Category: 2. Middle East

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s policy toward Egypt, warning that the ongoing hostility toward Cairo undermines the chances of peace between the two countries.

Lapid said the Prime Minister’s Office’s repeated statements regarding allegations of Qatari funding, and the ongoing campaign against Egypt, could undermine the peace agreement between the two countries.

He also warned that…

More than 1.5 million pilgrims have gathered in Saudi Arabia today to stand at Arafat, participating in the most sacred ritual of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that more than 1.5 million pilgrims from outside the Kingdom entered the country this year to perform the Hajj.

Ghassan Al-Nuwaimi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, did not provide details of how many Saudi nationals are also taking part in the…

A number of civil society organisations have called for Israeli companies to be barred from participating in the upcoming Paris Air Show, scheduled from 16-22 June, citing Israel’s involvement in “widespread international crimes” in Gaza.

The appeal was made during a summary hearing at the Bobigny court in the Paris region where lawyers representing groups including Attac-France, Stop Fuelling War, Survie, the Palestinian human rights NGO Al-Haq, and the…

Israel’s broadcasting authority has reported that the country’s security establishment has decided not to allow the Freedom Flotilla ship, Madleen, to approach or dock off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The decision comes in line with the longstanding naval blockade imposed on the territory for nearly two decades.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, French physician Baptiste André, one of the activists on board, said the Israeli decision “was not surprising,” adding:…

A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of “Great Satan” to cheer on their team.

The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil.

Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12…

A security source in the Palestinian resistance said the security services are closely monitoring the movements of “mercenary” groups operating with direct support from the Israeli occupation forces and stationed in areas under its control east of Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip.

A circular published yesterday on the Al-Hares security platform indicated that these groups are engaged in activities that serve the Israeli occupation’s objectives,…

US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban that comes into effect on Monday targeting 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term.

Trump said on Wednesday the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.

The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad,…

The United States’ use of the veto at the UN Security Council reflects Washington’s blind support for the Israeli occupation and its crimes against humanity in Gaza, Hamas has said.

In a statement received by Quds Press yesterday evening, Hamas added that “America’s position gives a green light to war criminal Netanyahu to continue his brutal genocide against innocent civilians in Gaza.”

The movement strongly condemned what it described as the US…

Iraq’s Oil Ministry said today it holds the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country, Reuters reports.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut…

The US yesterday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.

The draft resolution expressed “grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation, including the risk of famine,” and stressed all parties’ obligations to abide by international humanitarian and human rights law.

Slovenia proposed the draft resolution on behalf of the Security Council’s ten…