All Stories Archive

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Israeli aircrafts launched a wave of coordinated bombings across the Gaza Strip last night. F-16 jets bombed an area east of Khan Yunis and the Shawka district, east of Rafah, leaving behind an unexploded missile. The area east of al Shujaeya was also targeted where a number...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES The Abu Jihad Centre and Al Quds University organized a seminar in Ramallah on Thursday, 9 February, in solidarity with the Palestinian parliamentarians and ministers abducted by the Israeli occupation. Participants discussed ways of supporting the detainees and how to internationalise their issue. Ahmad At Toun, the...

On Sunday, haaretz.com reported that due to budget woes, the Israeli Air Force may ground a number of its warplanes and "stop the production of the Iron Dome and David Sling missile interception systems in 2012". The Israeli Air Force in due to take these steps in view of...

Egyptian sources have reported that the Egyptian army's Chief of Staff and Deputy Chairman of the ruling military council, Lt Gen Sami Anan, announced on Thursday night that Egyptian Armed Forces have raised their state of preparedness and sent a strongly-worded message of warning to Israel informing it that...

The Association of Palestinian Scholars has issued a plea to the Muslim Ummah – its scholars, leaders, intellectuals, youth, and elderly across the world – to rise to the rescue of the al-Aqsa Mosque and to protect it from Zionist aggression. During a press conference held on Sunday, February...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES The Municipality of Gaza has begun pumping untreated sewage onto Gaza's coast as a result of the continuing Israeli blockade, and the ever worsening fuel shortages that threaten the sector. Certain types of fuel are no longer being provided to the Gaza Strip and as such, the...

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has affirmed that his country stands by the Palestinian people in their pursuit to "regain their legitimate rights, and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions."...

Press sources have reported that an Israeli company that produces military merchandise is about to incur losses worth tens of millions of dollars as a result of the Israeli Defence Ministry's decision to cancel one of its military deals with Turkey. The Israeli English Language newspaper, the Jerusalem Post,...

On Monday February 13, Israeli Military forces accompanied by bulldozers and demolition machinery demolished 7 Palestinian houses and 5 animal shelters near the town of Zaheria, south of Hebron in the West Bank. Palestinian witnesses told the Quds Press' reporter in Hebron, that the Occupation forces had demolished 7...

A Jerusalemite organization has warned against continuous Israeli plots to Judaize Occupied Jerusalem, stressing that the Israeli authorities are "implementing a vast scheme for Judaizing the holy city; changing its Arab landmarks; obliterating its history and culture, and giving it an extremist Jewish nature." The Secretary General of the...

An Israeli human rights organization has stated that during 2011, the number of Palestinian administrative detainees held by the Israel authorities increased sharply. B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, noted that according to figures received from the Israel Prison Service, the number of...

On Tuesday, February 21, Dr Mohamed Badee', the General Guide of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, called on all political forces, parties and intellectuals in Egypt to come together to talk about the country's future at the Brotherhood's headquarters in the south of Cairo. After giving his vote in the second...

The Egyptian Islamic scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Hassan, called upon all Egypt's scientists and representatives to support an initiative he has proposed which aims at doing away with American aid. The initiative follows revelations about foreign funding, specifically American aid, whose aim is to influence the January 25 revolution. This...

On Thursday, February 16, the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh is hosting an international two-day conference to discuss the challenges faced by peacekeeping operations and forces. The conferenced is due to be attended by 11 states including Egypt, the five permanent members of the Security Council, and the main...

On Wednesday 15.02.2012, activities in solidarity with the hunger strike prisoner, Khader Adnan, continued across West Bank cities where the Organisation of Conscience and Palestinian Youth Movement, alongside representatives of the Legislative Council and official and popular personalities, held solidarity protests outside the Zionist Ofer Military Detention Centre in...

The UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Professor Richard Falk, has called on the Israeli authorities to release the Palestinian detainee, Khader Adnan, who has been on hunger strike for two months now.  On Wednesday, the UN News Centre reported that Falk had expressed...

The Palestinian Minister of Health in Gaza, Dr Bassem Naim, is to declare a state of emergency in Gaza's hospitals due to acute power cuts and fuel shortages. In a press conference held on Thursday, February 16, at the al-Shifa Medical Compound, Dr Naim said that Gaza's health ministry...

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided on Sunday, 19 February, to recall its ambassador to Syria where protests and a crackdown campaign continue despite international pressure on the regime and promises of reform by Assad. A press release issued by the Ministry said Egypt's ambassador to Damascus, Mr Shawk...

The Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Dr Nabil Al-Arabi, and the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, yesterday discussed recent developments in Palestine and the action required in the face of continued Israeli attacks on religious shrines. In remarks made to reporters, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein said...

Israel's Minister of Finance, Yuval Steinitz, has accused the army command of inciting against the government, noting that such agitation should not occur in a democratic system where the government makes decisions and the army implements them. Steinitz made the remarks during the opening session of the Israeli government...

An official Palestinian report has accused the International Committee of the Red Cross of failing to protect Palestinian prisoners "who are exposed to massive violations of their rights and dignity in Israel's prisons and interrogation centres". The report was issued on Monday 20th February. In it, the Ministry of...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Israel's Supreme Court has decided to hear an urgent appeal for the release of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian detained without charge, who has been on hunger strike for 66 days. The hearing which was due to take place on 23 February has now been brought forward by...

Jordan's Foreign Minister has condemned Jewish extremists' assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. Large numbers of Muslims went to the sacred site following announcements in the Hebrew media by a Jewish group that it would storm the mosque and "build the temple on its ruins". Israeli police detained...

The Baptist Church in west Jerusalem has been attacked by Jewish extremists. Anti-Christian slogans were scrawled on the walls and three vehicles belonging to the church had their tyres slashed. The deeply offensive Hebrew graffiti included, "We will crucify you" and "Death to Christianity"; profanities about Prophet Jesus, peace...

An Israeli court has agreed to release Khader Adnan after 66 days of his hunger strike, which he started in protest at his imprisonment under so-called "administrative detention". The Israeli Justice Ministry said that Adnan, a leading member of the Islamic Jihad Movement, would be released in April. Adnan's...

Jordan's Prime Minister Awn Al Khasawneh has revealed his country's intention to invite the Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal to visit Jordan again. Meshaal was in Amman recently accompanied by Qatar's Crown Prince. Speaking to the local media, Mr. Al Khasawneh said, "There will be another invitation for...

A study conducted by Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage in Israel has revealed that Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surrounding area has been subjected to around 100 attacks and violations in 2011 alone. The study noted that the attacks varied between physical attacks and plots which pose threats to...

Arab writer and intellectual Fahmi Howeidi has warned of a plot by internal forces to thwart the Muslim Brotherhood's political plans for Egypt's economic crisis. The intention, he claims, is to dent ordinary Egyptians' confidence in the majority group in the new parliament. Howeidi made his claims in an...

The Israeli occupation authorities have transferred 120 Palestinian prisoners from a prison in the Negev desert to an unknown location. The prisoners were not allowed to take any luggage or belongings with them. In a statement released to the media, detainees said that prison officers entered cells with guns...

The Egyptian authorities have told the United Nations that they do not require the international body's help to draft the proposed new constitution. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy said that his country was grateful to the UN but had declined the offer of help. Addressing a press conference Cairo,...

The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has condemned the attacks by Jewish extremists on a Baptist church in the city of Jerusalem. Offensive graffiti was scrawled on the church wall, including profanities about Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, and his mother Mary. Property belonging...

A spokesman for Hamas has said that the results of the meeting of the Islamic Resistance Movement's Political Bureau, held in Cairo this week, "are a testament to the strength and cohesion of the group". In a press statement, Sami Abu Zuhri explained that the "positive atmosphere and the...

Jewish settler groups stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday morning, under the protection of the Israeli security forces which prevented hundreds of Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque to protect it from the extremists. Sources in occupied Jerusalem said that the city is tense after the incursion. It was confirmed...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Students at Birzeit University have staged a sit-in on campus in protest at political detentions and summonses being issued against them by the Palestinian Authority's Security Forces in the West Bank. The students are members of parties belonging to the Islamic Bloc. The sit-ins began last Thursday...

A UN committee on Palestinians affairs in the occupied territories has expressed its concern that the Israeli government is continuing to ignore international calls to halt its illegal settlement practices. The Israeli government has approved 500 new housing units in the north of the occupied West Bank. In a...

A two-day conference of the international committee for the "Global March to Jerusalem" opened in Amman on Sunday. Members of both the executive and central committees of the march, representing more than 60 countries, were present. The head of the Jordanian committee taking part in the meeting, Abdullah Obeidat,...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES The Egyptian parliament has convened at the invitation of the country's military rulers to select an assembly which will be tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution. Wrangling has already begun over the shape the new document, which will determine the balance of power between the army-backed executive...

The Israeli occupation authorities have issued notices of their intention to demolish a solar energy project which provides the only source of electricity for a number of Palestinian villages south of Hebron. The head of the People's Committee in Yatta confirmed that the Israelis told the residents of the...

A high-ranking Palestinian source has claimed that the delay in the formation of the Palestinian unity government, which, it was agreed between Hamas and Fatah, will be headed by Mahmoud Abbas, follows a request from Abbas. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that Abbas told the Hamas...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attacked President Mahmoud Abbas for his speech at the opening of the International Conference for Defending Jerusalem in Qatar. Abbas condemned Israel's violations in the occupied city of Jerusalem, including illegal settlements and the country's Judaisation policy. Netanyahu's office issued a statement immediately,...

Mustafa El-Barghouthi, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative movement and an elected legislator, has reiterated that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian people. "All of the Israeli occupation authority's actions in the city are illegal, void, and do not lend any legitimacy to the ongoing...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES This month, the news has been dominated by the ever worsening situation in Syria. Within the Palestinian arena, the case of Khader Adnan; the West bank activists who risked his life and health to draw global attention to the plight of Palestinians subject to arbitrary Israeli administrative...

A spokesman for Fatah's Office of Information and Culture, Ahmed Assaf, has described Israel's raids on the Watan and Al-Quds TV stations as "state terrorism" and a violation of international laws that guarantee freedom of information. In a media statement, Mr. Assaf said, "The attacks carried out by the...

Media sources in Israel have revealed that the Israeli Transport Minister and Railway Authority have prepared a blueprint for the extension of the country's railway network to service the illegal Jewish settler communities across the occupied West Bank. The scheme being developed by Yisrael Katz is set to bring...

The Deputy Minister of Health in Gaza has issued a warning about the massive problem of electricity cuts in the besieged territory. Dr. Hasan Khalaf described the cuts as a real danger to the already very difficult health conditions in the Gaza Strip. Pointing to the fact that around...

The Arab Affairs Committee of the People's Assembly in Cairo has recommended making a legal study of the crossings between Egypt and Gaza and how they operate. The purpose is to facilitate the transportation of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and to supply Gaza with fuel, on the...

Senior PLO committee member Saeb Erekat has called on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton to intervene for the release of a Palestinian woman who has been on hunger strike for 18 days. Hana Shalabi is protesting against the...

Israel's Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said yesterday that the country's parliament, the Knesset, is to look into an unprecedented proposal submitted by extreme right-wing parliamentarian Danny Danon. The Likud MK wants the Knesset to establish a parliamentary committee to investigate the activities of its elected members who belong to...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Yesterday evening , the Palestine Institute for Culture held an awards ceremony at the Red Coral Hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to recognise Palestinian cultural creativity. The ceremony was attended by a number of cultural, social and political figures alongside a host of representatives from the...

Dr Ali Al-Salaby of the International Union for Muslim Scholars has played down the fears about Libyan unity as the margin between freedom and decentralisation of the government widens. The specialist in Libya's Islamic affairs insists that the unity of Libya "represents the common interest of the Libyans, just...