Palestine

Israeli authorities said on Saturday they had found no evidence of Islamic State involvement in attacks by three Palestinians that killed an Israeli policewoman, despite the group’s claim of responsibility. Palestinian militant factions also denied Islamic State was involved in the attacks in Jerusalem on Friday, in which a second …

By Jeff Mason | BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK for REUTERS — U.S. President Donald Trump talked up the prospects of peace between Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday, saying he believed both sides were committed to an historic deal, but he offered no concrete proposals on how to get there. After an hour …

A map of Israel on a video the White House produced about US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit shows the country without the West Bank (where Israel does not claim sovereignty) or the Golan Heights (where it has extended Israeli law). The short clip, which is meant to promote the …

The Levant News — People across the world are commemorating the Nakba Day which marks the anniversary of the forcible eviction of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland by Israelis in 1948. The Day of Catastrophe is officially marked every year on May 15, but the occasion this year coincides …

The Levant News — President Donald Trump is trying to determine how keeping his promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem could affect his hopes of brokering a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, his secretary of state said on Sunday. Since taking office in …

The Levant News — Hamas has presented a new political document that accepts the formation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, without recognising the statehood of Israel, and says that the conflict in Palestine is not a religious one. The positions were made official on Monday in Qatar’s …

  THE LEVANT NEWS EXCLUSIVE – By Jasmi Rasheed — Palestinian sources told The Levant News that the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is scheduled to meet the US President Donald Trump on 3 May 2017. Abbas will insist on the right of the Palestinian people to reward its …

An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced a Palestinian-Israeli former MP to two years in jail after he pleaded guilty to smuggling mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners, a court transcript showed. Basel Ghattas, of the Arab-dominated Joint List, resigned his seat in the Israeli parliament as part of a plea bargain reached last …

By Ruth Eglash for the Washington Post — If being an apartheid state means committing inhumane acts, systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another, then Israel is guilty, a United Nations panel has determined in a new report. The findings from an Arab-led group were not cleared …

The Levant News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he would honor his commitment to build a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, the first in two decades. The Israeli leader made the remarks hours before meeting with Jason Greenblatt, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East …

The Levant News — The Israeli Foreign Ministry has called the South African ambassador to Israel to be officially reprimanded following statements made by two senior officials in the government accusing Israel of practicing an apartheid system, and describing the neutralized Palestinian terrorist killed by Elor Azaria as a helpless …

US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday discussed reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations during her first meeting with the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. Haley tweeted after her talks with Ambassador Riyad Mansour that the Palestinians should “meet with Israel in direct negotiations rather than looking to the UN to deliver …

By Jasmin Rasheed — Following the visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, his plan to enact the apartheid policy and liquidate the two state solution was uncovered. According to Palestinian sources, the plan of the Occupation Government is aimed at countering UNSC resolution 2334. This resolution clearly states that …

By John Irish and Lesley Wroughton, Reuters – Some 70 countries on Sunday reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned they would not recognize any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations. The final communique of a one-day international Middle East peace …

By Jasmin Rasheed — Palestinian reliable sources revealed that Mousa Abu Marzook, member of the Hamas Political Bureau, met the representatives of Mohammad Dahlan to discuss future moves against Abu Mazen. According to these sources, a week ago, Abu Marzook met in Cairo two close associates of Mohammad Dahlan – …

The Levant News – By Jasmin Rasheed — According to Palestinian sources, despite an improvement in relations with Hamas, and Rafah Crossing being open more frequently, the Egyptian authorities consistently continue their activity against visitors from the Gaza Strip suspected of links to terror. On 10-12 December, Rafah Crossing was …

The Levant News — In an unusual move, and after years of neglect, American and European delegations and development agencies have recently been visiting East Jerusalem and showing an increased interest in “doing something” about its deteriorating socioeconomic conditions. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is, after a prolonged silence, working …

By JIMMY CARTER for the NY Times — We do not yet know the policy of the next administration toward Israel and Palestine, but we do know the policy of this administration. It has been President Obama’s aim to support a negotiated end to the conflict based on two states, …

The Levant News – By Jasmin Rasheed — Palestinian sources spoke out against the Gaza Strip leadership for focusing on internal politics and ignoring the deteriorating economy. The sources state that senior Hamas officials are engrossed in the internal elections, and Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, has …

By Maayan Lubell for Reuters | Israeli police arrested 13 people on Friday on suspicion of arson, authorities said, after massive wildfires tore through central and northern Israel, a conflagration that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded as “terrorism”. Firefighters kept battling the flames in wooded hills around Jerusalem and in …

By Luke Baker  for Reuters| Israel on Monday formally rejected France’s invitation to take part in a Middle East peace conference in Paris later this year, saying it was a distraction from the goal of direct negotiations with the Palestinians. At a meeting in Jerusalem with Israel’s acting national security …

The Levant News – Sir, – We are shocked and appalled by Bank of Ireland’s unilateral closure of the accounts of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), a volunteer-run group advocating for Palestinian human rights as enshrined in international law, and a legally constituted, fully audited, transparent organisation. Despite the …

  The Levant News – By Geoffrey Cook — As an American citizen, I have to admit that the relations between Washington and Ramallah are wretched, yet there are some indications for change. When the British left Palestine after World War II, the United States stepped in to fill the …

  By Jasmine Rasheed — Tourism in Bethlehem, mostly religious tourism, has been the main economic engine for the city and its surrounding area with 4000 hotel and hostel rooms. Past experience shows that the condition of the tourism industry in the city is tightly linked to the security situation …

The Levant News — Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday shot dead a 19-year-old Palestinian woman who Israeli police claimed that she had advanced towards them with a knife in her hand at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. A police spokesman said the woman was shot after ignoring orders …

The Levant Exclusive — By Jasmin Rasheed — Cement prices have nearly doubled in the Gaza Strip over the past two weeks, rising from NIS 850 per ton to NIS 1,400-1,500. According to Palestinian sources, the reason for the spike is the cement shortage in Gaza Strip markets – the …

The Levant News — Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki asked the Arab League summit gathered in Mauritania on Monday to help the PA file a lawsuit against the British government over the Balfour Declaration, which allowed thousands of Jews to come to Palestine at the expense of the Palestinians. …

The Levant News – By Jasmin Rasheed –Palestinian sources from Ramallah have revealed a recent agreement between the Gulf states and the Palestinian government; 20,000 Palestinian graduates from the Gaza Strip will be offered employment opportunities in the Gulf states. According to these sources, the program has been launched to …

The Levant News — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally announced reconciliation between Israel and Turkey during a press conference today in Rome. The two nations hope an agreement due to be signed Tuesday will ease six years of tensions since the deadly Israeli attack on a Turkish blockade runner headed …

The Levant News — New Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has reportedly promised not to object publicly to a reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey, despite having harshly disapproved of such a move in the past. Liberman had warned among other things that an Israeli-Turkish rapprochement would harm ties with Greece …

By JASON HOROWITZ and MAGGIE HABERMAN for The New York Times — A bitter divide over the Middle East could threaten Democratic Party unity as representatives of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed to upend what they see as the party’s lopsided support of Israel. Two of the senator’s appointees …

Diran Shalabneh, head of the National Union of Israeli Students’ department for the advancement of Arab students, was asked to stand behind a curtain and remove her bra for the special security check, before being asked to lower her pants. By Yarden Skop — Diran Shalabneh, head of the National …

The Levant News exclusive – by Jasmin Rasheed — Reports by local Palestinian sources revealed distressing information about the infrastructure, medicine, and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. While in 2000, Gazans were able to drink tap water freely, now 95% of the Gaza Strip wells contain brackish water …

By Dr. Najib E. Saliba* — Those who follow current Middle East developments closely have probably reached the conclusion that Christianity and Islam are at war. This is certainly not the case. Christianity and Islam are not at war, but a fringe of “Muslims” who have gone astray from true …

THE LEVANT NEWS — A billboard in Detroit stating ‘America First Not Israel’ is causing controversy and accusations of anti-Semitism. The advertisement was paid for by the Deir Yassin Remembered group, which aims to make American’s more aware of the plight of Palestinians. The billboard can be seen 8 Mile …

By Jacob Kornbluh, for Jewish Insider — In recently released transcript, Sanders says he would demand Israel halt settlement construction, adding that if Israel ‘want us to have a positive relationship, they’re going to have to improve their relationship with the Palestinians.’ Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks at …

THE LEVANT NEWS — By Jasmin Rasheed — Well-informed Palestinian sources revealed that “Fatah” operatives are directing harsh criticism at Jibril Rajoub, member of the Fatah Central Committee and chairman of the PA Football Association, following the donation of a minibus to the football team of the Islamic Club in …

By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz — America’s short sighted foreign policy on the Palestine question plays well in the current presidential elections. The Arab-Israeli conflict is an attractive medium for pandering to campaign donors and to voters. As a result, the presidential primaries add fuel to the tension between the two …

By Ishaan Tharoor for The Washington Post — A NASA study has found that a drought that affected the Middle East over the past decade was perhaps the worst in the region’s history for nearly a millennium. The scientists, who published their study in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, examined …

THE LEVANT NEWS — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he hopes to curb a wave of Palestinian assaults by expelling to Gaza families of assailants found to have encouraged them to attack Israelis. Netanyahu, in a letter to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit released to the media, asked for a …

THE LEVANT NEWS — by  Boaz Bulbulovitz — Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has penned a controversial letter to a major Jewish donor vowing to offer Israel “total” support in its next confrontation with the Gaza Strip’s Islamist rulers. The leaked letter, sent last week to Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban, promises to …

THE LEVANT NEWS – By Jasmin Rashid — According to Palestinian sources in Ramallah, President Mahmoud Abbas instructed the layoffs of employees associated with Hamas from the Charity Committees in the Ministry of Religious Affairs. He also instructed the dismissal of Imams affiliated with Hamas. According to these sources, the …

The Levant News — Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior political member in the Palestinian Resistance Movement “Hamas”, had pounced on Iran regarding their proclamations of supporting Hamas, after cashing them in all as lies, especially those declarations on support being presented post 2009. Abu Marzook’s aversion was recorded over …

THE LEVANT NEWS –By ALI ABUNIMAH*– Swedish security officials are investigating Israeli death threats directed at their foreign minister Margot Wallström. Last week, Zvi Zameret, a former official of Israel’s education ministry, published an article in Hebrew implying that Wallström deserved the same fate as Count Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish …