Israel/ Palestine

By Sandy Tolan | – Los Angeles ( Tomdispatch.com) – When I first traveled to Israel-Palestine in 1994, during the heady early days of the Oslo peace process, I was expecting to see more of the joyful celebrations I’d watched on television at home. The emotional welcoming of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat […]

Geneva (AFP) – The UN said Wednesday that the situation in Gaza was “catastrophic” after 11 years of “economic siege” and warned that Washington’s decision to halt assistance to Palestinian refugees would create “more misery”. “The situation in Gaza is becoming less and less livable,” said Isabelle Durant, the deputy head of the United Nations […]

Amichai (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A panoramic view of mountains and neighbouring Palestinian villages before him, Avichai Boaran thinks back on the Oslo accords first signed off on 25 years ago and happily declares them dead. “Oslo is buried deep in its grave,” says the 45-year-old resident of Amichai, a new Israeli settlement in the […]

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli MK and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Uri Yehuda Ariel, along with dozens of Israeli settlers, stormed on Sunday the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the eve of the Jewish new year. According to local sources, Ariel stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Moroccan Gate, under heavy protection by the Israeli […]

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A Palestinian teen died of his wounds Saturday a day after he was shot by Israeli troops during a protest on the Gaza border, the enclave’s health ministry said. Ahmad Abu Tayoor, 17, was shot late Friday on the border close to the southern city of Rafah, the ministry […]

Washington (AFP) – The United States plans to cut $25 million in aid to six hospitals primarily serving Palestinians in Jerusalem, a State Department official confirmed Saturday. The official said the decision followed a President Donald Trump-directed review of assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza “to ensure these funds […]

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A wave of cancellations followed Lana Del Rey’s announcement about cancelling her performance at the Meteor Music Festival in northern Israel this weekend. Following efforts by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) and worldwide criticism, more than 15 music artists have cancelled their performances at the Meteor Festival in Israel, according […]

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Committee against the Wall and Settlements, Walid Assaf, declared on Wednesday the beggining of an open sit-in at the Khan al-Ahmar village east of the Jerusalem district in the central West Bank protesting the Israeli decision to demolish it.Assaf’s decision came after the Israeli High Court […]

Amman (AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II firmly rejects the idea of a confederation with the Palestinians in the place of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, the royal court said Wednesday. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told activists Sunday that White House aides Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt had proposed the idea of […]