Category: International Politics

Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset said Tuesday that the UN report on last summer’s war in the Gaza Strip provided enough evidence that Israel should be taken before the…

The American president rather than Congress has authority to decide policy on matters of sovereignty such as the US stance on the status of Jerusalem, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.The…

What is normalisation and why is it so damaging to achieving justice?Anyone with any exposure to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will also be exposed to certain oft-repeated words and phrases that…

Palestinian Football Association chief, Jibril Rajoub, says of the vote to expel Israel from FIFA that ‘the situation has not changed.’FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been trying to avoid the…

The Arab League condemned, Wednesday, the latest Israeli bombardment of different parts of the Gaza Strip, and said that the “extremist Israeli government is trying to make excuses for its…

A longstanding staple demand of the US Palestine solidarity movement is ending our country’s military aid to Israel. It has been a goal of the US Campaign to End the…

The World Bank stated Wednesday that it transferred $70 million to the Palestinian Authority through the multi-donor mechanism run by the “Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund,” the Palestinian…

A meeting was recently held between representatives of Arab countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, and a number of Israeli officials, to discuss what they called…

The Illinois State House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill which will prevent the state’s pension funds from investing in companies that boycott Israel.Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner (R) has…

In 2014, shortly after Hamas, the democratically-elected government in the Gaza Strip, and Fateh, the puppet government that takes its orders from Israel in the West Bank, agreed on a…

The new general coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East, Nikolai Mladenov, arrived on Wednesday morning in the Gaza Strip, through the Beit Hanoun crossing in northern Gaza.Local…

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, on Tuesday received two motions strongly condemning Israeli occupation’s humanitarian and legal violations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.The first…

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have turned down a request from Jimmy Carter to meet during his upcoming visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, because of…

On Monday April 20th, 2015, Mr. Junya Matsuura, Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and the Representative of Japan to the Palestinian Authority, attended the opening ceremonies for two schools projects.…

Earlier this month, Palestine officially joined the ICC, after the Hague-based tribunal approved its accession bid.According to the Palestinian News Network (PNN), Hamas said Thursday that it will hand over…

A group of 14 Palestinian factions said, on Thursday, that they backed a joint military operation with the Syrian government to expel Islamic State group militants from the Yarmouk refugee…

The appointment of Robert Malley as White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region is not considered a sufficient indicator that there will be any…

Representing Arab and Islamic countries, the Arab League intends to submit to the UN Security Council, Monday, a new draft proposal calling for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and…

In a move that was seen as “disappointing” to U.S. Senators of the Democratic Party, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused an invitation to hold a closed meeting with them,…

The Arab League has called on the UN and other international human rights committees to hold to their responsibilities in providing protection, for the Palestinian people and their holy sites,…

Israeli occupation Defense Ministry announced, Sunday, that it signed a deal with the United States to purchase more F-35 fighter planes for the Israeli air force, at $110 million dollars…

The Italian parliament has again postponed the vote on a non-binding bill calling for the official recognition of a Palestinian state, reportedly under pressure from Israel.The motion is understood to…

The Italian Parliament is preparing to discuss the recognition of the State of Palestine with a series of motions which will be presented, perhaps as early as this week, in…

The Federation of Arab Journalists has adopted the decision of filing suit, in the International Criminal Court, against Israel and its crimes committed against Palestinian journalists.The federation called, previously, to…

A United Nations spokesman has announced that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed Nickolay Mladenov, from Bulgaria, as the top Mideast envoy, replacing Robert Serry.UN spokesman Farhan Haqq stated to…

PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, in response to the Canadian government’s recent decision to terminate a contribution agreement it had between MIFTAH and the Canadian Department of Foreign…

The head of a UN inquiry into last summer’s Israeli military offensive in Gaza has said he will resign after Israeli allegations of bias, due to consultancy work he did…

A protest this week in New York City was accompanied by the submission of a petition to the New York City Council demanding that the Council cancel an upcoming all-expense-paid…

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström said that Israel is over-reacting to the recognition of Palestine and that Israel’s rhetoric directed against those States who recognized Palestine had crossed all limits.…

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City and in Ramallah on Saturday to show solidarity with the people of France, and to condemn this week’s attacks in Paris. Palestinian prisoners…

The United Nations announced this week that the State of Palestine will join the International Criminal Court on April 1, 2015. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced on Tuesday that the…

A delegation of young African American leaders from Ferguson and other US cities organized by ‘Dream Defenders’ are traveling through the Occupied Palestinian Territories this week to see first-hand the…

Israel will be lobbying the U.S.’ Congress to enforce legislation to freeze funds for Palestine, should Palestine lodge charges at the ICC. Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian tax funds caused…

Recent American legislation states that, if Palestinians initiate any action against Israel at the International Criminal Court, the State Department would have to stop US aid to the PA.According to…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, Sunday, that PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ bid to join the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) would only expose him and other Palestinian officials to…

In a statement received by the PNN, PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Saeb Erekat said that the State of Palestine has signed a number of international treaties, all of which…

PA President and Fateh member Mahmoud Abbas, Wednesday, signed a formal request for Palestine to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), following a failed UN resolution for ending the Israeli…

An Israeli bank has been fined $400 million USD for aiding and assisting Americans in evading payment of their taxes.Al Ray reports, via Press TV, that Israel’s second largest bank,…

Jailed Fateh leader Marwan Barghouhti has criticized the UN resolution submitted to the Security Council by the PLO, urging the Palestinian leadership to reword the proposal.In a letter received by…

On Friday December 19th, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution recognizing the Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,…

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has officially recognized Palestine as a state, expressed its support for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and has called for speeding the reconstruction…

The United Nations General Assembly passed on Thursday, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution recognizing the Palestinian legitimate right to Self-Determination, including the right to an independent Palestinian State.180 countries…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said his country will veto the Palestinian resolution at the United Nations, aiming at ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine within two years.…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be holding a meeting in London, on Tuesday, with the Palestinian delegation headed by Chief Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat, and various Arab officials.Again,…

United States Congress will vote, in the next few days, on a resolution to raise its financial contribution to the Israeli Iron Dome system to 1.2 billion dollars.Congressional negotiators agreed…

Palestine became an official observer at the Hague’s International Criminal Court, on Monday, according to UN envoy Riyad Mansour.The Palestinian official said the move would strengthen possibilities for Palestinian statehood,…

Following the Swedish government’s recognition of a Palestinian state, this past October, the Belgian government is set to become Europe’s second country to adopt the motion and recognize the Palestinian…

In a 339 to 151 vote, French Lawmakers of the Lower House of Parliament voted in support of a symbolic motion meant for the recognition of Palestine as a state,…

A timeframe for the creation of a Palestinian state has been set, as a draft resolution was approved by foreign ministers of the Arab League, this past Saturday. According to…

The United States Department of Defense has announced that it will supply the Israeli air force with 3,000 smart bombs (precision-guided munitions designed to achieve greater accuracy).The funding for the…

An overwhelming majority of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor, Wednesday, on 5 draft resolutions in favor of Palestine. President Abbas says that he is ready to set…

The British government stated, on Monday, that it will review arms export licenses to Israel, to ensure that the use of such weapons does not contravene international law.Britain reviewed, in…

Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Palestine, Archbishop of Sebastia (Theodosius) Attallah Hanna, called on the world community to fully recognize all legitimate Palestinian rights of liberation and independence.Archbishop…

Attempts to pass legislation that would officially define Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people are being held up by internal problems within Israel’s ruling coalition, problems which may…

The European Union is considering sanctions against Israel, should the regime continue with illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, hindering the two-state solution, Israeli media reported on Sunday.According to…

On Thursday, November 13th, the Ambassador for Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to the PA, Junya Matsuura attended the opening ceremony of the project for ‘Rehabilitation and Upgrading the…

US Secretary of State John Kerry met in Amman, Thursday, with Israeli PM Netanyahu and the King Abdullah II of Jordan, to discuss the rising tension in Jerusalem, while Arab…

VOA reported, today, that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan, Thursday.State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, according to the…

Over 1,000 Palestinians will be granted scholarship programs in various disciplines in Venezuela, said Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan government decided to expand the “Yasser Arafat Scholarship Program” from…

The Israeli ministerial committee approved a bill, on Sunday, to extend laws regulated by the Israeli Knesset into the occupied West Bank.According to the PNN, Israeli sources said that the…

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced, today, a U.S. contribution of $100 million in budget support for the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to an official press release.WAFA…

The ruling party in France has called on French authorities to officially recognize the Palestinian statehood, that they might reach a final settlement over the current conflict with Israel, parliamentary…

Jordanian PM Abdullah Nassour has sent Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Jouda to call back their ambassador in Tel Aviv, in protest of escalating Israeli aggression, the attacks on al-Aqsa…

According to recent Israeli and UK media releases, US President Barack Obama has threatened to drop the veto at the United Nations Security Council.The United States has a long history…

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi asserts that “the British government bears the human, legal, political and moral responsibility to undo its serious mistakes of the past by recognizing…

PNN correspondence reports that the Israeli Knesset, Sunday, approved a law which will ease immigration restrictions via conversion to Judaism (by authorizing Rabbis in ‘Israel’ to head conversion courts following…

97 years ago today, 2 November 1917, Arthur James Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary of the time, wrote to the American Lord Rothschild, promising British support for the Zionist programme…

Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, today, said she would be ‘happy’ to send Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman some IKEA furniture.PNN reports that Wallstrom’s comments, made during a recent CNN…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Swedish decision to recognize Palestine as a State, and said this decision in coherent with International Law and all related resolutions and treaties.Abbas stated…

After the Swedish government officially recognized the state of Palestine Thursday, Israeli officials announced the withdrawal of the Israeli ambassador from the northern European nation.The recognition by Sweden’s newly elected…

Egyptian authorities continue to block Rafah crossing for the fifth day in a row, now, following a recent attack by armed militants in the Sinai desert.A deadly assault occured in…

Egyptian authorities have announced a recent decision to build, along its borders with Gaza, a buffer zone with the depth of 500 meters, and a height of 14 km, with…

Gaza’s Interior Ministry in Gaza issued a statement, on Saturday, which refuted all accusations that Gaza is behind the recent attacks on Sinai, by affirming that the southern border with…

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign congratulated, today, Seanad Éireann on passing a motion calling on the Irish Government to formally recognize the State of Palestine.The motion, which was tabled by Sen.…

The website of the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) is back online after the Palestinian news service, under the auspices of the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People, was…

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that Bradford-West MP George Galloway will not be charged over a speech in made in Leeds, this past August, which asserted that Bradford…

Head of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, Mr. Ali Al-Hayek, stated that a delegation of international observers arrived on Wednesday, to the Gaza Strip, to monitor the Gaza reconstruction process.According to…

(Full transcript of Ban’s Gaza press encounter below audio track.)via Christopher Gunness Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy and Strategic Communications UNRWA | Office of the Commissioner General | Jerusalem t: +972…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a brief visit to the war-torn Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, just two days after international donor states pledged some $5.4 billion in reconstruction aid, following…

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Monday, expressed strong dissent to Israeli settlement building and warned against ‘provocations’ at Jerusalem’s holy sites, calling for renewed peace talks in order to avoid…

British Parliament voted in favor of a non-binding motion for official recognition of the state of Palestine, Monday.Haaretz daily newspaper reports that the vote was decided by a majority of…

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, arrived in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, on Saturday, to attend the Sunday meeting for rebuilding the Gaza Strip which was recently ravaged…

The US State Department asserted, on Thursday, that Israel must contribute to Gaza’s reconstruction, following the devastating assault on the besieged coastal enclave, this past summer.WAFA Palestinian News & Info…

US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki stated, Friday, that international recognition of a Palestinian State is “premature,’ alleging the United States supports the establishment of Palestinian State only “through negotiations.”Her…

Belgium issued a strong condemnation of the Israeli destruction of a major power grid in the occupied West Bank which was funded by the country, and serving Khirbet at-Tawil village,…

The Arab League reiterated its support to the upcoming Palestinian bid at the United Nations Security Council, demanding ending the Israeli occupation, and called on the United States to refrain…

Executive PLO member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi responded to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent UN address by saying that he blatantly manipulated the facts in comparing Hamas with the ‘Islamic State’…

Members of the Palestinian UN General Assembly in New York received rejection status from the US, Britain and Australia, with regard to the recognition of a Palestinian state based on…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the United Nations Human Rights Council for its refusal to accept Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, saying that it encouraged resistance…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reportedly wage a ‘political war’ on Israel, if there is a negative response to Palestinian attempts to end the occupation via the UN, according to…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, during a speech at the United Nations’ 69th annual General Debate, on Friday, that a return to direct negotiations was impossible and accused Israel of…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, in New York on Tuesday. Abbas thanked President Morales for Bolivia’s solidarity and political action taken on the…

The Egyptian government has denied recent media reports which have surfaced in regard to their refusal to host Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo.In a formal statement, on Saturday, the Egyptian…

The United States government has reportedly threatened the Palestinian Authority (PA) with economic sanctions if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas continue to insist on presenting his plan for the end of…

US permanent representative to the United Nations, Samantha Power, has implied that Washington will block any resolution in the Security Council to pass Palestinian initiatives which aims to end the…

Palestinian negotiators met with US Secretary of State John Kerry for over two hours of ‘constructive’ talks concerning future relations with Israel, said a US official.Media sources said, it was…

Israeli soldiers invaded on Tuesday, at dawn, the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and initiated the destruction of a dairy factory that belongs to the Islamic Charitable Society for…

Israeli police officers and soldiers invaded, on Wednesday, at dawn, various Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, searched and ransacked several homes, and kidnapped eight Palestinians. Amjad Abu ‘Asab, head…

Hamas has now signed a proposal for Palestinian application for membership at the International Criminal Court (ICC), in the Netherlands, through which legal action could be taken against Israel, a…

EU foreign affairs ministers held a meeting in Brussels, on Friday, during which a number of conclusions on the Middle East Peace process were adopted, with special regard to the…