Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that David Barnea would be the next director of Israel’s Mossad espionage agency. Mr Barnea, 56, is a veteran of the organisation, having been its deputy head for the past two years. Barnea will replace incumbent director Yossi Cohen on 1 July. Netanyahu declared that Barnea’s top task would be Read more…
After eleven days of fighting, an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group was announced on Thursday night, and has since held. What happened The ceasefire was announced late in the night of Thursday 20 May, coming into force at 2am on Friday 21. The announcement followed days of speculation around the possibility of Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel chair Steve McCabe MP has written the below article for The House. Click here to read the original. The announcement of a ceasefire will bring a much-needed and welcome respite for the peoples of Israel and Palestine following the horrific violence of the past two weeks. Read more…
The conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza has continued over the past week, with more than 3,750 rockets fired into Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups and some 2,000 strikes against terrorist targets in Gaza. What happened Conflict began with low-level violence in Jerusalem last week and escalated as Hamas began a Read more…
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IGRC) Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at the weekend. They discussed the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Iran is thought to be watching developments closely, and is likely advising Hamas on its tactics. The meeting came as Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel chair Steve McCabe MP has written the below article for LabourList. Click here to read the original. Lives lost in the Middle East must be honoured by redoubling efforts for peace The explosion of armed conflict and violence we have seen over the past week in the Read more…
The Islamist Ra’am party announced on Monday that it was suspending coalition talks with the anti-Netanyahu “change bloc” in the wake of Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. The move represents a potentially major blow to the hopes for an anti-Netanyahu government, which began last week when the prime minister’s mandate Read more…
The past week has seen a major escalation of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, as confrontations and violence in Jerusalem have been followed by more than 1,000 rockets being fired indiscriminately into Israel by Gaza-based terror groups. Israel has responded with strikes targeted at Hamas in Gaza. What happened Tensions Read more…
Following several nights of rocket fire from Gaza, Israel has warned Hamas that it will face major retaliation should the attacks continue. Gaza-based armed factions launched more than 40 rockets into Israel over the weekend, against a background of continued unrest in Jerusalem and electoral uncertainty in both Israel and the Read more…
The unclear results of Israel’s general election this week appear to be mirrored within the Palestinian Authority, according to polling conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research. Should elections go ahead in May, the polling found that both Fatah, the party of PA president Mahmoud Abbas, and Read more…
Representatives of arch-enemies Fatah and Hamas are meeting this week in Cairo for a second round of talks aimed at allowing elections in the West Bank and Gaza to go ahead this summer. Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) called the elections – the first for 15 years – in January but his Read more…
Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, appears to be floundering in his bid for re-election after three rounds of voting in a highly secret ballot on Tuesday produced no clear winner. Sinwar has held the post since 2017, making him the defacto ruler of the coastal enclave. The Read more…