A decade-old ban on the sale of conventional arms to Iran will come to an end this Sunday, potentially opening the way for Russia and China to assist the Islamic Republic in a major, potentially hugely destabilising, expansion and advancement of its military capability. Since 2010, the supply of a Read more…
The European Union has said it won’t bail out the Palestinian Authority with additional aid for so long as it refuses to accept tax revenues collected by Israel, it has been reported. President Mahmoud Abbas announced in May that the PA would stop accepting $150m a month in tax revenues Read more…
Officials representing Israel and Lebanon sat down for their first talks in three decades this week. The discussions, hosted by the United Nations and mediated by the US, took place close to the border between Israel and Lebanon. Although sat in the same room, the Lebanese have insisted they will not Read more…
Both Donald Trump and his supporters have repeatedly attempted to paint the Democratic party as anti-Israel and suggested that the election of Joe Biden would be detrimental to the Jewish state. This weekend, David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel, went further and suggested that a victory for the former Read more…
Israel’s foreign minister urged the Palestinians to “return to the negotiating table” this week. Gabi Ashkenazi was speaking after his historic first meeting with the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Berlin on Tuesday. “Only through direct negotiations can we advance a solution for the Read more…
The services that peacebuilding organisations provide for their communities are not just nice – they are necessary, a new report from the Alliance for Middle East Peace says this week. The study, A Resilient Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding Sector in the Face of the Coronavirus Pandemic, looks at the impact of the Read more…
Steve McCabe has welcomed the normalisation agreements signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain earlier this month. In a parliamentary debate last week, LFI’s chair also urged the government to restore funding to peace-building coexistence projects. “I hope other countries in the region will follow [the UAE and Bahrain] 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…
The Israeli cabinet is to consider a raft of new restrictions to dampen the country’s sharp rise in covid-19 cases. The meeting comes just days after Israel became the first country in the world to impose a second national lockdown. As the three-week lockdown – which has seen schools and Read more…
The Knesset’s coronavirus cabinet has agreed to a three-week national lockdown in Israel as cases continue to spike. The decision came ahead of the Jewish high holy days while Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya is said to be overwhelmed and turning away new covid-19 patients. On Sunday, Haredi Minister Yaakov 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…
LFI chair Steve McCabe has written for The House, click here to read the original. Relations in the Middle East are shifting. Labour Friends of Israel will help craft a new internationalist approach to the region, while standing up to anti-Semitism in our party Labour Friends of Israel this week Read more…