Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday denied reports of a “breakthrough” in talks with Hamas over returning Israeli citizens and bodies of soldiers held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. According to Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, Israel and Hamas were on the brink of an initial deal in which the Islamist Gaza rulers would provide … Read more
Israel’s finance minister has met the Palestinian premier to discuss measures aimed at improving the Palestinian economy in an “extremely rare” meeting in Ramallah, officials said on Thursday. Israel had announced the measures ahead of US President Donald Trump’s May 22 visit, and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon presented them to Rami Hamdallah in the Palestinian … Read more
Hamas’ armed wing on Tuesday gave Israel 24 hours to respond to the demands of hunger-striking prisoners, warning the Jewish state it would face consequences for failure to act. “We warn the enemy not to ignore the just and legitimate demands of the prisoners, and we say we are giving the enemy leadership 24 hours … Read more
An Israeli rights group warned Thursday that cutting power to the Gaza Strip would have “catastrophic consequences” after Israel said the Palestinian Authority was refusing to pay the bill. Hit by the bitter rivalry between the strip’s Islamist Hamas rulers and the rival Palestinian Authority (PA), Gaza’s only power plant shut down this month for … Read more
Constant fuel shortages and insufficent infrastructure have brought about a “humanitarian crisis” for Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the World Bank said on Thursday. In a report ahead of an international donor conference next week, it said Thursday that foreign aid alone cannot rescue the stagnant Palestinian economy without practical changes and Israeli cooperation. … Read more
Hamas authorities partially reopened the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel Monday, after a one-day closure following the assassination of one of the group’s leaders. “From Monday morning, travel through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing will be permitted temporarily for some categories,” a statement from Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the interior ministry in … Read more
Hamas shut the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Sunday after blaming the Jewish state for the assassination of one of its officials in the Palestinian enclave. A statement from the interior ministry in Gaza, run by Islamist movement Hamas, said it was shutting the Erez crossing for an indefinite period as it … Read more
A rocket fired by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip slammed into southern Israel on Saturday, prompting retaliatory Israeli tank fire, sources on both sides said. The Israeli army said the rocket hit an open area. “No casualties have been reported.” Palestinian security officials said the Israeli tank fire targeted an observation post of Gaza’s Hamas … Read more
Israeli aircraft hit targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday, hours after a rocket fired from the Palestinian territory slammed into southern Israel. “Three bombs were dropped by the air force on a Hamas military base east of Nusseirat refugee camp,” south of Gaza city, a Palestinian security source said. The planes also made two … Read more
Mossab Abu Toha has never actually left Gaza, instead devouring books as an escape. Now he is struggling to open the first English-language library in the beleaguered Palestinian territory. “Send us books in English, new or used,” says the 24-year-old reading enthusiast on his Facebook page. Abu Toha, like so many Gazans effectively trapped in … Read more