Category: 2. Middle East

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Two resolutions that would have blocked arms sales to Israel in response to civilian casualties in Gaza were blocked in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, although they garnered more support than similar measures earlier this year.

The two resolutions were introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent aligned with Democrats. They failed by 73 to 24 and 70 to 27 in the 100-member chamber in voting late on Wednesday night.

Similar measures, also…

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that he had discussed the crisis in Gaza with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, and reiterated his government’s strong support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

Starmer this week said Britain was prepared to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly in response to growing public anger over the images of starving children in Gaza.

Australia has not yet…

Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel.

Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing Canadian goal that was “being eroded before our eyes.”

“Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in…

The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a shipping empire controlled by the son of a top political advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions were being imposed on companies and vessels operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who has been subject to US sanctions since 2020.

It said Hossein operates a fleet of more than 50 tankers and container ships that transport Iranian and Russian oil and…

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada intends to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday.

Carney told reporters that the planned move was predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to reforms, including commitments to fundamentally reform its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire Wednesday on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in the north of the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident north of Gaza City, as the United Nations said that pauses in Israel’s offensive against Hamas were not enough to help the population through a deepening hunger crisis.

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that four days into Israel’s “tactical…

Within sight of Gaza, the devastated Palestinian enclave ravaged by nearly 22 months of war, hundreds of Israeli settlers marched Wednesday to stake their claim to the battered territory.

Waving Israeli flags alongside the orange banners of Gush Katif — a bloc of settlements dismantled in 2005 — the marchers went from the town of Sderot to the Asaf Siboni observation point, overlooking the ruins of Beit Hanun.

Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza 20 years ago ended 38 years of military presence….

By Gram Slattery and Ryan Patrick Jones

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on Wednesday on over 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, in a sign the Trump administration is doubling down on its “maximum pressure” campaign after bombing Tehran’s key nuclear sites in June.

The sanctions broadly target the shipping interests of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who is himself an adviser to Supreme Leader Supreme Leader…

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said agreed on Wednesday to deepen collaboration across energy, technology, defence and security, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

During talks in London where the leaders also discussed the ongoing UK-Gulf Cooperation Council trade negotiations, the leaders called for urgent humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, saying the current situation “cannot continue.”

“The Prime Minister updated His Majesty on…

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Momentum seems to be building for more countries to recognize a Palestinian state in Israeli-occupied territory after France said last week it would do so in September. Britain said Tuesday it would follow suit at the U.N. General Assembly unless Israel had taken steps to ease the Gaza crisis and bring about peace.

The Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, where the delegation is officially known as…