Israeli newspaper: Gantz provided facilities to Abbas during their last meeting

Saudi King: Iran is a neighboring country and we hope to change its policies

In his speech distributed to members during the inauguration of the Shura Council, the Saudi monarch said that "Iran is a neighboring country, and we hope to change its policies."

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the works of the Shura Council via video link, stressing that "Iran is a neighboring country that we hope to change its policies."

And the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday, Kingdom time, that "King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud inaugurated, via video communication, the work of the second year of the eighth session of the Shura Council, in the presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

In his speech, the Speaker of the Shura Council Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Al-Sheikh said in a speech that the decisions issued by the Council during the first year of its eighth session were 249, and the number of the council’s committees increased to 15, without further details.

While the Saudi monarch gave a short speech, saying: "We have been blessed by the Crown Prince's launch of many projects with a future vision whose systems support sustainability, prosperity, innovation and business leadership, providing job opportunities and achieving huge returns to the local product."

He stressed that "the Kingdom's global status is due to its Arab and Islamic position, its pivotal roles in international politics, and its commitment to covenants such as establishing security, peace, stability and prosperity," according to "SPA".

He pointed out that there was "a speech distributed to (members of the Council) detailing the country's internal and external political, administrative and economic positions."

Finally, the Saudi monarch said: “I thank the citizens, residents and workers in the face of the Corona pandemic, and my thanks go to my sons, the brave soldiers in all sectors, and in the southern border (which is adjacent to Yemen and is witnessing confrontations with the Houthis)."

Later, "SPA" transmitted the text of the speech distributed by King Salman to the members of the Council, which included "the Kingdom's internal and external positions politically, administratively and economically."

Politically, King Salman stressed the need to accelerate Gulf integration procedures, stressing that "the Palestinian issue comes at the top of the kingdom's foreign policy priorities."

He said, "Iran is a neighboring country to the Kingdom, and we hope that it will change its policy and negative behavior in the region, and move towards dialogue and cooperation."

Last November, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that "his country's talks with Iran that have boycotted relations with it since 2016 will continue, and an additional round of negotiations is expected soon," about a month after he revealed that a fourth round of direct negotiations had been held. On the 21st of last September.

In his speech, King Salman referred to the Iranian regime's "destabilizing policy of security and stability in the region, and its support for the Houthi militia in Yemen, accusations that Tehran usually denies."

He stressed that "Saudi Arabia is keen to push all right-wing parties to accept political solutions to restore stability to Yemen and ward off the threat to the Kingdom and the region."

He added, "The Kingdom continues to call on the Houthis to appeal to the voice of reason and to prioritize the interests of the honorable Yemeni people over others."

Yemen has been witnessing for nearly 7 years a continuous war between the pro-government forces backed by an Arab military alliance led by the neighboring Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled several governorates, including the capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.

Regarding Beirut, which is witnessing a diplomatic and trade crisis with Riyadh, King Salman added: "The Kingdom stands by the Lebanese people and urges all Lebanese leaders to give priority to the interests of its people and work to achieve what it aspires to, and stop Hezbollah's terrorist hegemony over the joints of the state."

And the Shura Council in Saudi Arabia is similar to parliament in other countries, and it is appointed by the king, and its decisions are not final and need the king’s approval, and it was reconstituted under the chairmanship of Abdullah Al-Sheikh and 150 members for a period of 4 years by a royal decision on October 18, 2020.

Erdogan: Turkey is progressing towards achieving its goals at a time when the global economy is shaken

During his participation, via direct video link, in the opening ceremony of a tunnel on the road between Erzurum and Artvin provinces, President Erdogan stated that his country is moving forward with determination towards achieving its goals through development infrastructure, at a time when the roots of the management system and the global economy are shaken.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government aims to put Turkey in the ranks of the top 10 economies, and has a stronger say in the global system.

This came during his participation, via a direct video call, on Wednesday, in the opening ceremony of a tunnel on the road between Erzurum and Artvin provinces.

Erdogan stated that the new tunnel is one of the most important elements of the project to make the transport movement between the regions of southern and eastern Anatolia, and the Black Sea region, continuous without interruption.

He pointed out that the project has a tunnel length of 2,272 meters, and with the roads leading to it, its total length reaches 3.4 kilometers.

He explained that the project will ensure a rapid, safe and uninterrupted continuation of the movement of people and products between Erzurum and Artvin.

"We have increased the length of the dual roads in Turkey from 6,100 km to 28,473 km," Erdogan added.

He pointed to the increase in the length of highways from 1,714 km to 3,532 km in the country, and tunnels from 50 km to 639 km.

He stressed that Turkey has become at the forefront of the scene as a country with the most comprehensive and modern development infrastructure among developed and developing countries.

And he added, "Turkey is moving forward with determination towards achieving its goals through this infrastructure, at a time when the system of administration and the global economy is shaken to its roots, and the world is witnessing the birth of a new order."

And he added, "Our goal is to make our country one of the top 10 economies in the world, and to have a more influential say in the global governance system."

He stated that this is the most important motivation behind his government's efforts to rapidly develop the country in medium and high technology-based fields, especially in defense industries.

Israeli newspaper: Gantz provided facilities to Abbas during their last meeting

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz offered several facilities to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during their meeting on Tuesday evening.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Wednesday that Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz offered several facilities to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during their meeting on Tuesday evening.

The newspaper quoted Gantz’s office as saying in a statement: “Gantz agreed to several confidence-building steps (with President Abbas), including the early delivery of tax funds, granting hundreds of Palestinian businessmen entry permits to Israel with their vehicles, as well as VIP permits for dozens of officials in the Palestinian Authority.”

According to Yedioth Ahronoth's details in the statement, Gantz provided 100 million shekels in tax money early, 600 additional permits for businessmen, 500 additional permits to enter by car into Israel, and dozens of VIP permits for PA officials.

Israel collects taxes on goods entering the West Bank and Gaza, and transfers them to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance, as stipulated in the understandings between the two sides.

Yedioth Ahronoth added that Gantz informed Abbas of Israel's approval to register 6,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and 3,500 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian civil registry "for humanitarian considerations," according to the statement.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza suffer from the inability to travel and move due to Israel's refusal to register their names in the civil registry.

On Tuesday evening, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the latter's home in Rosh Ha'Ain (center) near Tel Aviv.

Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, said Abbas's meeting with Gantz was "the last chance before the explosion."

In a tweet posted on his Twitter account, Sheikh added that the meeting was "a serious and bold attempt to open a political path based on international legitimacy and put an end to escalatory practices against the Palestinian people."

On the other hand, Palestinian factions, in separate statements on Wednesday, refused to meet Abbas and Gantz, and considered it a "departure from the state of national consensus."

Hamas said that the meeting "provokes the people, who are exposed daily to an unjust siege in Gaza, and an aggressive escalation targeting their land, national rights, and sanctities in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

While the Islamic Jihad movement said that the meeting "comes at a time when our people are exposed to terrorist attacks led by the Israeli extreme right, and implemented by the army under the instructions of Gantz."

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also expressed its rejection of this meeting because it "contradicts national positions and demands."

This is the second meeting between Abbas and Gantz, as they had previously met on August 30 at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank.

At that time, the Israeli government said that the meeting discussed security issues, but did not touch upon any political issues.

Political talks between the Palestinians and Israel have been suspended since 2014, due to Israel's refusal to stop settlements and its refusal to accept the principle of a "two-state solution"