All Stories Archive

An international symposium on the thousands of Palestinians still detained in Israeli jails has been held in Gaza. The event was attended by European parliamentarians, human rights activists and journalists, in addition to Arab experts on prisoners' affairs. The European Network for the Defence of Palestinian Prisoners' Rights, which...

The organisation for Palestinian refugees and their right of return, Thabet, has expressed grave concern that the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has deleted 169,000 refugees from its records for 2011. Thabet condemned the move. In a statement sent to Quds Press, the organisation explained that the statistics...

Quds Press International News Agency has expressed its gravest concern over the fate of its West Bank correspondent, Muhammad Anwar Muna, after he was detained by the Israeli occupation forces yesterday. On Tuesday, Israeli forces raided the home of Mr Muna in the eastern suburb of Nablus and arrested...

Media sources in Israel have revealed that the country's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, intends to send a message to the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, inviting him to resume negotiations as soon as possible without preconditions. According to Haaretz newspaper, an Israeli official said, "The message, which includes an...

Newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi has learnt from informed sources within the Islamic movement that Hamas has completed its preparations for internal elections to elect a new consultative (Shura) council and political bureau. The process is expected to take place later this month. One change from previous elections is that the...

Ex-vice president Omar Suleiman has announced his withdrawal from the race for the Egyptian presidency. Suleiman, who served under ousted Hosni Mubarak, cited his inability to provide the administrative, organisational and financial requirements for the election campaign. In the first reaction to Suleiman's decision, his supporters announced that they...

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced that he will continue to support Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in general, and in the city of Hebron in particular. His statement was made after the eviction of a group of settlers from a house in Hebron owned by...

The Bureau of Statistics at the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners has revealed that the Israeli occupation authorities are still detaining nearly 190 Palestinian children, "in circumstances that are similar to those under which adults are detained, in terms of location, cruelty and inhuman treatment, as well as poor...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Tens of thousands of Palestinians have turned out in the West Bank city of Nablus to attend the funeral of the Hamas leader Sheikh Hamid Al Bitawi. The elected Member of Parliament died on Wednesday, aged 68. Representatives from all Palestinian factions and fellow parliamentarians were present...

The Israeli government has threatened to launch military operations in the Sinai Peninsula in order, it claims, to prevent attacks from the Egyptian territory. According to Haaretz newspaper, the authorities in Cairo have been sent a "strongly-worded message" about the responsibility they have for the situation in Sinai. Israel,...

The spokesman for the Islamic movement in Israel, Zahi Nujeidat, has described the legal case won by Sheikh Raed Salah as "a victory for the major principles being held on to by the Palestinians". Mr. Nujeidat confirmed that the movement's leader is expected to return to his homeland "soon"....

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Britain's Vice-Consul in Jerusalem, Mr Benjamin Saul, has visited the Al-Jazeera Athletics Club in Gaza City to see the conditions and facilities available to Gaza's disabled athletes. During his visit, Mr. Saul met with the Gazan Paralympians set to attend the Olympics Games in London later this...

The old Muslim cemetery in Ashkelon has been turned into a car park by the Israeli municipality. Reports in the Hebrew media have revealed that the facility provides parking spaces for a new commercial market built nearby. One resident told Maariv newspaper that the municipality had been informed about...

The pipeline used to supply Egyptian gas to Israel and Jordan has been attacked for what is believed to be the fourteenth time since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in Cairo. Egyptian security sources in North Sinai said that an unidentified group of armed men had planted explosive...

A Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, Jamal Zahalka MK, has warned the Israeli authorities about their plans to tamper with a cemetery in Balad al-Sheikh near the city of Haifa. The cemetery contains the tomb of the historic leader of the Palestinian resistance against the British, Izzedine al-Qassam....

Agreement has been reached that the venue for the forthcoming talks on Iran's nuclear programme will be Istanbul. The European Union, Iran and the so-called "5+1 Group" (the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) will meet together in the Turkish city on 14th April. It was...

Sudan has asked the UN Security Council to fulfil its responsibilities with regard to what it calls "attacks by South Sudan" in the Heglig region near the border between the two countries. In a press statement released on Wednesday, 11 April, and broadcast by the Centre for Press Services,...

The General Secretariat of the Arab League has expressed its alarm over the aggravated situation between the Republic of Sudan and the newly formed Republic of South Sudan. The League's "deep" concern follows the recent military attack by Southern forces against Sudan's oil-rich Heglig region. A communique from the...

The Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, Atallah Hanna, has denounced Israeli actions in occupied Jerusalem imposed due to Jewish holidays. In a press statement released on Thursday, Archbishop Hanna said, "During these days in which we live a week of pain in preparation for Easter, we have witnessed the...

The government in Tehran has announced that it has halted oil exports to Greece and Spain, and confirmed that it is looking into taking similar action against Italy and Germany. These steps come ahead of a US and Western oil embargo set to be implemented against Iran on the...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES To mark World Heritage Day, which falls on 18th April each year, the Islamic University in Gaza has organised a heritage exhibition on the Palestinian Cause, which will last for four days. Discourse on Palestinian heritage is critical to the Conflict with the Israeli Occupation. Palestinians possess...

Reports in Algeria claim that Israeli television has suggested the need to investigate the North African state's "nuclear weapons". In a programme entitled, "Are Algerians making nuclear weapons?" produced by Matti Zohar, the political analyst apparently shed light on Algeria's nuclear capability and its impact on the region's stability....

The Israeli occupation authorities have arrested a number of foreign nationals who arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to take part in solidarity events in the occupied West Bank. The Europeans were arrested when they arrived on Sunday from airports across Europe, despite attempts by Israel to block the airlines...

Jewish settlers have cut down 250 olive trees belonging to Palestinians from the village of Beitillu, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. In a telephone statement to the local media, Hajj Fawzi Dar Bazaar said that he was surprised to see the destroyed trees when he was...

Israel's Knesset (parliament) is due to hold a special session on Wednesday to discuss a bill which would authorise Jewish settlers to build on private Palestinian land, especially in the Migron settlement outpost and other such places. All Jewish settlements, "outposts" or not, are illegal under international law. That...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Hundreds of supporters and members of the Islamic Movement turned out last night to welcome Sheikh Raed Salah upon his return to his homeland. He was met at Al Lod ("Ben Gurion") airport by the head of the Higher Arab Follow-up Committee, Mr Muhammad Zaidan; the Mayor of...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES A joint appeal has been made by international human rights and legal aid groups for solidarity with Palestinian detainees on hunger strike in protest against their prolonged detention without trial and inhumane treatment. The NGOs from Europe, North American, Africa and Asia praised the detainees for their...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have held a number of activities to mark Prisoners' Day. Events were held in several cities, with Ramallah witnessing the largest. It was there that a 24-hour solidarity vigil was held; another was organised in front of the Ofar Military Prison....

As Palestinian prisoners in Israel's jails begin an indefinite hunger strike to protest against their conditions behind bars, Hamas has described Israeli policies such as solitary confinement and administrative detention as "retaliation for prisoners' steadfastness". The prisoners themselves say that an end to the imposition of solitary confinement is...

Media sources in Israel have revealed that the Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality has, in cooperation with "The Western Wall Heritage Foundation", presented a request for a new permit to demolish and replace the historic Moroccans' Gate Bridge which leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque. The move is being made under the pretext...

An Arab member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) has revealed that the government has approved the establishment of a special police unit of around 200 officers in the Negev Desert. Muhammad Baraka said that the establishment of this new police unit is to help enforce the displacement of Arab...

The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority has announced that the power station in the Gaza Strip will be fully operational in May after the installation of four new electrical transformers. This will be the first time since 2006 that the plant will be working at full capacity. The...

EXCLUSIVE PICTIRES A festival entitled 'And He Returned Victorious' was organised by the Islamic Movement inside Israel yesterday to celebrate Sheikh Raed's victory in his appeal against the British government. Thousands of members and supporters of the Movement gathered at the Salaam Hall in the district of Umm al-Fahm...

An Arab Member of the Knesset (MK) is on trial for showing solidarity with the people of Korba Bil'in village in the occupied West Bank. Mohammed Baraka MK backed the villagers and their supporters who organise weekly marches against the "separation barrier" which has seen large chunks of land...

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque and chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has described Israel's decision to prevent him from entering the Noble Sanctuary for two months as "arbitrary and inhuman". Sheikh Sabri told Quds Press that this, the third such banning order, runs...

During a press conference held in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, 22 April, the head of Al-Nour, Egypt's Islamist-Salafist party, asserted that his party rejects the blockade imposed on Gaza. "No human should be kept under siege and deprived of a decent life or opportunities in life", said Emad...

The Egyptian government have informed Israel of their decision to cancel an agreement to supply them with natural gas signed by the previous regime. The cancelled agreement provides Israel with Egyptian gas at rates lower than global export prices. On Sunday night, sources inside the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed...

A high-ranking security official in the Palestinian Authority has revealed an "alarming increase" in the number of Palestinians working as agents for Israeli security bodies. He noted the existence of dubious organizations and extremely well-funded foreign entities with covert agendas and the direct objective of discouraging the nationalist...

A Palestinian human rights organization has reported that the management of the Negev Prison moved 6 Palestinian prisoners into solitary confinement following their announcement that they would embark on open hunger strikes. The prisoners include Nedal Daghlas, Raed Sarhan, Allam Nassar, Jamil Daraawi, Mohammed Ali Hussein, and Asim Oueisy....

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES There are growing concerns across the Palestinian territories for the life of detainee, Hasan Al Safadi, who has now passed 52 days on hunger strike. Mr Al Safadi is protesting against his continued detention, without any charge, under Israel's administrative detention law. He was arrested on 28...

It has been reported in the Israeli media that the United States has $800 million worth of military equipment, including arms and ammunition, stockpiled in Israel. This, it is claimed, could grow to $1.2 billion worth of weapons and equipment for use by the United States in case of...

Statements made on Monday by Egyptian Field Marshal, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, regarding the protection of the Egyptian borders have raised serious concerns in Israel after he asserted that Egypt would "break the legs of anyone who dares to come near to the borders." In an editorial on Tuesday, Maariv newspaper...

Dimitri Diliani, member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, stated that his movement supports the hunger strike waged by the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. He added that Fatah will continue to seek the implementation of the prisoners' demands and improvement of their living conditions. Diliani criticized the "barbaric" crackdown exercised by...

The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas – has strongly criticised two French companies, Alstom and Veolia, for constructing a tramline in the occupied West Bank. Upon completion, the tramline would connect Jerusalem with the illegal Jewish settlements in the territory. This, according to Hamas officials, amounts to complicity with...

The Israeli prison authorities have transferred a Palestinian hunger striker to a secure hospital thirteen days into his protest. A statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that the organisation's Secretary General, Ahmed Saadat, was taken to the hospital wing at Ramle Prison when...

In a phone interview given on Sunday, April 29, the head of Qasra's Village Council, Abdel Azim Wadi, stated that a group of Jewish settlers began bulldozing land owned by Palestinian citizens from the village of Qasra, south of Nablus, in an attempt to seize the land.  "The ...

Former Mossad Chief, Meir Dagan, has said that Yuval Diskin, the former director of Shin Bet (Israel's Security Agency), was speaking his "internal truth" when he criticized Israel's Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and Defence Minister, Ehud Barak. Dagan made his statements on Sunday at a conference organized by the Jerusalem...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES The Ministry of Agriculture in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday, 29 April, that the Israeli navy had arrested five fishermen aboard a small boat as they fished off the coast of Gaza. Both the fishermen and their boat were taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod....

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES On Friday 27 April, Nablus' Chamber of Commerce and Industry opened a four-day Palestinian furniture exhibition in collaboration with 30 specialist Palestinian furniture companies from Nablus city. The exhibition aimed to support Palestinian industry and attracted hundreds of visitors and businessmen, including a delegation of Palestinians businessmen...

The Arab League has announced that it is to hold a conference this month to discuss the economic impact of the Arab Spring. The Secretary-General of the League's Council of Economic Unity said that the conference will provide an opportunity for university researchers to participate more widely in the...