A resounding message from Bethlehem: End the occupation
Sami Abu Shehadeh
Middle East Eye / December 26, 2020
Palestinians have the right to enjoy a future of peace based upon justice, tolerance and respect.
The political developments that have taken place in 2020 should be carefully understood and grasped in order to make 2021 a better year for all.
The Trump...
COVID in besieged Gaza: ‘A blockade inside a blockade’
Maram Humaid
Al-Jazeera / December 26, 2020
With infections surging, COVID-19 has exacerbated the Palestinian enclave’s already dire living conditions in 2020.
Eight years ago, the United Nations warned that the Gaza Strip would not be a “liveable place” by 2020, urging Israel to lift its years-long blockade against the...
A country in turmoil: why Netanyahu is a symptom, not cause of Israel’s political...
Ramzy Baroud
The Palestine Chronicle / December 27, 2020
It is convenient to surmise that Israel’s current political crisis is consistent with the country’s unfailing trajectory of short-lived governments and fractious ruling coalitions. While this view is somewhat defensible, it is also hasty.
Israel is currently at the cusp of...
[tribalism] Jewish non-profit played significant role in Trump pardons: Report
MEE Staff
Middle East Eye / December 25, 2020
Aleph Institute, which focuses on Jewish prisoners' rights, advocated for at least five of Trump's 24 presidential pardons, including three that were announced this week.
A Jewish non-profit organisation focusing on prisoners' rights played a significant role in President Donald Trump's...
Netanyahu speaks with Morocco’s king, invites him to Israel
Al-Jazeera / December 25, 2020
While welcoming the renewal of ties, King Mohammed VI said his country’s position on Palestine remains unchanged.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI have held a telephone conversation during which the Israeli premier invited the king for a visit, Netanyahu’s...
Changing of the two-state guard
Maureen Clare Murphy
The Electronic Intifada / December 24, 2020
The Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov gave his final briefing to the UN Security Council as the secretary-general’s Middle East peace envoy this week.
Mladenov closed out his six-year tenure with a bleak update on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2334.
That resolution, adopted...
Israel supports German proposal [read: Israeli demand] for agreement, includes Iran’s ballistic missile programmes
Middle East Monitor / December 25, 2020
Israel's Ambassador to Berlin Jeremy Issacharoff confirmed on Thursday that Israel had welcomed Germany's proposal to expand the nuclear deal, including the Iranian ballistic missile programmes, that will be discussed following the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden next month.
Issacharoff told Agence...
Morocco foreign minister: ‘Normalisation talks with Israel started in 2018’
Middle East Monitor / December 25, 2020
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita revealed information about the peace agreement between his country and Israel during an interview with Israeli channel i24 News.
Bourita stated that the normalisation talks with Israel started in 2018, and that the key player in supporting...
Gaza suffers $1.5bn losses from siege, Covid this year
Middle East Monitor / December 24, 2020
Gaza's economy has suffered a loss of $1.5 billion dollars this year, announced the head of Gaza's National Committee for Breaking the Siege.
Palestinian politician Jamal al-Khudari stressed in a statement published today that this year was the most dangerous due to Israel's ongoing...
Christmas gets cancelled in Gaza
Amjad Ayman Yaghi
The Electronic Intifada / December 24, 2020
Like every year, Christians in Gaza feel their isolation most acutely over the festive period.
A nearly decade and a half old Israeli blockade has often left the small community in Gaza bereft during the holidays.
But this year is still...
