Tag: Palestine

Clashes as Palestinians end boycott of Jerusalem holy site

by Shatha Yaish and Joe Dyke Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined  – Clashes erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians at a sensitive Jerusalem  site Thursday as thousands of Muslim worshippers entered to end a boycott of the compound over new Israeli security measures. An AFP correspondent witnessed the clashes break out shortly after the worshippers entered. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported around 100 people wounded both inside the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the […]

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West Bank votes in polls underlining Palestinian split

by Sarah Benhaida Agence France-Presse RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories – Palestinians in the occupied West Bank voted Saturday in municipal elections that underscored deep rifts between president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party and Islamist rival Hamas which runs the Gaza Strip. Their failure to reconcile is seen as a major obstacle to any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The West Bank and Gaza have not participated in an election together since 2006, when Hamas swept Palestinian parliamentary […]

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Ex-Gaza chief Haniya elected leader of Hamas

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Hamas’s former chief in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, has been elected overall head of the Palestinian Islamist group, succeeding Khaled Meshaal, its official media announced Saturday. Haniya, seen as a pragmatist within the movement, is expected to remain in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave run by Hamas since 2007, unlike Meshaal who lives in exile in Doha and has completed the maximum two terms in office. “The Hamas Shura Council […]

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More than 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails launch hunger strike

Palestinian Territories (AFP) — More than 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails launched a hunger strike on Monday following a call from Palestinian leader and prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian Authority official said. Issa Qaraqe, head of prisoners affairs for the Palestinian Authority, said that “around 1,300 Palestinian prisoners” were participating in the hunger strike and the number could rise. The Palestinian Prisoners Club put the number at 1,500. © Agence France-Presse

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Clashes as Israel evicts wildcat settlers

by Joe Dyke with Laurent Lozano in Jerusalem Agence France-Presse AMONA, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli police clashed Wednesday with Jewish settlers resisting the eviction of hardline residents of a wildcat outpost, hours after the government authorised 3,000 new homes in other West Bank settlements. Israel has issued a series of approvals for new settler homes since US President Donald Trump took office less than two weeks ago having signalled a softer stance on Israeli […]

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Israel plans 2,500 settler homes in post-Trump expansion

by Mike Smith Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Israel has approved 2,500 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, officials said Tuesday, marking a major settlement expansion following the election of US President Donald Trump. The planned new homes approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman may be the largest number to have been given the green light since 2013, said settlement watchdog Peace Now. Settlements in both the West […]

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Settlement program threatens Israel’s future: Kerry

by Dave Clark Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Wednesday that Israel’s settlement building in the West Bank threatens both hope for peace with the Palestinians and the country’s own future as a democracy. In a major speech setting out his vision of a solution to the long-simmering conflict, Kerry sternly warned that Israel was on a course leading to a “perpetual occupation” of Palestinian-owned land. “Today, […]

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Israel revives settlement plans after Trump win

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – by Joe Dyke Israel revived plans on Wednesday to build 500 new homes for Jewish settlers in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, an ominous sign for Palestinians wary of a Donald Trump presidency, an NGO said. “The political significance of this action is that it is the first plan to be promoted since the US elections,” Betty Herschman from the Ir Amim NGO said. The plan for 500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo, […]

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Palestinian teen jailed 12 years for attack on Israelis

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – by Majeda El-Batsh An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian teenager Monday to 12 years in prison for the stabbing of two Israelis, one of the most high-profile attacks in a recent wave of violence. Ahmed Manasra, 14, was earlier found guilty of the attempted murder of a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in annexed east Jerusalem. He was 13 at the time of […]

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Palestinian local polls delayed for up to four months

HEBRON, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – by Samih Shahin The Palestinian government delayed municipal elections for up to four months Tuesday with Fatah and Hamas so far unable to overcome divisions to organise their first competitive polls in a decade. The postponement came a day after the Palestinian high court ruled that the elections, initially scheduled for October 8, should be held only in the West Bank and not in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. A new […]

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New surge of violence sees two more Palestinian knife attacks

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – by Jonah Mandel Palestinians carried out two knife attacks against Israeli police Monday, leaving one assailant shot dead and three officers wounded as a new surge in violence raised concerns ahead of upcoming Jewish holidays. There have been seven such incidents since Friday, coming after Palestinians wrapped up Eid al-Adha celebrations and as Israel tightened security ahead of Jewish high holidays in October. The upsurge has shattered several weeks of relative calm. […]

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Three attacks on Israelis shatter relative calm

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – by Joe Dyke Three alleged assailants were killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis on Friday, security forces said, shattering weeks of relative calm in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The attacks were a reminder of persistent tensions that continue to alarm the international community and came a day after UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the two-state solution was “further than ever” from becoming reality. In the first incident, a man […]

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