In an unsurprising move which exposes the ongoing US commitment to establish new paradigms for Israel in which Palestine is completely eliminated, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared Israeli settlements as “not necessarily illegal”. At first glance, this declaration isolates the US and Israel from the rest of the...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared “victory” over domestic and foreign enemies yesterday, following the suppression of protests which swept through the country last week. “The Iranian people have again succeeded in an historic test and shown they will not let enemies benefit from the situation, even though they might...

Eight teams made up of 40 players took part in Gaza’s Goalball Championship, a game designed specifically for athletes who are visually impaired. Organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the tournament is the first of its kind in the Gaza Strip and aims to give all Palestinians...

A study conducted by the US Department of Defence said on Tuesday that Iran has the largest missile force in the region, despite decades of US imposed sanctions. “Iran has an extensive missile development program, and the size and sophistication of its missile force continues to grow despite decades...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has commended the US administration’s announcement that it no longer considers settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as “illegal”. In a provocative visit to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc built on Palestinian land south of the West Bank, Netanyahu said: “I...

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday that 11 people, including seven non-Syrians, were killed in Israeli air strikes on military positions in Damascus and its surroundings on Tuesday night. The observatory said the attack targeted and destroyed weapons and ammunition storage facilities belonging to Iran’s elite Al-Quds...

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said yesterday that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) are currently considering joint investments worth more than $10 billion. Speaking at the fourth meeting of the Russia-Qatar Joint Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Moscow, Novak...

The UAE has said it is interested in de-escalating the tension in the Gulf region and is studying Russian proposals in this regard, TASS reported. In an interview the Russian Ambassador to the UAE Sergei Kuznetsov said: “Our Emirati friends are interested with us in easing the tensions in...

Jordan’s Interior Ministry has cancelled the “Interfaith Peace” conference scheduled to begin today because Israeli representatives were due to take part. The Governor of Amman, Saad Shehab, announced the cancellation of the conference “Interfaith Peace”, which was organised by the United Initiative for Religions Working in Jordan. The participation...

The European Union (EU) was yesterday urged by Luxembourg to recognise a Palestinian state in response to the United States’ policy shift on Israeli settlements, reported Reuters. “Recognising Palestine as a state would be neither a favour nor a carte blanche but rather a mere recognition of the right...

The Dutch parliament passed a motion on Tuesday objecting to a recent European court ruling concerning the labelling of produce made in Israeli settlements, reported the Times of Israel. According to the report, the motion – approved 82-68 – calls on the Dutch government to resist the European Court...

US Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, denounced the detention of Palestinian children by the Israeli military at an event yesterday, reported Middle East Eye. McCollum was speaking at an event coinciding with the United Nations’ International Children’s Day. The Israeli system of military detention of Palestinian children is...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday that nearly 70,000 men, women and children in Yemen have lost their lives or been seriously injured as a result of the conflict there. The organisation noted in its report that as many as 156 attacks have been documented on health...

Israeli police today detained Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith, according to eyewitnesses. The detention came after police raided Ghaith’s residence in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood, the eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency. Ghaith has been detained several times in recent months as part of Israel’s ongoing violations against Palestinian officials, activists and institutions...

Some 4.5 million Yemeni children have been deprived of education since Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, the country’s Yemen’s Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Ibtihaj Al-Kamal revealed yesterday. The minister accused the Houthis of turning schools into military barracks and injecting hate and racism...

Refugees and migrants who have recently been denied entry into Greece said security services there treated them brutally and forced them to return to Turkey. Turkey’s Anadolu Agency interviewed the refugees who said the Greek security authorities had mistreated and abused them and denied them food and water for...

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that the US’ announcement that it no longer considers Israeli settlement illegal “is political massacre”. In a statement sent to journalists, Haniyeh said: “The decision announced by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo related to Israeli settlement is a dangerous political massacre...

Israel arrested 745 Palestinian children since the start of 2019, many of whom were subject to numerous rights violations, a report published yesterday revealed. According to figured issued by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC), nearly 200 children were being held in various detention centres across Israel as of Tuesday....

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly agreed yesterday that Likud’s bill which stipulates annexation of the Jordan Valley should be passed to the Knesset for approval, Israeli media reported. According to the Times of Israel, this measure came following the US’ announcement that settlement in the occupied West Bank...

Turkey is discussing with Russia how to address the continued presence of Kurdish YPG militants in areas covered by an agreement between the two countries, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday, Reuters reports. Ankara halted its incursion against the YPG last month after agreeing with Moscow for the...

The United States on Wednesday defended itself at the United Nations against strong opposition from the European Union and other world powers to the Trump administration’s declaration that it no longer considers Israeli settlements to be in violation of international law, Reuters reports. Monday’s announcement by Secretary of State...

The United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent statements on the Israeli illegal settlements is a “blatant assault on the Palestinian state’s rights,” Egypt’s Al-Azhar said yesterday. Al-Azhar added that the US decision was “completely inconsistent with the provisions of international laws and the United Nations Charter...

The Presidential Council of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) called on the UN Security Council, on Tuesday, to take a “firm and deterrent stance” against Khalifa Haftar, following the latest aerial bombing launched by the latter’s forces on the cities of Tripoli and Misrata, causing casualties. Since...

On Wednesday, the Tunisian Post issued a commemorative stamp, in Arabic, entitled “Al Quds – the Capital of Palestine”. The issuance of the new postage stamp came to stress ”Tunisia’s firm stance in supporting the Palestinian cause and international efforts to reach a just and comprehensive peace which would end the Israeli occupation and...

Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) yesterday called on Muslim countries to pressure the Saudi leadership to stop what it described as a “genocide against the Yemeni people.” Ali Shamkhani’s remarks came during his meeting with the Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed...

Sudanese authorities have arrested the secretary-general of the Popular Congress-Part, Ali Al-Haj, an official source reported yesterday. The source told Anadolu Agency that Al-Haj was arrested by the Sudanese police forces “from his home,” pointing out that he was interrogated over former president Omar al-Bashir’s rise to power in...

Recent meetings between the new Tunisian president, Kais Saied, and young people from unemployment and poverty-stricken regions, reflect a new communication approach for the president. In the past two weeks, Saied held meetings with youth groups from the governorates of Kasserine (center-west) and Gafsa (southwest), during which he discussed...

A former Twitter Inc employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in San Francisco, where he remains in custody, Reuters reports. Ahmad Abouammo earlier this month was indicted on spying charges along with Ali Alzabarah, another former Twitter employee, and Ahmed Almutairi, who worked...

The crisis of the Coptic TV channel CTV has ended with the resignation of a Muslim presenter, as a wave of indignation rose against the channel following the announcement of recruiting the presenter a few days ago. However, many unanswered questions about the controversy are still left unanswered. Did...

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman struck a defiant note against the kingdom’s enemies, saying on Wednesday that missile and drone strikes it blames on Iran had not halted development and reiterating that Riyadh will not hesitate to defend itself, Reuters reports. In an annual address to the appointed Shura Council, he called...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel took up the issue of human rights with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a meeting in Berlin, a government spokesman said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported. The talks came on the sidelines of the Compact with Africa summit. “The chancellor has of course used the opportunity of bilateral...

Turkey opposes any measure that violates international law and prevents a fair and just solution in Palestine, the country’s director of communications said on Wednesday. “Turkey has always stood by our Palestinian brothers and sisters while supporting a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution,” Fahrettin Altun...

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced that they were seeking a political settlement in Yemen and hoped the recent agreement signed in Riyadh would take the lead for broader peace talks, Anadolu Agency reports. According to the Saudi Arabia News Agency (SPA), King Salman speaking to the Shoura Council at the annual...

Turkish security forces held 577 irregular migrants in northwestern Turkey’s Edirne province, bordering Greece, on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports. They included Nepali, Indian, Iranian, Afghan, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Syrian, Palestinian, Somalian, Moroccan and Algerian nationals. The migrants were sent to the provincial migration office for legal procedures. Turkey has been a key transit point...

France and Germany each sought to claim European leadership within NATO on Wednesday in the first ministerial meeting since French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the US-led military alliance was experiencing “brain death”, Reuters reports. Public questioning of the alliance comes ahead of a summit in London for NATO’s 70th...

On Tuesday, doctors at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem announced that they had successfully removed the remains of the left eye of Palestinian photojournalist Muath Amarneh, 32, who was shot by Israeli border police while covering their violent dispersal of protesters in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. While...

In a worn-out Palestinian political and institutional environment, and in the absence of reference points and institutions governing national action, as well as there being no guarantees of freedom and integrity while the political programmes and priorities are in conflict, holding elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is...

Actor and businessman Mohamed Ali, who has inspired mass protests in Egypt, has announced plans to launch a new political programme that will pave the way for an end to the regime of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Speaking this morning at a press conference in London organised by Egypt...

For many, the Palestinian territories have become a land to which it is forbidden to travel. This includes Palestinians themselves. In the name of security, interrogations by border officials about visitors’ identity and political beliefs make it, if not impossible, certainly burdensome to visit “Palestine”. In many cases, some...

Israel shut down Palestine TV’s office and several other Palestinian institutions this morning in the occupied city of Jerusalem after raiding and confiscating files and surveillance cameras. A notice was issued by the Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PCB), which stated the office...

A Syrian refugee and performer starring in a prominent British Museum exhibition has condemned the institution for having British Petroleum (BP) as a primary sponsor of the display. Reem Alsayyah, who is a performer starring in the film “Queens of Syria” which is featured in the British Museum’s “Troy:...

After the failure of Israeli leaders to agree on a coalition or unity government following September’s election, Israel is heading for its third election. An Israeli source close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told MEMO that the coming elections would take place in March 2020. Blue and White (Kahol...

The US is flagrantly violating international law and sending a “clear message” that “might makes right” in declaring Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as legal, the Francophone Association for Human Rights (AFDH) said in a statement yesterday. “By all international standards, Israel is an occupying power, and...

The Trudeau government yesterday backed a resolution to support the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people adopted by the UN General Assembly during a session of the Third Committee. The resolution was put forward by the State of Palestine, North Korea, Zimbabwe and others and calls for a...

Russia today condemned Israel’s air strikes against Iranian targets in Syria last night, branding them a “wrong move” which violated international law. The air strikes, which were launched by the Israeli Air Force on both the Syrian army and Iranian targets last night, killed 11 people including seven non-Syrians...

By publicly endorsing the decision of President Hassan Rouhani’s government to ration petrol and raise the price at the pumps, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has blocked any possibility that the government could back down, as we have seen in other countries, Arab and Western, which have witnessed widespread...

The Taliban yesterday released American and Australian hostages in return for the release of three of its leaders who were being held by Afghan authorities, Al-Khaleej Online reported. Police sources told AFP that the American and Australian hostages, who have been in the Taliban’s custody since 2016, were released...

The leader of a Chicago-area street gang has been arrested for allegedly attempting to provide material support to the terrorist group Daesh. Jason Brown, also known as “Abdul Ja’Me”, allegedly provided $500 in cash to an individual on three separate occasions this year, with the understanding that the money...

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak yesterday called for prosecuting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to pave the way ahead of forming a new government, Arabi21 reported. In an article in Haaretz, Barak said: “In light of the current frenzy legal and political situation, we need a quick...

Doctors at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem yesterday removed the eye of Palestinian photojournalist Muath Amarneh who was shot by an Israeli sniper on Friday. A committee of specialists decided that Amarneh’s left eye must be removed along with the bullet which is logged in it. Surgery to do this...