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…
Representatives of arch-enemies Fatah and Hamas are meeting this week in Cairo for a second round of talks aimed at allowing elections in the West Bank and Gaza to go ahead this summer. Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) called the elections – the first for 15 years – in January but his Read more…
Campaigning in Israel’s general election is entering its final week, with polls indicating there will be no end to the deadlock which has paralysed the country’s politics for the past two years. Nonetheless, with “Bibi fatigue” apparently affecting some sections of the electorate, Benjamin Netanyahu’s long domination of the political Read more…
The Biden administration targeted two Revolutionary Guard interrogators as it imposed its first set of sanctions on Iran this week. The secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, announced that two men – Ali Hemmatian and Masoud Safdari – would be banned from entering the United States. The State Department cited their Read more…
Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, appears to be floundering in his bid for re-election after three rounds of voting in a highly secret ballot on Tuesday produced no clear winner. Sinwar has held the post since 2017, making him the defacto ruler of the coastal enclave. The Read more…
The vast majority of Israelis think this month’s general election will not end the political deadlock which has gripped the country for the last two years, according to a new poll. The survey from the Israel Democracy Institute showed only 29 percent of voters expect the 23 March election will Read more…
Israel delivered its five millionth vaccine jab on Monday as the country began a significant easing of covid-19 restrictions ahead of this month’s general election. This week also saw the official start of a programme to vaccinate 120,000 Palestinians who work in Israel. The Jewish state continues to lead the Read more…
On Wednesday 3 March LFI chair Steve McCabe MP and LFI chair in the Lords Baroness Ramsay addressed the Zionist Federation’s annual lobby day for Israel. This year’s lobby day focussed on the UN’s bias against Israel with many speakers urging the UK government to do more to tackle Read more…
A series of decrees issued by Mahmoud Abbas has raised hopes that Palestinians will get to vote in their first elections in 15 years this spring. On Monday, the Palestinian president (pictured) released a decree establishing an elections court which, it is planned, will arbitrate disputes between Abbas’ Fatah party, Read more…
The Palestinian Authority announced a 12-day tightening of the West Bank’s coronavirus restrictions on Saturday, but also said a $10m batch of vaccine doses would be arriving this week. The new measures will see the closure of nurseries and schools as well as an earlier start to the nighttime curfew. Read more…
Britain, France and Germany are planning to use a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency this week to censure Iran for attempting to curtail inspections of its nuclear sites. The news comes as the Islamic republic on Sunday rejected a European offer to host an informal meeting involving the Read more…
Israel votes in its fourth general election in under two years later this month – with the latest polls suggesting Benjamin Netanyahu’s long premiership may be drawing to a close. But Israel’s longest-serving prime minister may get a reprieve thanks to the divided and ideologically diverse nature of the opposition Read more…