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In Brief: Israeli foreign minister urges PA to return to negotiating table

Posted 7 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Israel’s foreign minister urged the Palestinians to “return to the negotiating table” this week. Gabi Ashkenazi was speaking after his historic first meeting with the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Berlin on Tuesday. “Only through direct negotiations can we advance a solution for the conflict,” Ashkenazi, a member of…

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In Brief: Two-thirds of Israelis disapprove of Netanyahu’s handling of covid crisis

Posted 7 October, 2020 in Analysis, Israeli Politics
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Sixty-five percent of Israelis believe Benjamin Netanyahu is responding poorly to the coronavirus crisis, a poll released this week shows. The Channel 12 News survey found only 31 percent of Israelis approve of the prime minister’s handling of the crisis, which has seen the country forced into a…

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In Brief: Peacebuilding work necessary, not just nice, says ALLMEP report

Posted 7 October, 2020 in Analysis, Coexistence, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
The services that peacebuilding organisations provide for their communities are not just nice – they are necessary, a new report from the Alliance for Middle East Peace says this week. The study, A Resilient Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding Sector in the Face of the Coronavirus Pandemic, looks at the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on civic society…

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Analysis: Who might succeed Mahmoud Abbas?

Posted 29 September, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Photo: Montaser.pal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons In his virtual address to the UN General Assembly last week, Mahmoud Abbas predictably denounced the historic normalisation agreements signed earlier this month by Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. But the president also announced new elections – the first for over 14 years – will take place…

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In Brief: LFI chair welcomes normalisation agreement in parliamentary debate

Posted 29 September, 2020 in Analysis, Coexistence, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Steve McCabe has welcomed the normalisation agreements signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain earlier this month. In a parliamentary debate last week, LFI’s chair also urged the government to restore funding to peace-building coexistence projects. “I hope other countries in the region will follow [the UAE…

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In Brief: AJC joins calls for Iran Olympics ban following wrestler’s execution

Posted 29 September, 2020 in Analysis, Iran
T he American Jewish Committee has joined growing calls for Iran to barred from next year’s Olympics following the execution of champion wrestler Navid Afkari earlier this month. The 27-year-old was convicted of “insulting the supreme leader” and “waging war against God” after he participated in anti-government protests two years ago. Iranian authorities also tortured him…

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In Brief: Hamas threatens Palestinian peace activists with long jail terms

Posted 29 September, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Peace process
Image: Orthuberra, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Hamas is threatening to jail three Palestinian peace activists for holding a video call with Israelis in April. The activists, who belong to the Gaza Youth Committee, were charged by Palestinian military prosecutors last week with “weakening revolutionary spirit” for participating in a peace-building initiative called “Skype With…

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Analysis: After the Abraham Accords – what next for the Palestinians?

Posted 22 September, 2020 in Analysis, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Peace process
Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons In their steadfast opposition to the historic agreement signed last week between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have found a rare common cause. Earlier this month, President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a meeting in Ramallah which brought together all 14 major…

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In Brief: Bulgarian court sentences two to life for 2012 Hezbollah terror attack

Posted 22 September, 2020 in Analysis, Hezbollah
Burgas Airport. Photo: Christian Rasmussen, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons A Bulgarian court this week sentenced two men to life imprisonment for a 2012 bus bombing in which five Israeli tourists were murdered and more than 35 injured. The driver of the bus also died in the attack. The two men, both of Lebanese origin,…

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In Brief: US and Europe tangle over reimposition over Iran sanctions

Posted 22 September, 2020 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The United States and European countries, including Britain, are at loggerheads over efforts by the Trump administration to reimpose all sanctions on Iran lifted after the 2015 nuclear deal. The so-called “snapback” clause in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was triggered when the…

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