governorate, Yemen, on Sunday morning, local authorities said.
According to a security source cited by SABA News Agency, the blaze erupted after midnight, engulfing Ibn Al-Hajj Mall and adjacent commercial premises.
Civil defense teams, supported by police forces, were able to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to other shops in the area.
The source said the fire completely destroyed the Ibn al-Hajj Mall, including its second-floor warehouses, as well as a neighboring shoe store. A nearby furniture store sustained partial damage, but its contents were swiftly removed, helping to limit losses and stop the fire from spreading further.
All casualties were reported to have suffered from smoke inhalation, the source added.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the fire. Authorities urged merchants and residents to adhere to occupational safety procedures and preventive measures to protect lives and property.
