Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Israel this week in the latest sign of improving relations between the Jewish state and Turkey. One of the key issues on the agenda is likely to be energy cooperation, following the discovery of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean in the last decade. Read more…
The Biden administration is reportedly brokering a deal to transfer two Red Sea islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia that could include steps to normalise Saudi-Israeli ties. The treaty would return control of Tiran and Sanafir, which have been leased by Egypt since the 1950s, to Saudi Arabia. The demilitarised Read more…
Steps to a two state solution: For Israel, for Palestine, for peace Step Twenty: Support free elections in the West Bank and Gaza In 2005, Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian National Authority with a four-year term. The election, which Abbas won by a landslide, was observed by Read more…
Elections held in Lebanon last weekend appear to have dealt a blow to the biggest bloc, led by the Iran-backed Shia terrorist group Hezbollah, according to provisional results. Meanwhile, reformists appeared to have been boosted in the provisional results. Turnout was low in the Sunday elections, the first since Lebanon Read more…
Palestinians marked “Nakba Day” on Sunday – an annual commemoration of the “catastrophe” of the establishment of the State of Israel – amid high tensions following weeks of clashes at the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa compound and the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh last Wednesday. What happened Thousands Read more…
Steps to a two state solution: For Israel, for Palestine, for peace Step Nineteen: Pressure Egypt to permanently open the Rafah crossing The Rafah Crossing represents a crucial route to the outside world for the people of Gaza and is the only pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Egypt. (The tightly Read more…
Israeli president Isaac Herzog called the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, UAE and Bahrain at the weekend to wish them a happy Eid al-Fitr, his office said in a statement. He spoke with PA president Mahmoud Abbas, UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al Nahyan and Bahraini king Hamad Read more…
Steps to a two state solution: For Israel, for Palestine, for peace Step Eighteen: Oppose unilateral actions by either side The sole route to a viable, sustainable two-state solution is through a settlement resulting from direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While Israel was right to withdraw from Read more…
At FCDO Orals today, LFI parliamentary supporters Wayne David MP and Mary Glindon MP both challenged the Foreign Secretary on the government’s lack of action to ensure a place for the UK on the board of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. Both Wayne and Mary expressed their frustration at Read more…
Steps to a two state solution: For Israel, for Palestine, for peace Step Seventeen: International action to curb Iran’s malign activities While the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed to rollback Iran’s nuclear programme, it did nothing to address Tehran’s destabilising activities in the region: its expansionist aims, Read more…
The European Parliament’s budgetary control committee has passed a motion condemning the Palestinian Authority for printing new school textbooks containing violent and hateful anti-Israel material using European funding. The EU funds the salaries of the Palestinian Authority-employed civil servants who write and produce the textbooks. The motion effectively freezes EU Read more…
Last week’s series of terror attacks against Israel and the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan have collided to raise tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank this week. What happened Following the start of Ramadan last week, Jerusalem’s Old City has seen minor clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, Read more…