Seven Arches Hotel, where the PLO was born, to be run by Israeli company for up to 25 years

A Jerusalem hotel built with Jordan's backing is about to be handed to an Israeli company, the same hotel where the PLO was founded in 1964.

Israel has controlled the Seven Arches Hotel's management since 1967 under a "temporary" custodianship law. Now that control is being extended again, this time to a private company for up to 25 years.

Legal experts say the deal has no legal basis, the UN already ruled Israel's East Jerusalem annexation null and void, and the ICJ says policies like this can amount to illegal annexation.

Iranian president and foreign minister discuss Strait of Hormuz negotiations

During a press conference in Tehran, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated that negotiations with Oman over a "temporary route" for the Strait of Hormuz are "very close to reaching a conclusion".

During the same presser, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian made remarks on the management of the Hormuz crisis, underlining that "violations occur in every memorandum of understanding," and thus "a team should have been formed to address violations rather than to fight". 
Pezeshkian added that negotiations will allow Iran to exit the current "state of 'neither war nor peace'."

Israeli forces open gunfire on Palestinian shepherd's flock killing three sheep

Footage shared by a Palestinian shepherd in the occupied West Bank shows his sheep killed and injured on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire on his flock.

Wafa reported that Israeli forces fired at the Palestinian man, without a stated reason, as he grazed his sheep in the al-Bayda Valley, west of Hebron, on Sunday morning.

Netanyahu says Israel rejects 15-point Gaza plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel rejects a Gaza plan hailed by US President Donald Trump, vowing no military pullout until Hamas "genuinely" disarms.
"Israel rejects the 15-point document. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, referring to the Israeli military.

Yemen's Houthis attack port in Mocha

Smoke billowed from the port city of Mocha, Yemen, after a Houthi attack that killed 11 people on Sunday.

It followed an earlier drone attack on a Saudi oil refinery on the coast of the Red Sea, escalating tensions as the long-standing truce between the group and the internationally-recognised government seemingly collapsed last month.

A further 32 people were wounded in the attacks, 6 of them civilians, according to AFP citing a medical source in Mocha.

Yemen's Houthis attack port in Mocha

Smoke billowed from the port city of Mocha, Yemen, after a Houthi attack that killed 11 people on Sunday.

It followed an earlier drone attack on a Saudi oil refinery on the coast of the Red Sea, escalating tensions as the long-standing truce between the group and the internationally-recognised government seemingly collapsed last month.

A further 32 people were wounded in the attacks, 6 of them civilians, according to AFP citing a medical source in Mocha.

Palestinians in Gaza react after Netanyahu rejects Trump's peace plan

Palestinians in Gaza City expressed their disappointment and frustration after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump's latest peace plan on Sunday.

Trump announced a breakthrough in negotiations to end attacks and achieve a full ceasefire, stating that both Hamas and Israel agreed to the initial plan, which included Israel's full withdrawal from the strip and the introduction of an International Stabilisation Force.

Israel later stated that the military would not withdraw until Hamas fully disarmed, to which the group said they could disarm until Israel stops its continued attacks.

Israel has committed 3,795 violations of the “ceasefire” agreement since it came into force in October, Al Jazeera reported in July, citing the government media office in Gaza, killing 1,168 Palestinians, wounding 3,734 others and detaining at 149.

Israeli military demolishes homes near 'pilot zone' in southern Lebanon

Israeli bulldozers, troops and tanks were seen moving in on a village near the so-called 'pilot zone' in southern Lebanon before demolishing houses on Sunday.

The destruction of buildings in Zawtar al-Sharkiyeh was filmed from the neighbouring Zawtar al-Gharbiya, which lies in the 'pilot zone'.

Per the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli forces are due to withdraw from villages in the pilot zone, to be taken over by the Lebanese army.

Palestinians in Gaza react after Netanyahu rejects Trump's peace plan

Palestinians in Gaza City expressed their disappointment and frustration after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump's latest peace plan on Sunday.

Trump announced a breakthrough in negotiations to end attacks and achieve a full ceasefire, stating that both Hamas and Israel agreed to the initial plan, which included Israel's full withdrawal from the strip and the introduction of an International Stabilisation Force.

Israel later stated that the military would not withdraw until Hamas fully disarmed, to which the group said they could disarm until Israel stops its continued attacks.

Israel has committed 3,795 violations of the “ceasefire” agreement since it came into force in October, Al Jazeera reported in July, citing the government media office in Gaza, killing 1,168 Palestinians, wounding 3,734 others and detaining at 149.

📰 Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza and will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

The Board of Peace, spearheaded by Trump, announced last month that it had made a breakthrough in a plan to end the war.

Israel and Hamas agreed to the plan last year, beginning with a ceasefire. Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes on Gaza since agreeing to the ceasefire last October.

Trump said that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons.

🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-rejects-trumps-15-point-plan-gaza-says-netanyahu

📰 A former head of Israel’s National Security Council has called for Gaza to remain devastated for decades, openly presenting Palestinian despair and destruction as desirable outcomes after Israel’s genocide in the enclave.

Retired Major General Giora Eiland told Israel’s 103FM radio station on Sunday that rebuilding Gaza would run against Israeli interests.

“Israel has no interest in Gaza being rebuilt, it is better for us that it be destroyed for generations to come,” Eiland said.

🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-general-says-gaza-should-remain-destroyed-generations

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy condemns Islamophobic language from fellow party members

US Republican Senator Bill Cassidy rejected language used by fellow republicans about American Muslims during a segment on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday.

Cassidy was asked whether he felt comfortable with his party members making Islamophobic statements following the Democratic primary win of Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

“Democrats just voted to send a terrorist to the Senate," tweeted Senator Tuberville, and Senator Mace wrote: "Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse".

Cassidy rebuked by praising the Muslim community in Louisiana, the state for which he is senator, and saying that the language used by Senators Tubervillle and Case is unreflective of Muslim people.

Houthi strikes in Yemen kill and injure dozens

After launching attacks on the city of Marib last week, the Ansar Allah movement, the official name for the Houthis, struck the portal city of Mocha, killing at least 7 people of which three civilians. The strikes injured dozens more.

This comes as the dormant conflict between the Houthis - who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa - and the Saudi-backed government has reignited, four years after a truce had stalled the country's civil war.

Now, several cities in government-held territory, including Marib, Taiz, Mocha, and Aden, are confronting missile and drone attacks from the Houthis. The internationally recognised government has vowed to respond at the "appropriate time".

Colombia struck by magnitude 7.4 earthquake killing at least 132

At least 132 people have been killed after Colombia was hit by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake. Footage shows buildings, including part of a university hospital in Cali, collapsing as people struggle to stay standing through the shaking.

The quake struck at 7:34am local time on Monday in the Choco province, with its effects being felt for hundreds of miles across western Colombia.

More than 480 people have been injured according to a statement by Colombia's Association of Capital Cities. A national emergency has been declared.

#BREAKING A Damascus court sentenced Syria's former strongman Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher and former security official Atef Najib to death on Tuesday on charges of murder, torture and incitement to murder.

Najib was tried in person, while Bashar and Maher Al Assad were tried in absentia.

The court convicted Assad of premeditated murder of multiple people, including children, as well as torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, and sentenced him to death.

🔗 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-court-sentences-bashar-al-assad-death-absentia-landmark-trial

This racist Israeli law should be renamed 'Death Penalty for Palestinians Only'

In this Opinion piece by Ralph Wilde, Professor of International Law at the University of London, he argues that Israel's new "Death Penalty for Terrorists Law" is a flagrant breach of Palestinian rights and fundamental rules of international law.
 
Wilde states that the law effectively creates a death penalty regime that applies to Palestinians but not Jewish Israelis. He argues that it unlawfully discriminates against Palestinians and could criminalise lawful acts of resistance, violating both the Palestinian right to self-determination and the international prohibition on racial discrimination.

Hunter Biden rejects claims that criticism of Netanyahu is antisemetic

Hunter Biden, the son of former US president Joe Biden, has rejected claims that criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “antisemetic”.

Speaking on The Tucker Carlson Show on Monday, he said: “If it’s antisemitic to point out that Bibi Netanyahu is evil incarnate, then I don’t know what to say to people any more.”

Joe Biden, a self-described Zionist, was one of Israel’s most vocal supporters and was adamant about fulfilling Israel’s military needs with little oversight.

Analysts and critics attributed his stance on the Gaza war as a reason the Democrats lost support in the 2024 presidential election.

‘Childhood shattered’: Israel’s war on Lebanese and Palestinian children

In one instant on the fateful day of 21 September 2025, Aceel Sharara lost her siblings and father when an Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle near their car in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. 

“All the pain in the world passes through my heart every night, but I’ll grow up, not to seek revenge, but to tell the truth. That we were here, that our childhood was shattered, and that justice may be delayed, but it must not die,” the 13-year-old tells MEE.

Almost one year earlier, Hanan and Misk lost their mother after their apartment building in Gaza was targeted in the middle of the night. Both sisters had to undergo painful amputations as a result. 

Across fronts, Israel’s genocidal bombing campaigns have left a painful mark on children like no other conflict has.

‘Childhood shattered’: Israel’s war on Lebanese and Palestinian children

In one instant on the fateful day of 21 September 2025, Aceel Sharara lost her siblings and father when an Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle near their car in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. 

“All the pain in the world passes through my heart every night, but I’ll grow up, not to seek revenge, but to tell the truth. That we were here, that our childhood was shattered, and that justice may be delayed, but it must not die,” the 13-year-old tells MEE.

Almost one year earlier, Hanan and Misk lost their mother after their apartment building in Gaza was targeted in the middle of the night. Both sisters had to undergo painful amputations as a result. 

Across fronts, Israel’s genocidal bombing campaigns have left a painful mark on children like no other conflict has.

Naftali Bennett says Netanyahu is ‘symbol’ for Israelis and does not want to see him in jail

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he does not want to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in jail, and that he is “a symbol” for “many Israelis”.

“I have nothing against him. I don't want to see him in prison - let him go home,” he said on Monday during an interview with Israeli news outlet Kikar HaShabbat.

Netanyahu faces corruption charges in Israel, and his trial began in 2020 and has repeatedly been delayed due to his official commitments.

He is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be charged with a crime, and denies the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which could lead to a jail sentence.