The wife of the leader of a hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has written to Pope Francis calling on him to intervene “before it is too late”. Fadwa Barghouti, wife of Palestinian leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, has called on the pope to “speak up, because freedom and dignity … Read more
Ismail Haniya’s election as Hamas chief is another sign that the Islamist movement is seeking to soften its image and show it can offer a viable alternative to Mahmud Abbas, analysts said. Considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, Hamas has taken steps in recent days that are seen as … Read more
Palestinian fashion designer Natalie Tahhan is hard at work in her Jerusalem studio, replacing the painstaking processes of cross-stitching and embroidery with a laptop computer and printed fabric. Taking inspiration from traditional Palestinian patterns, Tahhan designs patterns digitally and then has them printed on satins and silks before piecing together her garments. Her modern take … Read more
Ismail Haniya has been elected as the new leader of Hamas’s political bureau, according to the Palestinian movement’s news agency. The announcement on Satuday came just days after Hamas unveiled a more moderate stance towards Israel. Khaled Meshaal, who preceded Haniya as leader of the movement’s political wing, confirmed the transition of power to Al … Read more
The United States has for several decades played a mediating role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while remaining Israel’s main supporter. On May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion founds the Jewish state of Israel, after the British mandate ends in Palestine. The administration of US president Harry S. Truman recognises the state minutes after it is … Read more
Hamas has announced it is taking a softer stance on Israel, having for years called for the state’s destruction, in a dramatic shift in policy – but says it still views it as an occupier. A new policy document said the group – which has previously been branded a ‘murderous terrorist organisation’ by Israeli prime … Read more
The six-page Document of General Principles and Policies unveiled Monday by Hamas, accepts a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders while refusing to recognise Israel. The document underscores the Palestinian Islamist movement’s right to armed resistance against Israel. But it says its struggle is not against Jews because of their religion but against Israel as … Read more
Hamas on Monday unveiled a new policy document easing its stance on Israel after having called for years for the country’s destruction, as the Palestinian Islamist movement seeks to improve its international standing. The move comes ahead of a first face-to-face meeting on Wednesday between US President Donald Trump and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose … Read more
US President Donald Trump meets Mahmud Abbas Wednesday for their first face-to-face talks, with the Palestinian leader hoping the billionaire businessman’s unpredictable approach can inject life into long-stalled peace efforts. Abbas makes the trip to Washington while politically unpopular back home, but hoping Trump can pressure Israel into concessions he believes are necessary to salvage … Read more
The new leadership of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas will be announced in the coming days, officials said Sunday, while it also prepared to unveil a new version of its charter. Ismail Haniya, until recently head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said the results of internal elections will be announced “in the coming days”. A … Read more
Hamas is to unveil a new version of its controversial founding charter which called for the destruction of Israel in a bid to ease its international isolation, party officials said. Leaders of the Islamist movement have long spoken of the more limited aim of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip … Read more
Palestinians prepared for a “day of rage” across the occupied Palestinian territories on Friday in solidarity with more than 1,500 prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prisons. A day of clashes was called for by Fatah, the political party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the national committee to support the prisoners’ hunger strike. … 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
Schools, banks and businesses across the West Bank were closed on Thursday as Palestinians observed a general strike in solidarity with more than 1,500 prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Public transportation came to a halt, and public and private institutions, including universities, were shut for the day. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners declared an … 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
Several dozen Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces Thursday outside a prison where detainees are on a hunger strike, while a group of Israeli hardliners nearby taunted prisoners by barbecuing. Some 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have joined a hunger strike against conditions that began Monday, according to the Palestinian Authority’s detainees’ affairs department. … Read more
Power comes in many forms, but Kamal al-Jebrini’s family looked to where others may fear to tread for a new source of it: cow dung. The family has begun recycling waste from its cows to produce electricity for one of the largest Palestinian dairy plants and even to provide power to some houses. They discovered … Read more
Fresh protests against civil service pay cuts broke out in Gaza on Saturday, AFP reporters said, amid pressure on Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to act. The decision this week by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to impose pay cuts on its civil servants in the Gaza Strip has sparked anger among the employees, with protests … Read more
Gaza’s Hamas rulers hanged three men they accused of collaborating with Israel Thursday following calls for revenge for the killing of one of their commanders last month, an AFP journalist reported. Hamas says that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its “collaborators” killed Mazen Faqha in the Palestinian territory on March 24, but has offered … Read more
Hamas has offered “collaborators” with Israel a week to turn themselves in and receive clemency as it investigates the murder of one of its officials in the Gaza Strip, which it blames on Israel. “The doors of repentance will be open for one week, from Tuesday, April 4 to Tuesday, April 11,” the interior ministry … Read more