A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militant commander has visited the Lebanon-Israel border expressing support for the Lebanese and Palestinians against the Jewish state and sparking harsh criticism from Lebanon's prime minister who ordered him banned from entering the country.
Qais al-Khazali is commander of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, a group that staged spectacular attacks against U.S. troops before their withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. He appeared in military uniform in a video while touring the border with Israel along with members of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group.
This frame grab from video provided on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, by Asaid Ahl al-Haq's TV station al-Ahd, shows Iraqi militant commander Qais al-Khazali, left, of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, speaks in front of a wall that was built by Israel at the Fatima Gate border point in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon. A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militant commander has visited the Lebanon-Israel border expressing support for the Lebanese and Palestinians against the Jewish state. (Al-Ahd TV station via AP)
"We declare our full readiness to stand with the Lebanese people and the Palestinian cause against the unjust Israeli occupation that is hostile to Islam, Arabs and humanity," he said.
The visit could be seen as a message to Israel that a possible war with Hezbollah in the future would bring into the country Iran-backed fighters from around the region at a time when Iranian-backed groups have a major presence in Syria and Iraq.
The visit was blasted by Prime Minister Saad Hariri who said in a statement that it is a "flagrant violation" of Lebanese laws, adding that the appearance happened six days ago. Hariri ordered al-Khazali banned from entering Lebanon again.
This frame grab from video provided on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, by Asaid Ahl al-Haq's TV station al-Ahd, shows Iraqi militant commander Qais al-Khazali of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, speaks in front of a wall that was built by Israel at the Fatima Gate border point in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon. A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militant commander has visited the Lebanon-Israel border expressing support for the Lebanese and Palestinians against the Jewish state. (Al-Ahd TV station via AP)
Hariri's office said the prime minister contacted security officials to investigate the incident and prevent any person or group from carrying out any military activities on Lebanese territory.
The video was aired by Asaib Ahl al-Haq al-Ahd TV station Thursday night showing al-Khazali along with several other people in military uniforms as they showed him around areas overlooking Israeli towns and villages. One of those guiding al-Khazali points to a mountainous region in a distance and tells him "this is Golan" in reference to Syria's Golan Heights that were captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war.
Al-Khazali is later seen standing next to a wall on the border near the Fatima Gate in the Lebanese border village of Kfar Kila.
This frame grab from video provided on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, by Asaid Ahl al-Haq's TV station al-Ahd, shows Iraqi militant commander Qais al-Khazali of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, speaks in front of a wall that was built by Israel at the Fatima Gate border point in the southern village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon. A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militant commander has visited the Lebanon-Israel border expressing support for the Lebanese and Palestinians against the Jewish state. (Al-Ahd TV station via AP)
Al-Khazali's Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollah are among the Iran-backed groups that are fighting in Syria along with President Bashar Assad's forces helping in tipping the balance of power in his favor in Syria's conflict now in its seventh year.
Jawad al-Tlebawy, a spokesman for Asaib Ahl al-Haq in Baghdad, told The Associated Press that the trip to the Lebanon-Israel border occurred after this week's decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Hariri's office said it happened few days before Trump's decision that has triggered widespread protests throughout the Arab and Muslim world.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness” in cease-fire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas headquarters in Doha, has been a key intermediary and was instrumental, along with the U.S. and Egypt, in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages. But in a sign of frustration, Qatar this month said it was reassessing its mediator role.
An Israeli delegation is expected in Egypt in the coming days to discuss the latest proposals in negotiations, and senior Hamas official Basem Naim said in a message to The Associated Press that a delegation from the militant group will also head to Cairo for talks. He did not elaborate, but Egypt’s state-owned al-Qahera TV said the delegation would arrive on Monday.
The interviews with Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari by liberal daily Haaretz and Israeli public broadcaster Kan were published and aired Saturday evening. They came as Israel promises to invade Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there.
Al-Ansari expressed disappointment with Hamas and Israel, saying each side has made decisions based on political interests and not with the good of civilians in mind.
He did not reveal details of the state of talks, other than to say they have “effectively stopped,” with “both sides entrenched in their positions.”
Relations between Qatar and Israel have been strained throughout the war as some politicians in Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have criticized Qatar for not putting enough pressure on Hamas. Israeli legislators have also cleared the way for the country to expel Al Jazeera, the Qatar-owned broadcaster. Qatar has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.
Al-Ansari’s remarks came after an Egyptian delegation discussed with Israeli officials a “new vision” for a prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.
The Egyptian official said Israeli officials are open to discussing establishing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as part of the second phase of a deal.
“They showed willingness to do so but not commitment,” the official said. Israel has refused to end the war until it defeats Hamas.
The second phase would start after the release of civilian and sick hostages, and would include negotiating the release of soldiers, the official added. Senior Palestinian prisoners would be released and a reconstruction process launched.
Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week cease-fire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages held by Hamas in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
A letter written by U.S. President Joe Biden and 17 other world leaders urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately. Hamas in recent days has released new videos of three hostages, an apparent push for Israel to make concessions.
The growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a cease-fire deal is also meant to avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, the city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is seeking shelter.
Israel has massed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, The planned incursion has raised global alarm.
“Only a small strike is all it takes to force everyone to leave Palestine," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted to the opening session of the World Economic Forum on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli troop buildup may also be a pressure tactic on Hamas in talks.
Israel sees Rafah as Hamas’ last major stronghold. It vows to destroy the group's military and governing capabilities.
Aid groups have warned that an invasion of Rafah would worsen the already desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hunger is widespread. Some 400 tons of aid arrived Sunday at the Israeli port of Ashdod — the largest shipment yet by sea via Cyprus — according to the United Arab Emirates. It was not immediately clear how or when it would be delivered into Gaza.
The war was sparked by Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say another 250 people were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 people, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say.
Israel’s retaliatory assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally.
The Israeli military blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. It says it has killed at least 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Gambrell reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
People carry the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat into the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners pray over the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat, at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
