All Stories Archive

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced on Saturday that he will devote his efforts to persuade Western countries and the world not to fall into the "smiles and sweet-talking Iranian trap". Netanyahu's statement came ahead of his departure to United States, where he is scheduled to meet with US...

Palestine's Intifada Youth Coalition announced, on Saturday, the launch of its Jerusalem Week to support the city and the Islamic and Christian holy places against Israeli occupation. The Jerusalem-based coalition stressed on the need to maintain a physical presence in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent the Israeli...

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) marked the 13th anniversary of the Aqsa Intifada (uprising) with a declaration that it "would not recognize any agreement or promise which leads to the recognition of Israel" and "would not abandon Palestinian rights and the holy sites in any form." The movement said...

Palestinian activists have announced that they reject any Jewish use of the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement inside Israel (the part of Palestine occupied in 1948, as the locals call it), said that the occupation authorities will not be allowed...

On the 13th anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, it has been revealed that Israeli courts have issued 700 life sentences for Palestinian prisoners across occupied Palestine since 2000. Fuad Al-Khuffash, the director of Ahrar Centre for Human Rights and Prisoners' Studies, said that around 300 of these prisoners were...

The Al-Aqsa Association for Waqf and Islamic Heritage denounced on Sunday the defacement and destruction of tombstones at a Christian cemetery in occupied Jerusalem. Criticising the incident, which was carried out by Israeli settlers affiliated to the "Price Tag" movement, the Association called it a "terrorist act of cowardice"....

The Jerusalem Committee for the Arab Medical Union has called upon the Arab League to carry out an urgent information campaign in support of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to protect the Arab and Islamic heritage in the holy city. In a statement sent to the Arab League, the Egyptian...

The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Al-Ibrahimi, has said that Geneva II is already facing challenges after both the Syrian regime and opposition set unrealisable conditions. Al-Ibrahimi said that the main obstacle for the conference is represented by the "coldness" of both sides towards it. The...

Fatah has called on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to "admit its failure" in managing the Gaza Strip. Describing the Hamas administration as "bad", Fatah rejected the idea of managing the Rafah border crossing jointly with the Islamist government which won the 2006 Palestinian election. A spokesman said that...

Members of the majority Likud Party in Israel have threatened to topple Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government if he cedes control of any of the West Bank to the Palestinians as part of any future political agreement. According to Maariv newspaper a hundred members of Likud met with members of...

A recent poll by Israel's Channel 10 has revealed that 51 per cent of Israelis have considered migrating to North America. The majority of the respondents attributed their desire to move to the high living costs in Israel, including rents. The figures do not include those who have already...

Colonel Malik Al-Kurdi, the Deputy Commander of the Free Syrian Army, has denied claims that his group is conducting secret negotiations with officials from the Syrian regime, pointing out that the Free Syrian Army rejects on principle "the secret negotiations". Al-Kurdi told Anadolu news agency that talk "of conducting...

A former director of Israeli military intelligence, Amos Yadlin, is calling for Israelis to give the nuclear negotiations with Iran a chance, saying that a "good agreement" can be reached with Iran. Furthermore, although Iran's latest moves may appear to be an "an exercise in deceit," he suggests that...

The United States continued to broadcast reassuring messages to Israel yesterday saying that dialogue with Iran will not be at the expense of Israel's interests or security. US Vice President Joe Biden insisted that Washington will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. He met with Israel's Prime Minister...

Israel's Peace Now movement revealed on Monday that the Israeli authorities are planning to build a new settlement in the heart of the occupied Palestinian city of Hebron. It warned that this move might undermine all peace efforts in the region. The movement explained that this would be the...

An Israeli professor has claimed that the Palestinian refugee problem could be solved within the framework of the current negotiations. Elisha Efrat from the University of Tel Aviv said that Israel could accommodate 160,000 refugees within the land occupied by the creation of the state of Israel in 1948....

A member of Fatah's central committee has told Palestinian radio that there is an "accumulated financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority this year". Dr Mohammad Ashtyeh, who is also on the PA negotiating team, said that there is a need to address the crisis so as to make an...

Officials at the Rafah Border Crossing confirmed on Tuesday that Egypt has allowed almost one hundred truckloads of building materials donated by Qatar to enter the Gaza Strip. Supplied by the Egyptian Arab Contractors Company, the materials will be used for building projects funded by the Qatari government as...

The Working Group for Palestinians in Syria has announced that 74 Palestinian died after suffering severe torture in Syrian prisons. In a press release, spokesperson of the group Tariq Hamoud also said that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria is going from bad to worse....

Spokesperson of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza Ashraf Al-Qedra has said that the health sector is facing a crisis as basic medicines are starting to run out. "The severe Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been imposed for seven years, targets human medical services," he said....

The National Committee for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel has called upon Saudi Arabia to stop dealing with G4S because the security company is involved in Israel's violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to the BDS Committee, G4S has won contracts to offer security...

The former director of Israeli military intelligence, General Amos Yadlin, has revealed that its operatives have penetrated a number of Arab countries, notably Egypt. Yadlin also named Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Libya, Palestine and Syria as places where Israeli agents are active. Speaking to Israel's Channel...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS A group of Palestinian activists calling themselves "Activists of the Intifada" organised a rally on Wednesday in front of the European Union head office in the Gaza Strip to demand both recognition and protection of their rights. The activists called to attention their plight as Palestinian citizens...

The Israeli occupation army has delivered demolition notices to the Palestinian residents of Yatta village in the south of the West Bank relating to 10 wells, a tent and a barn. All are alleged to have been built "without a permit". Popular resistance activist Ratib Al-Jbour told Turkey's Anadolu...

Israel's Channel 2 TV has revealed that high-ranking Israeli figures have held a series of secret meetings over the past few weeks with representatives of Arab Gulf states to discuss the Iranian issue. The meetings included representatives of Gulf States with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations, claimed...

The former head of Israel's secret service Shin Bet, Ami Ayalon, has expressed doubts over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to achieve a two-state solution. "Chances of success are too low," he said. In a joint conference with former President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering, Ayalon said:...

Israeli housing minister, Uri Ariel, has said that the West Bank will be under Israeli control forever. Ariel was addressing settlers near the Shilafim settlement in the occupied West Bank. "All the area located to the west of the Jordan River is owned by Israel and it will continue...

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper has published leaked information about Israeli discussions regarding the potential regional reaction if Israel were to attack Damascus and Cairo with an atomic bomb on the eve of the October 1973 war. According to the newspaper, Arnon Azaryahu, the advisor of Israeli Minister Yisrael Galili,...

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS A number of Palestinian pilgrims from the Gaza Strip have been stranded at the Rafah Crossing with Egypt after being prevented from passing for no reason. The number of Pilgrims who should be leaving the Strip is 2,508, including servicemen and a media convoy, as well as...

Following the recent statements by the Egyptian Foreign Minister that his country may use military force against the Gaza Strip, sources in the army have told local media in El-Arish that there is a contingency plan in place for bombing the beleaguered territory. The Egyptians accuse Palestinians of being...

A senior PLO official has claimed that the plight of Palestinians in Syria is "worse than the Nakba in 1948". Zakaria Al-Agha, is a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Executive Committee and head of its department of refugee affairs. He said on Wednesday that 350,000 Palestinian refugees living...

On Thursday, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, said that his country plans to compete for one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council for 2019-20. According to Prosor, Israel is trying hard to win this. "It should have happened a long time ago," he claimed. To...

Saudi Arabia appears to be determined to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood in a manner similar to the UAE, where security services have already arrested over 90 members of the Brotherhood. The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan, which has close ties to state security agencies, published a detailed report on...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that negotiations with the Palestinians have reached a deadlock and are not progressing. Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported in its Friday issue that during a closed meeting with Jewish leaders in the US, Netanyahu stated that he was willing "to make concessions", but...

Israel's Supreme Court is to convene on Tuesday to discuss an appeal calling on the Attorney General to prosecute Knesset Member, Hanin Zoabi, for taking part in the Freedom Flotilla in 2010. The appeal was filed by the former right-wing Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari and the extremist activist Itmar...

UNESCO's Executive Board adopted on Friday six decisions strongly condemning the Israeli aggressions against Palestinian cultural and historical heritage. The decisions were filed by the State of Palestine and Hashemite Jordanian Kingdom to UNESCO's 192nd Session of the Executive Board. A majority of the members voted in favour of...

A foreign affairs adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has called on the Egyptian authorities to have a meeting to discuss the crisis over the border between Gaza and Egypt. Dr Bassem Naim told Al Quds TV on Saturday that Gaza is witnessing "economic stagnation" now that "the...

A high level source from the Palestinian Fatah movement in the West Bank revealed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told his associates that he is refusing "all Palestinian and Arab mediations to reconcile with former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan or readmit his membership in the movement." The source...

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) criticised on Sunday the Czech Republic's plan to move its embassy from Tel-Aviv to occupied Jerusalem. The OIC warned that this would affect Czech relations with all Islamic states. In a statement, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu expressed his "strong condemnation" after the...

The UN published a report last month noting that at least 16 Palestinian communities, with a combined population of around 2500 people, are currently located on the "Jerusalem side" of the separation wall, despite the fact that most of their residents hold West Bank permits. As a result, Israeli authorities...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority's official debt has increased substantially over the past two years and now stands at $4.3 billion, an increase of $2 billion since 2010. The figure includes short-term local debt in the domestic banking sector and long-term external...

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is second bottom of the fair income distribution list claims the Genie international website. "There is a huge imbalance in national income levels," it has alleged, "suggesting that there is little or no justice in how wealth is distributed among the people." By way of...

Exclusive Photos The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reduced its provision of aid in the Gaza Strip, saying that 9,400 families will no longer receive food aid. The agency recently decided to re-examine exactly which families should benefit from the aid programme while attempting to cope...

Exclusive Photos Gaza's ministry of agriculture celebrated on Sunday the beginning of the date harvest season for this year. The crop of fresh dates for this season is considered to be very good, with the Gaza Strip expected to produce around 6,500 tons of dates. Majed Abu-Shammalah, a member...

The Minister of National Economy in Gaza's Hamas-led government, Dr Alaa Al-Rafati, has revealed that the economic cost of the destruction of the tunnels between the beleaguered territory and Egypt has reached $460 million. The Egyptian authorities, he said, have completely destroyed 250 tunnels, which represents 80 to 90...

The head of Israel's team of negotiators in the talks with the Palestinian Authority has claimed that the discussions address "all of the important issues". Justice Minister Tzipi Livni added that she expects the negotiations to go beyond the nine months limit set by US Secretary of State John...

The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is preparing for a mass demonstration on the 25th of October, the anniversary of the country's signing of the Wadi Araba Treaty with Israel. The movement's deputy leader in Jordan, Zaki Bani Rsheid, said that the protest is to reconfirm the Brotherhood's rejection the...

Israeli defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, said that he does not oppose a political settlement with Iran over its nuclear program as long as it ensures that Iran does not possess nuclear capabilities. Israeli Maariv newspaper quoted Ya'alon on Tuesday, during his meeting with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in...

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has praised the Egyptian army and its so-called war on "terrorism" led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, saying that Syria and Egypt both face "one enemy and that victory over this enemy is inevitable." On the anniversary of the October war, Assad told state newspaper...

Data provided by the Israel Defence Forces has revealed that 14 serving soldiers committed suicide in 2012. It is said that just around a third of the suicides were recent immigrants to Israel. The figures were discussed by the absorption and immigration committee of the Knesset (parliament) on Monday....