Britain, France and Germany this week issued a warning to Iran after Tehran announced plans to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and potentially expand its nuclear programme. The warning came as the country’s supreme court upheld a death sentence on a journalist the regime claims helped fuel unrest on social media Read more…
Hanan Ashrawi, who rose to international fame when she headed the Palestinian delegation to the landmark 1991 Madrid peace talks, has reportedly resigned from the PLO’s Executive Committee. Ashrawi is thought to have quit in protest at the decision of the Palestinian Authority to resume civilian and security coordination with Read more…
Hezbollah’s popularity has dropped sharply in Lebanon – even among its core Shia supporters, a new poll has suggested. The percentage of Shia who say they have a “very positive” opinion of Hezbollah, while still a majority, is almost 20 points lower than it was in late 2017. “This trend Read more…
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal after the country’s parliament voted to block international inspectors and increase uranium enrichment. The parliamentary vote followed the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the alleged mastermind of Iran’s military nuclear programme, last week. Tehran has Read more…
Labor is to vote to bring down the government of which it is a member in a no-confidence motion that will be debated in the Knesset tomorrow. The fate of Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unity government” – which Labor joined with its centrist Blue and White allies earlier this year – appears Read more…
Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation into antisemitism in the Labour party was “just about as bad as you can get,” Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday. Addressing the Jewish Labour Movement conference, which was partnered by LFI, the Labour leader said his predecessor had Read more…
The Palestinian Authority appears to be engaged in a potentially significant repositioning exercise ahead of Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House. The moves by Ramallah are reviving hopes that, with a new administration in Washington committed to a two-state solution, the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process might be revived. In Read more…
Joe Biden’s desire for the US to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – from which Donald Trump withdrew two years ago – is simply stated but fiendishly complicated in practice. In September, the president-elect outlined his position in an article for CNN: “I will offer Tehran a credible Read more…
Nearly half of Israelis want Joe Biden to restart the stalled Middle East peace process and launch negotiations with the Palestinians when he takes office in January, a poll published this week found. The survey – carried out by the dovish Geneva Initiative – shows that 49 percent of Israelis Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu held an historic meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, on Sunday evening. The meeting – held in the Saudi city of Neom, some 44 miles from the southern tip of Israel – is shrouded in secrecy. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Read more…
The West Bank saw a record increase in new coronavirus cases this week amid fears that the pandemic is spiralling out of control in the Palestinian territories. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, the West Bank saw 1,126 new cases yesterday. The previous record, set only a day before, Read more…
LFI vice-chair Catherine McKinnell led a debate in parliament today calling for the British government to support the establishment of an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace. The debate is part of a long-running campaign by LFI – ‘For Israel, For Palestine, For Peace’ – to back the fund, which would Read more…