Fifty years after Israel occupied the Palestinian territories, its policies in the West Bank and Gaza are at the root of Palestinian hardship, the United Nations said Wednesday. “Occupation policies and practices remain the key cause of humanitarian needs in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said … Read more
The Arab-Israeli war of June 1967, or Six-Day War, radically changed the map of the Middle East. Between June 5 and 10, Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan and Syria and occupied Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Syria’s Golan Heights. Although Israel has since withdrawn from Sinai and the Gaza … Read more
Israelis and Palestinians mark 50 years since the Six-Day War next week as the gap between them further widens, with both sides deeply scarred by years of violence, failed negotiations and broken promises. The anniversary comes as hopes dim for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and with heavy scepticism surrounding US President Donald … Read more
Some use photographs, others seek global solidarity or throw themselves into campaigning for peace. Fifty years after the 1967 Six-Day War, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has left scores of families bereaved and searching for ways to keep loved ones’ memories alive. Israeli Tamar Paikes, 49, feels she lost her father twice. In 1967, a few months … Read more
50,000 weddings were celebrated in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2015 The head of Palestinian Islamic courts on Sunday told judges not to grant divorces over Ramadan, fearing the month-long fast could spark rash words that would be regretted later. Judge Mahmud Habash said he based his ruling on “the experience … Read more
The head of Palestinian Islamic courts on Sunday told judges not to grant divorces over Ramadan, fearing the month-long fast could spark rash words that would be regretted later. Judge Mahmud Habash said he based his ruling on “the experience of previous years” when he found that the dawn-to-dusk fast and ban on cigarettes, which … Read more
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their mass protest under a deal brokered by the Red Cross, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Saturday. Some 30 of the more than 800 hunger strikers had been hospitalised in recent days, raising fears of an escalation of clashes … Read more
The United Nations warned Friday that an energy crisis in the Gaza Strip was severely affecting water supplies and health services, and could trigger an outbreak of violence. UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, “all have obligations for the … Read more
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas executed three people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday over the assassination of one of its military leaders allegedly on behalf of Israel. Two men were hanged to death in Gaza City over the killing of Mazen Faqha in March, while a third was executed by firing squad, said an … Read more
Israeli right-wingers celebrated US President Donald Trump’s visit after he made no mention of the two-state solution, but a lack of specifics on how he would resolve the conflict with the Palestinians raised concerns. Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories on Monday and Tuesday, and in a closing speech talked extensively about his commitment … Read more
A Palestinian stabbed and lightly wounded a border policeman in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya on Tuesday before being shot and wounded, police said. The attack came as US President Donald Trump was on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of his maiden foreign tour. Police identified the assailant as … Read more
Donald Trump made the short trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem Tuesday to meet Mahmud Abbas, who was hoping to convince the unpredictable US president to remain committed to an independent Palestinian state. His talks in Bethlehem with the Palestinian president came after Trump on Monday made a heavily symbolic visit to the Western Wall in … Read more
Donald Trump made the short trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem Tuesday to meet Mahmud Abbas, who hopes to convince the unpredictable U. S. president to remain committed to an independent Palestinian state. A ragtag-sounding military band played the American and Palestinian national anthems while Trump and Abbas stood at the head of a red carpet … Read more
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas accused US President Donald Trump on Monday of smearing the name of Palestinian “resistance” to Israeli occupation during a speech on Islam. Addressing Muslim leaders in Riyadh on Sunday, Trump called for unity against “Islamic terror”, specifically naming Hamas and the Islamic State group. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said Trump’s remarks … Read more
Palestinians are planning a series of actions to draw US President Donald Trump’s attention to a hunger strike by hundreds of prisoners in Israeli jails when he visits this week, officials said Sunday. Palestinian prisoners will be on their 37th day of a hunger strike when Trump meets Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Bethlehem in … Read more
US President Donald Trump’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Monday and Tuesday will be closely scrutinised as he seeks ways to restart peace efforts. Here are key issues: What is the current state of the conflict? Nearly 70 years after the creation of Israel, peace with the Palestinians remains a long way … Read more
A court in the Gaza Strip on Sunday sentenced three men to death over the assassination of a Hamas military commander that the Islamist movement accused Israel of masterminding. After a trial that lasted four days, two of the accused were sentenced to be hanged and one to be shot, the military court announced. The … Read more
A court in the Gaza Strip on Sunday sentenced three men to death over the assassination of a Hamas military commander that the Islamist movement accused Israel of masterminding. After a trial that lasted four days, two of the accused were sentenced to be hanged and one to be shot, the military court announced. The … Read more
Dozens of Palestinians were hurt on Friday in the occupied West Bank and Gaza during clashes with Israeli forces after marches backing hunger-striking prisoners, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said. Both the Red Crescent and the health ministry in Gaza said protesters were injured by tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire. Thousands of people … Read more
A military court in Gaza on Wednesday concluded the trial of three men accused of assassinating a Hamas military leader and will deliver its verdict at the weekend, an official said. The trial of the alleged killers of Mazen Faqha opened on Monday and the court held its fourth and final session on Wednesday. The … Read more