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In Brief: Hamas court convicts peace activists over Zoom call with Israelis

Posted 27 October, 2020 in Analysis, Coexistence, Hamas, Palestinian Territories
 Photo: Orthuberra, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons A military court in Gaza this week convicted three Palestinian peace activists for holding a video call with Israelis in April. Rami Aman, the head of the Gaza Youth Committee, was sentenced to a year in prison after being found guilty of “weakening revolutionary spirit”. However, the court…

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In Brief: Israel continues to unlock as virus rate falls to lowest level since June

Posted 27 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel
Photo: Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Israel is to reopen some of its schools, as well as some businesses, such as hairdressers, that receive customers as the country continues to ease its covid-19 restrictions. Facing a surge in coronavirus cases, the Jewish state last month became the first country in…

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Analysis: Israel’s lockdown begins to lift as Bibi’s popularity sinks

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Israeli Politics
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Israel this week began lifting its nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Widely praised for its swift and tough action against the pandemic in the spring, the country last month became the first in the world to order a second shutdown after a sharp rise in cases. But the Jewish state is…

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In Brief: LFI chair writes to Raab as Iran welcomes lifting of arms embargo

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Steve McCabe. Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Iran has welcomed the lifting on Sunday of the 13-year arms embargo, labelling it as a “momentous day”. In a letter last week to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, LFI chair Steve McCabe expressed his disappointment that it has “not been possible to secure international consensus…

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In Brief: UAE ministers arrive in Israel after ratification of Abraham Accords

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Peace process
  Photo: Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons A high-level delegation of ministers from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Israel on Tuesday – the first-ever official such visit. It followed the parliamentary ratification by Bahrain and the UAE on Monday of their normalisation agreements with the Jewish state. The Knesset gave its assent…

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In Brief: Israel hands PA control of three West Bank power stations

Posted 20 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Palestinian Territories
Photo: OneArmedMan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Israel has given the Palestinian Authority control over three power stations in a bid to help stabilise and boost the supply of electricity to the West Bank. The three power stations – in Tarqumiyah, near Hebron, Qalandiyah, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, and Nablus – were handed over by the Israel…

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LFI Chair writes to Foreign Secretary re: Iran arms embargo expiry

Posted 19 October, 2020 in Analysis, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, News
Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Steve McCabe MP, Chair of Labour Friends of Israel, has written a letter to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab MP, expressing deep concern about the lifting of the UN arms embargo on Iran. In the letter, Steve McCabe expresses his huge disappointment that it has "not been…

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Analysis: The arms embargo on Iran ends this weekend – what next? 

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Middle East
Photo: Tasnimnews, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 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…

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In Brief: EU tells PA to accept tax revenues from Israel and resume security ties

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 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…

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In Brief: Lebanon and Israel aim to tackle maritime dispute in first talks in 30 years

Posted 14 October, 2020 in Analysis, Hezbollah, Israel, Middle East, Peace process
Image: Haidar Almoqdad,CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons 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…

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