Author: Steven Sahiounie

US officials expect Israeli military activity targeting the south of the Palestinian enclave to end by January, the outlet said Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) military activity may shift to a lower-intensity strategy that narrowly targets specific Hamas operatives and leaders in January, CNN has reported. According the outlet, the tactics of the operation would be similar to the US campaign against terrorist leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, Washington is deeply concerned about further Israeli operations in southern Gaza. The US has warned West Jerusalem in “hard” and “direct” talks that the IDF cannot repeat the same destructive tactics it used…

The Russian leader flew to Riyadh from Abu Dhabi Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived on a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is scheduled to hold talks with Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister. It was previously reported that the talks would touch upon cooperation in the trade, economic and investment areas as well as interaction on multilateral platforms. They will look at prospects for the North-South Transport Corridor and pay particular attention to energy issues The talks will focus on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and other crises in the Middle…

The Turkish leader described the ruling coalition in Israel as unhealthy Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing on the verge of collapse, something that he may indicate any time soon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is on the brink of collapse or bankruptcy right now. And he may make such an announcement at any moment,” the state-run Anadolu agency quoted the Turkish president as saying upon returning from Qatar. “And then there is the West which connives with the wrongdoings of both Netanyahu and his administration. Fortunately, the West has largely reconsidered its…

Jordan denounced the march in Jerusalem’s Old City – including through the Muslim quarter – saying it will inflame an already-volatile situation. Israeli police authorised the march organised by radical Temple Movement activists who call for demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replacing it with a temple. The march – which calls for reclaiming “Jewish dominance over the Mount [Al-Aqsa compound] and Jerusalem as a whole” – is slated to take place on Thursday, the eve of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Jordan’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying this is an “attempt to change the historical and legal status quo…

The Financial Times reports that the extent of devastation and destruction in northern Gaza in less than seven weeks has approached levels seen during the years-long carpet bombing of German cities during World War II. More than 60 percent of buildings in northern Gaza have been severely damaged, the report says. Across the coastal territory, more than 300,000 residential units have been damaged or destroyed. “Gaza will also go down as a place name denoting one of history’s heaviest conventional bombing campaigns,” FT quoted US military historian Robert Pape as saying. The report cited the different types of munitions that the Israeli…

The State of Palestine today condemned Israel’s revocation of the visa of United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings. “This is a clear and unacceptable violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power and UN Member State,” said a statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. “This hostile action also clearly demonstrates Israel’s utter disregard and disdain for the United Nations and its invaluable work in Palestine. It also further proves the occupier’s determination to escalate its policy of starvation and collective punishment against the Palestinian people while denying them any assistance or hope, which…

Egypt has condemned Israel’s decision to build a new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. According to left-wing Israeli organization Ir Amim, which monitors the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Jerusalem, it is the first settlement plan to be fully approved by the Israeli government since 2012. In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called the move “a new blatant violation of international decisions and the UN Security Council resolutions regarding the illegitimacy of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.” The ministry stressed Egypt’s categorical rejection of the Israeli settlement policies in the entire occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, and its repeated attempts…

The family of Momin Alshrafi, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, has been killed in an Israeli air attack on the home they were sheltering in. The attack, which took place overnight on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killed 21 members of Alshrafi’s family, including his parents Mahmoud and Amina, his siblings and their spouses, as well as nephews and nieces. Alshrafi told Al Jazeera that an explosive barrel hit the home, resulting in a deep hole. “None of the civil defence crews are unable to reach their bodies,” he said. “We are prevented from saying goodbye to…

President Mahmoud Abbas today received at the presidential headquarters in the city of Ramallah the White House envoy and the National Security Advisor to the US Vice President, Philip Gordon. The President stressed to the American official the necessity of the American administration’s immediate intervention and pressure on the Israeli occupation government to stop its ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the price of which is paid by the defenseless people who are subjected to an unprecedented genocide, in which more than 60,000 civilians, children and women have been killed. He said that the Israeli killing…

Upon completing his working agenda in Abu Dhabi, the Russian President will continue on to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Abu Dhabi, where he will hold talks with his Emirati counterpart, President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Earlier, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said that the initial meeting will include the presidents’ respective delegations, and will be followed by talks between the two leaders in a one-on-one format. Upon completing his working agenda in Abu Dhabi, Putin will continue on to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on…