Egypt stressed “the importance of putting the Palestinian house in order,” and warned of the danger of continuing violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and attempts to undermine the existing historical and legal status in the holy sites in the city of Jerusalem.
This came during a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati and Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, on Monday evening, to discuss developments in the situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the efforts made to support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
According to a statement by the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nader Zaki, on Tuesday, Minister Abdel Ati reviewed the developments in the efforts aimed at supporting the completion of the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive peace plan, stressing “the importance of full commitment to the entitlements of the first phase, including ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip without obstacles, and proceeding with early recovery steps.”
The “Trump plan” includes 20 points to end the conflict in Gaza, and moves from a ceasefire to disarmament, technocratic rule, reconstruction, and Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.
Abdel Ati also condemned the repeated attacks committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank and their escalation, as well as the repeated raids on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocative practices inside it.
According to a Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday, the meeting discussed “the importance of continuing the Palestinian national dialogue in a way that contributes to unifying ranks and putting the Palestinian house in order,” as well as “Egypt’s support for the efforts aimed at reforming and empowering the Palestinian Authority and enhancing its capabilities to carry out its responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in a way that supports the unity of Palestinian decision-making and institutions and paves the way for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
An envoy of US President Donald Trump met with the Sudanese army commander over the weekend in Egypt, as the United States and other mediators seek to end a devastating war that has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to what Reuters reported.
On Monday, the US chief advisor for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, announced on the “X” platform his meeting with the Sudanese army commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, saying: “We reaffirm the continuing efforts made by the United States, along with our Egyptian partners and other regional and international partners and allies, in order to reach a political solution to the crisis.”
This rare meeting came less than two weeks after Washington refused to grant an entry visa to the Sudanese army commander before his scheduled visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, in a move that Sudanese and other sources said was linked to a ceasefire proposal supported by the United States and rejected by Khartoum.
The Sudanese army has been waging battles against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. The US State Department said last month that there is no “legitimate and constitutional ruler of Sudan” from the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, or any of their leaders. The war led to the displacement of more than 14 million people.
“The United States is ready to support all efforts that lead to a comprehensive dialogue between Sudanese political forces, leading to a preliminary road map for Sudan’s future,” Boulos said on Monday.
Washington accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing genocide, and accused the Sudanese army of committing war crimes. Both sides previously denied committing any violations.
During the past few days, two delegations from two official human rights bodies in Mauritania visited a number of those detained pending investigation in a case that has become known in the media as the “Bloggers Abroad File,” in a step that came amid an escalating controversy raised by bloggers residing outside the country regarding what they described as the ill-treatment to which their detained relatives were subjected.
The file raises controversy in Mauritania, especially after information was circulated by parties close to the authority indicating that the number of those included in the file exceeded 40 people, and that the funds being tracked exceeded 1.5 billion old ouguiyas, which is equivalent to 3.7 million dollars.
According to these sources, dozens of bank accounts and electronic wallets were frozen as part of the investigation, and officials in a number of local banks and figures in the public administration who were subjected to blackmail were also heard from.
A delegation from the National Human Rights Committee, led by the head of the committee, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Dahi, and accompanied by its Secretary-General, Mohamed Ould Ibrahim, said in a statement issued on Sunday that it visited the detainees and had a field review of their residence conditions.
The statement explained that the detainees “reside in appropriate and air-conditioned places, and receive good nutrition,” in addition to the availability of medicines and health care when needed, stressing that the delegation “did not notice any indications of their exposure to ill-treatment,” and did not receive any complaints in this regard during the visit. The committee pledged to continue monitoring the conditions of the detainees “with complete independence” in order to preserve their rights and dignity.
In a related context, a delegation from the National Observatory for Women and Girls’ Rights, headed by Fatima Muhammad Al-Amin Angian, visited last Saturday two women detained in the case, to learn about the circumstances of their arrest and the extent of respect for legal procedures.
According to the Observatory’s statement, the delegation listened to each of them separately, inspected the place of detention, and met with the team supervising him, which included a policewoman and a doctor. The Observatory recorded that the place of detention is “one of the usual places” and that “the basic needs for rest” are met, while the two detainees confirmed to the delegation that they were not subjected to any pressure or ill-treatment, and the supervising doctor also confirmed that their health condition was stable.
Despite this reassurance, the Observatory stressed “the necessity of respecting the legal deadlines for detention, and adhering to basic legal guarantees at all stages of research and investigation,” calling for guaranteeing the basic rights of detainees, including “contacting family and lawyers.”
The two visits come in the wake of an arrest campaign initiated by the police early this month, targeting relatives of several Mauritanian bloggers residing in Europe and the United States, including Abdelrahman Akmash and his sister, in addition to the owner of a money exchange agency in Nouakchott, against the backdrop of an investigation that the authorities describe as targeting suspicious financial transfers used in blackmail operations and spreading false news.
The authorities have not yet issued a detailed official clarification about the charges or the results of the investigation, while the Mauritanian government announced, last Wednesday, the arrest of six people during a security campaign to track down and dismantle a “financial extortion network,” in which it accused bloggers active on social media sites, most of whom reside abroad.
This campaign began with the arrest of members of the family of a blogger residing in the United States, called Sidi Ould Akmash, who has recently become famous for his positions opposing the authorities, but is accused of participating in a network that blackmails officials by publishing false news in exchange for obtaining money through intermediaries. The blogger denies the charges against him, and confirms that this campaign is due to his political positions on the ruling regime.
