Hanan Ashrawi, who rose to international fame when she headed the Palestinian delegation to the landmark 1991 Madrid peace talks, has reportedly resigned from the PLO’s Executive Committee. Ashrawi is thought to have quit in protest at the decision of the Palestinian Authority to resume civilian and security coordination with Read more…
The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal after the country’s parliament voted to block international inspectors and increase uranium enrichment. The parliamentary vote followed the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the alleged mastermind of Iran’s military nuclear programme, last week. Tehran has Read more…
The Palestinian Authority appears to be engaged in a potentially significant repositioning exercise ahead of Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House. The moves by Ramallah are reviving hopes that, with a new administration in Washington committed to a two-state solution, the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process might be revived. In Read more…
Joe Biden’s desire for the US to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – from which Donald Trump withdrew two years ago – is simply stated but fiendishly complicated in practice. In September, the president-elect outlined his position in an article for CNN: “I will offer Tehran a credible Read more…
Nearly half of Israelis want Joe Biden to restart the stalled Middle East peace process and launch negotiations with the Palestinians when he takes office in January, a poll published this week found. The survey – carried out by the dovish Geneva Initiative – shows that 49 percent of Israelis Read more…
The West Bank saw a record increase in new coronavirus cases this week amid fears that the pandemic is spiralling out of control in the Palestinian territories. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, the West Bank saw 1,126 new cases yesterday. The previous record, set only a day before, Read more…
LFI vice-chair Catherine McKinnell has written to Middle East minister James Cleverely following last week’s parliamentary debate calling for the UK to back an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Ms McKinnell’s debate is part of a long-running LFI campaign to secure greater support from the British government for peace-building work Read more…
On Tuesday November 17th LFI hosted a parliamentary briefing with John Lyndon, Executive Director of ALLMEP, the Alliance for Middle East Peace. ALLMEP is a coalition of over 125 organisations—and tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis—building people-to-people cooperation, coexistence, equality, shared society, mutual understanding, and peace among their communities. Read more…
LFI vice-chair Catherine McKinnell led a debate in parliament today calling for the British government to support the establishment of an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace. The debate is part of a long-running campaign by LFI – ‘For Israel, For Palestine, For Peace’ – to back the fund, which would Read more…
Hamas has been recruiting minors to carry out terrorist attacks, Israeli security forces have said. Two Palestinian minors, including a 16-year-old, were arrested last month after Hamas recruited them over the internet, Shin Bet has revealed. They have now been indicted by the Juvenile Military Court. The two minors were to Read more…
Rifts within Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party appear to be deepening as the crisis over Israel’s budget deepens and new elections loom. If no budget is passed by late December the government will automatically dissolve. Benjamin Netanyahu is widely suspected to be stalling on the budget in order to call Read more…
Saeb Erekat, who helped negotiate the Oslo Accords, died yesterday of covid-19. He passed away at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Centre, to which he had been transferred last month after testing positive for the illness. Erekat, who was 65, underwent a lung transplant three years ago and doctors said treating him was Read more…