The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan experienced an uncharacteristic episode of instability over the weekend, as a public rift between King Abdullah II and his younger half-brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, became public. What happened In videos passed to the BBC on Saturday, Prince Hamzah claimed to have been placed “under house arrest” Read more…
The rollout of covid-19 vaccinations in the West Bank and Gaza received a boost on Monday as the Palestinian Authority received 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from the Chinese government. The elderly, frontline medical staff and at-risk groups will be proritised, the PA says. This brings the PA’s total Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel chair Steve McCabe and Conservative Friends of Israel chair Stephen Crabb have written a joint op-ed in today’s Times Red Box, calling on the government to “seize the moment” at the G7 summit in Cornwall later this year by committing to an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian Read more…
A week after Israel’s fourth election in two years, negotiations to build a coalition government have begun. Of the 13 parties represented in the new Knesset, all have previously ruled out coalitions with at least one other party. Should all keep their promises, it will be impossible for a government Read more…
Iran and China signed a major 25-year economic and military partnership agreement at the weekend which could boost the Islamic republic’s sanctions-wracked economy by $400bn. The move comes as Tehran continues to resist efforts by the Biden administration to revive the 2015 nuclear deal which Donald Trump withdrew from three Read more…
Israel’s success in rolling out covid-19 vaccinations has continued this week, with more than 100,000 West Bank Palestinians who work in Israel receiving their first dose so far in March. All Palestinians in East Jerusalem are likewise entitled to be vaccinated by Israel, while a further 2,000 vaccine doses have Read more…
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer held a phone call with Merav Michaeli, leader of Israel’s Labor Party, last weekend. Days before Israelis went to the polls for the fourth time in two years, Starmer wished Michaeli – elected to lead Labour in January 2021 – luck in the upcoming elections. Read more…
The unclear results of Israel’s general election this week appear to be mirrored within the Palestinian Authority, according to polling conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research. Should elections go ahead in May, the polling found that both Fatah, the party of PA president Mahmoud Abbas, and Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu’s future as prime minister hangs in the balance after Israeli voters delivered another deadlocked election this week. Analysts predict that the country may be returning to the polls – for the fifth time since April 2019 – later this summer. What happened Overall, 57 percent of Israelis voted Read more…
Labour Friends of Israel vice-chair Rosie Cooper MP has written for LabourList. Click here to read the original. UK Labour can learn from the example of Merav Michaeli, new leader of Israel’s Labor Party The challenges facing Israel’s Labor Party will sound all too familiar to all of us; at successive Read more…
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have announced the establishment of a new $10bn investment fund aimed at boosting regional economic cooperation between the two countries. The fund builds on last summer’s Abraham Accords, which saw the Jewish state establish diplomatic relations with the UAE and Bahrain for the first Read more…
Anthony Blinken last week used his first appearance before a congressional committee since being confirmed as the new US secretary of state to adopt a tough line on Iran. America’s top diplomat (pictured) said the Biden administration did not intend to make any initial “concessions” to Tehran to encourage it Read more…