US secretary of state sparked outcry when he said country risked becoming an 'apartheid' state without a peace deal The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has apologised for warning that Israel risked becoming an "apartheid state" if it did not reach a peace deal with the Palestinians, following a barrage of criticism in America. In a statement, Kerry hit back at what he described as "partisan...
It is believed to be the first time a US official of Kerry's standing has used the term 'apartheid' in the context of Israel The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has warned in a closed-door meeting that Israel risks becoming an "apartheid state" if US-sponsored efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement fail. In an apparent sign of Kerry's deep frustration over the almost...
Recent decisions reflect a desire to punish the Israelis for, as Mr Abbas sees it with some justification, negotiating in bad faith Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is tired, disappointed and angry. For years it has been his chosen task to present the acceptable face of Palestinian nationalism to the world. He was among the first members of Fatah to call, in 1977, for talks with Israelis....
Palestinian president reaches out to Israeli public opinion with US-backed peace deal on the verge of collapse The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has called the Holocaust "the most heinous crime" of modern history and expressed his sympathy for the victims a rare acknowledgment by an Arab leader of Jewish suffering during the Nazi genocide. Abbas's comments appeared, in part, aimed...
It may not bring a new government, nor help with peace negotiations, but the Fatah-Hamas pact is a break with the past Will the new Palestinian accord lead to a unity government, after the seven-year cold war between Fatah and Hamas? There is an aura of scepticism around a deal that differs in no respect from previous, failed agreements. However, the pact was signed in the presence of Mustafa Barghouti,...
President says 'we haven't seen the political will to actually make tough decisions' and holds out little hope for US-brokered deal Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the collapse of the US-led Middle East peace process, the latest in a line of diplomatic setbacks to overshadow his trip to Japan and South Korea. Speaking at the end of a bruising week for White House foreign policy, the president...
Sydney academic Jake Lynch says judges decision a blow to legal centre Shurat HaDins aim of outlawing BDS in Australia A racial discrimination lawsuit against Sydney academic Jake Lynch over his support for a boycott of Israel has been partly struck out by a federal court judge. Judge Alan Robertson made the order to strike out part of the statement of claim against Lynch on Thursday in Sydney, giving...
Professional Israeli women's football club Hapoel Petha Tikva has recruited five Arab women after losing players to the Israeli national team. Arab players are rare throughout the rest of the Israeli Women's Premier League, but Hapoel Petha Tikva already has an Arab captain, 26-year-old Noura Abu-Shanab. The founder of the club says Israeli and Arab footballers are happy to be playing together Continue...
Unanimous decision by security cabinet appears to end nine-month peace initiative led by John Kerry and the US The Israeli government says it has decided to halt peace talks with the Palestinians in response to a new unity agreement between rival Palestinian factions . The decision appears to end a nine-month peace initiative by the US secretary of state, John Kerry. The negotiating period is scheduled...
The ever-looming spectre of 'Them' distracts us from the deeper, systemic causes of the Crisis of Civilisation Yesterday morning, Tony Blair - former Prime Minister and current Middle East envoy for the UN, US, EU and Russia - delivered one of the most Orwellian speeches of his career at Bloomberg London HQ, on the subject of 'Why the Middle East matters': "When we consider the defining challenges...
My posting yesterday, "New York Times obeys Israeli gag order over journalist's arrest" , mentioned the fact that journalists working in Israel are expected to sign a censorship document in order to obtain a press card. It reminded one of my former Daily Mirror colleagues, Gordon Hay , of his experiences in Tel Aviv during the 1991 Gulf War when Iraq launched missile attacks on Israel. Here...
His reflections are as thoughtful, and thought provoking, as of old. But there is a new strain: wisdom Slowly and carefully, Tony Blair is re-entering the foreign policy debate in Britain. Or, more correctly, he is trying to get a mature debate going. His speech today at Bloomberg "Why the Middle East matters" was reflective, not didactic, and signalled a nuanced approach to the complex set...
Move announced at joint news conference by both sides has aim of forming unity government within five weeks The two main rival Palestinian factions have signed an accord designed to end seven years of sometimes violent division, paving the way for elections later in the year and the formation of a unity government within weeks. The move, after a day of talks between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza that lasted...
International commentary focuses on former prime minister's credibility on the subject as much as the subject itself Tony Blair's speech seeking to rally global support for a confrontation with Islamic extremism generated a storm of reaction , most of it negative and much of it focusing on the messenger rather than the message. The director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding , Chris Doyle,...
New book tackles intriguing question of whether the leader of the notorious Stern Gang was really shot 'while trying to escape', Ian Black writes In the ever-controversial history of Palestine, a special place is reserved for Avraham Stern. The leader of the eponymous "gang" its Hebrew name meant "Fighters for the Freedom of Israel" was shot and killed in February 1942 after masterminding...
Stark warning follows reports Palestinian president may disband Palestinian Authority if talks end by 29 April without extension The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, has warned in explicit terms that Israel will have to reassume responsibility for the Palestinian areas including providing basic services for some 2.5 million people if the US-sponsored peace talks finally collapse in a week's time....
The New York Times did not report that a young Palestinian journalist had been arrested in Israel because it obeyed a gagging order issued by an Israeli court. The paper's delayed publication of the story about the detention of Majd Kayyal (see below) was revealed by its public editor, Margaret Sullivan. "Israelis who visit an Arab country in fulfilment of their journalistic duties, or to meet...
Justices will consider the challenge to a rule about whether Americans born in Jerusalem may list Israel as their birthplace Confronting an issue fraught with Middle East politics, the supreme court has agreed to hear for the second time a passport dispute centering on whether Americans born in Jerusalem may list their place of birth as Israel. The court said Monday it will review a lower court ruling...
Those who support the US whistleblower should back his Israeli predecessor in his bid for a new life abroad Ten years ago today, a man emerged from prison to be greeted by a crowd of his supporters embracing him with carnations and a crowd of his enemies drawing their fingers across their throats. He had served 18 years in prison, 11 of them in solitary confinement. The man was Mordechai Vanunu , the...
Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank say police restrictions on access to the Old City to stop overcrowding are destroying their traditional freedom of worship in Holy Week The limestone stairs of the Nuns' Ascent are glassy-slick from the countless feet that have polished them. Descending steeply, they emerge by the Chapel Sanctuaries of the Flagellation and Condemnation on the Via Dolorosa, the...