Hamas official says group in final stage of choosing new chief
CAIRO: A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that the Palestinian movement was in the final phase of selecting a new leader, with two prominent figures competing for the position. Hamas recently completed the formation of a new Shoura Council, a consultative body largely composed of religious scholars, as well as a new political […]
Read MoreFamily of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions. Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, […]
Read MoreWhite House says diplomacy is Trump’s ‘first option’ with Iran; president ‘talking to many people’ about options
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump convened his Board of Peace on Thursday with representatives from more than 40 countries and observers from a dozen more. The inaugural meeting’s focus is reconstruction and building an international stabilization force for a war-battered Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal persists. Trump says board members have pledged $5 billion for […]
Read MoreIndependent UN body condemns vicious attacks on UN expert on Palestinian rights
An independent United Nations body on Tuesday condemned what it described as vicious attacks based on disinformation by several European ministers against the organisation’s special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese. In the past week several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, called for Albanese’s resignation over her alleged criticism of Israel. Albanese, an Italian […]
Read MoreIsraeli airstrikes kill 11 in Gaza, Palestinians say; Israel says Hamas violated truce
Israel fired airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 11 Palestinians, Palestinian officials said, in what the military called a response to ceasefire violations by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Gaza medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said […]
Read MoreUN voices concern over criticism of expert on Palestinian rights
GENEVA: A UN human rights spokesperson said on Friday she was very worried about attacks on independent UN experts after European governments criticized Francesca Albanese who is mandated to report on human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. “We are very worried. We are concerned that UN officials, independent experts and judicial officials, are […]
Read MorePalestinian leader Abbas urges ‘firm’ US response to Israel’s West Bank plan
OSLO: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called Wednesday for a “firm response” from the United States and the international community to Israel’s plan to tighten its control of the occupied West Bank. During a visit to Oslo, Abbas said he had discussed the issue with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, as well as those of […]
Read MoreTop Hamas leader rejects disarmament or ‘foreign rule’
DOHA: A senior Hamas leader said Sunday that the Palestinian Islamist movement would not surrender its weapons nor accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against US and Israeli demands. “Criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Khaled Meshal said at a conference in Doha. […]
Read MoreUN warns of abuse of Palestinians returning to Gaza through Rafah crossing
NEW YORK CITY: The Rafah crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt opened for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, allowing a limited number of people to pass through. However, the UN voiced concerns about reported mistreatment of Palestinians returning to the war-ravaged enclave. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also […]
Read MoreUN chief says 37,000 West Bank Palestinians displaced in 2025; warns Gaza war threatens two-state solution
NEW YORK CITY: More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced in the occupied West Bank during 2025, a year in which there were also record-high levels of violence committed by Israeli settlers, UN secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday. The situation on the ground was rapidly eroding the prospects for a two-state solution, he warned. “We […]
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