All Stories Archive

The Deputy General Guide of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, Zaki Bani Irsheid, denied media reports that Jordanian authorities have made an official request to meet with the Muslim Brotherhood, saying: "We did not receive anything official on this matter. There is no progress on the dialogue between the authorities and...

The European campaign to raise awareness about the siege on Gaza has announced that it will make a presentation on the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, which affects more than 1,800,000 people on daily basis, on the sidelines of the upcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva....

81 Jordanian MPs have demanded their government to summon the Israeli Ambassador "to convey a message of protest against Jewish extremists calling to organize their religious celebrations on Islamic holy sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to prevent Muslims from practicing their religious rites." The MPs also demanded that...

The United Nations Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, warned that if the ongoing civil war in Syria moved to the Golan Heights to involve Israel, this could jeopardize the 1974 cease-fire agreement between Syria and Israel. The UN envoy's warnings followed the UN peacekeeping mission's reports of artillery shells falling...

NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday that the option to carry out a military strike against Syria, or any similar kind of operation, must be kept open as a way of dealing with the crisis. Rasmussen welcomed the Russian-American agreement to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal...

The Minister of National Economy in the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip has said that losses in the besieged territory have exceeded $250 million as a result of the Egyptian campaign to tighten the siege. Dr Alaa Al-Rafati told local media that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has...

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Thursday that 8,833 Palestinian refugees have fled the camps in Syria and are now living in Jordan. UNRWA announced this number in a statement published on its website, but an employee working at the agency doubted...

Forty Yemeni military staff were killed and 15 others wounded when militias affiliated to Al-Qaeda attacked a police station on Friday morning in the Governorate of Shabwa in the south of the country. A Yemeni security source confirmed that the attack took place and described it as one of...

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat threatened on Thursday to suspend negotiations with the Israeli occupation if the latter continued targeting Palestinians and promoting settlement activities. During his visit to the Jordan Valley, Erekat told journalists and diplomats that: "There is a pattern in these negotiations since they began. Every...

The Minister of Health in Gaza has urged the international community to put pressure on Israel and Egypt to lift the siege and allow medicines, medical supplies and basic construction material to be allowed into the beleaguered territory. Dr Mofeed Mokhalalati said that the health sector in the Gaza...

The government of Syria has presented an outline of its chemical weapons programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, AP reported on Friday. The organisation's spokesman, Michael Luhan, said that the regime's declaration about its programme is "being reviewed by our verification division." Full details of...

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Israel's Deputy Defence Minister Danny Danon has called upon Israel to annul the Oslo Accords. Danon says that despite repeated rounds of negotiations over the past 20 years, ever since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stood next to PLO leader Yasser Arafat...

An Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian villager, reports emerging today have stated. Twenty year old Sgt. Tomer Hazan accepted a ride with Nadal Amar, 42, when he was lured to an open area near Amar's home village of Qalqiliya, in the West Bank. He was then killed...

A prominent Israeli commentator has predicted that the Egyptian army will work in coordination with the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to topple the rule of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip. A report published by an online Israeli outlet "The Post" on Sunday...

Sources allegedly "close" to the Saudi royal family have claimed that a number of princes in the kingdom are "upset" at the government's support for the coup in Egypt. According to the Asrar Arabeya – "Arab Secrets" – website, the sources in Saudi Arabia have said that Crown Prince...

Israel's illegal occupation of the Jordan Valley is worth $620 million per annum to the national economy. The figure was disclosed by Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat, who pointed out that this is only possible because the Israelis have uprooted the land's Palestinian owners for "security" reasons to clear...

The Palestinian ambassador in Cairo has said that the Rafah crossing will be kept closed until the "legitimate" Palestinian Authority is back in control in Gaza and President Mahmoud Abbas's guard can be posted on the border. "Hamas is requested to reconsider its account with Egypt and the will...

Not content with killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy supporters in Egypt, the coup authorities have placed the Emir of Qatar and his mother on the travel blacklist to ensure that they are not allowed to enter the country. In a new development which highlights the farcical nature of...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Israeli occupation forces detained more than 200 Palestinian citizens in pre-dawn campaigns on Monday, most of them from the West Bank city of Hebron where an Israeli soldier was killed on Sunday. Palestinian sources told MEMO that most of the detainees were questioned and then released, but...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS After the closure of the Rafah Crossing and the destruction of the tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, the Israeli siege has caused great economic losses that are severely affecting life in the Gaza Strip. Economists estimate losses to the private sector to be around $100 million. Furthermore,...

Hours after the death of an Israeli soldier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a directive to occupy a Palestinian house near to the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Israeli settlers had previously claimed ownership of the Palestinian house based on documents that were later proven to be forgeries. Israeli...

As Israel's General Security Service, known locally as Shin Bet, continues to investigate the kidnapping and murder of a 20-year-old Israeli soldier by a Palestinian, it has been revealed that it has thwarted 37 attempts to kidnap soldiers this year alone. A report in Yedioth Ahronoth said that the...

After the recent killing of two Israeli soldiers in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, senior Israeli officials have accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) security services of doing little in fighting "Palestinian terrorism." However, the circumstances surrounding both killings remain ambiguous. Palestinian residents in Hebron told MEMO that Gabriel Kobi,...

Arab Secrets website has revealed that Saudi Arabia has engaged the services of the British company G4S to provide security for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah. The Website also said that G4S operations in Saudi Arabia are currently being managed by a former Saudi security officer, Khalid Baghdadi....

A Palestinian citizen from the Gaza Strip died of a serious illness on Monday night after he was prevented from traveling through the Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The citizen was named by medical sources in Gaza as Wael Abu-Sada, 40. He was the father of...

Egypt's foreign minister in the coup-led "interim" government has threatened the people of Gaza with "military options" if it is felt that Hamas or other parties are endangering national security. "Egypt's response will be harsh," Nabil Fahmy told London's Al-Hayat newspaper. "There are many negative signs about this." He...

An Israeli security team has arrived in Cairo for a short visit during which its members will meet with a number of Egyptian officials to discuss the situation in the Sinai Peninsula. The aim of the visit, claims Hebrew Radio, is to discuss developments in the light of the...

Israeli Likud leaders are calling for a conference to be held aimed at foiling peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, an Israeli Hebrew newspaper reported on Wednesday. The majority of Likud's leaders, seven out of 11, sent a letter to the head of the party, Deputy Israeli Defence Minister...

The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo has condemned the statements attributed to ousted president Hosni Mubarak in which he claimed that the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had leaked the planned date for the 1973 war to Israel. "Any press leaks, whatever their sources, will not affect the status of...

Israel's delegation to the UN General Assembly walked out during the speech of the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, a move criticised by Yair Lapid, the head of the Israeli Party Yesh Atid. Lapid described the move as the "wrong action" and added: "Israel must not look as if it...

Jordanian Member of Parliament Khamis Ateya recently revealed that secret talks are being held between Jordan and Israel on exchanging water. According to the information that Ateya posted on his Facebook page, the mutual talks have reached a stage where it has been agreed that: "Israel gets the water...

Emir Tamim bin-Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, said on Tuesday that the people of the Arab Spring countries are now more aware of and more interested in public issues. He noted that such countries will not return to the old days that are past. Speaking at the UN...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have protested against ongoing incursions by Israeli settlers and police at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Many noted the irony that Palestinian Authority officials continue to hold "peace negotiations" with the Israelis despite such assaults on the sanctity of the Noble Sanctuary. A...

Five days after his death, the family and friends of Ihsan Abu-Sitta are still in shock. The Palestinian worker died in Tel Aviv after his boss tossed him to the side of the road when he was injured at work; he was left to bleed to death. People came...

The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon registered and awaiting registration with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners is now estimated to be more than 755,000 people. The refugees are to be found across the country as well as in the capital, Beirut....

Dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque again on Wednesday. The Muslim sanctuary in Jerusalem has now witnessed clashes with police officers protecting the Jewish extremists for several days. Eyewitnesses told the Kuwait News Agency ( KUNA ) that special Israeli police units entered Al-Aqsa, attacked worshippers inside and detained...

US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that both the Palestinian and Israeli sides have agreed to accelerate the pace of current peace negotiations and to extend the US role in the process. Kerry's statement followed an aid committee meeting of representatives from donor states on the sidelines...

An international human rights organisation has revealed that one-third of the Palestinian-owned houses in Jerusalem face demolition under the pretext that applications for building permits were incomplete. This, claims Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, is a way for the Israeli authorities to continue their demographic war against Palestinians in...

Jordan's first Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Khalil Attieh demanded on Wednesday that his government expel Daniel Nevo, the Israeli ambassador to Jordan. Attieh also urged the Arab League to withdraw the proposed Arab Peace Initiative. In a statement Attieh said, "I call on the government to expel Israel's...

Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammed Hamed has told the Anadolu news agency that the government's cumulative losses as a result of interruptions in the delivery of Egyptian gas, which Jordan relies upon to generate electricity, will rise to $5.24 billion by the end of this year....

Israel's housing minister, Uri Ariel, has claimed that the state's borders "extend from the Jordan River to the western border", which is, of course, the Mediterranean Sea. He told an Israeli news channel that he rejects the establishment of another state "based on the 1967 borders". This, along with...

After more than a week of enabling Jewish settlers to enter and desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli authorities have imposed severe restrictions on Muslim worshippers who want to perform their obligatory Friday prayer in the Noble Sanctuary. According to Israeli media reports, the police are only allowing Palestinian men...

PHOTOS As electricity and gas shortages continue to cripple the Gaza Strip one student has developed an ingenious method to combat the problem. 18 year old Ibrahim Saad has designed and built equipment, in his home workshop, that will convert hydrogen gas, using water and chemicals, to power an...

Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, has claimed that former leader Mohammed Dahlan is planning to topple both Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip. A statement, purportedly attributed to the Brigades, describes the details of the plan: "It...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that any use of nuclear weapons is a violation of the United Nations charter and a crime against humanity. Rouhani called on Israel to join the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty (NPT) saying that, "Israel is the only country in the region...

Renowned Saudi Islamic preacher Sheikh Salman Al-Awdeh said that he "does not believe in 'devilling' the Muslim Brotherhood" even though he does not promote their ideology, explaining that, "his country Saudi Arabia had celebrated the Brotherhood and supported them both politically and in the media during the rule of...

PHOTOS Thousands of Palestinian youths took to the streets on Friday protesting against continued Israeli aggression against Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque. The coalition of Palestinian youths, a newly founded youth movement, called on youths to demonstrate in support of al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian residents in the occupied city...

PHOTOS Clashes between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian protesters erupted in Jerusalem yesterday after the Friday prayer and continued until late evening. Tens of Palestinians were wounded and detained. The protests took place after the newly founded Palestinian Youth Coalition called for youths from all over the country to...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have revealed an Iranian-made unpiloted warplane that is able to reach Israel, Iranian news agency Fars reported on Friday. The plane's model is Shahed 129 and it can fly 1,700 km in 24 hours. It is reportedly able to carry eight smart rockets used for military...

Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid Al Mu'allem, on Saturday rejected suggestions that the future of President Bashar Al Assad should be decided during a possible peace conference in Geneva in November; saying that Al Assad intends to run for another presidential term in 2014. Al Mu'allem said during a press...