Category: 2. Middle East

King Mohammed VI has sent a message of congratulations to Abdelilah Benkirane after he was re-elected as secretary-general of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) during the party’s ninth national congress.

In his letter, the king expressed his good wishes to Benkirane, commending the renewed trust placed in him and encouraging him to continue his leadership with a strong sense of responsibility. The monarch also urged the party to play a constructive role…

The Mayor of the city of Haifa in northern Israel has banned a Palestinian singer from performing in municipal events after she described the city as being in Palestine.

On Saturday, 31-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel, Lina Makoul, advertised on her Instagram account her performance at the Fattoush Bar in downtown Haifa, referring to the city as “Haifa, PAL [Palestine]”.

Her invitation was condemned by some figures on Hebrew social media, such as…

A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet fell into the Red Sea after sliding off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman during a towing operation, the Navy has confirmed.

In an official statement, the Navy said: “The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard.”

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it…

The Israeli occupation forces demolished three Palestinian homes in different areas of the occupied West Bank on Tuesday morning on the pretext of unlicensed construction, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

According to local sources, bulldozers escorted by Israeli soldiers demolished a two-storey house and a water well belonging to Hashem Ibrahim in Al-Zuwaidin village in Masafer Yatta, south of Al-Khalil. A family of 13 was living in the…

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ended his first official visit to the US on Tuesday amid chants of “Free Palestine” by demonstrators inside the Capitol building in Washington. A video circulating on social media showed several supporters of Palestinians chanting “Free Palestine” directly at Ben-Gvir during his visit to the US Congress.

Ben-Gvir arrived in the US last week for his first visit since joining the government of…

A Syria war monitor on Tuesday said nine people including six Druze fighters were killed in sectarian clashes near Damascus, as authorities blamed “gunmen” and vowed to pursue those involved.

The overnight clashes, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, were met with condemnation from leaders of the Druze religious minority.

The violence follows sectarian massacres last month in the Alawite coastal heartland that were the worst bloodshed since…

Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Israel of committing a “live-streamed genocide” by forcibly displacing most Gazans and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe — allegations Israel dismissed as “blatant lies”.

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, warned Israel’s blockade on aid had become a “silent killer” in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, with children and the sick suffering the most.

In its annual report, Amnesty said Israel was acting with “specific…

Rights group Amnesty International Tuesday accused Israel of committing a “live-streamed genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, warned Israel’s blockade on aid had become a “silent killer” in Gaza, with children and the sick suffering the most.

In its annual report, Amnesty said Israel was acting with “specific intent to destroy Palestinians in…

Entire families, including women and children, “are being killed at horrific rates” in Gaza, Euro-Med Monitor warned yesterday, adding that 94 per cent of Palestinians killed between 20-26 April were civilians.

“These horrific crimes are no longer the exception to the rule; rather, the recurring pattern of such atrocities demonstrates a systematic Israeli policy defying all international laws and norms,” Euro-Med added.

“In just one week—between 20…