Tag: Palestinians

Israel strikes Gaza Strip after rocket fired at Israel: witnesses, Hamas

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israel carried out strikes early Tuesday in the Gaza Strip after a rocket was fired from the Palestinian enclave into Israel, witnesses and its ruling Islamist movement said. Israeli aircraft hit the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said, while the armed wing of Hamas announced that it fired on Israeli planes. “Congratulations to the men of the resistance who confronted the fighter jets with our anti-aircraft defense,” Hamas spokesman Hazem […]

Gaza-Israel rocket fire intercepted as Jerusalem tensions spike

by Paul Raymond © Agence France-Presse   JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israel Monday, the Israeli army said, the first such incident in months and a sign that a wave of violence around a Jerusalem holy site could escalate further. “Sirens sounded in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli army said, referring to a Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas. “One rocket was fired from the […]

Israel to top up shrinking Sea of Galilee with desalinated water

by Daniella Cheslow © Agence France-Presse RAVID, Israel (AFP) — Israel, a leader in making seawater drinkable, plans to pump excess output from its desalination plants into the Sea of Galilee, depleted by overuse and threatened by climate change. Irregular rainfall, rising temperatures and intensive pumping have overtaxed the world’s lowest freshwater lake, which for decades has served as the Jewish state’s main sweetwater reservoir. Israel now plans to tackle the challenge by reversing the […]

Two Ukrainians among five killed in Israel shooting: police

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Two of the five men killed by a Palestinian gunman in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak were Ukrainian nationals, Israeli police said on Wednesday. A police statement identified those slain in Tuesday’s attack, noting that “a foreigner from Ukraine, aged 23” and “a foreigner from Ukraine, aged 32” were among them. According to police, Diaa Armashah, a Palestinian from the West Bank village Yabad, had opened fire in the […]

Hamas faces risk, opportunity from warming Israel-Turkey ties

by Adel Zaanoun Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – A diplomatic thaw between Israel and Turkey has created challenges for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which counts on Ankara’s support, but could also offer it a more “trustworthy” middleman to deal with the Jewish state, experts say. With Turkey’s ties to Israel effectively broken for more than a decade, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fostered a close relationship with Hamas, which took power in […]

Israel troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank clashes

NABLUS, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in separate shootings in the occupied West Bank Tuesday, the latest in a flurry of deadly clashes as a US envoy tours the region seeking to ease tensions. A 16-year-old died in an exchange of fire with troops carrying out an arrest raid outside the northern city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry and Israeli security forces said. Separately, a Palestinian in his twenties was […]

Israel freezes Palestinian evictions in east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday froze the eviction of four Palestinian families from the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where Jewish settler groups have sought to seize control. Justice Isaac Amit, in a ruling by a three-judge panel, wrote the families would be recognised as protected tenants, and would pay a Jewish settler group a symbolic annual rent of 2,400 shekels (about $740) “until a determination of … land […]

Australia to list Hamas as terror group

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia on Thursday said it would list all of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the latest Western nation to do so. Canberra had previously listed Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades as a terror group, but the new designation will list the organisation in its entirety. Hamas currently controls the Gaza Strip, has vowed to “liberate” Jerusalem by force and has frequently carried out attacks on Israeli targets. “The views of […]

Tension as controversial Israeli lawmaker visits Jerusalem flashpoint

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Israeli police clashed with Palestinians in the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah on Sunday, as a visit by a controversial far-right Jewish lawmaker inflamed tensions. Police said two people were arrested as they tried to contain “a violent riot”, in the area of annexed east Jerusalem that has emerged as a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli control of the city. Scuffles broke out as Itamar Ben Gvir of the […]

Palestinian president Abbas visits Israel’s Gantz in rare trip

JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas made a rare visit to Israel Tuesday for talks with Defence Minister Benny Gantz, that the defence ministry said focused on security and civil matters. Gantz told Abbas that he intended to “continue to promote actions to strengthen confidence in the economic and civilian fields, as agreed during their last meeting,” the ministry statement said. “The two men discussed security and civil matters,” it added. Israeli media […]

Israel strikes Gaza after border clashes

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza Saturday after clashes between its troops and Palestinian protesters left dozens injured, including an Israeli border policeman and a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who were both critically wounded. The Israeli military said it carried out air strikes against four weapons sites and that it had reinforced its Gaza division with additional troops. The escalation came exactly three months since Israel and the enclave’s Islamist rulers Hamas reached a truce following their deadliest […]

First rocket warning in northern Israel in latest hostilities

  JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s army on Thursday said it had received a rocket warning in the north of the country, the first time the alert has been given there since hostilities soared between Israel and Palestinians earlier this week. The approximately 1,500 rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas militants since Monday had so far set off warnings in southern and central Israel, but not in the north, the army said. However in the small […]