ANKARA: Turkey on Monday pledged to provide security cover at Kabul airport if a number of key conditions were met.

After weeks of uncertainty over whether Ankara would pull its troops from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the military would stay if its allies committed to certain political, financial, and logistical support.

Turkey’s decision about taking over security responsibility at the airport has been the subject of intense talks with Washington and was also discussed during the recent NATO defense ministers’ meeting.

Several countries had considered closing their embassies in Afghanistan if the city airport was not secured.

Following last year’s February agreement in Doha between the Taliban and the US government, the withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan had been due to be completed by May 1. But the deadline was later extended, a decision that angered the group.

US soldiers are now expected to be out of Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, New York terror attacks.

Akar said that Turkey, which had about 500 soldiers in the country as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), was now awaiting a response from allies to its requests.

“We are aiming at restoring peace in Afghanistan. We have a historical brotherhood. We want to be able to stay in Afghanistan as long as the Afghan people want our assistance,” he added.

Hamid Karzai international in Kabul is the primary airport of the country and also serves as a large military base but Afghan authorities do not have the capacity to provide full security at the site where air traffic control has been operated by NATO military staff since 2002.

The airport’s security was important not only for military flights but also for supporting international organizations and NGOs distributing humanitarian aid.

Magdalena Kirchner, director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation office in Kabul, told Arab News that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces could theoretically increase the risk of retaliatory attacks against a Turkish residual force.

“But I think the higher risk would be the absence of critical enablers currently provided by US forces should there be a dramatic decline in the overall security situation or if the airport itself should come under attack,” she said.

Maintaining a presence at the airport was seen as crucial to ongoing international travel and support reaching the country and because the handover of airfields and airports to the Afghan authorities required more time, capacities, and resources than anticipated, she added.

The much-anticipated Istanbul conference on Afghan peace, due to have taken place in April, has been postponed after the Taliban made a late decision not to attend. The group expected the upcoming conference to be short with an agenda not touching upon decision-making on critical issues.

Regarding the prerequisites of continued Turkish presence in Afghanistan, Kirchner noted that negotiations may hinge around increasing the amount of a reported $130 million deal with NATO.

“Politically, maintaining at least a formal NATO umbrella would be an option preferred by Turkey over a unilateral military engagement and lastly, especially between the US and Turkey, logistical discussions over critical enablers and force protection capabilities might continue,” she said.

Last December, the Turkish parliament approved a motion to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in Afghanistan for 18 months as part of NATO’s support mission in the war-torn country. This year marks the 100th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Afghanistan.

LONDON: The top US military official in the Middle East has urged the Iran-backed Houthis to cast aside their pride and desire for a military solution in Yemen, and instead enter political negotiations with the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition to end the country’s crisis.

In a press briefing attended by Arab News, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., commander of the US Central Command, said it is clear that the Houthis are holding up the peace process in Yemen and thereby prolonging the suffering of millions of people.

“We’re at a point in the crisis in Yemen where I’m personally convinced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks a responsible political end to the conflict. I’m convinced they’re willing to take significant steps to make that happen,” he told Arab News. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe the Houthis are ready to seize the moment.” 

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia launched a wide-ranging initiative to bring peace to Yemen, deliver aid to its people and end the country’s six-year war.

The plan called for a nationwide ceasefire supervised by the UN, the reopening of Sanaa airport, and new talks to reach a political resolution to the conflict.

However, McKenzie said he believes the Houthis are unwilling to entertain the possibility of a political solution.

They “have an opportunity here to enter good-faith negotiations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to bring an end to this conflict,” he added.

“But their constant bombardment of Saudi Arabia isn’t helpful, and their continued pressure to take the town of Marib in northwest Yemen isn’t helpful either.”

Marib hosts many internally displaced Yemenis, and just days ago dozens of people — including a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old — were killed by a Houthi airstrike on a gas station there. 

“I hope (the Houthis’) pride and their desire to seek a purely military solution to this conflict isn’t going to overcome the opportunity that we now have in front of us,” McKenzie said.

One of Washington’s priorities, he added, is “deterring Iran’s destabilizing activities” because Tehran “remains the biggest threat to stability in the Middle East.”

A key focus of that effort is taking place in Iraq, where Tehran is going to increasing lengths to undermine the country’s sovereignty.

Much like the Houthis, McKenzie said Iran’s Iraq-based proxies are increasingly dismissive of political engagement, and are instead choosing to pursue their objectives with violence.

“The latest manifestation of that has been the use of small unmanned aerial systems, or drones. Some of them are very small, some are larger, but all can be very lethal,” he added. “Political pressure hasn’t worked for them. Now they’re turning to a kinetic approach.”

JERUSALEM: Israel’s parliament speaker said Monday that a vote to approve a new government that would end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year rule will be held in the coming week, without setting a precise date.
The announcement by Yariv Levin, a close Netanyahu ally, leaves time for the prime minister’s efforts to try to peel away supporters from the fragile coalition arrayed against him, which consists of eight parties and has only a narrow majority in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, or parliament.
Netanyahu’s supporters have launched a blistering campaign against his opponents, including death threats and raucous protests outside their homes that has forced the Knesset to beef up their security details.
Netanyahu has accused his erstwhile right-wing allies of betrayal for allying with leftists and a small Arab party that he had also courted.
The so-called change coalition appears to be holding together despite the attacks and its ideological differences.
Naftali Bennett, an ultranationalist former Netanyahu ally, would serve as prime minister for two years, followed by the centrist Yair Lapid.
“This government is being formed because it’s the majority,” Lapid said Monday, insisting that it would serve all Israelis and be based on “trust, on decency, on goodwill.”
“These past few days proved how much we need change. If the leadership uses violence and incitement against Knesset members, against their children, against the very essence of the democratic process, then we need change,” Lapid said.
Israel held four elections in less than two years, the most recent in March.
Each time, voters were deeply polarized over whether Netanyahu should remain in office while on trial for corruption. An emergency government formed last year to address the coronavirus pandemic was mired in political infighting and collapsed in December. Netanyahu tried and failed to form a government after the March elections before the mandate was given to Lapid.
The political transition, which could yet be derailed, comes amid heightened tensions following weeks of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police in Jerusalem that ignited a wave of ethnic violence in Israeli cities and triggered an 11-day Gaza war.

AMMAN: Jordanian MPs voted on Sunday to expel Osama Al-Ajarmeh from parliament after he was accused of sparking riots over the weekend.

The emergency session was held after violence erupted in the suburb of Naour, a stronghold of the Ajarmeh tribe in southwest Amman.

Four police officers were wounded in clashes with supporters of the dismissed MP, the Public Security Department (PSD) said.

Of the 130-member lower chamber, 108 MPs voted in favor of expelling Al-Ajarmeh.

The MP was seen in a video insulting King Abdullah II while carrying a sword and a gun in a shoulder holster. 

The injured police officers were taken to hospital after being hit by stones, the PSD said.

During Sunday’s session, the house speaker, Abdulmunim Oddat, and several other MPs denounced Al-Ajarmeh’s “perverted utterances” and “devious, slanderous” allegations aimed at the king.

“I hereby declare the parliament’s support to the king against all attempts targeting his prestige, and rejects any tampering with the kingdom’s social fabric, its tribal and family harmony, and social peace, which form the basis for Jordan’s security and stability,” the Jordan news agency, Petra, reported Oddat as saying.

Last week, MPs voted to freeze Al-Ajarmeh’s membership of parliament for a year after he was caught on video cursing the chamber during an emergency session to discuss nationwide power outages.

The outspoken MP had accused the the government of deliberately plunging the country into darkness to prevent a march on Amman organized by Jordan’s tribes seeking to have the Israeli ambassador expelled for the recent bombing campaign in Gaza.

With his membership frozen, Al-Ajarmeh submitted a resignation letter to the house in which he expressed dismay over the constitutional provision that gives the king the power to dissolve parliament.

Al-Ajarmeh was then seen in many videos making bold statements while surrounded by his supporters, threatening to establish a “radical Jordanian right wing” of tribes and ex-army figures to “purify Amman of the liberal elite” whom he accused of being behind the country’s woes.

The government said on Sunday it would not tolerate any acts threatening the country’s stability and security, adding that no one is above the law.

A security source told Arab News that the security agencies were dealing with renewed rioting in suburban Naour involving protests over Al-Ajarmeh’s dismissal.

CAIRO: The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has issued a statement on the accountability and ownership dispute surrounding the Ever Given container ship, which ran aground and disrupted global trade in March.

The statement came in response to recent legal claims put forward by UK Protection Ltd.

According to the release, the SCA stated that its negotiating committee had reviewed negotiations of the legal file for the ship, as well as a statement by UK Protection Ltd.

The SCA said it “appreciated” what was stated about the authority’s eligibility to obtain an appropriate and fair compensation that covers the costs of rescue work, the due rescue reward and the losses incurred by the authority during the successful rescue operation of the stranded ship.

It stressed that the canal’s navigation regulation is the legal reference that defines the rights and obligations of the Suez Canal toward its customers.

The regulation includes traffic rules in the canal and all texts specifying the various responsibilities and requirements for ships transiting the canal, including maritime, logistics and rescue vessels.

It was also highlighted that the Navigation Regulations in Clause No. 58 regarding the designation of accompanying tugs states that the authority shall appoint two tugs accompanying container ships weighing 170,000 tons or more. This was done by the authority in the case of Ever Given, the SCA said.

The authority added that the permitted speeds of vessels within the navigational course ranges from 14 to 16 kilometers per hour, depending on the type of ship.

Accordingly, it said ships are obligated to apply the predetermined speeds in accordance with the navigation regulations during their transit through the channel, and the responsibility for exceeding these speeds rests with the ship’s master alone.