In his virtual address to the UN General Assembly last week, Mahmoud Abbas predictably denounced the historic normalisation agreements signed earlier this month by Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. But the president also announced new elections – the first for over 14 years – will take place in Read more…
Hamas is threatening to jail three Palestinian peace activists for holding a video call with Israelis in April. The activists, who belong to the Gaza Youth Committee, were charged by Palestinian military prosecutors last week with “weakening revolutionary spirit” for participating in a peace-building initiative called “Skype With Your Enemy”. Read more…
In their steadfast opposition to the historic agreement signed last week between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have found a rare common cause. Earlier this month, President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a meeting in Ramallah which brought together all 14 major Palestinian factions – Read more…
In the third announcement of its kind in as many weeks, the Israeli and Bahraini Governments announced the normalising of relations. This follows a similar agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and two Balkan states. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Washington DC for a four day trip Read more…
The Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV announced on Sunday that leaders of Hezbollah and the Hamas met to discuss the consequences of diplomatic normalisation between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. The meeting comes on the back of US President Donald Trump announcing Israel and the UAE agreeing to normalise relations, Read more…
Hamas, the Gaza-based terror group, announced on Monday night that they had agreed a ceasefire with Israel. Shortly after Hamas’s statement, Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians tacitly confirmed the agreement, saying it would reopen the border crossing, including to fuel deliveries, as well as the Gaza fishing zone to the Read more…
The United Arab Emirates is to become only the third Arab state – following Egypt and Jordan – to agree to the full normalisation of relations with Israel. The surprise, but historic, announcement of the move last month will have an important impact on the Jewish state’s efforts to Read more…
The head of Hamas has admitted it refused a recent offer of $15bn in aid for Gaza because it was conditioned on the terror group giving up its arms. Ismail Hahniye said that the proposed aid package also contained a pledge that Israel and Egypt would lift their blockade of Read more…
Mahmoud Abbas said this week that the Palestinian Authority is ready to enter peace talks with Israel. The president’s comments came during a call with Vladimir Putin and follow a rare joint press conference between the PA and Hamas last week. Abbas told the Russian president that the Palestinians believe any negotiations Read more…
LFI chair Steve McCabe has written to foreign secretary Dominic Raab urging the government to condemn the detention of the 7 Gazan peace activists arrested by Hamas for taking part in a Zoom with Israeli peace activists and call for their immediate release. You can read Steve’s letter here.
General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the United States last week, has been described as the “single most powerful operative in the Middle East today”. His two-decade leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Quds Force has seen the Islamic Republic’s influence and power in the region seemingly expand – but Read more…
Israel and Hamas appear to be edging towards a long-term truce, designed to bring peace to the border region and relief to the Gaza Strip. Israeli media reports in recent days have emphasised that the IDF’s killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata last month has breathed new Read more…