TheRepublic.com - Palestinian territories News

AP Interview: Peres, at 90, still going strong

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:19:57 -0400

JERUSALEM - As Shimon Peres turns 90, the indefatigable Israeli president is doing what he has always done: looking ahead, preparing for the next challenge and believing that he will see Middle East peace in his lifetime.

Israel police hunt for vandals that hit Arab town

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:53:04 -0400

JERUSALEM - Israeli police have launched an investigation to find perpetrators who vandalized cars and sprayed hate graffiti in an Arab town near Jerusalem.

Hamas urges former ally Hezbollah to leave Syria

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:19:33 -0400

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday urged Lebanon's Hezbollah militia to withdraw its fighters from Syria and accused it of stoking sectarian tensions, leveling unprecedented public criticism against a former ally.

Gaza suffers drop in foreign aid over Syrian war

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:04:23 -0400

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A refugee from Syria recently opened a bakery here, drawing long lines of customers eager to taste meat and cheese pastries with the special flavors of Damascus - a rare bright spot in the long shadow that the Syrian civil war is casting over the Gaza Strip.

Exhibit glorifies Palestinian suicide bombers

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:41:56 -0400

PARIS - A state-funded museum in Paris is causing outrage among France's Jewish community for staging a photo exhibition that calls Palestinian suicide bombers "martyrs."

AP Interview: Bleak outlook for West Bank economy

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:53:47 -0400

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinians this week replaced one internationally respected, U.S.-trained economist with another in hopes of solving long-running problems in the West Bank, including a drop in foreign aid, a crippling budget deficit and Israeli development restrictions.

Limits on Palestinians living with Israeli spouses

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:51:30 -0400

BARTAA, Israel - When Israeli Arabs search for a spouse, they don't just worry about looks, job prospects or future in-laws. They must think about whether their partner will be allowed to live with them.

Boulder rejects West Bank town as sister city

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:35:20 -0400

BOULDER, Colorado - Officials have rejected a proposal to name Nablus, a town on the West Bank, as Boulder's eighth sister city after opponents said it would be an inappropriate partnership due to human rights issues under the Palestinian Authority.

Embattled UN investigator says he won't step aside

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:44:12 -0400

GENEVA - A United Nations special investigator said Tuesday his reputation is being smeared and he won't resign, despite calls for his ouster over provocative remarks about terrorism, the United States and Israeli policy.

AP Interview: Wieseltier fears for Israel's future

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:55:36 -0400

TEL AVIV, Israel - Leon Wieseltier has long maintained a close relationship with the state of Israel. But the Jewish-American author now fears the country's survival may be in jeopardy - and says much of the blame lies with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Abbas swears in academic, political newbie as PM

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:52:27 -0400

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a new government headed by a politically inexperienced academic in what is seen as an attempt by Abbas to consolidate power.

Officials: Kerry returning to Mideast next week

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:41:35 -0400

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry is returning to the Middle East next week in another bid to revitalize peace hopes, officials said Monday, with the contours of a package possibly emerging to lure Israel and the Palestinians back into direct negotiations.

Spain, England, Germany the pick at U21 Euros

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:02:52 -0400

TEL AVIV, Israel - Spain, England and Germany will be among the favorites when the Under 21 European Championship kicks off Wednesday against the backdrop of a campaign to protest Israel's selection as host.

Conjoined twins with shared heart can't be split

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:26:08 -0400

HEBRON, West Bank - Conjoined Palestinian twins with a shared heart and other vital organs returned home to the West Bank Monday after Israeli doctors determined they could not successfully separate them.

Female Israeli soldiers punished for racy photos

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:11:05 -0400

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military said Sunday that it has disciplined a group of female soldiers who posed for photos in underwear and combat gear and posted the images on Facebook.

Holy Land archaeological treasure hurt by politics

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:01:26 -0400

SEBASTIA, West Bank - The ancient town of Sebastia is one of the major archaeological sites of the Holy Land, with its overlapping layers of history dating back nearly 3,000 years. But today the hilltop capital of biblical kings, later ruled by Roman conquerors, Crusaders and Ottomans, is marred with weeds, graffiti and garbage.

AP Interview: Israel deputy FM proud to be settler

Mon, 27 May 2013 11:15:41 -0400

JERUSALEM - Zeev Elkin has faced a wave of criticism since he was made the de facto chief of Israel's Foreign Ministry two months ago: He isn't prepared for compromise with the Palestinians. He doesn't speak English well enough. He is a West Bank settler.

Kerry: $4B Palestinian economic plan could work

Sun, 26 May 2013 15:24:09 -0400

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan - Secretary of State John Kerry declared Sunday he believes a potential $4 billion plan is emerging that could expand the Palestinian economy by up to 50 percent in the next three years.

West Bank and romance prominent in 'Omar'

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:29:13 -0400

CANNES, France - One of the more buzzed-about films at the Cannes Film Festival, "Omar," is set in the West Bank, and the Palestinian conflict is a key part of the plot.

AP Interview: Syria conflict uproots Palestinians

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:56:06 -0400

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria's fighting has uprooted more than half of the country's 530,000 Palestinians - descendants of refugees from a Mideast conflict half a century ago - and their situation is becoming increasingly desperate, the head of a U.N. aid agency said Thursday.

Kerry detours for Palestinian shwarma

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:16:30 -0400

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Secretary of State John Kerry says he's all in for Palestinian shwarma.

2011 jail breaks become political issue in Egypt

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:40:39 -0400

CAIRO - It was one of the most perplexing events of Egypt's revolution: orchestrated attacks on prisons around the country that broke out more than 20,000 inmates while police were tied down with the massive popular protests that swept autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power.

Palestinian group: Ruler rights abuses increasing

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:46:56 -0400

RAMALLAH, West Bank - A Palestinian report shows human rights abuses by the rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza are on the rise.

Palestinians hold off on UN agency membership

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:36:03 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The Palestinians have done all the legal work necessary to join 63 U.N. agencies, conventions and treaties but haven't applied yet mainly to give the latest U.S. peace effort a chance to succeed, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday.

Israel, Palestinians still arguing over epic image

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:06:20 -0400

JERUSALEM - A new Israeli report into the death of a Palestinian boy during a fierce gunbattle in the Gaza Strip more than a dozen years ago has reignited an emotional debate over who killed him - and how the incident has shaped perspectives of the Mideast conflict.