Palestine

A Labour government would recognise an independent state of Palestine “as soon as we take office”, Jeremy Corbyn has said. The opposition leader threw his support behind a two-state solution to Middle East peace, saying he wanted a “secure and viable” Palestine alongside Israel. Addressing the Labour Friends of Palestine conference …

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday voiced readiness to resume peace talks with Israel, either behind closed doors or in public. Speaking at a joint press conference in Paris with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Abbas said: “We’re ready for negotiations with Israel — either in public or behind closed doors …

The Spanish government will promote a European move to recognize Palestine as an independent state, Spain’s foreign minister said Thursday, adding that if the move fails the government will consider a Spain-only recognition. If “the EU is not able to reach unanimous decision – each to their own,” Spain’s Minister …

In its weekly report, the National Bureau reported that the number of settlement expansion in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, has increased several times since the Oslo Accord that as signed at the White House in Washington on Sep. 13th, 1993 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. Adding that …

A University of Michigan professor refused to write a recommendation letter for a student to study abroad in Israel, claiming it was part of an “academic boycott” of the country. John Cheney-Lippold, an associate professor in the American culture department, rejected student Abigail Ingber’s request in an email, a screenshot …

A Palestinian fatally stabbed an American-born Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank on Sunday then was himself shot and seized by armed civilians who gave chase. The victim, Ari Fuld, 45, was well-known amongst settlers as a pro-Israel advocate. According to his Twitter account, he had planned a lecture …

The United States will not present its long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace any time soon and is instead trying to unilaterally change the terms of reference for any future proposal, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday. Echoing deep scepticism among the Palestinians, Arab countries and analysts, Saeb Erekat, the …

As part of its policy to end all aid for Palestinian civilians, the United States is blocking millions of dollars to programs that build relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, according to current and former American officials briefed on the change. The move to prevent Palestinians — including, in many cases, …

The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlements called on the International Community to exert pressure on the Israeli government, preventing it from carrying out ethnic cleansing crimes in Khan Al-Ahmar village as well as opening an official investigation in its crimes, of which is the Israeli High …

By Labib Taha*   Considering the Palestinian cause from one angle, it seems to be in the most difficult situation since the emergence of the Palestinian tragedy more than a hundred years ago. The dangers that face the Palestinian people represented in attempts towards making the political division between the West …

The family of a Palestinian activist, who was arrested last year for slapping and punching two Israeli soldiers, said Friday they have been banned from traveling abroad. Ahed Tamimi’s father, Bassem, said they were informed by the Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs they were barred by Israeli authorities from leaving. …

Tayseer Khaled,  member of the executive committee of the PLO, member of the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, described the decision taken  by the US administration to cut the financial aid it provided to the hospitals  in occupied Jerusalem as inhumane  and immoral , …

In nine months from start to finish – the time it takes to carry a baby to term – Palestinian businessman Faisal Saleh set up the first museum of Palestinian art and culture in the United States. He did it on a shoestring budget, housing the galleries in the ground-floor …

For nearly 20 years, the Birthright program has been a rite of passage for hundreds of thousands of young American Jews, who get a free trip to Israel along with a tour that shows the country in a very positive light. But in recent weeks, the same discomfort that many …

Tayseer Khaled, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), member of the political bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, called on the Palestinian National Forces and civil society organizations to attend the public protest in Al Khan Al Ahmar village to prevent  …

Paraguay said on Wednesday it was moving its embassy in Israel back from Occupied Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of Jewish state’s mission in the South American country in retaliation. Palestinian authorities reacted by deciding to “immediately” open an embassy in Paraguay’s …

Colombian President Ivan Duque said Monday that his predecessor’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state was “irreversible.” “This decision is irreversible,” he said in a radio interview, “first of all because the president of the republic is the person designated by the constitution to mange foreign relations.” Duque said that he …

The Palestinian authorities believe that a confederation with neighboring Jordan, proposed by US President Donald Trump as a solution for peace, would be meaningless before a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with eastern Jerusalem as its capital is established, the country’s ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, told …

The National Bureau for Defending the Land and Resisting Settlement stated that the Israeli Central Court’s resolution on keeping hundreds of settlement units in the occupied West Bank under an Israeli judicial procedure called “market regulations,” is a dangerous precedent that retroactively paves the way for the renewal of building …

Except for a few anxious tears, the first day of class at Dheisheh Basic Girls School was an exuberant occasion. Teachers kissed each other on both cheeks. Teenagers in green-and-white striped smocks hugged. Younger girls — white rubber bands and bows keeping ponytails and braids tightly in place — held …

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is the child of both catastrophe and failure. The catastrophe – or Nakba, as Palestinians call it – was the displacement of hundreds of thousands in the conflict that led to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The failure is …

Sweeping new US cuts in humanitarian aid to Palestinians are already hitting hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, amid accusations that the Trump administration is using the issue to “blackmail” Palestinians into accepting a peace deal that critics say will favour Israel. Fears of a wholesale withdrawal of …

Tayseer Khaled, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said that the American administration’s threat to find alternatives to the Palestinian leadership is an intrusive interference in Palestinian internal affairs and reflects a humiliating and discriminatory attitude that assumes that nations of the world can be …

Asharq Al-Awsat reports on a developing US Mideast peace plan that recognizes east Jerusalem as Palestinian capital, no right of return, limited demilitarized sovereignty, billions in aid, Jordan Valley remaining in Israeli hands; Europeans offer arbitration assistance but unwilling to replace US. The US peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian …

In a stinging diplomatic defeat for Israel, the world’s largest international police organization on Wednesday accepted the “State of Palestine” as a full member. At Interpol’s annual General Assembly in Beijing, the Palestinians’ membership bid was accepted with 75 counties voting yes, 24 voting no, and 34 abstaining. Israel fiercely …

I vividly recall the first time I saw Sinéad O’Connor live. She looked shy and fragile as she walked onstage. And then she began her song “Troy,” whispering to us one second, screaming at us the next. It was enchanting and haunting. That was 26 years ago. Ever since then, …

Say what you want about how American administrations, from former president Harry S. Truman downward, have, over the years, treated Palestinians. But none was so actively engaged in gunning for them as the current one. Relations between the present-day administration — an administration that from day one has trumpeted itself …

International condemnation of the settlement activities in the occupied West including Jerusalem, as the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Arad ratified the Israeli government’s reduction of the requirements for obtaining arm licenses, especially, settlers as well as allowing the young settlers belonging to terrorist hilltop and pay the price gangs …

By Mohamed Mohamed*   It is almost comical that recently, Israel finally decided to release more than 10 tons of mail that it has prevented from reaching Palestinians in the West Bank, much of which was sent eight years ago. Not eight weeks or months, but years. In the US, many people become …

US President Donald Trump has ordered more than $200m (£155m) in economic aid which was to be allocated to Gaza and the West Bank be redirected elsewhere. A State Department official said the decision was made after a review “to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national …

Tayseer Khaled , member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), warned of the reduced terms for Israeli settlers to carry weapons, which was recently approved by the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Gilad Ardan. Khaled said, in a released statement, that there are currently about 145,000 …

The Israeli government continues its policy of annexation through creating new facts on the ground and a series of successive settlement projects, exploiting the American umbrella of support and bias toward the occupation and its expansionist colonial policies, particularly in Jerusalem and other areas of the occupied West Bank , …

More than 80 prominent organisations from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities in Britain published a letter on Friday slamming attempts to silence the discourse on Palestine and suppress information on human rights abuses “here and abroad”. The letter criticises the working definition of anti-Semitism adopted in 2016 by the International …

Israeli military forces have reportedly arrested a reporter for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in the central part of the West Bank, as the Tel Aviv regime is pressing ahead with a heavy-handed crackdown on members of the press in the occupied Palestinian territories. The PBC announced in a statement that …

Colombia has become the latest country to recognise the state of Palestine, the South American country’s foreign minister has said. Carlos Holmes said the outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, made the decision shortly before leaving office last week. The new president of Colombia, Ivan Duque, took office on Tuesday and …

One can only assume by the latest attacks on the Gaza Strip that the occupation administration in Israel now believes that it is “open season” on every Palestinian living in the densely populated and largely undefended civilian enclave — and there is no other reasonable or rationale conclusion from its …

The Israeli military said early Thursday morning that it struck more than 140 targets in Gaza in retaliation to a massive barrage of rockets that was fired at Israel overnight. A baby and her pregnant mother were among three Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight on Wednesday, Palestinian …

The American support and the US political coverage of the occupation crimes and settlement activities are no longer limited to the US’ ambassador in Tel Aviv, David Friedman, but extended to include other White House figures after the Trump’s administration announced the recognition of occupied Jerusalem as te capital of …

The Israeli military said Saturday that it had intercepted an activist boat trying to breach a decade-old blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Swedish-flagged sailboat had 12 passengers aboard, mostly from Sweden but also from Germany, Britain, Spain, France and Canada, Reuters reported. The passengers were in custody and …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has vowed to support Palestinian demands in the US-led peace deal dubbed the “deal of the century”. King Salman Bin Abdulaziz said yesterday that Saudi Arabia would not endorse any peace deal which fails to tackle the status of Jerusalem or the right of return. The …

A United Nations group representing 80 percent of the world’s population handed what appeared to be a victory to Palestinian causes last week. The Group of 77, which makes up about two-thirds of U.N. membership with its 134-country roster, selected Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour as the 2019 chairman of the bloc — a move …

At the beginning of the year 2018, the Knesset approved a law of annexing academic institutions in the settlements constructed West Bank e.g. Ariel University and the 2 Education faculties in the Akena and Alon Shvut settlements to the Israeli Higher Education Council, knowing that the above mentioned law is …

By Munshi Zubaer Haque, Intern, Beirut Center for Middle East Studies   In a significant diplomatic success for Palestinians, the ‘State of ‘Palestine’ has been elected to chair G-77 at the UN from the 2019 Session at a time when Palestinians are increasingly facing diplomatic isolation from the Trump Administration. This …

A Palestinian teenager released by Israel on Sunday after completing a prison term for kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier urged continued struggle against Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a call echoed by the Palestinian president. Ahed Tamimi, 17, became a heroine to Palestinians after the incident last December …