https://www.scmp.com/rss/518133/feed The latest news on Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian politician and President of the State of Palestine, including political news and updates. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Israel will begin a contentious land regulation process in a large part of the occupied West Bank, which could result in Israel gaining control over wide swathes of the area for future development, according to a government decision on Sunday. It paves the way for the resumption of “settlement of land title” processes, which had been frozen in the West Bank since the Mideast War in 1967. It means that when Israel begins the land registration process for a certain area, anyone with a claim to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343652/israel-will-begin-contentious-west-bank-land-registration-new-step-deepen-control?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343652/israel-will-begin-contentious-west-bank-land-registration-new-step-deepen-control?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 18:26:15 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang Israel’s ambassador to China has hailed the historical connections between the two countries and called for closer socioeconomic ties in a rare column for Chinese state media. Eli Belotserkovsky’s signed Chinese-language article for state news agency Xinhua comes amid global conversation over the Board of Peace, US President Donald Trump’s newly created body to tackle the Palestinian issue. The Jewish and Chinese civilisations had amassed rich historical wisdom and knowledge over millennia,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342002/israels-china-envoy-calls-deepen-historical-ties-rare-state-media-outreach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342002/israels-china-envoy-calls-deepen-historical-ties-rare-state-media-outreach?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:29:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts globally and overseeing governance and reconstruction in Gaza, the Kremlin said on Monday. Moscow for years tried to balance relations with all major players in the Middle East – including Israel and the Palestinians. But since the Israel-Gaza war and Russia’s assault on Ukraine, Putin has moved away from Israel, boosting ties with its foes like Iran. Moscow has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3340456/putin-invited-trumps-board-peace-gaza-and-global-conflict-kremlin-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3340456/putin-invited-trumps-board-peace-gaza-and-global-conflict-kremlin-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:31:45 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Egypt is training hundreds of Palestinian police officers with an eye towards integrating them into a post-war security force in Gaza, according to a Palestinian official. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced the plan to train 5,000 officers for Gaza during talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in August. A first group of more than 500 officers was trained in Cairo in March and since September, the two-month courses have resumed to welcome hundreds more people, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334653/egypt-trains-hundreds-palestinian-officers-police-post-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334653/egypt-trains-hundreds-palestinian-officers-police-post-war-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 03:52:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turns 90 on Saturday, still holding authoritarian power in tiny pockets of the West Bank, but marginalised and weakened by Israel, deeply unpopular among Palestinians, and struggling for a say in a post-war Gaza Strip. The world’s second-oldest serving president – after Cameroon’s 92-year-old Paul Biya – Abbas has been in office for 20 years, and for nearly the entire time has failed to hold elections. His weakness has left Palestinians leaderless, critics... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332932/weakened-israel-palestinian-leader-mahmoud-abbas-90-struggles-role-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332932/weakened-israel-palestinian-leader-mahmoud-abbas-90-struggles-role-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 11:10:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters From regulating the price of chicken to levying fees on cigarettes, Hamas is seeking to widen control over Gaza as US plans for its future slowly take shape, Gazans say, adding to rivals’ doubts over whether it will cede authority as promised. After a ceasefire began last month, Hamas swiftly reestablished its hold over areas from which Israel withdrew, killing dozens of Palestinians it accused of collaborating with Israel, theft or other crimes. Foreign powers demand the group disarm and leave... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332867/hamas-tightens-grip-gaza-trump-plan-faces-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332867/hamas-tightens-grip-gaza-trump-plan-faces-hurdles?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:39:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Aid trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday as Israel prepared to reopen the Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of deceased hostages nearly undermined a fragile ceasefire with Hamas. The crossing between Egypt and Gaza is expected to reopen on Thursday, with an EU mission set to deploy. Sources did not specify any restrictions for crossing, and the Israeli military had not responded to requests for comment. Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329150/aid-resumes-gaza-rafah-crossing-set-reopen-after-hostage-body-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329150/aid-resumes-gaza-rafah-crossing-set-reopen-after-hostage-body-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 12:55:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners. Trump made a lightning visit to Israel, where he lauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to parliament, before flying to Egypt for a Gaza summit where he and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed the declaration on Monday as guarantors to the ceasefire... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328871/trump-hails-tremendous-day-middle-east-leaders-sign-gaza-declaration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328871/trump-hails-tremendous-day-middle-east-leaders-sign-gaza-declaration?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:39:36 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Palestinian Authority (PA) expects a significant role in post-war Gaza, even though President Donald Trump’s plan sidelines it for now, and is banking on Arab support to secure its position despite Israeli objections, Palestinian officials say. Gaza’s future governance has moved into focus with a ceasefire due to begin on Thursday, the first step in Trump’s bid to end two years of war. The next phase of the deal must tackle thorny issues, including demands that the Islamist militant group... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328430/palestinian-authority-eyes-post-war-gaza-role-banking-arab-support-defy-trump-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328430/palestinian-authority-eyes-post-war-gaza-role-banking-arab-support-defy-trump-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:00:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly on Friday that Israel “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza, giving a defiant UN speech despite growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war in Gaza. He spoke after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the UN General Assembly hall en masse on Friday as he prepared to speak. As the Israeli leader spoke, unintelligible shouts echoed around the hall, while applause rang out... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327048/israels-netanyahu-faces-un-walkout-vows-finish-job-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327048/israels-netanyahu-faces-un-walkout-vows-finish-job-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 14:08:06 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Speaking over video after the United States revoked his visa, the Palestinian leader told world leaders on Thursday that his people reject the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip after the war ends and must hand over its weapons to his administration. Said Mahmoud Abbas to his people: “The dawn of freedom will emerge.” Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326890/palestine-president-un-no-room-hamas-post-war-gaza-calls-israeli-war-genocide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326890/palestine-president-un-no-room-hamas-post-war-gaza-calls-israeli-war-genocide?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:33:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters France recognised a Palestinian state at a United Nations summit in New York on Monday, nearly two years into the war in Gaza, joining Western allies such as Britain and Canada who made the same historic move on Sunday and were rebuked by Israel. While the announcement at the event convened by France and Saudi Arabia could boost the morale of Palestinians in their long search for statehood, it was not expected to deliver change on the ground. The most far-right government in Israel’s history has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326448/france-joins-other-western-nations-recognising-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3326448/france-joins-other-western-nations-recognising-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:57:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Trump administration has barred Iranian diplomats based in or visiting New York from shopping at wholesale club shops such as Costco and buying luxury goods in the United States without specific permission from the State Department. In notices to be published this week in the Federal Register, the department’s Office of Foreign Missions determined that diplomatic memberships in wholesale club shops, as well as diplomats’ ability to buy items such as watches, furs, jewellery, handbags,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326444/us-bars-irans-diplomats-shopping-costco-without-government-permission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326444/us-bars-irans-diplomats-shopping-costco-without-government-permission?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 17:41:30 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back the “New York Declaration”, a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine – without the involvement of Hamas. The text was adopted by 142 votes in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons. Although Israel has criticised UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325396/un-general-assembly-votes-hamas-free-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325396/un-general-assembly-votes-hamas-free-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:51:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Belgium will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Tuesday, adding to international pressure on Israel after similar moves by Australia, Britain, Canada and France. Under mounting global criticism for its war in Gaza, Israel has been angered by the pledges to formally recognise a Palestinian state at a summit during this month’s UN event. Belgium will join the signatories of the New York Declaration, paving the way for a two-state... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324011/belgium-recognise-palestinian-state-adding-global-pressure-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324011/belgium-recognise-palestinian-state-adding-global-pressure-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 05:24:02 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Palestinian president’s office on Saturday urged the US government to reverse its unusual decision to revoke his visa, weeks before he was meant to appear at the UN’s main annual meeting and an international conference about creating a Palestinian state. The 27-nation European Union asked the Trump administration to reconsider the move, which drew broad criticism. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rescinded the visas of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials ahead of next... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323792/palestinian-presidents-office-urges-us-reinstate-his-visa-ahead-un-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323792/palestinian-presidents-office-urges-us-reinstate-his-visa-ahead-un-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 22:12:27 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France will recognise Palestine as a state, in a bold diplomatic move amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Israel denounced the decision. Macron said in a post on social media that he will formalise the decision at the UN General Assembly in September. “The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved,” he wrote. The mostly symbolic move puts added diplomatic pressure on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319511/france-will-recognise-palestine-state-macron-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319511/france-will-recognise-palestine-state-macron-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jul 2025 20:14:29 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Gaza rescuers said at least 80 people were killed in Israeli bombardment across the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to US envoy Steve Witkoff about the release of hostages. Negotiations for the release of the captives held in Gaza have been ongoing, with the latest talks taking place in the Qatari capital Doha, where US President Donald Trump was visiting on Wednesday. Netanyahu’s office said the premier had discussed with Witkoff and his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3310395/gaza-rescuers-say-80-killed-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3310395/gaza-rescuers-say-80-killed-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 May 2025 02:23:45 +0000 Canada will halt all arms shipments to Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s office confirmed on Wednesday, a decision that has drawn the ire of Israeli leaders facing growing international scrutiny over the war in the Gaza Strip. The besieged Palestinian territory is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis, and months of war have pushed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the brink of famine. Canada, a key ally of the United States, which provides Israel with billions of dollars a year in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3256150/canada-confirms-it-will-halt-arms-shipments-israel-amid-gaza-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3256150/canada-confirms-it-will-halt-arms-shipments-israel-amid-gaza-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Mar 2024 22:05:32 +0000 The leader of the US Senate called for Israel to hold new elections in the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. The rebuke from Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history, came amid increased pressure from President Joe Biden over the mounting death toll in the conflict, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants. “As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3255439/us-senate-leader-chuck-schumer-calls-new-election-israel-calls-netanyahu-obstacle-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3255439/us-senate-leader-chuck-schumer-calls-new-election-israel-calls-netanyahu-obstacle-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 17:22:05 +0000 Israel boycotted Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt on Sunday after Hamas rejected its demand for a complete list naming hostages who are still alive, an Israeli newspaper reported. A Hamas delegation arrived in the capital Cairo for the talks, billed as a possible final hurdle before an agreement that would halt the fighting for six weeks. But by early evening there was no sign of the Israelis. “There is no Israeli delegation in Cairo,” Ynet, the online version of Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253965/israel-gaza-ceasefire-talks-resume-cairo-egyptian-insiders-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253965/israel-gaza-ceasefire-talks-resume-cairo-egyptian-insiders-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2024 17:39:15 +0000 The prime minister of the Palestinian Territories, Mohammad Shtayyeh, resigned in Ramallah on Monday, saying the latest developments in the region, including the Israel-Gaza war, are behind the move. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas reportedly requested the resignation following pressure from Arab countries in the region and the United States, according to a report by broadcaster Watan TV, which cited government officials. There had been reports of his resignation for some time. The move is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253254/palestinian-territories-prime-minister-shtayyeh-resigns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253254/palestinian-territories-prime-minister-shtayyeh-resigns?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:17:40 +0000 As Israel prepares for a new ground incursion into Rafah, the southern Gaza border city where more than a million people are trapped, close to 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, with over one-third of those infants or children. A ceasefire and the two-state solution, which China has persevered with despite Israel’s rejection, are seen as largely unattainable by Palestinians. They want Beijing to be more precise and forceful in its support for their liberation, as they say it has become... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3252973/palestinians-call-china-step-pressure-israel-they-seek-end-collective-punishment-gazans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3252973/palestinians-call-china-step-pressure-israel-they-seek-end-collective-punishment-gazans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Feb 2024 22:00:25 +0000 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a “day after” plan for Gaza, his first official proposal for when the war in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory ends. According to the document, presented to members of Israel’s security cabinet on Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday, Israel would maintain security control over all land west of Jordan, including the occupied West Bank and Gaza – territories where the Palestinians want to create an independent state. In the long-term... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253013/israels-netanyahu-presents-first-official-day-after-plan-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3253013/israels-netanyahu-presents-first-official-day-after-plan-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Feb 2024 10:33:25 +0000 Two Palestinian men, including a member of an armed group, were killed on Sunday in an Israeli raid, while a third was shot at a checkpoint, in the latest violence in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian health ministry said the two, aged 19 and 36, were pronounced dead from gunshot wounds after the raid in the Tulkarm refugee camp, which the United Nations says houses more than 27,000 Palestinian refugees. They were identified as Nabil Amer, 19, and Mohammed Al-Awfi, 36. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3252359/israeli-forces-kill-3-palestinians-including-member-armed-group-west-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3252359/israeli-forces-kill-3-palestinians-including-member-armed-group-west-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 21:30:49 +0000 Israel vowed on Wednesday to press on with a “powerful” operation in war-torn Gaza’s Rafah, even as calls mounted for it to hold off sending troops into the territory’s overcrowded far-southern city. “We will fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Hebrew statement on Telegram. His pledge came as negotiations to pause the Israel-Gaza war... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251988/israel-vows-press-ahead-powerful-rafah-operation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251988/israel-vows-press-ahead-powerful-rafah-operation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:13:20 +0000 The threat of an Israeli incursion into Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah persisted on Sunday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising “safe passage” to civilians displaced there. In an interview airing on Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated his intention to extend Israel’s military operation to the city. Despite international alarm over the potential for carnage in a city crammed with more than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people, Netanyahu told ABC News: “We’re going to do... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251662/israel-will-send-troops-rafah-netanyahu-says-promising-safe-passage-civilians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251662/israel-will-send-troops-rafah-netanyahu-says-promising-safe-passage-civilians?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Feb 2024 05:54:40 +0000 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s military on Friday to draw up a dual plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians from the crowded southern Gazan city of Rafah and to defeat the last Hamas fighters there. His office announced the move as pressure mounted on Israel over its threat to launch a ground assault on Rafah, the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are trapped in the city after fleeing fighting elsewhere. US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251601/israel-pm-netanyahu-orders-military-plan-evacuate-rafah-and-defeat-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251601/israel-pm-netanyahu-orders-military-plan-evacuate-rafah-and-defeat-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Feb 2024 18:33:02 +0000 Israeli air strikes killed at least 13 people overnight into Thursday in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ ceasefire terms and said he would expand the offensive into the southern Gaza town. Rafah is the main entry point for humanitarian aid and more than half of Gaza’s population has fled there seeking refuge. Egypt has said any operation there or mass displacement across the border would undermine its four-decade-old peace treaty with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251316/israel-gaza-war-netanyahu-rejects-hamas-ceasefire-demands-vows-fight-until-absolute-victory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3251316/israel-gaza-war-netanyahu-rejects-hamas-ceasefire-demands-vows-fight-until-absolute-victory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Feb 2024 18:17:00 +0000 It’s that dreaded G-word again. Given the dangerous state of the world, but especially in Palestine, where do you think “the greatest persecution of Muslims at the hands of non-Muslims since at least the Yugoslav wars is taking place”? In the parallel universe of the US news media, it’s China, of course! “The silent genocide of Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang is the greatest persecution of Muslims at the hands of non-Muslims since at least the Yugoslav wars,” so thundered, last... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249246/look-whos-committing-genocide-according-american-media?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249246/look-whos-committing-genocide-according-american-media?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jan 2024 13:00:16 +0000 Israel bombarded southern Gaza on Friday after it publicly sparred with its main ally the United States over the possibility of a Palestinian state, the creation of which Washington sees as the only pathway to a lasting peace. Witnesses reported gunfire and air strikes early on Friday in Khan Yunis, the main city in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israel says many members and leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported “intense”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3249057/israel-bombs-gaza-disagreements-us-simmer-over-palestinian-statehood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3249057/israel-bombs-gaza-disagreements-us-simmer-over-palestinian-statehood?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jan 2024 07:31:27 +0000 Sunday marked 100 days that Israel and Hamas have been at war. The war already is the longest and deadliest between Israel and the Palestinians since Israel’s establishment in 1948, and the fighting shows no signs of ending. Israel declared war in response to Hamas’ unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7 in which the Islamic militant group killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. It was the deadliest attack in Israel’s history and the deadliest for Jews... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3248452/100-days-how-has-israel-gaza-war-transformed-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3248452/100-days-how-has-israel-gaza-war-transformed-region?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jan 2024 06:11:12 +0000 The Israeli army kept bombing the Gaza Strip and fighting Hamas militants on Wednesday as US top diplomat Antony Blinken told Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday that Washington supports “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state. The military said it killed dozens of “terrorists” and hit another 150 targets in Hamas-run Gaza, where the health ministry said 147 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours. Blinken reiterated Washington’s long-standing position... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3247979/blinken-tells-abbas-us-backs-tangible-steps-palestinian-state-after-urging-israel-spare-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3247979/blinken-tells-abbas-us-backs-tangible-steps-palestinian-state-after-urging-israel-spare-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jan 2024 12:18:57 +0000 Deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri had long expected the Israeli drone strike that security sources said killed him in Beirut on Tuesday, three months after his group’s surprise cross-border assault that triggered a devastating war in Gaza. “I am waiting for martyrdom and think that I lived too long,” he said in August, as he urged Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to take up arms amid a surge of violence. His killing comes at a defining moment for the organisation, as Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3247094/israel-gaza-war-hamas-deputy-leader-saleh-al-arouri-was-key-player-until-death-beirut-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3247094/israel-gaza-war-hamas-deputy-leader-saleh-al-arouri-was-key-player-until-death-beirut-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jan 2024 03:34:47 +0000 One of the senior figures in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition called for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom”. The comments by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has been excluded from the war cabinet and discussions of day-after arrangements in Gaza, appear to underscore fears in much of the Arab world that Israel wants to drive Palestinians out of land where they want to build... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3246861/israeli-minister-repeats-call-palestinians-leave-gaza-making-way-settlers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3246861/israeli-minister-repeats-call-palestinians-leave-gaza-making-way-settlers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jan 2024 05:20:10 +0000 More details have emerged about the shooting deaths of three Israeli hostages at the hands of the nation’s military during fighting in the Gaza Strip, inflaming criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu for not doing enough to free captives held by Hamas. Protests started on Friday night outside the nation’s military headquarters, and a major demonstration is planned for Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. The prime minister is taking heat for what’s been termed inaction on securing a new prisoner exchange... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245338/israels-netanyahu-faces-protests-more-hostage-death-details-emerge-what-cabinet-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245338/israels-netanyahu-faces-protests-more-hostage-death-details-emerge-what-cabinet-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Dec 2023 14:30:35 +0000 Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah served as Kuwait’s emir for just three years but spent decades in top posts through the House of Sabah’s tumultuous rule of the oil-rich state. Sheikh Nawaf, who died on Saturday aged 86, was defence minister when Iraq invaded in 1990, setting off a war that drew in armies from around the world to end the occupation. He was interior minister when Kuwaiti security forces battled Islamist militants in January 2005. Despite the episodes that have deeply marked... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245327/kuwaits-former-defence-minister-sheikh-nawaf-al-ahmad-al-sabah-dies-86?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245327/kuwaits-former-defence-minister-sheikh-nawaf-al-ahmad-al-sabah-dies-86?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Dec 2023 10:55:35 +0000 The US and Israel have discussed a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months, an envoy said on Friday, amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll in Gaza. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the besieged enclave’s post-war future, which, according to a senior US official, could include bringing back Palestinian security... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245292/us-israel-discuss-when-scale-back-gaza-combat-agree-fight-will-take-months-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3245292/us-israel-discuss-when-scale-back-gaza-combat-agree-fight-will-take-months-envoy-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 15:54:15 +0000 With no end in sight to the Israel-Gaza war, a tiny Gulf nation has become the unlikely broker of peace following its success in mediating an earlier eight-day ceasefire and hostage exchange deal. Qatar’s actions – notable for succeeding where the world’s superpowers could not – have put the country back in the spotlight a year after it staged a successful Fifa World Cup. In 2020, Qatar also made global headlines when it hosted the signing of a peace agreement between the United States and the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244449/how-did-qatar-emerge-worlds-top-peace-broker-it-began-1995-palace-coup-over-lng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244449/how-did-qatar-emerge-worlds-top-peace-broker-it-began-1995-palace-coup-over-lng?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Dec 2023 01:30:15 +0000 Gazans sought refuge in bombed-out hospitals as Israel vowed to “press harder” in its war with Hamas on Saturday, a day after the United States blocked a ceasefire bid at the United Nations. Meanwhile, the Biden administration said on Saturday it has bypassed Congress to approve the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than US$106 million. The move comes as US President Joe Biden’s request for a nearly US$106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3244522/israel-vows-press-harder-gaza-after-us-blocks-un-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3244522/israel-vows-press-harder-gaza-after-us-blocks-un-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Dec 2023 20:34:43 +0000 The United States took its first punitive measure against Israelis on Tuesday to prevent a feared Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, following a United Nations report detailing spiralling acts of violence against Palestinian civilians there by Israeli security forces and illegal settlers often acting in collusion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would refuse visas to anyone involved in “undermining peace, security or stability in the West Bank” or who takes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244068/israeli-army-settlers-slammed-over-west-bank-violence-amid-fears-new-palestinian-intifada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244068/israeli-army-settlers-slammed-over-west-bank-violence-amid-fears-new-palestinian-intifada?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:30:20 +0000 Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged Israel to create safe zones for Palestinian civilians in Gaza before it resumes “major military operations” in the Hamas-ruled territory. Speaking on the seventh day of a pause in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, Blinken also called for a further extension of the truce which included hostage and prisoner swaps and aid deliveries into the besieged Gaza Strip. “Clearly, we want to see this process continue... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3243435/blinken-urges-israel-create-safe-zones-gaza-when-fighting-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3243435/blinken-urges-israel-create-safe-zones-gaza-when-fighting-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2023 22:41:35 +0000 A new group of Israeli hostages were set to be freed on Tuesday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as Israel and Hamas embarked on a two-day extension of a truce that has paused the devastating Gaza war. The temporary cessation of hostilities and releases of captives were hailed as a glimpse of hope after seven weeks of conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said that 10... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3243151/israel-gaza-war-more-captives-be-freed-israel-hamas-truce-extended-matter-time-war-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3243151/israel-gaza-war-more-captives-be-freed-israel-hamas-truce-extended-matter-time-war-resumes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:07:30 +0000 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday denounced on a visit to the Gaza Strip border what he called the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, drawing an angry response from Israel which said the remarks gave terrorism a boost. While at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sanchez also called for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza “to reverse the catastrophic situation that the people of the Strip are going through.” “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242791/spains-sanchez-visits-gaza-strip-border-decries-indiscriminate-killing-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242791/spains-sanchez-visits-gaza-strip-border-decries-indiscriminate-killing-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 01:23:51 +0000 Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighbourhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by air strikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells. Nearly 1 million Palestinians have fled the north, including its urban centre, Gaza City, as ground combat intensified. When the war ends, any relief will quickly be overshadowed by dread as displaced families... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242654/when-battles-gaza-stop-many-fear-it-will-remain-uninhabitable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242654/when-battles-gaza-stop-many-fear-it-will-remain-uninhabitable?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2023 02:27:19 +0000 Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas started a four-day truce on Friday with the first batch of hostages to be released later in the day. What are the details of the deal? Under the Israel-Hamas deal, the two sides agreed to a four-day truce so that 50 women and children under the age of 19 taken hostage could be freed in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers in Israeli detention. The 50 hostages, among about 240 taken by Hamas in their October 7 raid on Israel, are expected to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242652/israel-gaza-war-what-are-details-truce-hostage-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3242652/israel-gaza-war-what-are-details-truce-hostage-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2023 01:55:18 +0000 History is back-to-front for those who seek to justify Hamas’ terrorism. The restrictions on Gaza did not give rise to the violence; it was violence that made the restrictions necessary in the first place. Some might seek to justify Hamas’ brutality as a response to the lack of progress in negotiating a political solution between Israel and the Palestinians. However, the 1988 Hamas charter calls for the total annihilation of the state of Israel and instead establishing a fundamentalist Islamic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241744/israel-gaza-war-dont-rewrite-past-and-ignore-hamas-brutality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241744/israel-gaza-war-dont-rewrite-past-and-ignore-hamas-brutality?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Nov 2023 08:30:16 +0000 Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries called on Saturday for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, rejecting Israel’s justification of its actions against Palestinians as self-defence. The extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh urged the International Criminal Court to investigate “war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing” in the Palestinian territories, according to a final communique. Saudi Arabia has sought to press the United States and Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3241216/arab-muslim-leaders-slam-israel-saudi-hosted-summit-seek-swift-end-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3241216/arab-muslim-leaders-slam-israel-saudi-hosted-summit-seek-swift-end-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Nov 2023 14:37:40 +0000 Palestinians should govern Gaza once Israel ends its war against Hamas, the United States said on Wednesday, pushing back against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s idea that Israel would be responsible for security indefinitely. Hamas gunmen from Gaza burst through the border to Israel on October 7 and killed 1,400 people, Israel says. Now a month later, Washington has begun discussing with Israeli and Arab leaders a future for the Gaza Strip without Hamas rule. While a plan has yet to emerge,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3240860/palestinians-should-govern-post-war-gaza-us-tells-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3240860/palestinians-should-govern-post-war-gaza-us-tells-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Nov 2023 02:39:43 +0000 The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,000 including 4,104 children since the start of Israeli strikes on October 7, the enclave’s health authorities said on Monday. Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the past 24 hours, Israel’s military said. Gaza’s health ministry said the latest attacks killed dozens of people, bringing the overall total to 10,022 Palestinians. A journalist in the Gaza Strip described the overnight... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3240547/israel-gaza-war-palestinian-death-toll-nears-10000-un-leaders-say-enough-enough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3240547/israel-gaza-war-palestinian-death-toll-nears-10000-un-leaders-say-enough-enough?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Nov 2023 12:59:14 +0000