Category: Regions

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the heads of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank to seek out and apprehend the perpetrators of Friday night’s attack in Tel Aviv.…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Sunday that he would halt the peace process unless the Palestinian Authority moves swiftly against Islamic Jihad and other ‘militants’ Responsibility for Friday’s bombing…

Two Israeli Arabs from the city of Sakhnin filed a complain at Misgaf police station on Saturday night, saying that three armed Israeli soldiers attempted to kill them in the…

French diplomatic sources said Saturday that Israel hinted to UN secretary General Kofi Annan that it might consider pulling out of Shiba Farms in Lebanon if assured that the Lebanese…

Two-and-a-half years after they were evicted by settlers, the Palestinian of the village of Gawish in the south-Hebron hills on Saturday returned to their homes.  Gawish, which is close to…

Israel will exert pressure on Syria and the Palestinian Authority, but will refrain from launching ‘major military action’ in retaliation to Friday night’s bombing in Tel Aviv, senior Israeli government…

Mandela Institute reported on Saturday that lawyer of the institute, Ma’moun Al-Hasheem, who visited two female detainees in Al-Ramlah detention, reported worrying information on prison conditions.  The society reported that Al-Ramlah…

The WAFA news agency reported that Mohammad Abdul-Halim Basha, 16, from the northern West bank city of Qalqilia, died of wounds sustained January 26, 2005. The child was injured during…

Saturday evening, Israeli soldiers shot and seriously injured a 14-year-old girl in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The Israeli army claimed that the girl attempted to stab a…

An Israeli Judge at a Tel Aviv military court issued an order barring the release of any information regarding the Tel Aviv bombing carried out Friday at night. The order…

Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a prominent leader of Hamas stated on Friday that the movement has decided to take part in the legislative elections slated for July of this year. ‘Hamas…

In a surprising move, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ordered a constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections slated for September. The election law in Egypt allows only a referendum on…

The Palestinian President’s Advisor for the National Security, Jibreel Al-Rajoub, arrived in Cairo Friday night, for talks with some Egyptian officials on developments on the Palestinian government after forming the…

In an official statment released saturday afternoon, Hezbollah denied any relation to Tel-Aviv bombing, saying that news on the party’ involvment are lies, and part of the ‘zionist’ incitment against…

The Israeli army imposed strict closure over the northern West Bank city of Nablus and the surrounding villages. The Israeli security claimed receiving intelligence information about intention of an armed…

Thousands of Hamas’ supporters demonstrated on Friday in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip., demanding an immediate release of all the Palestinian Prisoners from Israeli jails. Fathi Hammad,…

The Tunisian president Zen Al-Abideen Bin-Ali invited the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit Tunisia November 2005, and attend a conference about Information and International Cooperation. Apparently Sharon will…

After Friday’s attack in Tel Aviv which killed 3 and injured 38 Israelis (according to Israeli police), the American media has been quick to repeat the Israeli claim that Palestinians…

The Israel army imposed a curfew early Saturday on the village of Deir al Ghusun, just north of the town of Tul Karm. Palestinian security officials said the Israeli army…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged Friday night to track down and punish those responsible for Friday’s suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Abbas’s pledge followed an emergency meeting with PA top…

Kerin Kayemit (The Permanent Israeli Fund) has prepared a plan to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank ; the plan includes building 6391 new flats and legalizing 120 illegal…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow is considering selling military equipment to the Palestinian Authority. ‘There have been requests about extra sales of hardware, including armored personnel…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to seek his Cabinet’s approval to increase the support for Yeshiva student aged 23-and older by 40%. The request to increase support for the…

Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said that the new government needs to conduct “extensive…

Israeli chief of staff of the air force, Eliezer Shkedi said that when Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip next summer, its apaches, unmanned planes, and other military sensors will…

The Israeli Peace Bloc, Gush Shalom, said that the Israeli government is planning more settlements in the West Bank, in violation to assurances given to the U.S. and to the Palestinian Authority. Gush Shalom revealed…

As the construction of the separation wall continues, residents of the Palestinian villages north of Jerusalem organized a meeting in the village of Bir Nabala on Thursday in which they…

29 Likud MKs and ministers, including both opponents and supporters of the disengagement plan, are demanding a referendum on the plan before it is implemented. All have signed a letter…

A West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef expected Friday that the upcoming Cairo meeting between Palestinian factions will not result in a formal truce unless Israel meets Hamas demands,…

{mosimage}The Israeli soldier who witnessed the killing of 13-year-old Gaza girl Iman Al-Hamas couple of months ago testified on Thursday that the officer in charge of the Golani unit have…

The filed candidacy of Fatah’s jailed leader Marwan Barghouthi for PA chairmanship against Fatah’s central committee decision to nominate PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas’s decision to boycott elections, turned…

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz Thursday ordered senior defense ministry officials to prepare a shortened timetable for implementing the disengagement plan. The current timetable requires 8 weeks for evacuating all…

The Israel army is retracting a plan to disband religious soldiers’ separate unit, where soldiers combine military service and religious studies, and disperse soldiers among army battalions. Disbanding the unit…

In an act of defiance to the disengagement plan, The Nir Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba will soon move to Sa-Nur, one of the four northern West Bank settlements that are…

Palestinian security services have recently located and destroyed 12 arms smuggling tunnels along the Gaza borders with Eygpt, Israeli security sources say. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered PA security…

Jamal Shobaki, local government minister and the head of the Higher Election Committee said on Thursday that the second stage of the local elections will be conducted on May 5,…

In a step that corresponds to the United Nations Security Council resolution 1559 requiring Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, Damascus expressed readiness to work with the UN to…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a television show host on Wednesday that the French favors the Arab states. ‘First of all, the French are pro-Arab,’ Sharon told the told…

NATO would consider sending ‘peacekeeping’ troops in Israel and Palestine to facilitate the peace process only if Israelis and Palestinians sign a peace treaty, said NATO Secretary General Jaap de…

Israel army Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon approved this week guidelines for dealing with soldiers who refuse to evacuate settlements. He also decided that units slated to take part in…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday rejected Vice Premier Shimon Peres’ proposal to take part in next week’s London summit.   Peres told Sharon in a face to face meeting on…

Israel submitted Wednesday its first official reaction to the International Court of Justice ruling in regard to the West bank separation wall, issued on July 2004, accusing that the ruling…

The new Palestinian cabinet took office on Thursday after it was sworn before the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the northern West Bank city of Ramallah. The Palestinian Legislative Council…

The annexation wall which Israel started to erect in the summer of 2002 isolated, surrounded some Palestinian areas, nearly from all directions. The village of Azzoun Atma , south of Qalqilia is one…

The Palestinian detainees in Salem detention camp in the northern of the West Bank started an open hunger strike to protest the harsh living conditions in the detention. They informed…

Speaking at the meeting with leaders of 25 European Countries, U.S. President George W. Bush said it is ridiculous to think that U.S. prepares to attack Iran. ‘This notion that…

This weekend marked the end of a 30-day ceasefire negotiated in late January by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with all of the Palestinian armed factions. Israeli officials had made such…

The stormy Tuesday’s Palestinian Legislative Council PLC session forced Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to withdraw his newly formed cabinet, accept forming a technocrat cabinet “with a majority of new…

Jordan’s new Ambassador to Israel, Marouf al-Bakhit, urged Tuesday Israel to stop gambling on interim agreements and gear up to a permanent one with Palestinians.  ‘I followed the talks in…

The World Council of Churches (WCC) encouraged member churches on Tuesday to sell off investments in companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.   Meeting in Geneva, the…

For the tenth time, prisoner Raed Qadiri, 35, received an extension to his administrative detention order. Qadiri, who already spent 45 months in Israeli detention centers, received Tuesday a 3…

Israeli High Court ordered Tuesday a freeze to the construction of the separation wall near the village of Safa, west of the West Bank city of Ramallah. The court decision…

Palestinian resistance groups are planning strategic attacks in case the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority breaks down. The Israeli Military Intelligence research chief Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser made those…

  Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz announced on Tuesday that he will recommend to the government that Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Dan Halutz Halutz be appointed chief of…

An Israeli Foreign Ministry report said that 10 Arab countries will establish full relations with Israel immediately after the pullout from the Gaza strip and parts of the northern West…

The Palestinian security in Ramallah handed the army an Israeli resident after he entered Ramallah to search for an apartment; Israeli police says he might be suffering of mental disability.…

Last Monday, Israeli settler leader Pinhas Wallerstein said that the Yesha Council of the Israeli Settlements of the West Bank and the Gaza strip plans to carry out 100,000 demonstrators…

An Israeli senior military officer said that the Palestinian authority uncovered and demolished over the last few weeks seven arm-smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip. “Since Abbas headed the P.A…

Israel will reconsider its decision to demolish homes in Gaza Strip and West Bank settlements evacuated during the disengagement. Israeli Cabinet Secretary General Yisrael Maimon told Tuesday Israeli Army Radio…

The acting Prime Minster Ahmad Qurei said after withdrawing his proposed cabinet that he intends to propose a government which includes “more reform-minded” ministers, and represents competent figures from a wide…

The Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Mousa, said on Monday that Syria will conduct procedures towards withdrawing its forcing from Lebanon, without specifying what those procedures were. Mousa…

Tuesday at dawn, a Palestinian security source reported that unknown armed men assassinated a Palestinian security officer in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of the Gaza Strip. The source stated that…

Likud member of Knesset Uzi Landau said at a press conference in Carmiel, on Sunday that the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon “will divide Jerusalem ”. ‘On the one hand…

Reuters claimed on Monday that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas expressed willingness to give away the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their original villages if a peace…

A Palestinian source reported on Monday that the Palestinian factions will hold negotiations and internal dialogue in the Egyptian capital Cairo , March 1 st . The source stated that…

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak accused Monday Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his family with corruption, and slammed the Labor party for becoming Sharon’s hanger-on. ‘The Sharon family…

Israel Air Force Commander-in-Chief Major General Eliezer Shakedi said Monday that Israel must be prepared for an air strike on Iran in light of its nuclear activity.  Shakedi, in a…

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahamd Qurei told the Palestinian Legislative Council that security, reforms and preparation for the legislative and local elections are top priorities in the agenda of the news…

Dov Weisglass, the top aid of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, said Monday that he expects that settlers would voluntarily evacuate settlements without pressure, due to government generosity in compensating…

Egypt announced the name of its new ambassador to Tel Aviv, saying would assume position in ten days. Mohamed Assem, 59, who was nominated to the position by Egyptian President…

Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and Palestinian reform could give momentum to changes throughout the Middle East, U.S. President George W. Bush said in Brussels on Monday.    ‘Our greatest opportunity, and…

Ten Palestinians were wounded on Monday as Israeli soldiers used force to disperse several hundred protesters in the village of Bil’in near Ramallah. Several hundred Palestinian, Israeli and international peace…

British Foreign minister Jack Straw said Monday there was a ‘high level of suspicion’ that Syria was involved in last week’s bomb attack that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik…

Chief of the Israeli Public Security Service, Shin Bet, Avi Dichter warned Sunday that the modified route of the wall south of Jerusalem would lower security for travelers on Road…

Ayed Kamal, head of Madama village council, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus , said on Saturday that the village’s spring was deliberately contaminated and its water supply…

Palestinian Authority officials welcomed on Sunday the Israeli decision to pull out from the Gaza Strip, but warned that the move was insufficient. The officials described the Israeli government’s vote…

Detainees placed in solitary imprisonment in Al-Ramleh (Ayalon) detention demanded the Palestinian Leadership to place their case on the agenda and conduct extensive efforts to end the tragic situation they…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said after meeting with the first group of deportees which was allowed back in the west Bank, that all of the deportees will return home within…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinian Authority would ensure that the Gaza withdrawal takes place quietly – which Israel views as a concern. The Palestinians, Abbas said, would…

Palestinian parliamentarian sources hinted a crisis between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei to be behind the heated crisis in the Palestinian legislative council over the approval…

Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel on Monday morning reached five drop-off points in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, where they will undergo a final check by Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials.  …

Israel soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza strip. One more Palestinian was arrested. According to Israel radio, soldiers suspect that both were attempting to…

Jordan returned its ambassador to Tel Aviv on Sunday. The Jordanian cabinet decided to return the ambassador earlier this month. Jordan hopes for Return of ambassador to lead to an…

Israel has bowed to Russian pressure and will suspend all arms exports to Georgia. Sources in the Israeli arms industries expressed anger at the ‘shameful decision’ that came even when…

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his defense minister Shaul Mofaz signed sunday evening the orders to evacuate some Gaza Strip and West Bank settlements.   The Israeli cabinet approved…

Palestinian security official Mohammed Dahlan proposed Friday that the Palestinian Authority receive responsibility for the city of Tul Karm first, because of the dispute over the transfer of Jericho. Dahlan's…

Israeli police arrested Saturday night 5 settlers, including a minor, suspected of physically assaulting Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the old city of Hebron. The five settlers, whom identity was…

Israeli army source said Saturday that Palestinian resistance groups has developed a new combat strategy, and are ordering operatives to plant explosive charges almost everywhere with the intention of detonating…

Israeli Prime minister top advisor Dov Weisglass will visit Britain on Wednesday to coordinate political content for the London meeting on strengthening the Palestinian Authority slated to start on March…

A Palestinian medical source in Nablus reported that a resident died in Jordan of wounds sustained in Nablus several months ago. {mosimage}The source stated that Ja’far Mohammad Habal, 20, died…

Shinui leader, Yosef Lapid said during his meeting with Sharon , at Sharon ‘s Sycamore Ranch home, that his party will not support the budget plan in Knesset in the…

Shinui leader, Yosef Lapid said during his meeting with Sharon, at Sharon’s Sycamore Ranch home, that his party will not support the budget plan in Knesset in the second and…

A Palestinian medical source in Nablus reported that a resident died in Jordan of wounds sustained in Nablus several months ago. {mosimage}The source stated that Ja’far Mohammad Habal, 20, died…

The Israeli Minister of Finance, Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to vote against the disengagement plan in the government session that will be held on Sunday, Israeli media sources reported. {mosimage}Netanyahu’s…

Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported on Saturday that the Israeli army has increased its military presence between the two West Bank Cities of Ramallah and Nablus. Palestinian passengers said it…

Chair of the Zionist-Leftist Yahad party, Yossi Belen, on Saturday called the Labor Party ministers not to vote in favor of the modified root of the wall slated for cabinet…

The Israeli movement “Adam” demanded the government to disarm the settlers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and conduct a practical evaluation for licensing weapons. {mosimage}The movement fears…

The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and ex–detainees Affairs said that the list of 500 detainees released by the Israeli prison authorities on its website includes only 4 female detainees, and…

The Israeli radio reported that Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon is slated to meet Shinui leader, Yosef Lapid, on Saturday, at his home in the Sycamore Ranch, apparently to discuss…

An informed Israeli military source said the Israeli military exports for the year 2004 reached $3.6 billion. {mosimage}This is the second highest record, although unexpected, said, Yossi Bin Hanan, chief…