Tag Archive for Palestinians

| December 4, 2012
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Hamas recruits Fatah: Let’s fight Israel together

Mahmoud Zahar tells Fatah to “stop wasting time & effort” on peace process

Join our [armed] resistance & the liberation of Palestine.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar on Monday called on Fatah to join his movement in the fight against Israel and to stop wasting time and effort with the peace process.

Zahar’s call came as Hamas and Fatah representatives stepped up their efforts to end their differences and achieve “national reconciliation.”

Fatah activists arrive in Gaza - Photo: REUTERS

Fatah activists arrive in Gaza – Photo: REUTERS

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters in Ramallah that his top priority now was to end the rivalry with Hamas, and said he saw no reason why the two sides could not reach an agreement on holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 1, 2012
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Abbas proclaims Palestine is now an ‘occupied’ state

Palestinian Authority president says UN recognition will now require int’l community to hold Israel accountable for infractions.

Abbas calls for renewed talks with Israel

Elior Levy

 

As the Palestinians celebrated the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s status, President Mahmoud Abbas said that the resolution will require the world hold Israel accountable for the infractions it has committed since 1967.

Abbas at UN Photo: AP

Apartheid proponent Abbas at UN – Photo: AP

The Palestinian leader told reporters in New York on Friday evening that the General Assembly’s decision has turned “Palestine into a state under an occupation, and most of the world’s countries think so as well, voiding the Israeli claim that this is a disputed territory.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 29, 2012
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IDF opens fire on Gazans rioting near border fence

Medics tell Ma’an news agency 7 Palestinians hurt, 1 seriously

IDF: Groups gathered by Israel-Gaza border, wanting to damage border fence.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST. COM STAFF

 

IDF soldiers on Wednesday shot at Palestinians rioting near the Israel-Gaza border fence, injuring seven, according to Palestinian medical officials cited by Ma’an news agency.

IDF vehicle patrols along Gaza border fence [file] - Photo: REUTERS

IDF vehicle patrols along Gaza border fence [file] – Photo: REUTERS

Groups of Palestinians gathered on the Gaza side of the fence on Wednesday afternoon and spent several hours attempting to damage the barrier, the IDF said.

The rioting occurred on the border with both central and southern Gaza.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 28, 2012
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Israel detains Gaza fishermen for venturing too far out to sea – 1 vessel sunk

Although, Israel has doubled to 6  miles (10 km) the distance it permits Gaza fishermen to operate off the coast, they ‘test the waters’ to see how far they can go before being apprehended.

By Reuters

 

The Israel Navy on Wednesday detained a group of fisherman from the Gaza Strip, saying they had gone beyond a recently expanded fishing zone off the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Fisherman in Gaza.

Gazans collecting their catch off the coast. – Photo by AP

Fishermen on two boats were detained and taken to Israel’s Mediterranean port of Ashdod for questioning, an Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza said nine men had been seized and at least one vessel sunk. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| November 27, 2012
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UK News Reports: Britain could support Palestinian bid at UN as support for PA

Financial Times says Britain wants to bolster Abbas’ PA as Hamas became strengthened following Israel’s military offensive in Gaza

London’s support comes conditional on peace talks without preconditions & no cases being brought against Israeli officials at (ICC) The Hague.

 

 

Britain is considering a change in in its position on the Palestinian bid at the United Nations in an attempt to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ stance, U.K. newspaper Financial Times reported late Monday.  London’s support is conditioned on continued peace talks with Israel and the  PA refraining from bringing cases against Israeli officials to the International Criminal Court, the newspaper said. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| November 25, 2012
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U.K. to Washington: Take more active role on peace agreement for the Mideast

British FM William Hague warns the White House that now may be the ‘final chance’ for a 2-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By Reuters

 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday urged the United States to take a more active role in seeking a lasting settlement between Israelis and Palestinians, warning of a “final chance” for a two-state solution.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama and Mahmoud Abbas in 2010. The deal with Lieberman, who calls Abbas

 

Eight days of fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled enclave of Gaza diverted U.S. President Barack Obama’s attention to the Middle East as he toured Asia on his first trip abroad after this month’s election.

Hague told the BBC it was “time for a huge effort on the Middle East peace process”. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 24, 2012
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1 Palestinian killed, several wounded by IDF fire on Gaza border

Hamas spokesman accuses Israel of violating the Egyptian-mediated truce, says Hamas will complain to Cairo

IDF spokeswoman says army investigating report.

By Reuters and Gili Cohen

 

Israeli gunfire across the Gaza border killed one Palestinian on Friday and wounded several others, medics said, two days after a ceasefire between the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas and Israel took hold.

Gaza - AFP

Palestinian youths gesture during a demonstration next to the security fence standing on the Gaza border with Israel, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2012. – Photo: AFP

A Hamas spokesman accused Israel of violating the Egyptian-mediated truce and said the group would complain to Cairo. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| November 14, 2012
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Israel’s special relationship with Germany won’t hold to next generation

A German Foreign Ministry official says the younger generation’s criticism of Israel’s handling of Palestinian issues is growing in Germany

By Itamar Eichner

 

German criticism of Israel’s foreign policy is growing, particularly in regards to the Palestinian issue, a German Foreign Ministry official told Israeli officials in a closed meeting earlier this week.

Netanyahu and Merkel – Photo: Reuters

Germany’s younger generation feels more at liberty to criticize Israel, he added.

The official said that in 20 years time, “the special relationship” between the two countries will not be as it is today.

He stressed that Germany feels it is very important to maintain its relations with Israel but doubted this would still be relevant in 20 years. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| November 11, 2012
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More Palestinian Arabs Given Permits to Enter Israel for Work

About 3,000 additional Palestinian Arabs will be permitted to work in Israel, with a total of 27,500 PA Arabs to be employed in the Israeli building industry

By David Lev

 

Despite the large investment Israel has made in constructing a security fence on its southern border to keep illegal foreign workers out, the government’s Social-Economic Cabinet on Sunday approved entry permits for yet more foreign workers – in this case, Arabs from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, who will be working in construction inside Israel.

Some 3,000 more PA Arabs will be allowed to work in Israel, with a total of 27,500 PA Arabs to be employed in the Israeli building industry. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| November 9, 2012
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Moscow tells all concerned, keep Palestinians out of Syria’s fighting

Russia ‘deeply concerned’ about attempts by both sides in Syria to enlist & arm Palestinian refugees

By Reuters

 

Russia is “deeply concerned” by reports that each side in the Syrian conflict is enlisting and arming Palestinian refugees and said on Friday they should be kept out of the fighting.

Syria fighting – Photo: AFP

Syria hosts more than 500,000 Palestinian refugees, according to United Nations figures.

“We call for the participants of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic to show restraint and do all possible for Palestinian refugees not to be dragged into the Syrian confrontation and for places of their residence not to become objects of hostility,” the Foreign Ministry said. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 4, 2012
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Sudan’s 2nd VP: We will support Hamas despite Israeli ‘aggression’

Pledge by Sudanese Vice president comes 10 days after Khartoum accused Israel of bombing its Yarmouk arms factory.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF

 

KHARTOUM – Sudan will not stop supporting Palestinian group Hamas despite Israeli “aggression,” a senior Sudanese official said on Sunday, less than two weeks after Khartoum accused Israel of bombing an arms plant in the Sudanese capital.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir - Photo: REUTERS

Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir – Photo: REUTERS

Israel accuses Sudan of channeling weapons from Iran to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, via Egypt’s Sinai desert. Sudan denies the charge but often expresses sympathy for Hamas.

A blast at Khartoum’s Yarmouk arms factory last month drew new attention to the accusations after Sudan said an Israeli air strike was behind the explosion.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 3, 2012
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Senior Israeli defense official: Egypt’s Morsi refuses to talk to us

Amos Gilad described Morsi’s gov’t as a ‘terrible dictatorship.
Israel must safeguard the peace treaty with Egypt ‘at any cost.’

By

 

Senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad came out against the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt on Friday, describing it as a “terrible dictatorship,” and saying President Mohammed Morsi’s regime “won’t talk” to Israel.

Supporters of Mohammed Morsi celebrate his election as president of Egypt

Supporters of Mohammed Morsi celebrate his election as president of Egypt, June 2012 – Photo by Reuters

Speaking to students at an event in the Israeli city of Herzliya, Gilad said that “out of a desire for democracy, a terrible dictatorship has arisen” in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood came to power after elections earlier this year. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| October 31, 2012
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Hollande & Netanyahu call for tougher sanctions on Iran

Israel’s PM meets with French president in Paris where Hollande backs more EU sanctions on Tehran, urges ‘unconditional’ resumption of peace talks but rejects possible military action.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Francois Hollande called Wednesday for firmer sanctions on Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.

France's President Francois Hollande and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - Reuters.

France’s President Francois Hollande, left, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending a joint news conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, October 31, 2012. – Photo by Reuters

In a visit to Paris on Wednesday, Netanyahu praised French pressure on Iran and called for “even tougher sanctions.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| October 30, 2012
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Yair Lapid says in Ariel address, he won’t join cabinet that stalls peace talks with PA

Yesh Atid party head Yair Lapid, attacks Netanyahu for saying Palestinians were not a ‘partner’ for peace & says Israel must retain control of an undivided Jerusalem.

By Revital Hovel

 

The Yesh Atid party won’t join a government that continues to avoid resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, party head Yair Lapid said in a speech at the Ariel University Center of Samaria on Tuesday.

Yair Lapid speaking in Beit Shemesh

Yair Lapid speaking in Beit Shemesh, Oct. 28, 2012. – Photo by Olivier Fitoussi

Lapid’s comments and criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies came a day after Netanyahu’s Likud party voted to approve a merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, finalizing the move first announced by the two party leaders last week. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| October 28, 2012
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Palestinian officials report: Abbas advancing his bid for UN recognition

Despite continued pressure from both  Israel & the US, Mahmoud Abbas is expected to ask the UN General Assembly to approve request for “nonmember state” status this November.

Palestinian officials say Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is moving forward with his plan to seek upgraded observer status at the United Nations next month, despite American and Israeli threats of financial or diplomatic retaliation.

Abbas at the UN General Assembly

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters. – Photo by AP

One official said Abbas is expected to ask the UN General Assembly to approve a Palestinian request for “nonmember state” status on November 15 or November 29. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
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