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 Haniyeh said that the proposed aid package also contained a pledge that Israel and Egypt would lift their blockade of Gaza, which was imposed when[…]
The number of Israelis and Palestinians who have died from the coronavirus continues to rise as a second wave hits the Jewish state and the West Bank. In Israeli, 430 people have died, while 58 have died in the West Bank. On Wednesday, the Health Ministry said the number of new cases had risen by[…]
Israel’s security forces announced this week they had foiled a West Bank terror plot backed by Iran and Hezbollah. Shin Bet said it had uncovered a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine cell which planned to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. “The investigation revealed intelligence regarding the deep involvement of Iran and[…]
An influential Israeli think tank has published the results of a “war game” simulating the dangers of Benjamin Netanyahu attempting to annex parts of the West Bank. The report from the Institute for National Security Studies identifies a series of resulting “explosive events”, rising violence affecting Israelis and Palestinians, and huge security and diplomatic dangers for[…]
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 should be based on “international[…]
Israel this week introduced a series of measures to combat the coronavirus as cases in the country soar. On Thursday morning, the Health Ministry confirmed 1,231 new coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 33,947. Two additional people have died, bringing the death toll to 346. After being[…]
A key committee in the US Congress has voted to include in its budget legislation to introduce an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. The campaign for the $250m fund, which would support people-to-people work between Israelis and Palestinians, has been led by the Alliance for Middle East Peace. In the UK, it has been spearheaded[…]
The Palestinian Authority has announced a five-day lockdown of the West Bank as coronavirus cases there surge. The lockdown, which will begin on Friday, comes as the number of infections in the West Bank rose to 2,435. Ten people have died, 12 remain in a serious condition and three are on ventilators. Seventy-eighty per cent of[…]
Benjamin Netanyahu’s drive to begin annexing parts of the West Bank appears to have stalled amid opposition from his Blue and White coalition partners, the Palestinians and the Arab world, and confusion in the White House. The “unity government” agreement signed in April – which allows Netanyahu to remain in power until next autumn – also[…]
Israel is bracing itself for a new coronavirus wave as infections across the country surge. The Palestinian Authority also reported a big jump in infections in the West Bank. The news comes as both the Israeli government and the PA attempt to wrestle with the economic fallout caused by the pandemic. In more positive[…]