All Stories Archive

The EU decision to boycott Israeli settlements is expected to take effect on the ground on Friday and has aroused outrageous comments by Israeli officials. According to the decision, the 28 EU member states are going to stop dealing with government officials on issues relating to the Israeli settlements...

The Israeli Ambassador Yaakov Amitai arrived in Cairo from Tel Aviv via Jordan on Tuesday on his first visit after the June 30 events and after an 18-day absence. Informed sources who received Amitai said that he arrived on board a Jordanian plane from Amman with seven members of...

The Kuwaiti lawyer Abdallah Ibrahim Al Kandary has filed an administrative lawsuit with an urgent request to stop the implementation of the Cabinet Council's decision to grant Egypt $4 billion. The lawsuit was registered as 2952/2013 Administrative/3. The document read: "The complainant was surprised by a news story, circulated...

Informed sources in Egypt have revealed that former Fatah thug Mohamed Dahlan is plotting a major conflict between Gaza and the Egyptian army. The Dubai-based Dahlan is being backed by a number of Gulf States, which supported the coup in Egypt, and Israel. It is alleged that security officers...

Israeli military analyst Roni Daniel revealed on Sunday that the Egyptian General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi informed Israel of his efforts to remove President Mohammed Morsi three days before the coup. Speaking to the Israeli TV channel 2, Daniel said Al-Sisi asked Israel to monitor the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas,...

An Israeli unmanned aircraft (UAV) crashed on Sunday near the Israel-Egypt border. It is believed that a malfunction caused the crash; terrorism is not suspected. The malfunction in the Hermes 450 aircraft was discovered while it was carrying out an intelligence mission near the border. Military personnel from Israel...

An Israeli court has tied its recommendations to the interests of the settlement project in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinians have claimed. The allegation was made following a judgement of the Jerusalem Central Court in favour of settlers who demanded access to documentation belonging to the Palestinian...

More than 1,700 Saudi intellectuals have issued a statement of support for pro-Morsi protesters who are calling for the return of Egypt's "stolen constitutional legitimacy". The statement also expressed appreciation for the peaceful protests in the face of army provocation. According to Tawasul website, the signatories called for the...

Dissatisfaction is growing in Gaza at the shortages of basic essentials and the high prices caused by the Egyptian army's closure of the tunnels under the Rafah border of the besieged territory. The feeling is exacerbated by this coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan.  The economic situation in...

PICTURES The Palestinian Ministry of the Interior in Gaza released 65 prisoners on Wednesday morning to commemorate the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. The prisoners chosen for the amnesty have already completed two-thirds of their sentences. Justice Minister Atallah Abul-Sobah congratulated the men on their release....

Ramallah – Walid Awad The Islamic Resistance Movement has confirmed its belief that it is the subject of a systematic campaign by international, Arab and Palestinian entities to destroy its image. Hamas also alleges that accusations that it "interferes" in Arab states' internal affairs are intended to break alliances...

An Arabic website has revealed details of the links between the man nominated to be the Deputy Interim President of Egypt and an Israeli leader alleged to be a war criminal. Mohamed ElBaradei not only supported disgraced Hosni Mubarak but was also close to ex-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon....

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Gaza has announced the suspension of its school construction programme. Work on 39 new schools has been stopped due to the tightening of the siege caused by Egypt's steps to close the Rafah border crossing and destroy many of the tunnels...

A former minister in the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has claimed that officials have had "secret talks" with their Israeli counterparts. According to Ashraf Al-Ajrami, the ex-minister of prisoners' affairs, the meeting took place at the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a workshop organised by the "Geneva...

Around 900 Palestinian pilgrims have been stranded due to Egypt's decision to close the Rafah border crossing into the besieged Gaza Strip. Some of the pilgrims are still in Saudi Arabia while others are in Egypt en route to Gaza. The border has been closed since the coup against...

The Egyptian army has reinforced its presence along the border with the Gaza Strip, ordering more tanks and armoured vehicles to the area to guard watch towers and barracks. Media sources in Rafah confirmed the arrival of five tanks for the first time in many years in addition to...

The Palestine Liberation Organisation has denied the existence of a US plan for the revival of the peace process. Secretary of State John Kerry is due back in the region soon to meet Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. According to PLO Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Youssef, "Kerry will return...

Tel Aviv has confirmed continued security and military coordination-particularly regarding the Sinai Peninsula and tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip – with the Egyptian army represented by Defence Minister, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Al-Sisi led the military coup against the Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi. Israeli radio quoted a senior...

On July 7, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quoted its correspondent from Ramallah as saying that the head of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Avigdor Lieberman, who is also the leader of Yisrael Beiteinu party and an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for the occupation...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS A campaign against drugs was launched by Gaza's interior ministry last month targeting tramadol tablets which are widely used by youth in the Sector. Tramadol is a drug prescribed by doctors as a pain killer; however it is widely misused by drug addicts as a replacement drug....

Israeli media has reported that Israeli Likud Knesset member Tzachi Hanegbi said on Friday that the military coup carried out by the Egyptian army in Egypt was good news for Israel. Hanegbi said that Israel is eager to have neighbouring Egypt stable, but close to the USA and away...

The Secretary-General of the Arab League has left Cairo for an international tour in order to drum up support for the military coup in Egypt and try to convince people that it was a "popular revolution". Dr Nabil Elaraby said that he intends to "clarify" the situation to foreign...

A Palestinian official in Gaza said that a representative of the Egyptian army told the government in Gaza that the Rafah Crossing was closed until further notice. Since the start of the preparation for the counter-revolution activities, the Egyptian army have tightened measures on Palestinian travellers entering and leaving...

The Israeli occupation army has held exercises inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Muslim worshippers were forced out of the mosque on Thursday as the troops moved in. Tayseer Abu Sneineh, the Director of Religious Endowments in Hebron, said that worshippers were excluded from the mosque for several hours...

The Government of Israel has refused to comment officially one way or the other on the ousting of Egypt's elected President Mohammed Morsi. A Likud member of the parliament close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, expressed his hope that the interim president in Cairo, Adli Mansour, will resume...

The deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council Ahmed Bahar stressed that behind the Israeli campaign of arresting Palestinian MPs and leaders Israel aims to isolate them from their constituencies and imprison them with no regard for human rights or diplomatic immunity. In a statement that arrived in Safa...

A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has convicted 69 Islamists of plotting to overthrow the ruling regime. Ten of the accused were convicted in absentia. Al-Itihadiyya Court, the sentences of which are not subject to appeal, gave jail terms ranging from 7 to 15 years. It acquitted...

Israeli occupation forces have arrested parliamentarian Mohammed Abu Tair at his home in Ramallah. He is a Palestinian Jerusalemite who was deported to Ramallah by the Israelis in October 2010. His new home was stormed during his arrest. Fellow Palestinian Legislative Council member Nasser Abdel Gawwad told the Safa...

Hamas has put the blame for the rise in Israel's arrest of activists across the occupied West Bank on the visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry last week. A spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Fawzy Barhoum, said that there has been a resultant "double escalation, targeting...

Israel has been digging tunnels under Old Jerusalem and its environs for years. Not content with this, the Israeli occupation authorities have revealed plans for what they are calling "the Park on the Market Roof". Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowments and Islamic Heritage has described the proposal as yet...

Israeli occupation forces used explosive ammunition to kill a Palestinian youth, it has been alleged. Police Cadet Mutaz Al-Sharawneh, 19, was shot and killed on Monday night in the village of Dura, near Hebron. Initial reports claimed that he was knocked over by an Israeli jeep but medical examination...

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has said that it has "closed the door of peace" with Israel "completely" after the failure of John Kerry's efforts to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations. Senior Executive Committee member Wasel Abu-Yousif told the Palestinian daily Al-Resalah that reaching a peace deal during Israeli...

Jordan's House of Representatives has condemned the Israeli parliament's approval of the Prawer-Begin Plan which allows for the confiscation of land and displacement of the indigenous population in the Negev Desert. The Jordanian legislators believe that the plan approved by the Knesset is part of Israel's Judaisation policies for...

The latest shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry has not produced any breakthrough in the push to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority has confirmed. Nabil Abu Rdainah said that the efforts will continue even though Kerry has...

Sixty Israeli soldiers have entered Al-Aqsa Mosque wearing their uniforms in what is being seen as an attempt to strengthen a Jewish presence in the sacred Islamic site. According to Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowments and Islamic Heritage, the all-female group of soldiers was protected by security officers and...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will not ratify any agreement with the Palestinians before it has been subject to a public referendum. He announced this at his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. "Any agreement will be presented to the Israeli people to decide on," he...

The UN Security Council (UNSC) agreed unanimously on Thursday to lift sanctions imposed on Iraq two decades ago following its invasion of Kuwait under former dictator Saddam Hussein. The 15 member states of the UNSC also agreed that the issue of missing Kuwaitis, Kuwaiti property and registers are to...

Palestinian legislator Jamal Al-Khodari has pointed out to solidarity groups visiting the besieged Gaza Strip that one million Palestinians are now dependent on aid. Dr Al-Khodari, who also heads the Popular Committee Against the Siege, affirmed that Israel is responsible for the blockade that has been imposed on Gaza...

The new Emir of Qatar has used his maiden speech to pledge his country's ongoing support for the people of Palestine. Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on Wednesday that his country will not accept sectarianism in the Middle East and stressed that no peace agreement can be reached...

Israel's Prime Minister is ready to compromise and evacuate most settlements in the occupied West Bank for peace, a senior Likud official told Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that Benjamin Netanyahu knows that a peace agreement demands evacuation of as many Israeli...

The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics expects Israel's population to reach 11.4 million in 2035, of which 73 per cent will be Jews. That is slightly lower than the current percentage. The Bureau released the data on Tuesday in a report that included Israel's expected population size, the percentage...

Sources in the prime minister's office say that Benjamin Netanyahu denies that he has agreed to freeze construction in settlements and release Palestinian prisoners in order to enter into direct negotiations with the Palestinians. According to a report in Maariv newspaper on Wednesday, Netanyahu refuses to "pay a price"...

McDonald's Israel has refused to open a branch in the settlement of Ariel which is built on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The company was offered space in a shopping mall being built in the settlement but, said one of the brokers involved in trying to market...

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom considers Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah's interference in the conflict in Syria to be dangerous, adding that "We have no choice but to consider Syria as an occupied land at the moment." Al-Faisal explained that Saudi...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyyeh has received three international solidarity delegations, including Miles of Smiles 22 headed by Isam Yousif. The members of the delegations who visited the Gaza Strip are from different countries such as Bahrain, Turkey, Britain and other European countries. Isam Yousif,...

Israeli occupation forces detained more than 100 Palestinian labourers in the occupied West Bank village of Bartaa in a pre-dawn sweep on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses said that "hundreds" of Israeli troops were involved in the raid. Bartaa is split in half by Israel's "Separation Wall" and many of the labourers...

The head of the Hamas Political Bureau is making strong efforts to keep Palestinian refugees out of armed clashes between rival groups in Lebanon. Khaled Meshaal has contacted the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, to ask for his support in this issue. The Lebanese Army has been...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS As yet another cohort of students has graduated in Gaza, their success and achievements have been hailed by local dignitaries and international visitors to the territory. Speaking at the 32nd Graduation Ceremony of the Islamic University of Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh praised the institution for its...

Reports in the Israeli media suggest that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has no control" over Likud, the party that he is supposed to lead. The daily Yedioth Ahronoth has claimed that Netanyahu withdrew his preferred candidate from the party's internal elections at the last minute fearing that he would...

The Knesset, Israel's parliament, has approved a "racist" bill which will lead to the eviction of "illegal" Palestinian Bedouin communities from the Negev Desert occupied in 1948 by Israel, newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported. Known as the "Praver Bill", the new legislation will allow the Israeli authorities to "relocate"...