Libyan rivals resume talks in Morocco to break political deadlock

A boy celebrates the anniversary of the 2011 revolution in Tripoli, Libya. (File/Reuters)
A boy celebrates the anniversary of the 2011 revolution in Tripoli, Libya. (File/Reuters)
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Updated 18 December 2024

Libyan rivals resume talks in Morocco to break political deadlock

A boy celebrates the anniversary of the 2011 revolution in Tripoli, Libya. (File/Reuters)
  • Talks are between rival legislative bodies based in east and west of country
  • Political process to end civil war stalled since election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed

RABAT: Delegations from rival Libyan institutions resumed talks in Morocco on Wednesday to try to break a political deadlock and prevent the country from sliding back into chaos.
Libya has undergone a turbulent decade since it split in 2014 between two administrations in its east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The talks in Bouznika, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, were between rival legislative bodies known as the High Council of State based in Tripoli in the west and the House of Representatives based in Benghazi in the east.
Speaking at the opening of consultations between the institutions, Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita urged participants to work together to preserve Libya’s unity and prepare for “credible elections.”
“The numerous international and regional conferences on Libya will not replace the inter-Libyan dialogue which has credibility and ownership,” he said.
A political process to end years of institutional division, outright warfare and unstable peace has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed, amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.
The House of Representatives was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a political transition.
Under a 2015 Libyan Political Agreement, reached in Morocco’s Skhirate near Rabat, the High State Council was formed as a consultative second chamber with an advisory role.
But the House of Representatives then appointed its own rival government, saying the mandate of the prime minister of a government of national unity had expired. The eastern-appointed government has had little clout, but its appointment revived Libya’s east-west division.


US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid, Israeli official says

US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid, Israeli official says
Updated 58 min 12 sec ago

US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid, Israeli official says

US forces working with Israel on Gaza aid, Israeli official says
  • Washington Post reported US-led body would oversee aid
  • Humanitarian agencies say too little aid is getting in

JERUSALEM: US forces are taking part in overseeing and coordinating aid transfer into the Gaza Strip together with Israel as part of US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan, an Israeli security official said on Saturday.
The Washington Post on Friday reported that the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) will replace Israel in overseeing aid into Gaza. It cited a US official and people familiar with the matter as saying Israel was part of the process but that CMCC would decide what aid enters Gaza and how.
The Israeli security official said that Israeli security services remain part of policy, supervision and monitoring with decisions made jointly, and that the integration of the CMCC was already underway.
The US embassy in Israel and CMCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Aid agencies say too little aid getting in
Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed a month ago to a first phase of a plan presented by Trump. It paused a devastating two-year war in Gaza triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, and secured a deal to release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The CMCC began operating from southern Israel in late October, tasked with helping aid flow and stabilizing security in Gaza, according to the US Central Command.
While the truce was meant to unleash a torrent of aid across the tiny, crowded enclave where famine was confirmed in August and where almost all the 2.3 million inhabitants have lost their homes, humanitarian agencies said last week that far too little aid is reaching Gaza.
Israel says it is fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement, which calls for an average of 600 trucks of supplies into Gaza per day. Reuters reported on October 23 that Washington is considering new proposals for humanitarian aid delivery.
The Israeli official said that the United States will lead coordination with the international community, with restrictions still in place on the list of non-governmental organizations supplying aid and the entry of so-called dual-use items, which Israel considers to have both civilian and military use.