Mahmoud Abbas

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Palestinian PM, Cabinet Resign
Palestinian PM, Cabinet Resign

Palestinian PM, Cabinet Resign

Move could usher in reforms at Palestinian Authority with an eye on postwar Gaza

(Newser) - The Palestinian prime minister announced the resignation of his government on Monday, paving the way for a shake-up in the Palestinian Authority, which the US hopes will eventually take on a role in postwar Gaza. "The decision to resign came in light of the unprecedented escalation in the West...

Palestinian Leader Causes Outrage With '50 Holocausts' Remark

He made comparison during news conference in Berlin

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas outraged Germans—and Israelis—Tuesday night by referring to the massacres of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces as "Holocausts." Abbas, speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, made the remark when a German journalist asked if he planned...

What You Should Know About Biden's Trip to the Middle East
Biden's Last Stop in the
Middle East Is His Big One
the rundown

Biden's Last Stop in the Middle East Is His Big One

That would be Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - President Biden landed in Israel on Wednesday for his first trip to the Middle East since taking office. It's a whirlwind four-day trip: Biden is spending two days in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli leaders before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the West Bank. He then...

Israel Faces a 'New Wave of Terror'

Gunman kills 5, including a police officer, in 3rd attack in a week

(Newser) - "We are dealing with a new wave of terror," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday after a gunman on a motorcycle killed five people with an assault rifle in a suburb of Tel Aviv. Police said they shot and killed the shooter—identified as Diaa Hamarsheh, a...

Biden Calls Netanyahu, Abbas With Concerns About Gaza

President raises the safety of journalists with Israeli leader

(Newser) - President Biden called both sides Saturday in an effort to get them to dial back the heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip. One of the concerns he expressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a White House release, was about the safety of journalists there. The president "...

Abbas to Trump: 'May Your House Be Demolished'

He slams Trump's 'slap of the century'

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas laid into President Trump, among others, in a two-hour speech Monday, saying he rejects Trump's attempt for a Middle East peace "deal of the century"—and he hopes the president's house is demolished. Abbas, addressing the Palestinian Central Council, said he had...

After Trump's Israel Move, a Call for an Uprising
After Trump's
Israel Move, a Call
for an Uprising
the RUNDOWN

After Trump's Israel Move, a Call for an Uprising

Meanwhile, US allies are speaking out

(Newser) - President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a "war declaration against Palestinians" who should rise up, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said in a speech Thursday. Though Palestinian forces announced three "days of rage" beginning Wednesday, during which Palestinians are to protest at Israeli...

Trump: Mideast Peace 'Maybe Not as Difficult' as We Think

President meets with Abbas, says he wants to be 'mediator' between Israel, Palestine

(Newser) - President Donald Trump expressed optimism for resumed peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel at the start of his Oval Office meeting with Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday in Washington, his first direct meeting with the Palestinian leader, the AP reports. Trump, who said he'll "do whatever is necessary" to...

Palestinian President May Once Have Been KGB Agent

Soviet document lists Mahmoud Abbas as agent code named 'Mole'

(Newser) - It appears Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, worked for the KGB during the Cold War, the New York Times reports. It's information that seems relevant now, as Vladimir Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel, and Russia are attempting to start new peace talks between Abbas and...

Russia May Have Brokered Mideast 'Breakthrough'

Israel, Palestine have agreed 'in principle' to relaunch peace talks in Moscow

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed "in principle" to meet in Moscow to relaunch Mideast peace talks after a two-plus-year hiatus, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Thursday, though the AP reports that it's not clear when. "The most important thing is to...

Palestinians Set Fire to Joseph's Tomb

IDF spokesman calls it 'blatant violation of the basic value of freedom of worship'

(Newser) - A holy site in the West Bank often visited by Jewish pilgrims under the cover of darkness with the Israeli military protecting them was set on fire by Palestinians Thursday night. Though firefighters put out the blaze, the incident has only added fuel to the fire already burning between the...

Palestinian Leader: Our Accords With Israel Null and Void

Abbas says Israel hasn't been honoring them

(Newser) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to drop a "bombshell" ahead of his speech to the UN General Assembly today, leading to speculation that he might sever all ties with Israel. He didn't go that far, reports AP , but his speech made clear how bleak Israeli-Palestinian relations are. Abbas...

Palestinians May Pursue War Crimes Case Against Israel

Abbas agrees to join International Criminal Court

(Newser) - Stung by a resounding defeat in the UN Security Council, the Palestinians announced today that they joined the International Criminal Court to pursue war crimes charges against Israel. The move by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set the stage for a diplomatic showdown with the United States and was likely to...

Amid Flight Ban, Kerry Lands in Israel

White House rejects request to drop FAA ban

(Newser) - As Israel continued to pound Gaza, John Kerry arrived for cease-fire talks today, landing in Tel Aviv despite the FAA's 24-hour ban on US flights to Israel . The secretary of state, whose Air Force flight was not affected by the commercial ban brought in after a rocket hit a...

Ceasefire Over: Toll in Gaza Hits 87, 13 Israeli Troops

Deadliest day as ground offensive grinds on

(Newser) - This morning's two-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was officially over at 8:30am Eastern, but in reality it didn't last an hour and the death toll continues to rise from the heavy shelling. The number getting attention is the 13 infantry soldiers that Israel is reporting were killed...

3 Teens Were Kidnapped by Terrorists: Netanyahu

Missing group includes one US citizen

(Newser) - Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed last night that three teenage boys, one of whom has dual Israeli-American citizenship , have been kidnapped by terrorists after disappearing Thursday night in the West Bank. "Our boys were kidnapped by a terrorist organization. Plain and simple, there’s no doubt about it,...

Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Visit Pope for Prayers

Shimon Peres, Mahmoud Abbas join Pope Francis at Vatican

(Newser) - Pope Francis waded head-first into Mideast peace-making today, welcoming the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican for an evening of peace prayers just weeks after the last round of US-sponsored negotiations collapsed . Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas embraced in the foyer of the Vatican hotel...

Pope Prays at West Bank Barrier

Israeli, Palestinian presidents accept invitation to Vatican

(Newser) - The pope's Holy Land visit has been full of surprises. In an unplanned move today, Pope Francis stopped to pray at the concrete wall dividing Bethlehem and Jerusalem—a wall which, to Palestinans, symbolizes oppression by Israel, Reuters notes. Graffiti where he prayed read, "Free Palestine." The...

Abbas, Peres Accept Francis' Invite to Pray

Pope makes a breakthrough in visit to Bethlehem

(Newser) - The offices of the Israeli and Palestinian presidents are confirming that they have accepted an invitation from Pope Francis to visit the Vatican together next month. At the end of an open-air Mass in the biblical town of Bethlehem today, Francis invited the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the Vatican...

Netanyahu, Abbas Go New Round on Hamas, Holocaust

Bibi wants Palestinians to dump Hamas yesterday

(Newser) - As Israel today marks its annual Holocaust commemoration, the AP notes that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a rare statement proclaiming that "what happened to the Jews in the Holocaust is the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era" and expressing his "sympathy...

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