west bank

Saudi FM Says Blocking of West Bank Delegation Shows Israeli Rejection of Peace Process

Israel's blocking of a visit by Arab diplomats to the occupied West Bank showed its "rejection of... a diplomatic path to peace," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday. Ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, along with the Arab League chief, had planned a trip to the Palestinian territory, but Israel said ...

Israel Won't Cooperate with Arab Ministers Visiting West Bank

Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom's top diplomat was heading to Ramallah. Israel controls the Palestinian territory's borders and airspace, meaning its approval would be needed for the diplomats to ...

Saudi FM to Make Landmark Visit to the West Bank

Prince Faisal bin Farhan will become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the occupied West Bank on Sunday, a diplomatic source told AFP, as the Gaza war drags on and Riyadh pushes for Palestinian statehood. The top Saudi diplomat will head a delegation to Ramallah, a Palestinian embassy source said, the first such trip since Israel first ...

Israel Announces Creation of 22 Settlements in West Bank

Israel announced on Thursday the creation of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, risking further strain on relations with the international community already taxed by the war in Gaza. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as one of the main ...

Israel Reconfigures Northern Border Defenses

Six months after the November 2024 ceasefire with Lebanon, Israel is adjusting its military deployment along the northern frontier, signaling a shift toward a more routine defensive posture. According to Israeli military radio, the Israeli Army Northern Command has reassigned control of the Lebanese border to the 91st Division, also known as the ...

Israel's West Bank Land Registration Serves 'Annexation'

An Israeli rights group denounced Monday a government decision to launch extensive land registration for parts of the occupied West Bank, saying it could help advance annexation of the Palestinian territory. "It is a tool for annexation," said Yonatan Mizrachi of the Settlement Watch project at Israeli nongovernmental organization Peace Now. The ...

EU Announces 1.6 bn Euros in New Aid for Palestinians

The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion). The fresh aid pledge came just ahead of a meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa and EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. "We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian ...

Palestinians in East Jerusalem, West Bank Strike to Demand End to Gaza War

Shuttered storefronts lined empty streets in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Monday, as Palestinians held a general strike demanding an end to the Gaza war. "I walked through the city today and couldn't find a single place that was open," Fadi Saadi, a shopkeeper in Bethlehem, told AFP. Shops, schools, and most ...

Minister Says Israel 'Here to Stay' in Occupied West Bank

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel was "here to stay" during a tour of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, defending Israeli settlements in the territory despite their illegality under international law. Both Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who accompanied him, denounced what they called "illegal" construction by ...

Israel Approves New Bypass Road in Occupied West Bank

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Sunday announced the approval of a road project in the occupied West Bank that would separate traffic for Palestinians and Israelis near the Maale Adumim settlement. "The security cabinet approved last night Defense Minister Israel Katz's proposal for the construction... of a new road network ...