Lebanon drafts reply to US demand for Hezbollah to disarm, sources say
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
27 minutes ago
- Arab News
The Middle East model for land restoration
At a time when political instability dominates the Middle East and North Africa region, climate change, floods and fires tend to get less attention than usual. And the problems of desertification and droughts become almost forgotten. But this neglect is not only unjustified, it is dangerous. While desertification and droughts are slow-moving and less dramatic than wars, floods and fires, they are just as devastating. Just ask the more than 500 million people living in the MENA region who must cope with them each day. Whereas healthy land produces food, retains water, absorbs carbon and supports livelihoods, degraded land does not. And from the Atlas Mountains to the Tigris-Euphrates river valley, the MENA region features some of the driest — and most rapidly degrading — landscapes on Earth. With temperatures in the region rising nearly twice as fast as the global average, water scarcity, extreme heat waves and desertification are increasingly shaping everyday life. Add to that some of the world's fastest-growing populations and the risks to food security, economic stability and social cohesion will only grow. MENA's experiences are an ominous portent of what awaits other regions, which will soon find themselves facing many of the same challenges. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the frequency and duration of droughts have increased globally by nearly 30 percent since 2000. More than 3.2 billion people worldwide are now affected by land degradation, with 12 million hectares of arable land lost each year. Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in mitigating and, where possible, reversing the effects of climate change Nizar Haddad But the MENA region also offers reason for hope. For example, Saudi Arabia — for which I am the FAO's program director — has been investing heavily in mitigating and, where possible, reversing the effects of climate change, including through land rehabilitation, rangeland restoration, reforestation and climate adaptation. The Kingdom's ambition is exemplified by the Saudi Green Initiative, which includes pledges to plant 10 billion trees and rehabilitate 40 million hectares of degraded land. Innovation is central to this effort. One novel land restoration technique, developed through a collaboration between Saudi technical institutions and the FAO, uses dry palm leaves to stabilize sand dunes in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. This organic material, which was historically considered waste, protects topsoil from wind erosion and slows the rate at which water evaporates, thereby ensuring enough moisture for dormant native seeds to germinate. The FAO is also working with Saudi Arabia to implement science-based land monitoring systems, scale up sustainable land management techniques and train national experts in climate-smart practices. More than 40 professionals have been trained across key regions, including Jouf, Riyadh and the Eastern Province. While solutions are always adapted to the local ecosystem, they are designed with scalability in mind. The climate crisis is advancing fast, but so are solutions — thanks not least to those on the front line Nizar Haddad But climate change is not bound by national borders. That is why Saudi Arabia created the Middle East Green Initiative, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation. At the global level, the Kingdom is spearheading the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, aimed at helping the most vulnerable countries cope with drought. Since the initiative's announcement at the 2024 UN Convention to Combat Desertification, known as COP16, more than $3 billion has been mobilized. It helps that, beyond being crucial to human well-being, land restoration is a high-return investment: the FAO estimates that every dollar invested in it can yield up to $30 in economic and environmental returns. Local nongovernmental organizations and communities are playing a growing role in land restoration efforts, such as by establishing nurseries for native plants, building green belts and raising public awareness. This combination of local action, national direction and international cooperation delivers the kind of robust, lasting results that are needed to build true climate resilience. And it should serve as a model for the rest of the world. The climate crisis is advancing fast, but so are solutions — thanks not least to those on the front line. The most climate-vulnerable countries are acting as role models, innovators, pioneers and leaders. What Saudi Arabia is doing today will shape what California, southern Europe and the Sahel do tomorrow. Fortunately, the lessons are likely to be as plentiful as they are constructive. Copyright: Project Syndicate
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Lebanon drafts reply to US demand for Hezbollah to disarm, sources say
Lebanese officials were drafting a response on Tuesday to US demands for Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons across the country by November in exchange for a halt to Israeli military operations, two sources briefed on the matter said. The deadline has turned up the heat on Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was struck hard by Israel during last year's war, is suffering a financial crunch and faces pressure in Lebanon to disarm. Washington's demands were conveyed by Thomas Barrack, US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, during a trip to Beirut on June 19. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters Barrack had shared a written roadmap with Lebanese officials and told them he expected to hear back by July 1 on any proposed amendments. The six-page document centers on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militant groups, and urges Lebanon to improve ties with neighboring Syria and implement financial reforms, they said. It proposes a phased approach to disarmament, in which Hezbollah would hand in its arms throughout Lebanon in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying areas in south Lebanon, the sources said. Barrack said full disarmament should be completed by November or by the end of the year at the latest, they said. Disarmament would end Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah members and unlock funds to rebuild parts of Lebanon destroyed by Israeli forces last year, they said. The US has said Washington will not support reconstruction in Lebanon without Hezbollah laying down arms. The proposal also refers to establishing a mechanism overseen by the United Nations to secure the release of Hezbollah-linked prisoners by Israel, the sources said. They said Barrack had urged Lebanese officials to seize the opportunity laid out in the roadmap as it 'may not come up again.' He is set to return to Lebanon next week. Barrack had not yet gotten Israeli approval for the roadmap, the sources said. There was no immediate response from the US state department, Israel's prime minister's office or Israel's foreign ministry to Reuters requests for comment. 'The right to say no' Lebanon has appointed a committee to formulate a preliminary response, comprised of delegates from the offices of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, the sources said. It was not clear whether the initial reply would be ready by Tuesday. The US proposal includes a condition that the final deal be sealed with a unanimous decision by Lebanon's government, the sources said. The second source, and a third source briefed on the matter, said Berri was in close communication with Hezbollah to secure the group's input. 'Hezbollah has not refused to cooperate with the committee and in fact began sending signals of cooperation - but has not committed to disarming,' the third source said. The prospect of securing Hezbollah's disarmament - unimaginable two years ago - underlines the big shifts in the Middle East power balance to the detriment of Iran's allies across the region since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in October 2023. Some of Hezbollah's arsenal was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, and other depots in southern Lebanon were handed over to Lebanon's army in accordance with the US-brokered ceasefire that ended that round of conflict. That deal called for the disarmament of armed groups across Lebanon. Hezbollah has said it applies only to the group in Lebanon's southernmost districts. Hezbollah has not commented publicly on Barrack's proposal. But in a televised address on Monday, its secretary general, Naim Qassem, reiterated Hezbollah's resistance to US and Israeli pressure and urged other Lebanese to do the same. 'We have the right to say 'no' to them, 'no' to America, 'no' to Israel,' Qassem said. 'We call on you in Lebanon: do not help Israel and America with their plans.' Qassem said the US and Israel 'want to exploit the moment to turn the equation in the entire region in their image.'
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel's normalization appeal elicits mixed responses in Syria, Lebanon
Israel's overture this week to Syria and Lebanon for a peace deal has sparked mixed reactions in both countries, where the idea of normalizing ties has long been considered taboo. On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country had an 'interest in adding countries, Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization while safeguarding Israel's essential and security interests.' Beirut and Damascus did not comment on Saar's words. His statement comes amid major shifts in the region's power dynamics, including the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December and the weakening of Lebanese Hezbollah after its latest war with Israel. Syria's new authorities have confirmed they held indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions after the Israeli army took over the UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and bombed countless Syrian army positions. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has repeatedly stated that Damascus does not seek conflict with its neighbors, asking the international community to pressure Israel into stopping its attacks. He has also refrained from using his predecessor Assad's terms for Israel, like 'the usurping entity' or 'the Zionist enemy.' Amid a rapidly shifting regional landscape, some Syrians have expressed a tentative openness to the prospect of normalization. 'There is no problem with conducting peace negotiations, but in a way that maintains Syria's dignity,' said housewife Rania al-Fawakhiri, sitting in a cafe in Damascus. 'Of course, we are not talking about complete normalization, but conditional normalization that does not undermine our rights,' she added. Syria has said that the goal of ongoing negotiations is the reimplementation of the 1974 ceasefire between the two countries. Golan issue In the same cafe, lawyer Awad al-Hamad said that Syrians would support 'any peace that leads to the restoration of Syrian rights.' 'We want our land, we have occupied land,' he added, referring to the Golan Heights, which he said will 'only ever be Arab and Syrian.' Israel occupied the Golan Heights during the 1967 war and then annexed it in 1981, in a move not recognized by the international community. In his statement, Saar stated that the Golan Heights 'will remain part of the State of Israel' under any future peace agreement. For decades under Assad rule, Syrian school curricula presented Israel as an 'enemy' and an 'occupying entity,' and deemed the liberation of the Golan a 'national duty.' Syria and Israel have technically been in a state of war since 1948. Under Assad, Syria repeatedly asked for the Golan Heights to be returned in exchange for peace. Prior to the current indirect talks, no negotiations had taken place since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, which saw Iran and its proxies expand their networks in the country. Israel's interest in normalizing comes after many of its enemies were weakened in its wars in Lebanon, Gaza and Iran. The United States has been strongly pushing for normalization, with Syria envoy Tom Barrack saying on Sunday that Sharaa 'has indicated that he doesn't hate Israel... and that he wants peace on that border.' 'We will fight' Barrack also asked Lebanese officials to formally commit to fully disarming Hezbollah, one of Israel's sworn enemies. Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah positions, despite a November ceasefire that sought to end its war with the Iran-backed group. Lebanese officials have vowed that state forces will be the sole bearers of arms and demanded that Israel fully withdraw its troops from Lebanon. The latest conflict with Israel began after Hezbollah launched attacks across the border in 2023 in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza, before it escalated into a full-blown war in September. Hezbollah's areas of influence in south and east Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs, saw heavy destruction, while the country's already crippled economy suffered heavy blows. Walking in Beirut's Hamra street, 71-year-old Naim Qassir said that 'Lebanon's wellbeing comes first, and if the only way to get that is through normalization... we could have a peace treaty to rebuild our country.' A few meters away, 46-year-old driver Ahmed Shamas said that 'even if the whole world normalizes with Israel... we the owners of the land in the south, the Beqaa and Dahiyeh (Beirut's southern suburbs) will not.' 'We will fight it until the end of time.'
