MISNAD MEETS SWEDISH OFFICIAL
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Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter released from French prison after 40 years
France has released Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter jailed since 1984, and put him on a flight to Beirut after he spent nearly four decades behind bars. Shortly before 3:40am (01:30 GMT) on Friday, a convoy of six vehicles with flashing lights was seen leaving the Lannemezan prison in southern France, according to journalists with the AFP news agency on the ground. A source confirmed the 74-year-old had been freed and later boarded a flight to Lebanon. Abdallah, who was convicted in 1987 for his role in the killings of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris, had long been eligible for release. However, repeated applications were rejected, often due to pressure from the US, which was a civil party in Abdallah's case. Last month, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in favour of his release, effective on Friday, on the condition that Abdallah leave French territory and never return. His lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told AFP that the former fighter appeared 'very happy' during their final visit 'even though he knows he is returning to the Middle East in an extremely tough context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations'. Abdallah, the founder of the now-defunct Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions, had declared during a recent visit by a lawmaker that he remained a 'militant with a struggle'. French police uncovered submachine guns and communication equipment in one of his flats at the time of his arrest. Abdallah has never expressed regret for his actions and has always insisted he is a 'fighter' who has battled for the rights of Palestinians and is not a 'criminal'. The Paris court described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed 'no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts'. The appeals court cited the length of Abdallah's detention and his advanced age, calling his continued imprisonment 'disproportionate'. In France, inmates serving life sentences are typically released after less than 30 years. Abdallah's family said they would greet him at Beirut's airport before travelling to his hometown of Kobayat in northern Lebanon, where a reception has been planned.
Al Jazeera
18 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
France's move to recognise Palestinian state condemned by US, Israel
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington 'strongly rejects' French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognise a Palestinian state, as the administration of President Donald Trump announced it would not attend an upcoming United Nations conference seeking a two-state solution for Palestinians. Posting on X late on Thursday, Rubio criticised Macron's 'reckless decision', which he said 'only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace'. Earlier, Macron had said he would formalise France's decision to officially recognise a Palestinian state at the UN's General Assembly in September. 'In keeping with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine,' Macron wrote on X. At least 142 countries out of the 193 members of the UN currently recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state. But several powerful Western countries – including the US, the United Kingdom and Germany – have refused to do so. Fellow European Union members Norway, Ireland and Spain indicated in May that they had begun the process to recognise a Palestinian state. But Macron's decision would make France – one of Israel's closest allies and a G7 member – the largest and arguably most influential country in Europe to make the move. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the decision, saying such a move 'rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy'. 'A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it,' he said in a post on X. 'Let's be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,' Netanyahu added. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also described the move as 'a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism'. He added that Israel would not allow the establishment of a 'Palestinian entity that would harm our security, endanger our existence'. While supporting a two-state solution remains the long-held official stance of the US, President Donald Trump has himself expressed doubts about its viability. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump suggested the US could 'take over' Gaza, displace the territory's more than two million Palestinian population, and transform it into the 'Riviera of the Middle East'. Trump's plan has been condemned by rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the UN as tantamount to 'ethnic cleansing'. In June, Washington's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, also said he did not think an independent Palestinian state remained a US foreign policy goal. His comments prompted Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce to say Huckabee 'speaks for himself' and policy-making is a matter for Trump and the White House. On Thursday, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the US will not attend an upcoming conference set to be held at the UN on the two-state solution. The conference – co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, and scheduled to take place between July 28-30 – seeks to chart a roadmap to end the decades-long conflict and recognise a Palestinian state. Speaking to reporters, Pigott said there was 'nothing further' to say about the issue other than that Washington 'will not be in attendance'. There is mounting pressure on Israel to end its deadly war on Gaza, waged in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which saw some 1,139 people killed and more than 200 captives taken to the Palestinian enclave. Israel's subsequent 21-month assault on Gaza has resulted in almost 60,000 Palestinians being killed, with a further 144,000 wounded. Months-long ceasefire negotiations – brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar – have so far failed to yield a breakthrough. On Monday, 28 countries – including the UK, Japan and numerous European nations – issued a joint statement telling Israel the war on Gaza 'must end now'. The joint statement also condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food'.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
‘UK deeply committed to recognising Palestine'
DPA London British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government is 'deeply committed' to recognizing a Palestinian state, a member of his Cabinet said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stressed that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. Starmer is under increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognize Palestine. Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful. 'And we do want to see Palestine recognized. I want that to be meaningful. I want that to be working with partners, other countries around the world.' Labour's London Mayor Sadiq Khan has piled pressure on Starmer to 'immediately recognize Palestinian statehood.' He said that the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing,' as aid groups have warned of starvation in the Gaza Strip. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for the Royal Air Force to carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza.
