The foreign ministers of Israel and Sweden held their first phone call in seven years on Monday, in a move one Israeli diplomat called a “relaunching of relations” after a lengthy period of tension. Yair Lapid spoke with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde, tweeting to thank her for “Sweden’s strong Read more…
Some 56 percent of Palestinians approve of recent “confidence-building measures” by the Israeli government, intended to improve everyday life for Palestinians. Polling by Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Survey and Policy Research, found that 56 percent of Palestinians viewed the moves positively, compared with 35 percent who Read more…
Lebanese parliamentarians met this week to formally confirm the country’s new government. The appointment earlier this month of telecoms billionaire Najib Mikati as prime minister ends a year-long political deadlock following the resignation of his predecessor in the wake of the deadly Beirut port explosion last August. However, Mikati, who Read more…
Iran is on track to obtain enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within one month, according to a report by the US-based Institute for Science and International Security. The report, published on Monday, estimated that a worst case scenario would see Iran produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one nuclear Read more…
Israeli security forces foiled a major attack this week, as Palestinian terror groups sought to set up violence in solidarity with six escaped prisoners, Hebrew media reported on Monday. The Shin Bet security service and police foiled a number of attacks, Channel 12 and 13 reported, without giving details on Read more…
The leaders of Israel and Egypt, Naftali Bennett and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, held the first open talks in a decade on Monday as Bennett flew to Sharm el-Sheik. The leaders discussed rising tensions in Gaza, where both countries have imposed border restrictions in recent months. An increase in cross-border violence Read more…
Israel’s foreign minister launched a major new Gaza initiative on Sunday, offering a “new vision” based on “economy for security”. Yair Lapid was speaking on the 16th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from the coastal enclave, which has been wracked by war and a humanitarian crisis under the leadership of the Hamas terror Read more…
Israel and Jordan could be poised for an unprecedented boom in water cooperation amid technological advancement, environmental pressures and improved diplomatic ties. Water deals between Jerusalem and Amman suffered in recent years under former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose critics accused him of neglecting ties with Jordan. However, in Read more…
Iran has embarked on a campaign to establish itself as Lebanon’s primary fuel supplier, in order to empower its local proxy: the terrorist group Hezbollah. A recent report by Iran’s state Tasnim media, titled ‘The Iranian ships, the triangle of resistance that shattered the American hegemony’, laid out the Iranian Read more…
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has said that Labour will “always believe that Israel has the right to defend itself” against attacks. Speaking at an event in Manchester, Nandy also voiced her opposition to a complete ban on weapons sales from the UK to Israel. She said both herself and Read more…
The highest-level meeting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in over a decade took place last week, and was followed by the announcement of a series of confidence-building measures. What happened Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, met the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah last Sunday. “I came to the meeting Read more…
Protests in Iran have entered their third week, with reports of widespread arrests of protestors and the deadly use of force. The protests began on 15 July in response to the ongoing severe drought and water crisis in the Ahwazi region of Khuzestan. Protestors have said that water represented only Read more…