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A British-Egyptian activist apologised Monday for resurfaced social media posts in which he called for violence against Zionists and police, as opposition lawmakers urged the UK government to revoke his citizenship.The posts, dating back to 2010, came to light just days after Alaa Abdel Fattah returned to Britain following years of diplomatic efforts by London to secure his release from detention in Egypt.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” Abdel Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones, but the opposition Conservatives and hard-right Reform UK party called for the activist to be deported.”Looking at the tweets now — the ones that were not completely twisted out of their meaning — I do understand how shocking and hurtful they are, and for that I unequivocally apologise,” Abdel Fattah said in a statement.”I must also stress that some tweets have been completely misunderstood, seemingly in bad faith,” he added.Abdel Fattah was a leading voice in Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising.He was detained in Egypt in September 2019, and in December 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news.  He went on hunger strike this March while behind bars and was later released after being pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.- ‘Abhorrent’ posts condemned -The UK foreign ministry condemned Abdel Fattah’s earlier posts on Sunday, describing them as “abhorrent” in a statement.But it added that it had been “a long-standing priority under successive governments” to work for his release.Abdel Fattah was granted UK citizenship in December 2021 when the Conservatives were in power. He obtained it through his British-born mother.The Conservatives’ justice spokesman, Robert Jenrick, called for Starmer to look into stripping Abdel Fattah of the citizenship.”If the Prime Minister really was unaware that El Fattah was an extremist, he should immediately retract his comments expressing ‘delight’ at his arrival and begin proceedings to revoke his citizenship and deport him,” Jenrick posted on X.Anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, leader of Reform, wrote a letter to interior minister Shabana Mahmood urging her to “order” the deportation of Abdel Fattah.”It should go without saying that anyone who possesses racist and anti-British views such as those of Mr el-Fattah should not be allowed into the UK,” Farage wrote.Abdel Fattah received the presidential pardon in September. He arrived in the UK last Friday after Egypt’s attorney general lifted an apparent travel ban.The Freedom for Alaa campaign said the activist had been reunited with his 14-year-old son, who lives in the southern city of Brighton.Abdel Fattah was nominated for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize in 2014 but the group backing him withdrew the nomination for the human rights award, saying they had discovered a tweet from 2012 in which he called for the murder of Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, with the US president pushing to move to the next stage of the fragile Gaza truce plan.The crucial meeting at Trump’s lavish Mar-a-Lago resort comes as some White House officials fear both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the second phase of their ceasefire.Trump, who said Netanyahu had asked for the talks, is reportedly keen to announce — as soon as January — a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force.The two leaders are to meet at 1 pm (1800 GMT), the White House said.Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu would discuss the second phase, which involves making sure that “Hamas is disarmed, Gaza is demilitarized.”But Netanyahu will also try to shift the focus onto Iran during his fifth meeting in the United States with Trump this year, amid reports he will push for more US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear program.Netanyahu would also bring up the “danger Iran poses not only to the region of the Middle East, but the United States as well,” Bedrosian said before flying out with the Israeli premier.Netanyahu’s visit caps a frantic few days of international diplomacy in Palm Beach, where Trump hosted Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday for talks on ending Russia’s invasion.The Gaza ceasefire in October is one of the major achievements of Trump’s first year back in power, but his administration and regional mediators want to keep up the momentum.Trump’s global envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner hosted senior officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in Miami earlier this month.The timing of the Netanyahu meeting is “very significant,” said Gershon Baskin, the co-head of peacebuilding commission the Alliance for Two States, who has taken part in back-channel negotiations with Hamas.”Phase two has to begin,” he told AFP, adding that “I think the Americans realize that it’s late because Hamas has had too much time to re-establish its presence.”  – ‘Going nowhere’ -The first phase of the truce deal saw Hamas release the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, from the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas has returned all but the body of one hostage. Both sides allege frequent ceasefire violations.Under the second stage, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, while Hamas is supposed to lay down its weapons — a major sticking point for the Islamist movement.An interim authority is meanwhile meant to govern the Palestinian territory, and the international stabilization force (ISF) is to be deployed.The Axios news outlet reported on Friday that Trump wanted to convene the first meeting of a new Gaza “Board of Peace” that he will chair at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January.But it said that senior White House officials were growing exasperated with what they viewed as efforts by Netanyahu to stall the peace process.”There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu,” said Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House.”The question is what it’s going to do about it,” he added, “because phase two is right now going nowhere.”For his part, Netanyahu is set to focus with Trump on Iran’s nuclear program, which the United States and Israel struck in June but which Israel fears Tehran is rebuilding.Israel is also continuing to strike Hamas targets in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon despite a ceasefire there. Syria will also be on the agenda.Mekelberg said Netanyahu could be attempting to shift attention from Gaza onto Iran as Israel enters an election year.”Everything is connected to staying in power,” he said of the long-time Israeli premier.