Israeli court sentences director of Gaza charity to 12 years in prison

World Vision International worker accused of funnelling aid money to Hamas in trial largely held in secret

An Israeli court has sentenced the Gaza director of an international charity to 12 years in prison on allegations of funnelling aid money to Hamas, the end of a high-profile case mired in controversy and largely held in secret.

Disregarding UN concerns over a lack of evidence in the six-year case, the district court in the southern city of Beersheba said Mohammad el Halabi, who had been Gaza’s director for World Vision International, would have to serve six years in prison taking into account the deduction of the amount he was held during the trial.

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Israeli rock star praises ‘brother’ settlers as he recants past views in move to right

Ex-peace figure Aviv Geffen sparks controversy with public repentance at concert in occupied West Bank

The Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen, once a symbol of the country’s peace movement, has sparked controversy by apologising for his past views during a concert at a fervently nationalistic settlement in the occupied West Bank.

The public repentance on Thursday at the Beit El settlement can be seen as a cultural milestone in Israel’s move further to the right and another nail in the coffin of the more peace-oriented legacy of the assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, with whom Geffen had been associated.

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Israel grapples with ‘systemic problem’ of fatal road crashes

Traffic deaths dropped by only 4.7% in last decade, compared with a 31% fall worldwide

When Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group in the Gaza Strip, fired about 1,000 rockets at Israel during an unexpected flare-up of violence earlier this month, most were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system, and no Israelis were seriously hurt or killed.

On the country’s roads, however, it was a different story. In the same week, 19 people were killed in traffic incidents during a wave of particularly serious crashes.

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Ben & Jerry’s lose bid to block sale of ice-cream in Israeli West Bank settlements

Damage to Vermont-based company’s reputation of licensee’s sales in occupied Palestinian territories ‘too speculative’, US judge rules

Ben & Jerry’s has lost its attempt to block its parent company Unilever from selling its ice-cream in West Bank settlements, which the US firm said would run counter to its values.

The company, known for its political activism, took the unusual step seeking an injunction after London-based Unilever announced it had sold its interest in the ice-cream to an Israeli license-holder.

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Palestinian flight plan shelved on eve of first scheduled departure

Controversial plan to fly people from occupied West Bank to Turkey has been paused

A controversial plan to allow Palestinians to fly to Turkey from southern Israel’s Ramon airport has been shelved on the eve of the first scheduled departure.

Israel’s airport authority announced earlier this month that Ramon in the Negev desert, near the Red Sea city of Eilat, would begin allowing Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to travel on Turkish-operated flights to Antalya and Istanbul from 22 August.

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Israeli forces raid offices of six Palestinian human rights groups

Property confiscated in move decried as ‘appalling attack’ on Palestinian civil society in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have raided the offices of six Palestinian human rights groups in the occupied West Bank that it previously accused of being terrorist organisations, a move decried as an “appalling attack” on Palestinian civil society.

Property belonging to the prominent advocacy groups was confiscated and entrance doors sealed by soldiers in the early hours of Thursday.

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Turkey vows to back Palestinians despite restoring Israel ties

Comments by foreign minister come moments after Israeli PM announces full resumption of diplomatic ties

Turkey has said its decision to restore diplomatic relations with Israel after a decade of tensions does not mean it will abandon its support for Palestinians.

The comments by the foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, came moments after the Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, announced the resumption of full diplomatic relations, including the reappointment of ambassadors.

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Uproar after Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin accuses Israel of ’50 Holocausts’

German chancellor condemns remarks morning after joint press conference with Palestinian leader

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”, at a joint press conference with Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin, drawing condemnation from Germany and Israel.

At the end of his state visit to Germany’s chancellory on Tuesday night, Abbas was asked by a German journalist whether he planned to apologise for the deadly attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli citizens at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the 50th anniversary of which is on 5 September.

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Jerusalem shooting: eight wounded as gunman fires at bus near Western Wall

Two victims including pregnant woman in serious condition, according to Israeli hospital officials, while police say suspected attacker turned himself in

A gunman opened fire at a bus near Jerusalem’s Old City early on Sunday, wounding eight Israelis in a suspected Palestinian attack that came a week after violence flared between Israel and militants in Gaza, police and medics said.

Two of the victims were in serious condition, including a pregnant woman with abdominal injuries and a man with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to Israeli hospitals treating them.

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Funerals and Islamic Jihad battle songs: Gaza after the ceasefire

Many areas are still without water and electricity following three days of Israeli airstrikes

In Shujaiya, a neighbourhood of Gaza City already scarred by several rounds of war, men passed around coffee and dates under the shade of a colourful mourning tent while Palestinian Islamic Jihad battle songs blared from sound systems.

About a dozen men carrying AK-47s, their faces shielded by black balaclavas, lined the entrance to the tent, and the militant group’s black and yellow flag flew overhead.

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Gaza: truce takes effect between Israel and Islamic Jihad after days of fighting

Joe Biden welcomes ceasefire agreed after three days of conflict triggered by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Strip

A truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has taken effect in the Gaza Strip after three days of cross-border fighting triggered by surprise Israeli airstrikes.

US president Joe Biden welcomed the agreement on Sunday, and called on all parties to “fully implement the ceasefire, and to ensure fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza as the fighting subsides”.

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Israel bombs Gaza Strip for second day in ‘pre-emptive operation’

Health authorities in Palestinian enclave report 15 dead in Israeli attacks targeting Islamic Jihad

Residents of the Gaza Strip were bracing for the possibility of a new round of war on Saturday after two days of “pre-emptive” Israeli airstrikes against a Palestinian militant group.

Israeli warplanes hit several sites in the blockaded territory on Friday, part of a surprise operation named “Breaking Dawn” that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said thwarted alleged planned rocket attacks by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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Israel strikes Gaza amid tensions following arrest of Palestinian militant

Palestinian officials say at least 10 dead after Israel said it was preparing to ‘remove the threat from this region’

Israeli warplanes struck numerous sites in the Gaza Strip on Friday in what Israel said was a preemptive strike against Palestinian factions allegedly planning rocket strikes at targets in Israel.

Palestinian health officials reported that at least 10 people died and 55 were wounded in an initial barrage which killed the commander of Islamic Jihad, Tayseer Jabari, in the north of Gaza. Among the fatalities was an eight-year-old girl.

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Israeli forces kill two Palestinian fighters in West Bank gun battle

Palestinian authorities confirm death of two men and say six more were wounded during clash in Nablus

Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian fighters in a pre-dawn clash in the occupied West Bank and attacked a fishing boat off the Gaza Strip coast that was accused of smuggling in Hamas supplies from Egypt.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade militant group claimed the two Palestinians killed on Sunday at a house in Nablus as its members. The Palestinian health ministry said six others were wounded.

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Joe Biden greeted by protests during brief visit to Palestine

US president promises $300m in aid amid anger in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem at sidelining of quest for Palestinian state

Joe Biden was greeted by small groups of protesters and billboards decrying the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as apartheid during his brief visits to East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, signs of disappointment at the sidelining of the Palestinian quest for statehood during the president’s tour of the Middle East.

The president visited Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem on Friday morning, where he promised $300m (£250m) in assistance for the Palestinians, before travelling in a convoy to Bethlehem to meet the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and visit the Church of the Nativity.

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Joe Biden defends human rights record ahead of Saudi visit

President says he will not avoid rights issues but skirts commitment to discuss Khashoggi murder

Joe Biden has defended his imminent trip to Saudi Arabia, saying he will not avoid human rights issues on the final leg of his Middle East tour, despite refusing to commit to mentioning the murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi when he meets the kingdom’s crown prince.

Speaking during a news conference with the interim Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, in Jerusalem on Thursday, the US leader said his stance on Khashoggi’s killing was “absolutely” clear.

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Biden commits to Israel’s security as he embarks on Middle East tour

After the visit a communique titled the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ will reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself

Joe Biden has said that the US is committed to Israel’s security on arriving in Tel Aviv for the first leg of a three-day visit to the Middle East, a trip focused on deepening the majority Jewish state’s ties with the Arab world as the region faces a common foe in Iran.

The US leader was greeted by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog and caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid on Air Force One’s arrival at Ben Gurion airport on Wednesday afternoon. He opted for fist-bumping rather than shaking hands with Israeli officials during the red carpet welcome, over what the White House said was concern over rising Covid cases.

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Joe Biden arrives in Middle East at time of rapid change

Analysis: Israel has transformed itself from regional pariah to ally to many Arab states

Joe Biden has made clear that the Middle East is not a priority for his administration: Ukraine, China and the US midterm elections are all more pressing issues. Still, when Air Force One touches down in Tel Aviv for his first visit to the region as president on Wednesday afternoon, Biden will be faced with a rapidly changing – and still unstable – part of the world.

Biden’s main goal is to convince Saudi Arabia of the need to increase global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the fact that he flies directly to Jeddah after two days in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories speaks to a significant shift: Israel’s transformation from regional pariah to ally for many Arab states.

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Shireen Abu Aqleh: family of killed journalist demand meeting with Biden

Letter to president expresses ‘sense of betrayal’ for shielding Israel from accountability for her death ahead of his visit to Jerusalem

The family of Shireen Abu Aqleh, the renowned Palestinian-American journalist killed during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank, is demanding a meeting with President Biden during his visit to Jerusalem this week after accusing his administration of shielding Israel from accountability for her death.

Abu Aqleh’s brother, Anton, wrote to Biden on Friday expressing his family’s “grief, outrage and sense of betrayal” after the US state department concluded that Israeli forces were “likely responsible” for shooting the Al Jazeera reporter in the head in the West Bank city of Jenin in May but “found no reason to believe that this was intentional”.

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