west bank

Israel Notifies UN of Intention to Cut UNRWA Ties

Israel said Monday it had formally notified the United Nations of its decision to sever ties with UNRWA, the agency supporting Palestinian refugees, after lawmakers voted to ban the organisation. "On the instruction of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the ministry of foreign affairs notified the UN of the cancellation of the agreement between the ...

West Bank Camp Fears Future After UNRWA Office Raid

Residents of the Nour Shams camp in the occupied West Bank are fearful for their future after an Israeli raid this week damaged the UN agency for Palestinian refugees office there. The 13,000 inhabitants of the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem depend heavily on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ...

‘Nobody Cares About Us’: US Election Doubts in the West Bank

As Palestinian-American entrepreneur Jamal Zaglul stood by his olive press at the end of harvest season in the occupied West Bank, his mind was far away on next week's US election. Like other US passport holders living in Turmus Aya -- where they form the majority -- he was sceptical the ballot would bring change to the region. "Here we have ...

International Outcry as Israel Bans UNRWA

Israel's parliament on Monday approved a bill banning the main UN aid agency for the war-devastated Gaza Strip, sparking international outcry. Despite objections from the United States and warnings from the UN Security Council, Israeli lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the bill banning the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, ...

Palestinian Man Killed in Attempted Knife Attack on Israeli Soldiers in West Bank

A Palestinian man was killed on Sunday as he tried to attack soldiers with a knife during an “anti-terrorist” operation in Hizma, north of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army announced. The man, whose identity was not given, “accelerated in his car towards soldiers who were carrying out an anti-terrorist operation in the ...

Hamas Militant Killed in Israeli Army Raid on West Bank

The Israeli military said its forces killed a Palestinian militant who belonged to Hamas's armed wing during a raid on Saturday in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem. In a joint statement, the Israeli military, police and domestic security agency Shin Bet said that they conducted a "counterterrorism operation in Tulkarem to ...

Who Could Succeed Yahya Sinwar at the Helm of Hamas?

Israel's announcement on Thursday of the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and a significant figure within the organization, marks a pivotal moment following over a year of a devastating conflict in Gaza. With Yahya Sinwar's passing, several names have surfaced as potential successors within the Hamas leadership. These leaders have ...

European Mediterranean States Discuss Middle East, Migration

Leaders from nine European countries around the Mediterranean Sea met in Cyprus on Friday to discuss the wars in the Middle East, which they fear will fuel migration and threaten their own security. Heads of state or government from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia and Croatia were joined by the king of Jordan, ...

Israel Claims to Have Killed Top Islamic Jihad Commander

Israel's Army said on Friday that it had killed Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad's top commander for the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The military said Mohammad Abdullah was "eliminated" on Thursday after Israeli aircraft struck the camp in Tulkarem. An additional "terrorist" was killed in the operation, which ...

Turkey Buries Activist Shot in West Bank

Mourners gathered in southwest Turkey on Saturday for the funeral of a US-Turkish activist, who was shot dead while protesting Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The killing last week of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has sparked international condemnation and infuriated Turkey, further escalating tensions over the war in Gaza that began with ...

Borrell to Propose Sanctioning Israeli Officials over 'Violent Settlers'

The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said Friday he would propose sanctions against Israeli government "enablers" of Jewish settler violence, following a deadly attack on a village in the occupied West Bank. "Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger ...

US Criticizes Israeli Settlement Plans in West Bank

The United States criticized on Thursday the Israeli authorities' approval of a plan to build a new settlement in the occupied West Bank on land designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the plan on Wednesday, openly stating that Israel aimed to create elements to "combat the dangerous project ...