Category: Diplomacy

For the first time in the history of Palestine, a 40-hour work-week with a two-day weekend has been declared by the Hamas-led Palestinian government.  The declaration comes in the midst…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul On Sunday night at the Presidential Offices in Ramallah to discuss the latest development in the Palestinian areas. Particularly…

There was concern at UN headquarters that the reinforcement of UNIFIL and deployment of the international force in South Lebanon are on the verge of collapse. Senior UN officials warned…

Twenty Israeli army reservists, and families of soldiers killed in the course of war against Lebanon marched on Monday demanding a national investigation into the war against Lebanon, and demanding…

The Lebanese government, in an unprecedented move, has warned Hezbollah against violating the UN-brokered truce. In an implicit warning to the militia, Elias Murr, Lebanon’s defence minister, said on Sunday…

As UNIFIL is seeking to add 3,500 troops to its existing  2,000-strong contingent within 10 days,  the United Nations was urging European countries Friday to  provide troops for the peacekeeping…

Contary to the leading opinions of the American-European politicians and media, the main aim of Hamas in calling for the "destruction" of the State of Israel, is not to kill…

Hamas has insisted on keeping the post of prime minister and other key jobs in a possible new coalition government with the Palestinian president, according to the Islamist group’s officials.…

As public preoccupation with the war between Hezbollah and Israel is receding, the Israeli media is devoting increasing attention to a series of sexual and financial scandals involving top Israeli…

After days of deliberations, the Lebanese cabinet and Hezbollah representatives agreed that Hezbollah members would not have to disarm, but must avoid carrying weapons in public.  Although this decision violates…

In answer to the question, "How can pressure be exerted on Hamas and Hezbollah to release information on kidnapped Israeli soldiers in their possession?", the Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Jacob…

There was nothing new about the broad objective behind Israel’s war on Lebanon: through the destruction of Hizbullah it was to wreak fundamental change in a strategic, political and military…

As Israeli troops continue their withdrawal from southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz has called for an investigation of Israeli actions during the war, amidst widespread allegations of war crimes…

The Palestinian daily newspaper Al Ayam reported on Thursday that senior Hamas officials presented president Mahmoud Abbas with the movement’s terms for the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government.…

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Thursday that Fateh and Hamas movements have agreed to reinstate the temporary cease-fire with Israel. He added that this decision also includes other Palestinian…

While a continued ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is reliant on the quick deployment of a peacekeeping force and the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers, the Lebanese army has neither the…

Ghazi Hamad, media spokesperson of the Palestinian Government, reported that the two meetings between the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, agreed in principle to hold further…

Israel has started evacuating its forces from southern Lebanon as 1000 paratroopers dropped on Saturday at night and were hiding in the mountains, starting marching back to Israel in planed…

His Eminence Sheikh Taysir Al Tamimi, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judiciary, hosted a delegation from the World Council of Churches in his Jerusalem office. Sheikh Al Tamimi briefed the…

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, tonight claimed a "strategic and historic victory" over Israel as the first day of a ceasefire in the Middle East crisis…

Guns fell silent across southern Lebanon on Monday morning as a United Nations ceasefire halting Israel’s month-long war against Hezbollah came into effect, Lebanese security forces say. Half an hour…

"There was never an agreement more favorable to Israel,” said Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz about the United Nations (UN) ‘ceasefire’ agreement.  Such words sound ominous to the ears of…

It had been reported that the agreement between the prime ministers of Lebanon and Israel has been reached to stop the hostilities by Monday, August 14.  As part of the…

The Indonesian Government has sent financial aid to victims of the Israeli occupation in Palestine, said Financial Minister Dr.Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Friday, the Indonesian National News agency (Antara) reported…

The Lebanese government has maintained its position that the US-French draft Security  Council resolution must contain certain provisions that would ensure a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict, before it…

Israeli tanks and troops in southern Lebanon have retreated and regrouped in Marjayoun, the only town in southern Lebanon that Israeli forces have managed to hold on to, while a…

Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanon based Hezbollah party, said in a televised speech on Wednesday evening, that his party will continue to fight and that it backs the…

After the capture of the Palestinian Legislative head Dr. Aziz Dweik by Israeli forces this weekend, adding to the eighty Palestinian government officials already being held without charge by Israel…

{mosimage)Hundreds of people from the Palestinian and Arab community in marched in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people yesterday in the capital city of Lima in South America. Not…

In protest at the Israeli attacks against , has canceled a deal with Israel Aircraft Industries to upgrade aircraft, Israeli sources said on Tuesday. The cancellation of this deal is…

The European football governing body, UEFA, decided on Monday to bar Israel from hosting international soccer matches until further notice, as a result of violence in the region. The UEFA…

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, citing  the Israeli brutal war on the Lebanese people has decide to withdraw the Venezuelan ambassador to Israel. He said: "It really causes indignation…

"If you want to fight like an army, we will fight you army to army – but if you continue to hit our cities, killing innocents, we will strike back…

After an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Qana, Lebanon Sunday, killing 56 Lebanese civilians, including 38 children, Israeli military spokespeople attempted to excuse their targeting of civilians by saying…

Palestinians living in exile have united to urge Palestinian and Lebanese leaders to resolve the current conflict in the region. The Palestinian citizens sent letters to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas…

Tehran Post reports that Iran’s Defense minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar claims that the nuclear disarmament of the Israeli force would be the best way to establish lasting peace and security…

"We are fighting against murderous terrorists and the war will not stop until we clear them from the border.  The fighting continues. There is no ceasefire and there will not…

"By Wednesday we are going to establish a two-kilometer (one-mile) wide ‘security zone’ in which there will be no  infrastructure or sign of Hezbollah’s presence," Israeli army operations chief General…

Israeli forces pulled out of the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil yesterday on the 18th day of the Middle East crisis.  Israeli troops had raided the Hizbollah stronghold, 2.5…

Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, expressed shock over “the Israeli crimes against the Lebanese people”, and demanded the International Community to impose sanctions on Israel after the army killed 58…

Israeli sources reported that the United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, headed to the Middle East in order to hold talks with the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, to…

After Israel’s declaration that its decision to continue its assault on Lebanon had been endorsed by the 15-nation summit in Rome earlier this week, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose…

Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, visiting Beirut and Jerusalem. proposed sending the Lebanese army along the border with Israel, backed by an international force to stop rocket attacks by…

Al-Jazeera reports that Hamas leader, Ismail Hanya, urges “moral stance” from US. "All that we ask the American administration is to take a moral stance towards the Palestinian people, and…

Condoleezza Rice has put the blame on Hezbollah for the crisis with Israel and said a cease-fire would only be possible if two kidnapped Israeli soldiers were freed.   "Any…

American marines arrived at the Beirut shore to evacuate the remaining American citizens from Lebanon, while those Lebanese unable to evacuate are facing shortages in food and medicine, according to…

In an interview with the pan-Arab satellite television channel "Al Jazeera", the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, denied the Israeli reports that 50 percent of Hezbollah’s military force have been…

Israeli air power alone is capable of damaging Hezbollah but not of defeating the Lebanese resistance movement, leaving Israel with a choice of a ground offensive in southern Lebanon or…

Despite Koffi Annan’s statement to the Security Council which reflect the deep-seated international unease about the human cost of ‘s aerial onslaught on Lebanon, Israeli warplanes continued their bombardment yesterday,…

Israel has rebuffed a UN call for an international monitoring force to be deployed in Lebanon as it continued to attack the country.   Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, had…

The Ramatan news agency reported, on Monday, that Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya, said on Monday that the aim of the Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon…

An Israeli soldier, captured June 25th by Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza, was the original impetus for an Israeli invasion that has resulted in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians…

Protesters Blockade Brighton Warmongers, EDO MBM, to Prevent Production of Weaponry for War Crimes In the early hours of Monday morning protesters erected two roadblocks outside each gate of EDO…

The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s effort to free three captured soldiers (one in Gaza, two in Lebanon) has become a broad campaign to alter the strategic balance of the…

The Catholic organization Pax Christi has backed a report from the group ‘War on Want’ which has highlighted the role of companies like Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose, Connex and Caterpillar in…

"We are highly disappointed and frustrated at the council’s continued inability to act while innocent Palestinian civilians continue to be brutally killed by the Israeli occupying forces," said Ryad Mansour,…

The Hezbollah resistance movement made a statement Thursday saying, "The Islamic resistance will bombard [the northern Israeli city of] Haifa as soon as the Israeli aggression reaches Beirut or the…

On Tuesday Qatar circulated a revised draft of United Nations Security Council resolution demanding the unconditional release of a captured Israeli soldier as well as ‘s immediate withdrawal from Gaza.…

The Arab American Institute slammed an Israeli decision to bar Arab Americans of Palestinian descent from entering the West Bank and Israeli lands, calling on President Bush’s government to intervene…

After Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s call on Saturday for a cease-fire, Israeli leaders responded with an increase in the intensity of their invasion of Gaza, saying the incursion could…

There are conflicting reports from the media as well as spokespersons from both parties as to whether Israel has accepted a broad-based deal offered by Hamas to end the crisis…

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya offered a peace proposal for the current standoff with Israel late Saturday, an offer that Israeli authorities flatly refused.  Over 40 Palestinians have been killed by…

In a statement to the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Friday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the Council to take a stand on the ongoing Israeli incursion into…

The following paid advertisement was signed by 300 Jews in Britain and placed in The London Times on July 7: WHAT IS ISRAEL DOING? A CALL BY JEWS IN BRITAIN…

Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, issued a statement on Friday, directed at the Israeli public and the family of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, saying that the administration of the Israeli Prime…

Palestinian Legislator, and head of the committee of internal affairs and security at the Legislative Council, Mohammad Dahlan, said on Friday that the Israeli attacks against the residents of the…

Secretary General of the Arab League Amer Mousa pledged $50 Million US dollars to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority during a joint press conference in Cairo Tuesday with Nabil Shaath, aide…

The Israeli Minister of Justice Haim Ramon warned Monday of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if a captured Israeli soldier is harmed by his Palestinian captors, saying,…

Secretary-general of the Arab-League in Cairo, Amr Mousa, slammed the international community for not seriously dealing with the continuous Israeli aggression and attacks against the Palestinian people.   Mousa told…

United Church of Canada’s Toronto branch announced a boycott Thursday of Israeli products and companies that do business with the Israeli Army. Their decision also supports CUPE’s (the National Public…

A new ultimatum issued by resistance groups holding an Israeli soldier captive demanded the release of 1,000 of the over 8,000 Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel – including women,…

Friday morning, Israeli authorities announced that they have not rejected a proposal put forth by Hamas for the release of the Israeli soldier captured Sunday, as was stated by Egyptian…

The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday that Hamas has conditionally agreed to free the abducted Israeli soldier but Israel rejected the conditions set by the group for the release…

Israeli warplanes flying over Gaza have been dropping leaflets, in addition to bombs, on the Palestinians living there.  The IMEMC managed to obtain a copy of the leaflet, and have…

The United States cannot denounce Iran’s nuclear program while accepting Israel’s possession of nuclear bombs, the Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa told the US Arab Economic Forum in Houston,…

In an exclusive interview with IMEMC, Uri Avnery, a former Member of the Israeli Knesset and founder of the Israeli peace bloc Gush Shalom, warned, "If the Israeli army continues…

It appears that the Hamas government has declared a state of alert and begun disappearing upon receiving Israeli assassination threats. None are reachable by phone as all numbers have changed.…

Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, described the Israeli large scale military offensive in the Gaza Strip as a war crime and as an attack on infrastructure and civilian targets. The statements…

Several Palestinian factions declared on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on the National Unity document after ten days of intensive talks. Saleh Zeidan, member of the Political Bureau…

America’s largest Presbyterian church voted to continue policies of economic engagement in the Middle East. It affirmed its willingness to use its investment policies to press for peace in Israel-Palestine.…

A statement released by three Palestinian armed groups claiming responsibility for the Kerem Shalom Israeli crossing attack Sunday demanded that Israel release all women and children detainees in Israeli prisons…

The Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz has quoted diplomats living in Gaza, who say that they know which Palestinian group kidnapped the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The diplomats say that the…

Khaled Al Batsh, one of the political leaders of the Islamic Jihad ,reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and leaders of the Islamic Jihad will meet at 10pm Palestinian time…

Khaled Al Batsh, one of the political leaders of the Islamic Jihad reported that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and leaders of the Islamic Jihad will meet at 20hours Palestinian…

Khan Younis-Ma’an-Well-informed Palestinian sources have told the Ma’an correspondent that Palestinian political factions have reached agreement on the Prisoners’ Accord Document. All the political factions, including the Hamas movement, have…

Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyya, reported on Friday that he will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas after the later arrives in Gaza. Among other issues, the meeting will focus on…

Friday, The United States Senate on passed a bill that blocks United States aid from going to the Palestinian government, headed by Hamas movement, but gives humanitarian relief to the…

Surveys conducted for Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu “Israel Our Home” party showed that 70% of the Israelis who supported the Gaza Disengagement Plan last year object to a West Bank…

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at an economic conference in Jerusalem that he instructed the Israeli army to resume the targeted killing policy against resistance fighters in the Palestinian…

Israeli media sources reported that a French Jew identified as Raphael Schoemann, 65, received 10-month suspended prison sentence for sending bullets accompanied by threatening notes to high-profile figures who are…

King Abdullah II of Jordan hosted on Thursday the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas at Petra convention in what was described by Israeli media…

In an attempt to deepen public knowledge of World Refugee Day, the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees hosted a series films about refugees Tuesday evening in the Palestinian…

Palestinians may not pass a statehood referendum called by Mahmoud Abbas as they see the vote as a symbol of the power struggle between the Palestinian president and the Hamas…

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) published a report showing a statistical overview about demographic status of Palestinian refugees totaled according to UNRWA records 4,255,120 till 31st of March…

The leadership of Hamas and Fateh in the West Bank sent a letter Monday to colleagues in the Gaza Strip urging them to reach a national agreement as soon as…

Senior Fateh and Hamas officials met on Sunday and reached an agreement on the division of the Palestinian Security Forces. Senior Fateh leader, Mohammad Dahlan, head of the Security Services…

The EU Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner will visit Palestinian Territories next week for talks with the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. She will also meet with the Israeli Prime…

Dozens of American citizens, members of a Peaceful Jewish organizations, protested on Thursday evening in front of Caterpillar headquarters in Chicago, in the United States, and demanded the company to…

Leaders of the European Union endorsed on Friday a plan to channel aid payments to the Palestinian health, social services and facilities sectors such as heating and sanitations, while maintaining…

Israel Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, claimed during his meeting with the French President, Jacques Chirac, in France, that he will be seeking a peace deal with the Palestinians based on…