Palestine

Why is Al-Aqsa mosque, raided by Israeli police, so important for Jews, Christians and Muslims?

West Bank shooting attack casts shadow over Israel-Palestinian talks

Israeli and Palestinian officials were meeting on Sunday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in a bid to ease tensions between the sides and rein in a spiral of violence ahead of a sensitive holiday period beginning this week. But as the talks continued, Israeli officials said two people were wounded, one seriously, in a West Bank shooting attack that immediately raised questions about the prospects for the new talks. The meeting was the second attempt by the sides, shepherded by regional allies Egypt and Jordan as well as the US, to end a year-long spasm of violence that has seen more than 200 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners killed in Palestinian attacks. Whatever progress emerged out of the previous meeting in Jordan late last month, which ended with pledges to de-escalate tensions, was quickly derailed when a new burst of violence erupted on the same day. A Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israelis in the occupied West

Israel says Palestinian militants fired rockets after raid

The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed. The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus. The Israeli military said Aar defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas ..

UN Council approves watered-down statement opposing Israel settlements

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a watered-down statement strongly opposing Israel's continued construction and expansion of settlements. The vote came after high-stakes negotiations by the Biden administration succeeded in derailing a legally binding resolution that would have demanded a halt to Israeli settlement activity. The Palestinian-backed draft resolution was the subject of frantic talks by senior Biden administration officials including Secretary of States Antony Blinken with Palestinian, Israeli and United Arab Emirates leaders. Those discussions culminated in a deal Sunday to forego it in favour of a weaker presidential statement that is not legally binding, according to multiple diplomats familiar with the situation. The deal averted a potential diplomatic crisis, with the US almost certainly vetoing the resolution, which would have angered Palestinian supporters at a time when the US and its Western allies are trying to gain international support against

Palestine urges CIA chief to pressure Israel to stop unilateral measures

The CIA chief arrived in Israel on Thursday amid growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

Palestine retaliation: Israeli forces on high alert around West Bank, Gaza

Netanyahu said in a statement that his country "is not interested in an escalation"

Nations express 'deep concern' at Israeli punitive measure on Palestine

More than 90 countries have expressed deep concern at Israel's punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society following a UN request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. In a statement released Monday by the Palestinians, the signatories called for a reversal of the Israeli measures, saying regardless of their position on the General Assembly's resolution, we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice. The 193-member General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on December 30 in favour of the resolution which was promoted by the Palestinians and opposed vehemently by Israel. Even though rulings by the International Court of Justice are not legally binding, they can be influential on world opinion. Israel's new hardline government responded on January 6, approving steps to ..

New Israeli govt takes punitive steps against Palestinian leadership

In some of its first acts since coming to power, Israel's new Security Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinian leadership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Friday. According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, the move is in retaliation for Palestinians pushing the U.N.'s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation. The development underscores the hard-line approach to the Palestinians that Israel's new ultranationalist government has promised at a time of rising violence in the occupied territories. It comes a week after the United Nations General Assembly voted to approve a resolution requesting that the International Court of Justice intervene and render an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel's Security Cabinet described the Palestinian Authority's request to the U.N. as a decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel. "The .

Palestinian authorities hail UN vote on Israeli occupation of territory

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, on Saturday said, "the vote is evidence of the whole world standing by our people and their inalienable historical rights"

Palestinian car-ramming in Tel Aviv deemed 'terror attack', says police

Police in Israel have determined a recent car-ramming attack carried out by a Palestinian driver in Tel Aviv that injured a motorcyclist a "terrorist attack"

Palestine slams US pressure over updating companies in Israeli settlements

The UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was enacted in 2016, deemed these Israeli settlements illegal and urged an immediate end to them in the Palestinian territories

Israel deploys remote-controlled robotic guns, stun grenades in West Bank

In two volatile spots in the occupied West Bank, Israel has installed robotic weapons that can fire tear gas, stun grenades and sponge-tipped bullets at Palestinian protesters. The weapons, perched over a crowded Palestinian refugee camp and in a flashpoint West Bank city, use artificial intelligence to track targets. Israel says the technology saves lives both Israeli and Palestinian. But critics see another step toward a dystopian reality in which Israel fine-tunes its open-ended occupation of the Palestinians while keeping its soldiers out of harm's way. The new weapon comes at a time of heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank, where unrest has risen sharply during what has been the deadliest year since 2006. The victory by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line alliance, which includes an extreme right-wing party with close ties to the settler movement, has raised concerns of more violence. Twin turrets, each equipped with a watchful lens and a gun barrel, .

Palestinian kills 3 Israelis, wounds 3 in West Bank stabbing

A knife-wielding Palestinian killed two Israelis in a stabbing Tuesday at a settlement in the occupied West Bank, then stole a car as he tried to flee the scene and crashed it on a nearby highway, killing a third Israeli, officials said. The attack at the settlement of Ariel also left three Israelis wounded. The Palestinian was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier as he tried to run away from the crash scene. The Zaka paramedic service said the three wounded were being treated in hospital and that they were in serious condition. It was the latest attack in a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence this year that has seen Palestinian attackers target Israeli civilians and near nightly Israeli arrest raids that have fuelled unrest in the occupied territory. The Israeli military said the Palestinian first stabbed several Israelis at the entrance to the settlement's industrial zone, then proceeded to a nearby gas station and stabbed more people there. The army said the man then stole a c

India donates $2.5 mn for education, healthcare of Palestinian refugees

India presented a cheque of USD 2.5 million, the second tranche of the pledged USD 5 million annual support, to a UN agency on Monday that will go directly to serve the schools, health centres and other basic services run by the organisation to support Palestinian refugees. India has given USD 22.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2018. UNRWA is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. "The Government of India presented USD 2.5 million (second tranche of a total contribution of USD 5 million for the Financial Year 2022-2023) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in support of the Agency's core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services," the Representative Office of India (ROI) in Ramallah said in a statement. "The financial contribution was presented to Ms. Xuran Wu, .

Palestinian assailant wounds 2 Israelis in shooting in Jerusalem

A Palestinian assailant opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in east Jerusalem seriously wounding two people late Saturday, Israeli authorities said, hours after a pair of Palestinian teenagers were killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. It was the latest bloodshed in the deadliest round of fighting in the area in seven years. It also came less than 24 hours before Israel was to begin celebrating the weeklong Sukkot holiday, a time when tens of thousands of Jews visit the holy city. Saturday night's shooting occurred at a checkpoint near the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem. Police said the assailant opened fire, wounding a female soldier and a security guard. Israeli rescue services said the woman was in critical condition and the man was in serious condition. A third Israeli was lightly wounded. Police said they were searching for the attacker, with special forces and a helicopter involved in the search. Our hearts tonight are with the ..

Two Palestinians killed in Israel during military raid in West Bank

Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians on Saturday in an exchange of fire that erupted during a military raid in the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian accounts, in the latest confrontation that has made 2022 the deadliest year of violence in the occupied territory since 2015. The raid occurred in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the site of repeated clashes between Israeli forces and local gunmen and residents. The camp is known as a stronghold of Palestinian militants and the army often operates there. Palestinian officials said soldiers entered the camp early Saturday and surrounded a house. In videos circulated on social media, exchanges of fire could be heard. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported two dead and 11 wounded, three of them critically. The official Wafa news agency said both of the dead were 17-year-old boys. The Israeli military said it had arrested a 25-year-old operative from the Islamic Jihad militant group who has ...

European Union urges Israel, Palestine to defuse West Bank tension

The European Union (EU) is exerting efforts to defuse the escalating tension between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, an official announced

Israeli minister orders expulsion of Palestinian attacker's family members

Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has ordered the expulsion of families of a Palestinian man who carried out an attack five years ago in East Jerusalem

Israel restricts movement to Palestinian territories during Jewish holidays

The Israeli military announced that it will close all the checkpoints and crossings connecting the country and the West Bank during the upcoming Jewish holidays

Arab aid to UN Palestinian refugee agency continues to decline: Official

The annual Arab financial aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) had declined to 3 per cent of UNRWA's budget in 2022, a UN advisor said